March 2-3--Key West

Our first night in Key West at anchor was peaceful and we slept well after our day's journey from the Tortugas.  Upon arising to calm seas we made our way along with "Lena Bea" and "Wild Oats," over to the A & B Marina, fueled up with 30 gal of diesel and backed into a slip.  Amenities at a marina are always appreciated after spending 5 days using only boat facilities, which although adequate, tend to get a little confining.  Not sure on how long we would be at the marina, my first order of business was a shower using all the water I wanted, then laundry.   Fritz was especially anxious to be ashore after so long on the boat.  Even without any available grass, he thoroughly enjoyed finding trees, bushes, and an occasional crowing rooster as we strolled the back alleyways by the marina.

Later we lunched at the restaurant by our dock and were joined there by others from the cruise. Afterwards each went separate ways down Duval Street.  Although not as busy as October's Fantasy Fest, the two big cruise ships we saw docked as we came in the day before added several thousand to the numbers exploring this unique town.  Again we joined the rest of the group, this time at the "Flying Monkey," for dinner and said goodbye to the Mudrows and Hills who would be leaving the next morning for home, while the rest of us made reservations for another night at A & B.

On our way into the harbor we had noticed Fort Zachary Taylor along the seawall and as it was one of the places we did not see on our last visit decided the next day to get another history fix and walk the mile there for a visit.  Not as beautiful and well preserved as Fort Jefferson, it was instead rather stark and lonely in the middle of a bustling city, and did not invoke the same degree of emotional wondering, nor interested visitors.

Next, Dennis wanted to find West Marine, and get his WM fix...really, find some adhesive, and then go to the Turtle Museum close by.  The museum was closed on Mondays, so it will save for our next trip, but we did get what we needed from WM.  For the rest of the day we wandered Duval street then topped off the day rejoining the Sharps and Northups for a lovely Italian dinner at La Trattoria.

Although Dennis and I had originally planned to go to Marathon, with wind out of the east and possible storms predicted for Wednesday, we decided to head north with the other sailors on Tuesday.

(Just to let you know we did arrive home late Wednesday afternoon ahead of the storms on Thursday and will be posting about the final two days of our trip tomorrow.)