3/30/09 - Key West

Saturday morning we found ourselves in a quandry: the tide had been rising since about 4:00 a.m., and with strong winds and big waves, we had serious concerns about being able to make it under the 65' Seven Mile Bridge. We quickly nixed the option of hanging around until high tide later in the afternoon, then decided to save ourselves the stress and go by way of Key West instead. I had been there twice - once on a cruise with Wayne and once on a cruise with my mom - but Wayne hadn't seen the town, having instead opted for a snorkeling trip when we stopped there. We wandered along the boardwalk in the historic seaport area and did the obligatory walk down Duvall Street to check out the sights and shops (although Wayne only went a couple blocks before returning to the boat to wash it down). We went to Mallory Square for sunset, of course, and enjoyed a leisurely drink and a bite to eat while waiting. After that, well... Key West... party town... spring break... Saturday night... Umm, not our scene. We were in bed by 9:00.

Last night was another rolly one, anchored ten miles offshore, but we must be getting used to it because we had a pretty good night's sleep. Shortly before anchoring, a bird (some kind of small swallow, I think) joined us in the cockpit. He not only joined us, he bonded with us. A friend stopped by for awhile and they perched on our hands, chest, shoulders, neck - until Bird #2 finally left. While I was down below brushing Emma, our little bird fell asleep in Wayne's hand, tiny beak tucked under his wing. I brought up a dish of water, made him a shelter from the wind, and set him on a rope to perch for the night. This morning when we got up, our fine feathered friend was exactly where we left him, still sound asleep, oblivious to a couple of his friends flying around the boat that seemed to be looking for him. He woke up around sunrise (wondering, I'm sure, where the heck he was), perched near the companionway and looked around for awhile, then migrated to my neck before eventually flying off across the water.

Tonight we will be at a marina in Naples. Our friends John and Diane (whom we visited in Vermilion, Ohio and met up with in Rock-something - land? port? - Massachusetts on our trip down in 2007) bought a condo in Naples last year and we're going to get together with them today; we sure look forward to seeing friends.