A Day on Shore
This morning Lee hit the books again. He's studying hard for his Captains License. It's grueling but he's determined. Among other opportunities, this will allow us to charter Shangri-La for folks wishing to spend time aboard for a few days.
I decide to take advantage of our beautiful weather and do some staining. The sun murders the teak finish and we need to keep up with it. Around noonish we decide to quit and make better use of the weather by spending the afternoon exploring more of Key West. All cleaned up, dressed up and in the dink with four empty 5 gallon water jugs to fill on shore and a bag of garbage to toss. Off we go to the city's dinghy dock a mile away.
We are now about 400 feet from Shangri-La and an unforeseen dark cloud bursts open dumping monsoon-like rain on us as we continue our 4mph ride to shore. There goes the hair, makeup and freshly ironed sun dress. It doesn't bother us and we're both chuckling. Needless to say, by the time we reach shore, our clothes look like they'd come out of the washer before the spin cycle.
Approaching the shore leading to the dink dock, there are little homes among the mangroves with run-down docks where the iguanas love to hang out in the sun. We saw this grandaddy who let us get close enough for a decent photo.
First order of business once ashore is to fill our water jugs. Thankfully, the sun came out and we went from soaked to soggy.
We had called ahead to rent an electric golf cart. The traffic in Key West moves slowly so we easily kept up. A surprise to us when we first arrived here a couple weeks ago were the number of roosters and hens that inhabit this island. They roam freely everywhere and are protected by law. So, it should not have surprised us that at a stop light one of these hens crossed in front of our golf cart. Why did the chicken cross the road you ask? Probably to flirt with this beautiful rooster on the other side!
For some reason wherever we are, we're attracted to cemeteries. Key West is built on a massive coral reef so they place the deceased above ground encased in cement. We slowly wander through looking at names and dates and memorials, some dating back to the 19th century.
We'd heard of the great seafood at the Conch Republic Seafood Company. The conch chowder and a pound of giant peel-n-eat shrimp were amazing!
From there we zoomed around back and through as many side streets as we could. Every type of architecture you can imagine.
It's a pretty crazy island! Hundreds of shops jammed together and everyone so different with unique local items and artwork.
Wait! Stop! I see Kilwins! Ice cream is the next order of the day. Lee stops our cart to let me off in a no parking zone in front of Kilwins. I jump out and he scoots around the block. 2 minutes later I'm waving him down holding dishes of 2 scoops each toasted coconut and praline pecan. Found a place around the corner to stop and enjoy our treat.
This has been a great day all around!!
Back to the dinghy and Shangri-La!
I decide to take advantage of our beautiful weather and do some staining. The sun murders the teak finish and we need to keep up with it. Around noonish we decide to quit and make better use of the weather by spending the afternoon exploring more of Key West. All cleaned up, dressed up and in the dink with four empty 5 gallon water jugs to fill on shore and a bag of garbage to toss. Off we go to the city's dinghy dock a mile away.
We are now about 400 feet from Shangri-La and an unforeseen dark cloud bursts open dumping monsoon-like rain on us as we continue our 4mph ride to shore. There goes the hair, makeup and freshly ironed sun dress. It doesn't bother us and we're both chuckling. Needless to say, by the time we reach shore, our clothes look like they'd come out of the washer before the spin cycle.
Approaching the shore leading to the dink dock, there are little homes among the mangroves with run-down docks where the iguanas love to hang out in the sun. We saw this grandaddy who let us get close enough for a decent photo.
 |
For some reason wherever we are, we're attracted to cemeteries. Key West is built on a massive coral reef so they place the deceased above ground encased in cement. We slowly wander through looking at names and dates and memorials, some dating back to the 19th century.
 |
| The spurs that grow on their legs are the rooster's weapons in cock fighting. Even though it's illegal, you can still find places that hold these fights. |
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| Captain Bob must have been dearly loved. Those are hand carved conch shells and a sailboat - out of solid rock. |
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| Battleship Main Memorial. Interesting story if you look it up. |
From there we zoomed around back and through as many side streets as we could. Every type of architecture you can imagine.
 |
It's a pretty crazy island! Hundreds of shops jammed together and everyone so different with unique local items and artwork.
Wait! Stop! I see Kilwins! Ice cream is the next order of the day. Lee stops our cart to let me off in a no parking zone in front of Kilwins. I jump out and he scoots around the block. 2 minutes later I'm waving him down holding dishes of 2 scoops each toasted coconut and praline pecan. Found a place around the corner to stop and enjoy our treat.
This has been a great day all around!!
Back to the dinghy and Shangri-La!
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