We have spent the last few days luxuriating in the beautiful weather here in the Keys. Temperatures continued to be in the low to mid 80s with sunshine and light breezes every day. It will be a real shock to our systems when we fly back to New Jersey tomorrow with temperatures there expected to be in the low 30s with gusty northwest winds forecast for our landing in Newark!
Besides completing various boat chores like changing the main engines' oil and making some minor repairs, we've enjoyed several lunches out at the "Hurricane" right next to the Banana Bay property. We also attended the Marathon Boat Parade on Saturday night which we viewed from the "famous" (some might say "infamous") "Sombrero Dockside Lounge". All the boats were decorated with Christmas lights and most of the crews were also dressed in Christmas costumes. It was fun watching the boats and also the Keys "characters" on the docks. You might say we just soaked up the local "Pirate" atmosphere and, in fact, there was a group called "The Pirates of the Marquesas" who ran a 50/50 raffle to buy bicycles for some of the local under-privileged kids for Christmas.
The next day we took Andrew and Sallyann to Big Pine Key and introduced them to another one of our favorite places - "The No Name Pub". It is in an out-of-the way spot on the way to No Name Key, a somewhat remote mangrove island off Spanish Channel. We first came here many years ago with our friends, Don and Joanie Shields, with whom we spent many wonderful times in the Keys. Don passed away a number of years ago, but Joanie still spends 5 - 6 months a year here, and we are looking forward to seeing her here soon.
Last night we had a "Clean Out the Refrigerator/Freezer" dinner aboard with Andrew and Sallyann and we did a good job finishing off the items on our very eclectic menu! Today we packed our bags, and readied the boat for our departure tomorrow morning at 5:30 a.m. We are anxious to see our friends and next-door neighbors, Ernie and Kay Giordano, who will be picking us up at the airport, and whom we haven't seen in many months. It will be great also seeing Pat's mom, who we hope to have back in her apartment before Christmas, and to enjoy getting together during our 10 days at home with some of our other family members and friends. Our visit will go by very quickly, because we plan to return to Banana Bay with our convertible on 12/28 in order to celebrate the New Year here with our friends, Lou and Judy Ianniello. We are looking forward to a busy and joyous Christmas holiday!
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