Suffering from Incurable Keys Disease!

When trailering our boat to the Keys, we had the added benefit of having our truck nearby, making it easier to stay a distance from downtown Key West. As we’ve mentioned many times before, our favorite spot is Key West Harbour Marina, on Stock Island. The best of both worlds when visiting Key West. Keys Disease is kind of like a virus that once caught stays in your system forever. It shows up like clockwork as soon as we hit the string of islands south of Florida.

Taking the Conch Tour Train was a new experience for us. Although we have extensively walked the streets of Key West, we learned a lot about the history and downtown area during the tour.

Happy hour in Key West is one of our favorite things and NO, we did not visit the upper floor of the Garden of Eden.

Key West is well known for its nightly sunset celebration. This night the event was in full swing with the promise of a stunning sunset for the crowds amassed on Mallory Square. Before sunset, the street entertainers will capture your attention with stunning acrobatics or other fascinating shows.

We all come for the sunset because it is spectacular. A true Key West ritual.

One night we treated ourselves to a show at La Te Da, famous for its female impersonators. Great Show!

We met up with friends Rick, on Wishing Star, and Denise and Jeff downtown at the A&B Marina. Happy Hour on the boat and dinner on the beach later.

We are always happy to meet up with Ranger Tug friends, Dominic and Caroline (above), on Poppy. They brought their tug down to Key West to meet family, so we got to meet them for a Cuban lunch at El Siboney Restaurant.

I’m calling this a “barnacle truck.” (Above)

I am totally fascinated by these Shaving BrushTree flowers (Pseudobombax Ellipticum).

St Patrick’s Day was in full swing when we toured downtown one night near the end of our stay in Key West. All sorts of leprechauns and fairies wandering the streets of Key West.

Our new favorite Happy Hour bar and restaurant is 2 Cents. Free bacon is served while you roll the dice to determine the price you will pay for a drink (see photo above right).

Another great happy hour establishment is the fabulous Kelly’s Caribbean Bar and Grill. Great margaritas and wings.

One day we visited the Key West Art & Historical Society. We learned a lot about Ernest Hemingway and his time spent in the Keys.

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Hurricane Harbor Provided Us with an Idyllic Sunset!

Leaving Miami in our wake, we pointed our bow toward Key Biscayne Island. Jim did some research and found this beautiful anchorage, a spot further enhanced by a flaming sunset. The sky was on fire, I must have taken a hundred photos as it morphed with varying shades of sky blues, oranges, and hot red tones.

Soon after we threw the hook into the harbor, we had a visit by local law enforcement. Hurricane Harbor is adjacent to a popular boater’s weekend hang out, located just outside the entrance to the harbor, consequently, there is quite a lot of law enforcement visible in the area hovering ready to maintain order. They must do double duty while overseeing the day spot by patrolling and retaining a presence in the small harbor. They work at establishing a casual and conversational dialog, checking boats for their anchoring plans and intentions, and making sure people who anchor there are not inebriated and will respect the quiet atmosphere of the surrounding neighborhood.

Map and More Info on Hurricane Harbor in Biscayne Bay.

Not too many boats anchored here on this night, we had the harbor almost all to ourselves. Great Spot for the crew of Kismet and looked promising for a good night’s sleep!

The Key Biscayne Police do a good job of patrolling the anchorage. They stopped by for some light conversation. We knew they were at the same time checking us out, making sure we would not be a threat or noisy overnight guests for the permanent residents of Hurricane Harbor. We think the residents appreciate this patrol since the harbor is so close to a popular day anchorage just outside the harbor.

We could not get over the beauty of the sunset on this night. Hurricane Harbor seemed to be on fire.

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Timing our arrival in Roche Harbor Marina to coincide with the Customer Appreciation Party!

In 1845, the quaint waterside marine village of Roche Harbor, on San Juan Island, started out as a trading post for the Hudson Bay Company. By 1857 both the United States and Britain were claiming the San Juan Islands as their territories, based on a dispute over the western border of the islands. The dispute was settled in 1872 when arbitration was rendered in favor of the United States. In 1881 the Scurr brothers bought Roche Harbor and started mining the rich limestone deposits, turning the harbor area into a mining town of 800 people. By 1956 the limestone mining business came to a close and Roche Harbor changed hands again – this is when the area started to transform into a small resort town and boating mecca.

We timed our arrival at the marina on Saturday, to coincide with their annual Labor Day Customer Appreciation party, which we know from past experience is always held on Sunday; this gave us time to give Kismet a much-needed bath; she was fairly dirty after six weeks of cruising in Canada. We toured the town, played bocce ball, and Lisa did a little shopping.

We always notice things in a marina that are a little different, not typical, or just a better idea. The cleats (above) are the best, in design and sturdiness, we’ve ever encountered. Loved tying up to these.

Cocktail time!

Sunday was spent getting ready for the big mid-day party, we wanted to arrive early so we could get a good spot to watch the band – we ate, drank, danced, and met other friendly boaters in attendance. The event took place on a large floating platform with complimentary entertainment food, wine, and beer.

After many months of careful planning to rendezvous with a group, from our yacht club in Traverse City (Grand Traverse Yacht Club), while we were all cruising in the San Juans, we finally met up while we were all in Roche Harbor. Part of the group met up downtown (above) and a few more joined us on the back deck of Kismet later in the evening (below).

We dinghied over to the harbor dock just before sunset and rafted up with a dozen or so other dinghies to watch the marina’s employees put on their nightly sunset celebration… complete with British, Canadian, and American national anthems played over the loudspeaker as they lower the flags. The docks are lined with onlookers and the water is filled with boats and dinghies. To end the celebration the marina staff lines up in groups, fully clothed in their uniforms, to jump off the top of the marina office into the water below. It definitely adds an element of excitement to the sunset celebration. The ceremony is a rather moving experience and a summer tradition we’ve only encountered at Roche Harbor. Needless to say, we had a blast in Roche Harbor.

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The 2012 Third Annual Looper “Sunset Celebration” was a huge success with over 120 in attendance. It was a little windy (not a problem for Loopers) – lots of good food was shared along with a chance to reacquaint ourselves with old friends. Thanks, Patricia & George Hospodar for organizing the event and providing Loopers in the area with an opportunity for this fun reunion.

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