GLORY DAYS ON THE GREAT LOOP: KEYS DISEASE

LUNCH IN KEY WEST

DAY 222, FEB. 25 THRU DAY 250, MARCH 24, 2012

KEYS DISEASE. A sickness exists in the Keys called Keys Disease where the notable laissez-faire attitude of the Keys allows a lazy person to become a sloppy, useless, unproductive member of the community. It's almost acceptable to drink and do not much else. It doesn’t take long, but this affliction gets everyone including us. What a way to go! We spent the first 5 days in Marathon on a mooring in Boot Key Harbor while we waited for our slip reservation in Sombrero Dockside Marina. The first day we were there we got a phone call from good friends Dot & Jim Mello who were vacationing in Orlando. Since it was cold in Orlando we invited them down and they spent an overnight with us. We had dinner at Burdines waterfront grill where everything is under $10.00. Supper was good and you can’t beat the view. The next day we all drove down to Sombrero Beach and enjoyed the sun. After a late lunch and a great visit we said goodbye to Dot and Jim who were well fortified with sun, heat and humidity. We arrived at Sombrero Dockside on March 1^st in blistering heat and humidity. Thank God for air conditioning. Marathon is our furthest point south and it felt like it. We met other gold Loopers who welcomed us to join them in pot luck suppers and dock side Happy Hours. We quickly became friends with all of them. These boaters, Robert & Kay Creech (C_LIFE), Diane & Louis Wade (BELLA LUNA), Ellen Langer & Roy DeLong, (OUR TURN), Lorenzo & DeLois Johnson (LIL’ DAVID), Tom & Doris Johnson (OUR TIME), Larry & Margie Ross (Wanderin L&M), and Ken Chumley & Darla (MOSEY) are what make Sombreros’ a special place. On Thurs. March 8, Joe flew back home for his quarterly check up at Mass Eye & Ear (everything’s good!) and returned on Sun. with Aunt Jane and Uncle Ralph. Their excitement at being on the boat with us was equal to our excitement at having them, however, theirs seemed to quickly diminish after spending 2 days in such a small space. We did enjoy their being there and after a day trip to Key West Uncle Ralph took ill and they had to return home on Tues. One of the more exciting events was a visit by Manuel T. Seacow, Manatee for short. One early evening Manny shows up behind the boat next to us. Needless to say he (she?) draws a crowd and some young girl climbs out on the swim platform and starts petting him. He enjoyed it so much he rolled over to have his stomach rubbed and stayed for almost an hour. The next day, while walking down the dock I spotted a good size fish hanging around. On closer inspection it was a barracuda. I ran back and got the camera, laid down on the dock and got a really good close up. I think this fish had Keys Disease too because he didn’t have any desire to leave no matter how close I got to him. In fact, if you look really closely at the picture, you will see a slight smile as he shows his pearly whites.

The rest of the month was spent in the grips of Keys Disease. We did, however, manage to buy 2 folding bikes at West Marine, do enough food shopping to sustain life, make a few dinghy trips to the beach, and I think do some other stuff, which thru the fog of Keys Disease, I forget.