FTJ 128: Just Another Day in Paradise

December in Key West is delightfully different this year. We have yet to get a "bad" day, weather wise. And the past week has been nearly perfect, with temps in the high 70s and a light breeze. The week ahead is more of the same. No complaining from this household.

Not much to relate about our stay here, really. I am relaxing and Beau is waxing. Well, he finished waxing Harvey today. The RV looks great -- blindingly shiny.

We are now busy contemplating our navels...and other important things. For instance, every day we mull over the key question: What to do with our lives? Keep traveling? Settle down? Such stress.

Some photos from our first two weeks here in Key West:

As I said, Beau waxes...

... and Laura relaxes, on a nice strip of Smathers Beach, Key West.

(Note the "CRAP" label on Beau's T shirt, below his left shoulder. After he ruined one nice new T shirt after another after another, I threw a hissy fit. Our solution: Designate ruined shirts as CRAP and make sure he wears them while doing all his dirty jobs. People do look at him funny, but the CRAP system is saving our marriage.)

View off Smathers Beach.

Beau at Hogfish, a restaurant just a few blocks from our RV site.

 Love the conch weather report.

A fisherman attracts a flock of pelicans. Took this photo through the windshield of the RV.

An elegant egret posed for me.

This small hawk visited our site. Have no idea what he is. A larger hawk (a redtail) has been flying reconnaissance over the RV, hungrily eyeing little Buddy. He actually buzzed us one day, swooping through our site just a few feet off the ground. We have to be watchful.

Ah yes, Key West.

 

A sweet little Key Deer on Big Pine Key.

We found a marina near us that was mostly liveaboards. Like a floating rundown trailer park. Yuck. Tough to see the environs from this shot, but the place was pretty nasty.

Thought I would throw in this image of Marilyn outside a movie theatre downtown. I guess you could classify this as an oddity, albeit an attractive one for a lot of people.

Finally, here is Harvey, shiny and ready for the holidays:

Tanks, Panky

FTJ 127: Two Happy Wannabe Conchs

Does spending a month in Key West make us "Conchs" (the name for the locals here)? Probably not, but we are certainly Conchs in spirit.

We are having glorious weather down here at the southernmost town in the United States, unlike last December, when we had gale winds and temps in the 50s and 60s. Today was 80, mostly sunny,  a light breeze -- much like yesterday and the day before and the day before that. The week ahead looks like a repeat of the previous days. Ahhhhhhh....

: 

Passing through Canada on the Way South??

Before making our way down to the Keys, we spent four days in Margate, FL, outside of Fort Lauderdale. The resort, named Aztec, was super upscale and beautiful -- seemingly a wonderful spot to spend the winter. Except for one thing: 99% of the inhabitants were from Quebec. Everyone spoke French and totally ignored us. It was like being in a rather unfriendly foreign country. 

Nope, this place was not for us. Besides, we were really disappointed that such an elaborate (and expensive) resort did not even offer cable TV.  Harrumph.

Entrance to the Aztec resort

Our site.

A rainbow in Little Quebec.

After the Margate visit, both of us were anxious to get to Key West. And what a perfect day we had for the three-hour trip. 

The various views we encountered were familiar -- and as usual, breathtakingly beautiful.

 

Check out how the edge of the water and the sky are nearly indistinguishable. No distinct horizon, just a sea of blue. It was a gorgeous day for traveling.

 

We were heading to who knows what, though. Other than eyeballing a few photos on the web, we had never seen the RV park where we reserved for the month, and were a bit nervous about it. But El Mar turned out to be a pleasant surprise -- a small (10 sites) park with no amenities, really, other than clean spacious sites, half of which look out at the water. A lovely boutique RV park, I guess you could call it. 

Even the daily "sorties" by numerous F/A-18 Hornets -- loud enough to burst an eardrum or two -- cannot quell our enthusiasm for the place. In fact, Beau seems to enjoy the many daily flyovers.

El Mar at sunset.

Our site.

View from our windshield.

Funny photo of Ernie, the park owner. I shall say no more.

Our second day here, we had to make our annual pilgrimage to our favorite bar downtown, Schooner Wharf, where we once again found singer Michael McCloud performing. He was in great form, as usual. And I loved his little dog, who placidly laid down in Mike's guitar case during the performance.

Here is sweet little Cinderella. So cute. So well behaved.

We also walked a bit on Duval Street and stopped at a place we had never visited: Key West's oldest house -- and supposedly the oldest house in all of South Florida. The home was originally built on a different street in the 1820s by a ship's carpenter, but was moved in 1829 and expanded for another seaman, Captain Francis Watlington, and his family. The Captain's descendants lived in the house until the 1970s.

The oldest house in Key West.

So life is good. Other than my having some back and neck issues...okay, pain (I am visiting a local chiropractor for some much-needed care), we are happy little Conchs. Crossing our fingers that the super weather will continue for the month.

Glad the Northeast has been having a nice run of weather, too.

Until next time,

Tanks, Panky

FTJ 126: Beach, Wind, Water

We went back to a favorite place last week: Beverly Beach. We pulled our RV into a slot, nosed over the lovely beach (practically) and...heaven. The ocean is right out the windshield.

Quite an experience staying here.

We also happened to be there at the right time to meet up with our good friend Cappy the Clown, whom we met here last year. It was as if no time had gone by.

Great seeing you, Cappy.

Cappy! Forgot to get a photo of her this year, so I borrowed this one from her Facebook page. She is a one-of-a-kind lady.

Took this shot through the windshield of our RV. Life doesn't get better than this.

On to Sebastian...

We continued south and hit a new place -- Pelican's Landing, a very nice "boutique" RV park right on the intracoastal. Very special, with docks and a beautiful clubhouse. Everything you need. 

The view from our site. Man, we still need a boat.

Behind Beau is a common area with cushy patio furniture for your lounging pleasure. Very squish.

Too bad the wind came up on the second day and "blew stink," as Beau would say, for the rest of our stay. It was so windy that I thought we would have to weight Buddy down. Poor Beau -- we came here because he remembered it looked so great for fishing. Alas, that is now impossible. 

Buddy's neighbor, a Keeshond. Thankfully, a friendly one.

But we still had a nice Thanksgiving. We found a half fresh turkey, which was the perfect size for us. Despite my less than stellar culinary skills, it came out okay in our little convection/microwave combo oven. Our second Thanksgiving "on the road." Not quite the same as Kerouac's trip, but....

A toast to all our friends and family. We are thinking of you.

Tomorrow we head south to another new place, Margate, FL, and a new resort, Aztec. Beau wants to meet up with an old high school buddy in the area.  Then on December 1st we start our month in Key West.

Tanks, Panky

FTJ 125: Enjoying the Golden Isles

Before I forget, here are a few photos of our good friends, Claudette and Dave Reed, who live in Hilton Head.

Claudette and Dave joined us for brunch. It was a lovely day, so we ate outside.

Pals for half a century. Can you imagine?

Oh, and I forgot to include this restaurant sign, from Bluffton, SC, outside of Hilton Head. An oddity -- and a name that conjures up so many dirty double entendres.

From Hilton Head, we traveled to Brunswick, GA, and the "Golden Isles" of Georgia. We were totally wowed by two of these barrier islands -- Jekyll and Saint Simons. We liked the latter so much, in fact, that we are seriously considering spending a few months there -- putting the RV in storage and immersing ourselves in the island life. Who knows? We could end up there, spending our golden years in the Golden Isles.

But first, Jekyll Island. Besides beautiful live oaks and stupendous golf courses, Jekyll is the home of a turtle rescue center and the Jekyll Island Club, a ritzy club/hotel developed at the turn of the century (late 1800s) by 53 well heeled members/investors, among whom were Marshall Field, Henry Hyde, J.P. Morgan, Joseph Pulitzer, and William K. Vanderbilt. Many of the millionaires, such as J.P. Morgan, anchored their sizable yachts off the island for the summers. Quite impressive.

Beau at the Jekyll Island Club. We are thinking of becoming members -- NOT.

A beautiful bar inside.

The historic area on Jekyll is a charming collection of old buildings, many of which have been converted to boutiques and specialty shops.

A typical drive on Jekyll. Love the Spanish moss.

At the turtle rescue center.

Saint Simons is more developed than Jekyll, with a cute downtown area and lots of retail complexes along the length of the island. It seems very lively and friendly. And relatively affordable, at least in terms of rental costs.

Saint Simons Island has a pristine lighthouse at its southern end...

...and a spectacular beach to the east. The rock-hard sandy expanse reminded us of Carrabelle beach in Florida, another of our favorite places.

Before we departed, I had to take this photo of one of the Saint Simons residents. Adorable.

Yeah, whadda YOU lookin at?  OMG, so cute.

We're now looking over the Atlantic Ocean from our site at Beverly Beach, FL -- a return trip to a favorite place as we make our way down the coast.  It was in the low 80s today and gorgeous.

Hey, all you turkeys, have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Tanks, Panky

FTJ 124: High in the Low Country

After 17 days at Myrtle Beach, we went traveling again, arriving at Hilton Head Island, SC, on Wednesday.

We are now relishing being on the water here at Hilton Head RV Resort and Marina, a beautiful RV park perched on Skull Creek, part of the intracoastal waterway. 

Paying a bit more than our budget to have this marvelous view. Too bad we don't have a boat...

The resort is top notch, with a marina and a high-end restaurant.

The resort marina.

Pool and restaurant.

As for any exciting "travel" news...eh, there isn't too much to report. We are relaxing lately, I guess. 

Old Friends

Last night Beau's grammar school buddy Dave Reed and his lovely wife Claudette had us over for dinner, and we had a great time filling them in on our adventures. It was wonderful seeing them.

Today we drove around the island a little. Seems to me that HHead is a beautiful collection of very upscale, secure gated communities. A bit confusing to get around because the signage is so discreet (hidden) that it is tough to find anything.

We did manage to get to a beach, where the low tide had created a wide tidal marsh, nurturing all kinds of bird life.

Egret in the tidal grasses.

Enough for now. Next up, Brunswick, GA, and Jekyll Island.

Have a great weekend.

Tanks, Panky