Authors Note: Any spelling or grammatical errors in the following log are the fault of the editorial staff, but since we can't afford to pay them, we let it slide.

2/2/04 - Yeah Baby!!

It has been a very busy half-week. Friday afternoon started out sunny, so Suzi, Boomer, Betsy & I went for a bike ride along the ocean side of the island and then toured the KW cemetery (a very funky place). We later met up with Cindy, Bill & Jim at Irish Kevins on Duval St. and listened to music just as the rain began. Then saturday came and Cindy, Bill and Jim left to go back home (bye Cid, hope you had a good time here even if it was brief). It was a rainy day off and on. Boomer and Suzi went into town on bikes to browse some galleries and Betsy & I had to take the boat over to another dock to pump out the holding tanks (exciting life, this is). Of course right in the middle of pumping out, the power went out all over the island. This lasted over an hour and then it came back and we finished up and returned the boat to its slip. We then rode into town with Bert & Kathy and had lunch at Pepes and then met up with Boomer and Suzi. By this time more company had arrived - my cousin Tom and a group of friends came to town (from Annapolis & Boston) to escape the cold and to watch the superbowl (Tom even brought down a couple of Patriots shirts for us to wear). This is an annual trip for most of them and we were happy to be a part of this year's edition (even including the very strange ritual of being smothered in after shave and doused with Gold Bond powder every time we met up with them!). To our great surprise, one of the gang turned out to be Betsy's cousin Keith whom she hadn't seen in 20 years! Our two groups hung out for a while on saturday evening and then we split up and wandered around town only to run into each other again during the course of the night. On sunday morning Suzy, Boomer, Bert & Kathy had to get back to Sanibel in time to see the game at home. Sunday the weather turned out better than forecast and Tom's group spent the sunny day either biking around KW or going on a fishing trip. Betsy & I did some biking nearby and went to the marina pool for a while, then met Tom's group in the evening to watch the Superbowl at Rick's on Duval St. We all cheered and then agonized together as the game went back and forth. I was having flashbacks to the Red Sox and Yankees games we watched earlier in our trip. Then the place erupted with that winning field goal! It was a very happy bunch of fans that wandered around Duval street that night. The pats fans were cheering and the panther fans were drowning their sorrows. It was a very fun time and there was never any out of control celebrations here (unlike back home from what I read today). We finally had to say our goodbyes to Tom and his friends at about 2am and get back to the boat. So thanks: Dutch, Sammy Sosa , Conchy, Rich, Larry, John Wilkes Booth, Risey and the rest for a great superbowl experience and we hope to see you all again sometime.

Now it's quiet time. No more company is expected. Time to get the boat ready to head north to Sanibel in about a week or so. Some provisioning, cleaning, minor maintenance and chart purchases. Oh, and finally do our t-shirt shopping.

2/6/04 - Not much to report. It's been quiet since all the company went home. Did our own t-shirt shopping the other day (can't leave here without souvenirs - besides a depleted bank account!). Other exciting stuff included: food shopping, refilling the propane tanks, repairing a loose stanchion, sitting by the pool and getting charts at West Marine. Might be hoping for more visitors soon.

2/7/04 - Last night was pub crawling with Vinny & Mary. After sunset at Mallory Sq., we went to: Pedros, Hogs Breath (said hi to folks on the web cam), Capt Tony's, Garden of Eden (a clothing optional bar), Irish Kevins and Schooners Wharf. That was enough for one night. Note: We opted to keep our clothes on at Garden of Eden and there were a few other folks there that should have made the same decision but didn't. Just another day in Key West.

2/17/04 - Recap since last report:

Finally made it to "Blue Heaven" for their famous breakfast. Biked into Key West and tried their famous homemade fruit-filled pancakes - yumm.
Visited Vinny's house in Big Pine Key. Went to the "Blue Hole" park near their house and saw the two resident alligators (see photos). Then we went to the Key Deer Grille on Big Pine and had a great prime rib dinner.
Made our plans for Ft. Myers. We were all set to go this Monday but a northerly blew in and we are waiting it out. Looks like favorable winds by Friday. We'll try the overnight route from KW to Marco Isl.
Other exciting things include - doing my income taxes, working on the holding tank monitors, washing the boat, replacing the prop shaft zinc (underwater while being stared at by a 6-foot Tarpon). Ah, the thrill of it all!

2/20/04 - Departure Day. It's time to leave Key West and continue on. The plan right now is to leave this afternoon and sail overnight to Marco Island on the SW coast of FL. Then continue on to Ft. Myers / Sanibel. The winds have shifted to the south and the Gulf is calming down after the last few days of northerlies.
It's going to be hard to leave this place. We've been here so long that we almost feel like locals. Molly is going to miss her pelican friends on the dock.
We'd like to thank the folks at Sunset Marina, especially Barb the Dockmaster, for their hospitality during our stay. Also the staff of Hurricane Joe's on Stock Island for making us feel at home everytime we dropped by (fresh seafood every day and a nice, casual outside bar).

Other recommendations in KW:

Bar's and Entertainment: Hog's Breath Saloon, Capt Tony's, Irish Kevin's, Schooners Wharf, Green Parrot, Sloppy Joe's, Louis Backyard (outside bar).
Eating: Turtle Kraals, Half Shell Raw Bar, Blue Heaven, Louis Backyard ($$$$), Two Friends, Pepe's, Alonzo's, Meteor Smokehouse, La Trattoria (and many more...)
Tourist stuff: Sunset at Mallory Square, day trip to Dry Tortugas, Snorkle trip (Sebego), Hemingway's House, Key West Cemetery.

2/21/04 - What a long, dark night. Left KW via the northwest passage at about 5:30 pm. The southeast winds never showed up, it was northeast the entire time (so right on our course) and light, so we motored the entire 80+nm to Marco Island. There was no moon and it was mostly cloudy, so it was like sailing in a black velvet bowl with occasional shrimp boats for company early on and a short period where the stars put on a brilliant display. Most of the time only our running lights illuminated anything. 13 hours later we arrived at Marco Island but had to anchor offshore to wait for sunrise before attempting the channel in (shoaling reported along the way). We made our way in at about 8am and anchored in Factory Bay. Then we crashed for the next 6 hours.

2/24/04 - Hooked up with some friends from the Hull YC (Pat & Marilynn Walsh) while in Marco Isl. They own a house on the canals not 100 yds from where we anchored. Went to there house for dinner and had a wonderful time. We compared our experiences coming down the ICW. They left a couple of weeks earlier than us and made it before the cold set in (unlike our trip).
On Monday morning we left Marco and went up the coast to Ft. Myers. On the way we saw sea turtles and spotted rays swimming under the boat (unfortunately they were camera shy). We docked at Salty Sams marina near Ft. Myers Beach in the early afternoon. We plan on being here about a month or so visiting with Betsy's sister Suzi on Sanibel Isl. She has kindly loaned us a car to use while we're here.

2/26/04 - Been getting settled here in FtM. Did some shopping and visited with Suzi & Boomer over on Sanibel courtesy of the little white & PURPLE Geo Tracker we are borrowing. A very "distinctive" paint job on this car (will get pics soon). Very easy to find in a crowded parking lot. Not much else to report as yet. Rain has been falling the last couple of days but it will be clearing out beginning tonight.

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