Still in the Keys

Fear not readers, we haven't fallen off the face of the planet. We have begun getting into the grove of doing everything and nothing. Everything as far as meeting and hanging out with new people , exploring by land and water our new surroundings, and in general just doing only what we want for the day. The nothing is just what it means, nothing......Unfortunately that nothing includes boat work and projects yet to be tackled. But alas, we are in paradise so what are we to do.....


I may have said this before but the only thing we can find fault in this marina is the fact that you are a bit far from anything. This marina does offer a great laundry facility, a nice bar and grill so there is food and drinks to be found but for any provisioning or entertainment one must go off base which is about a 2 mile walk up to the gate to catch a city bus that runs on a not so frequent schedule. On the two occasions we attempted the walk we were picked up by folks that recognized us from the marina. So we decided that in order to get around without having to beg, borrow, or steal a vehicle was to purchase some bikes. So a couple days ago we set out looking for some affordable fold up bicycles. We did go to the local marine store (not mentioning any names) and test drove two different fold ables they had. I guess if you wanted only to go a short hop here or there they would be fine, but for the amount we would need to ride them they were just far too uncomfortable. We also looked online at a few fold ables and any that had what we thought was needed were far too expensive. After tossing the ideas around for a day we decided to go ahead and purchase two bikes we saw at the local K-Mart that were on sale with a great price, and a name brand. At least now we can head into town anytime we want which is what we did yesterday. It takes about 45 minutes to make the ride,we can park the bikes for free and walk all over Key West with no worries. So now we have more reasons not to stay on the boat and do what needs to be done.
Here Dirk is enjoying another day in paradise

One big project we are doing while here in the marina is to install two more solar panels. They have been ordered but now we have the task of finding the best place to mount them and how. We found that when we were on the hook or on a mooring ball during our time getting down here that we were running the engine or the portable generator far too often to keep the batteries charged. Not that we are energy hogs but between our refrigeration and our freezer we use a lot of amp hours. With the price of diesel and gas we figure the panels will pay for themselves pretty quick. Not to mention hours on the engine and oil changes. So I guess we will actually have to take the time to do this before we move on.

Tybee Time got her tree put up along with a few lights to give it the festive glow. I know that our northern friends and family and even our friends in north Florida have been griping about the cold but we have been experiencing temps in the 80's so its hard to believe its Christmas time. The calendar however, assures us that it is.

Before we know it, it will be the new year and time to move on to Marathon and then to the Bahamas. Surely you will hear again from me before the new year, there is only so much nothing you can do in a day.