Day 104, "on the loop", 1/20/2023

Our weekend started out with some lazy days, we didn't leave the boat at all on Friday. The winds kicked up a bit and a short rain shower came through dropping the temperature. Saturday we did laundry and with the cooler temps, decided to avoid the pool.

We went to the Seafood Festival on Sunday and had dinner at the Moondog Cafe & Bakery. We had a hamburger, which is their speciality. The staff was friendly and the food was GREAT. They had a nice selection of pastries and desserts.

See the tree above with the HUGE roots, Alain is climbing in the roots to give you an idea of how large the tree roots are.

Happy MLK day! Joel and I took a bike ride from the boat to downtown Key West (approx. 10 miles roundtrip). We visited the Butterfly House and Key West Lighthouse.

We rode the bikes down the 1A1 highway, along the beachfront. We saw several of our looper friends anchored out.

The Butterfly house is quite the attraction for only $13 per person (with $2 coupon off). We were able to see a variety of butterflies, a couple of flamingos, some small birds and turtles. Butterflies were EVERYWHERE so we had to be careful where we walked to avoid stepping on them. Like most exhibits there was an educational component also.

See the Flamingo below? This is either Rhett or Scarlett, both were born on 2/14/2012 (assume they are twins :-) Flamingos are one of the oldest bird families which date back 50 million years. They are native to Northern California, Southern California, and the Yucatan peninsula. Flamingos can live an average of 20-30 years in the wild and over 60 years when in captivity.

We read about the "Parts of the Butterfly" - Wings, Antennae, Proboscis, Eyes, Legs, Feet & Spiracles. These 2 parts were interesting to me:

- Antennae are remarkable sensory organs which the butterflies use to taste, smell, feel and navigate.

- They have two large, round, compound eyes. Each eye is made of thousands of tiny lenses. Unlike humans, butterflies see ultraviolet wavelengths. Butterflies, over all other animals, are said to see the broadest range of color.

We also read about the "Life Cycle" of the butterfly.

1. First, the egg which takes about 4 to 6 days to develop

2. Caterpillar: after the egg develops, within days, the larva, or caterpillar hatches and begins to eat, starting with its own egg shell. This phase last for 2 to 3 weeks.

3. Chrysalis: With silk that is produced from a gland below its jaws, the mature caterpillar spins a silk button to attach itself to a support (typically a tree branch). They hang from the branch by its back legs. After a few hours, the skin will split and the caterpillar legs, mouth and antennae start falling away along with the skin, developing into a beautiful jade pendant with spots, approximately 10 days after this process the chrysalis (pupa) becomes clear, revealing the butterfly that has developed within.

4. Adult: Once the butterfly crawls out of the chrysalis with its wings folded and limp, it hangs upside down and begins pumping fluid into the wing veins, the wings expand, the fluid hardens and the butterfly flies away.

We toured the Key West Lighthouse. The first Key West Lighthouse was built in 1825 near the Southernmost Point. In 1846, a hurricane destroyed the structure.

Side Note: In 1832, Barbara Mabrity was promoted to Principle Keeper. Her husband, Michael Mabrity passed away after contracting "yellow fever" and since his wife was familiar with the responsibilities she got the job! Barbara was the first female Lighthouse Keeper.

In 1848, the Lighthouse was built further inland (where it stands today), its brick walls are 4.5 feet thick and approximately 60 feet. There are 88 steps (spiral staircase) to the top of the Lighthouse Tower. Yes! We climbed it, even though I am scared of heights (it wasn't too bad).

There is a small cottage on the lighthouse property that housed the Lighthouse keepers and their families. If I remember correctly, shortly after 1914, the lighthouse was automated which meant Lighthouse keepers were no longer needed to operated this lighthouse.

Other lighthouses in the Keys:

Sand Key Lighthouse: 7 miles Southwest of Key West

- first lighted July 20, 1853

Sombrero Key Lighthouse: 8 miles South of Marathon

- first lighted March 17, 1858

American Shoal Lighthouse: 6 miles South of Sugarloaf

- first lighted July 15, 1880

Views from the top of the Key West Lighthouse (Joel took these, I was too nervous to walk on the ledge):

The Perry Hotel had a Mount Gay (Rum) tasting, by invitation only. We didn't register for the event, so guess you could say we crashed it! Danielle and I were told to leave because it was for "invited guest only"... BUT this lady didn't realize that our spouses were invited (which included us - lol) by the Manager of Mount Gay.

Each table had 3 settings, Danielle was at the table with Joel and Alain and I was at the table with Graeme and John. With Joel's past Anheuser-Busch experience and Danielle's past experience, we all joked that they were the "teacher's pet" as they were belting out all the answers when it came to the process, the tasting components, etc.

Barbados is the birthplace of Rum, Mount Gay started in Barbados as well in 1703. Mount Gay Rum is named for Sir John Gay Alleyne, 1st Baronet of Four Hills a trusted friend of John Sober who purchased Mount Gilboa Plantation in 1747. Sir John Gay Alleyne agreed to become the manager per John Sober's request.

Mount Gay Rum is made from molasses and water that has been filtered through natural coral. This mix is fermented using an exclusively selected yeast and then distilled in both copper pot stills and column stills, before being aged in oak barrels.

We tasted the following: Eclipse, Black Barrel & XO (triple cast blend). Joel and I both liked the XO. After sampling the rums, the presenter explained the utensil on the table. He also shared his technique of "shaking" your mixtures using the tumbler to avoid spilling. Lastly, he shared the recipe for us to make a daiquiri using the Black Barrel rum.

After the event, Joel made his rounds talking to the other guest, discussing the rum, learning about where they were from, etc. Danielle was telling us "loopers" about a RokIsland Fest (Festival with various bands: Loverboy, Styx, 38 Special, etc). Needless to say, we were the last to leave the Rum tasting! We closed it down. Danielle had us all singing songs of the bands scheduled to play at RokIsland Fest. Other guest started joining in. We met Taylor, a bartender, from a local dinning establishment called "Docks," a couple from Maryland (on vacation) and another couple that winter here in Key West on their sailboat. Thank you Mount Gay for your hospitality and GREAT Rum.

Also, did I mention we saw 4 manatees before the Rum tasting.

Below are pictures from the Mount Gay event (no particular order):

Danielle and Alain talked us into the RokIsland Fest, it was a nice evening. I am not sure about everyone else... but my ears are still ringing from the evening.

Apparently, RokIsland fest is a 3 or 4 night event with activities throughout the day and bands playing at night. Wednesday (the night we went), was Canadian night.

The following bands played:

- Helix

Canadian heavy metal band that formed in 1974 and best known for their 1984 single "Rock you"

- Honeymoon Suite

Canadian rock band formed in 1981 in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The band's name was a nod to Niagara Falls being the unofficial honeymoon capital of the world. They are known for their songs: New Girl Now / Feel It Again / Burning In Love / Stay in the Light & Wave Babies.

- Adler's Appetite (Steven Adler's band)

This band was Heavy Metal! By the time this group finished we could barely hear a thing. Their lead singer, Ari Kamin, was GREAT, the band as a whole was extremely entertaining! You probably know Steven Adler as the former drummer for Guns & Roses. Steven played the drums and made an announcement he was feeling a bit under the weather (and assured the crowd it was not Covid... you could tell he wasn't feeling well; but, he did his best and put on a great show).

If you are into heavy metal, you should google this band, make sure Ari Kamin is the lead singer when you search it. He has a great stage presence and truly represent the heavy metal style!

- Loverboy

Canadian rock band formed in 1979 in Calgary, Alberta. Their hit singles include "Turn me Loose" and "Working for the Weekend". They have managed to stay friends all these years.

They lost one of their members, Scott Smith (in 2000), a bassist for the band. According to Google, he was sailing his boat off the coast of San Francisco when a large wave swept him overboard. He was pronounced missing, presumed dead, lost at sea. Now, that is something I really need to know (while I am on a boat trip - yikes!)

Below are pictures from this event:

Joel and I along with Aquaholics (Graeme & John) and Breakaway (Alain & Danielle) hosted cocktails in the Captain's lounge at the Perry Marina. It was a nice turn out. We met some new loopers (Bello, Caribbean Dream, Liberty and R&R). I didn't have my phone so no pictures. Several of us have crossed paths with mutual friends. Anna Dee & Donna Lynn (boaters that we hung out with in Carrabelle will be in Stock Island on Friday (today). Looking forward to catching up with them!

Random Information, if interested:

Mail:

How it works (for us): We can receive and send mail. In order to receive it, we need to ensure we are in a location more than a week to receive it. When we mail stuff (greeting cards), we use our Missouri address as the return. By doing so, we would know if it doesn't make it to the destination we sent it to. Grampy and Jonathan check our incoming mail and notify us of important mail.

While home in November, we sorted through our mail. Jane & Ron brought our mail during their recent visit. We hope (nothing definite, yet) to make a trip home in March to catch up on a few things, perhaps see Jonathan for spring break, So guess, the bottom line, if you need to send something to us, send it to our home address in Wildwood or CALL us if it is something urgent. Note: We do all of our banking on line and most all of our expenses are set up through bill pay. We also use Venmo and Zelle to pay people that we owe.

Upcoming Travel Plans:

We will depart Key West around the end of the month (more than likely Jan 30 or 31st), head to Marathon (for a couple of days), then Islamorada, FL (1 day) and Biscayne Bay (1 day) and then Ft. Lauderdale (where we will wait for a good weather window to make the cross to the Bahamas).

Local Honey:

Joel and I are a little congested or picked up some local allergies. No, we do not have covid, we have tested multiple times and already feeling better! I am told that non-locals tend to have allergies to the coral dust here in Florida. You may know this, I recall being told this in past conversations.... Apparently, local honey helps with local seasonal allergies and considered a natural antiseptic. Honey can also help tame the stomach flu as well as act as a pain reliever. According to "google" the use of honey can reduce the common cold by 2 days.

Shout out to Marta Allred, she and her family sells local honey in Wildwood, MO. They sell it from their self serve box using the honor system (you take the honey and leave the money in the box). You can also find Allred honey at the Labadie General Store & The Natural Way. Check out their facebook page if you are interested in learning more or purchasing: www.facebook.com/allredbees (I tried to link Marta's FB, if it doesn't work, cut and paste to your browser.)

Red Tide:

Red Tide is one type of harmful algal bloom. Blooms occur when colonies of algae (simple ocean plants that live in the sea) grow out of control while producing toxic or harmful effects on people, fish, shellfish, marine mammals, and birds. Not all algae blooms are harmful, some may be beneficial because the tiny plants are food for animals in the ocean.

For the most part, we haven't experienced much of this. I meant to blog about this while we were in Dunedin (where we experienced allergy like symptoms).

Red Tide can easily be identified by the smell. It has a sulfurous sent, like food that has gone bad or a septic smell.

Our next VIP guests will be Stan & Kendall Jesionowski, expected January 20th - 22nd and then Chris & Keyla Walker plan to join us on 29th and will make the track over to Bahamas with us.

Jonathan is back at school and starting his new semester. We are looking forward to hear how his first week back went. Side note: Jonathan's car will go into the shop next week. I mentioned in a previous post: prior to us leaving for the loop, someone in Arkansas backed into Jonathan's car. This was the first date available for the auto shop to repair it. Jonathan may take a job in Orlando, FL over the summer, meaning he will not see us during his summer break :-( Joel and I may need to take a trip to Miami to see him, time will tell.

JOEL'S BIRTHDAY IS COMING UP: JANUARY 30th. We will celebrate here in Key West. The Great Loop is his birthday, anniversary and Christmas present :-)

Have a great weekend!