AZ, Road Trip, Taryn & Brandon Update

So this is my fourth try at writing this blog about our AZ, Road Trip and the latest update on the kids. I tried to write this as we traveled and never was able to complete it so finally today I have it done!
Tom and I have been reviewing all that has happened during our trip so let me bring you up to date on all of it.

On Dec 12 Tom & I left KW for Fort Lauderdale for Phoenix. This was to be a multifunctional trip to attend Taryn's college graduation, do an early family Christmas, see friends, relocate Tarn to VA and have Christmas in VA.

Our flight went out of Ft Lauderdale on Saturday Dec 13 but with it being a 7 AM flight and a 4 hour drive from KW we drove up Friday night and stayed in a hotel by the airport.
The early flight allowed us to get into Phoenix and start attending the all of the get together's we had planned with friends through out the week. With so many people to see we had time planned dinner each day for visits and mexican food. The mexican food was so we could get our fill. We haven't found good mexican food in KW and wanted to eat as much as we could. I think we managed to have it 5 nights out of 8! It was also really great to see everyone!!! Tom was even able to get to HACI one afternoon to catch up with his old work buddies.

The main reason for the trip to attend Taryn's college graduation. She has completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Grand Canyon University. We are very pleased and proud of her since nursing school is a long hard road but she made it! Next is to pass the nursing boards and get a job where she would like to work in an ER or Labor/Delivery at a hospital.
So let me bring you to up to date on Taryn's pregnancy and the baby. Taryn has had a rough time since be coming pregnant due to extreme sickness. More than just the usual morning sickness and in fact as been hospitalized twice due to dehydration. Instead of gaining weight as most pregnant woman do she was losing weight. The baby was taking all of whatever she was ever able to keep down so the baby was doing great and Taryn was not. This condition has been diagnosed as hyperemesis gravidarum and will be with her for her entire pregnancy. She has a couple of anti-nauseous medication to take all day, has to eat small meals every few hours and try and keep her stress level down. Of course during the last semester of nursing school that wasn't possible so the first 4 months were VERY tough for her.
When we arrived in Phoenix she didn't even look pregnant yet. She was just beginning to gain back a little weight and during the 2 weeks we were with her she finally got her 'bump' and we can tell she is pregnant.
She also had her last OB appointment in Phoenix and since she was 20 weeks they were able to tell what sex the baby is... she is having a GIRL!!!! Yes we VERY excited about that too!!!! Names are still in the works and I am lobbying for her to be called Emma (of course) but nothing has been decided. This is a picture of our 'bump' of a baby girl.

Then on early Sunday morning, Dec 21, we left Phoenix with the 3 of us in Taryn's Toyota Echo. She was relocating from Phoenix to join Brandon in Midlothian VA (a suburb of Richmond). He has been there since Sept when he took a job as the youth pastor for Journey Christian Church. Our goal was to travel between the winter storms and drive straight through if possible so that we would be there for Christmas. It was possible with 3 drivers so it was the goal!
When we left on Sunday we first stopped in Tucson AZ for breakfast with my aunt, Myrtie Jo, and then to Las Cruses NM for an early dinner with my Dad. It was really good to see both of them.

At 4:30 PM Sunday we headed out across TX..... yes and it took us 15 hours to go from the southern/west corner to the eastern/ north corner. I swear it was the widest part we could have crossed and in the middle of the night no less. It also became colder as we headed north. It was a long night where we discovered 2 things....
1) Taryn has her worse sickness at night.
2) Taryn can't stay awake to help drive once the sun goes down. Tom and I ended up doing all of the night driving!
By the time we reached Bristol TN it was 10 PM Monday night and we realized we could not make the last 6 hours to reach Brandon. We found a hotel with soft beds and a hot shower!
Then Tuesday morning we left early to get into Midlothian to join Brandon for a late lunch, see the house they had rented and meet our granddog, Tayler. She is a sweet lab mute that we fell in love with. This picture is the 3 of them in front of the house Christmas day.
We had a great 3 days in VA, had a wonderful Christmas and attended Brandon's church for Christmas Eve service.

Next trip back will be for Brandon's pastor ordination and then in May for when the baby comes. In the mean time Taryn is getting the house set up since Brandon has the 'bachelor minimum' set up, getting some much needed rest and will be job hunting after Jan 1. There are a lot of opportunities in the Richmond area so she won't have a problem finding a place she wants to work.
If there are any changes on them or the baby between now and May I will keep you posted.

Christmas Time in Key West

It is Christmas time in KW and things are a buzzing. With the economic issues it is quieter than usual since tourism is down but the locals are doing their part to get in the holiday spirit. 

Ours started with the Mel Fisher holiday party on Saturday Dec 6. It was the employee get together and even though we are not 'official employees' we were given invitations as VIPS.  There were a few of the local investors that they invite and we were lucky to be included. It was a great evening of dinner and drinks at Mangos. 

That evening there was also the KW Holiday Parade. It is a family parade with kids groups, churches, music, floats and more parade down Duval and instead of throwing beads (as usual in KW) they throw candy. We were able to watch it from the balcony at Mangos which was a great view. 

Then Thursday night was the hay ride/ tour xmas lights/ pub crawl that was put on by Cowboy Bill, the local cowboy bar. Jan, Ray, Tom and I decide to go along since we heard that it was a lot of fun last year. There is a fee of $25 and an unwrapped toy to ride in the hay which of course all goes to one of the kids charities. 

So we had dinner at the Iguana since Mike (favorite bartender) was working and it was across the street from Cowboy Bills where we were to pick up the hay ride. In the KW spirit things got started 30 minutes late which was 2 hot buttered rum drink later we boarded a large flat bed trailer that was filled with hay bales and ice chests of beer we were greeted by one of Santa's KW elves shown below.   

So it was an evening of looking at xmas lights, singing xmas carols REALLY off key, stopping at local bars, and having a great time! 

The rest of the xmas events are taking place after we leave for Phoenix. The one we are sorry we won't be able to see is the lighted boat parade.  The local boats get decorated & lit up then parade through the harbor. We have heard it is amazing so we will be there for it next year. 

So now we are in Phoenix for Taryn's graduation from college with her degree in nursing along with visiting friends, an early xmas with the family and then to relocate Taryn to Richmond VA now that school will be done.  More blogs will follow with all that is going on here.  

A Friend In Need

I wanted to pass on to you something that is near and dear to our hearts and with Christmas spirit in the air you may want to help out. Here is the story:

She is one of Mel Fisher’s “Golden Girls” who needs a little help. Some of you may have heard of Jean Thornton, the school teacher from Alabama, turned treasure hunter! She is featured on many of the Mel Fisher documentaries on the Travel Channel so you may have seem her (she is the red head) handling the gold chains and bar. 

Jean is now retired and spends 50% of her time here in KW and we who know her have experienced her compassion and love when we have needed a helping hand, a shoulder to cry on or simply someone to listen. Jean is now the one who needs our compassion, prayers and generosity. 

Jean’s son Andy has been going through some very difficult back and spine problems over the last year and has just recently been involved in a serious car accident and is facing several costly surgeries and a very long recovery period. In an effort to help Jean’s son Andy, a trust fund has been created and an on-line auction is being put together in an effort to raise funds to off-set the costs of Andy’s care. You can read much more about the Andy Thornton Trust Fund and Andy’s personal story by visiting the site below. It has the story from Jean and will touch your heart even if you don't know her. You know that it had me in tears!

www.FriendsOfMelFisher.com 

An on-line auction will be held the week of Dec 15-19, 2008 to raise funds for Andy’s care. The group at Mel Fisher have donated some pretty exciting items that are going on the auction block; several Atocha silver coins, Margarita Pearls, Atocha Emeralds and various other items. This a great chance to own a piece of history and help out a great cause at the same time! 
If you would rather just send a cash donation, or both, you can make your cash donation by clicking the “Donate” button on the 'How to Help' on the web site.

So if you have ever wanted to have a piece of history that is also treasure then this would be the chance to do that and help out. 

 

Pirates In Paradise

Last Sunday afternoon Tom and I were sitting at Schooners having a beer after walking Dyna. It had been a long walk and all 3 of us were thirsty. Schooners is a outside dog friendly bar so it is easy to stop by, have a beer, Dyna gets water and we get to see friends. 

As we sat there the place became full of Pirates and Conch Republic Navy. Our friend Capt. Frank showed up and informed us that the week of Pirates was beginning. This get together at Schooners was the official turnover of Key West to the Pirates for the annual week of events. Here is the web if you would like to check it out. http://www.piratesinparadise.com. It has been entertaining to see Pirates around town all week and walking by the house. We had planned to attending the Sat & Sun events but weren't able to due to the weather. It has been rainy both days with the highs only getting to 70.  There have been only a few events we have missed so this one will be added to the list for next year. 

Yes we are cold! Tom sits here as I type all wrapped up in a blanket. We haven't turned the heat on yet but are learning to adapt to the weather when the temperature drops and and it's damp. As old desert dwellers it is a different kind of cold. 

The rest of the week brings Xmas events that I will bring you up to speed on at the end of the week. 

Nutcracker Key West

Tom and I decided we would take in a little culture 'Key West' style. There is a lot of options here to attend here for concerts, local theater and art events even though this is an island. Actually it is very amazing at all that is available now that we are into 'season'. The community college has a large very nice auditorium and 2 other local play house all showing various productions.

There is a local production of the Nutcracker that has been revamped to the local flavor of Key West. It was a delightful production that I wish I could really explain but is hard to put into words. The best I can do is try and explain the differences:

Nutcracker has _____ and Key West Nutcracker has______(insert words below).

 - nutcracker to conch shell nutcracker (a nutcracker with a conch shell head)

 - mice and the Mouse King to chickens and the Rooster King

 - Land of the Sugar Plum Faeries to the Salt Ponds 

 - Spanish, Chinese, Arabian and Russian dances to Court of the Coral Reef, Reef Fish, Neptune & the Shrimps and Jewels of the Atocha. 

The songs and dances were the same but the characters, costumes and stage were all done to KW style. Here is the website if you want to know more or see pictures.  nutcrackerkeywest.org

It was an entertaining 2 hours and our favorite part was the kids who played the chickens, reef fish and shrimps. It is amazing what these little ones can do. 

So now that we know what is available we plan on attending more!

Thanksgiving in Key West

Thanksgiving weekend is coming to an end and the holidays begin....

We had our first Thanksgiving in Key West which we shared with friends at Jan & Ray's. They had their daughter and son-in-law down from Orlando and then invited a few of us 'without family' to their dinner.

It was an interesting experience for Tom and I since we have been holding dinner at our house since Mom passed away 9 years ago. No turkey to clean the night before and then get up early to cook. No trying to figure out where to seat everyone in the small dining room, find all of the warming trays & serving dishes (used only twice a year), and get the food timed right to try and be done close together. It was Wed night when we had little to do to prep for the dinner when we looked at each other with quivering lower lips and teary eyes..... we would be without our family and friends for our first island Thanksgiving. So we walked down to the Iguana, had a hot buttered rum (my new favorite that bartender Mike makes) and toasted island life with all it has brought us.

Then Thurs brought dinner at Jan & Rays which for them is an all day affair. Appetizers, drinks and games starting at 2 pm with dinner around 6:30 pm. Tom was the bartender for the day since he has perfected the key lime pie martinis and we have introduced them to Apples to Apples which has become Ray's favorite game.
Everyone that was coming to the dinner brought a family favorite and of course we brought Mom's homemade rolls. We have had to adjust the recipe since things cook differently at sea level and with more humidity. We had a couple of 'test' runs over the last couple of weeks to get the dough just right. It was a great dinner with every ones family foods to share, great friends and key lime pie martinis!

This also means the start of season which brings 2 things.
The first is the seasonal residents have started to arrive. Down here they start returning in Oct and stay till April. Traffic has picked up, less places to park and it's getting harder to get our favorite bar stools.
The second being an event every weekend. Our schedule is starting to fill up again with things to attend which means more topics for blogging..... stay tuned!

Our Cat Misa

Yes I did say our cat Misa .... now what are we doing with a cat you say..... well here is the story.

When we moved into the house we found a bag of cat food and a dish on the front porch. Of course we had no plans for a cat so we got rid of the items.

Then after talking with the neighbors we learned that there was a cat that came with the house. She is a grey cat named Misa. They aren't sure how old she is but we are the 4th family to live here since she arrived. Of course we still weren't adopting the cat since Dyna wasn't ready to share her new yard with anyone, including a cat or a chicken.

So the months went on and we would see Misa in the yard or up on the porch. The minute Dyna would see Misa she would chase her out of the yard so Misa never stayed long. Then came Hurricane Ike and things began to change. Ike visited us in Sept and when the storm was passing by the Keys. We found Misa on our porch in the middle of the storm refusing to leave. Of course we felt bad about leaving her out in the rain and wind but didn't want to bring her in since we weren't sure if she was clean, had fleas or anything else. The trade off was to come up with a shelter on the porch we set up a place where she could get out of the storm and a towel to lay on. Then of course we didn't have any food. Usually she would be fed by the neighborhood lady, Linda, who put food out for all the of the stray cats at the house next to ours since it is empty. During the storm Linda would not be out to do the usual feeding. Not wanting Misa to go hungry I went to our neighbors who have a cat of their own. I knew they would have food. So out I go in in the wind and rain (OK it is only 20 feet from our front door to theirs) to borrow some food. The cat was fed and that was the beginning Our Cat Misa.

From then on Misa decided it was OK to hang out on the porch. Over the past 2 months Misa and Dyna have gotten to be friends. Then Linda decided to move across town and there wasn't anyone to feed Misa. So we bought a dish and some food and moved on to the next stage of ownership. Once that started Misa moved permanently into the yard. She could be found at anytime of day laying in the yard or on the porch in front of the door. It was quite a hoot when she would lay in front of the door since we have a screen door with a doggy door in it so Dyna can come and go when the weather is nice. Misa ruled the doorway since Dyna didn't have the guts to go over her to get in the door. Dyna would sit on the porch and whine until one of us would open the door, which would move the cat and let her in.

Then we started to joke about Misa being smart enough to get through the doggie door..... of course that is just what happened. Over the past few weeks Misa started with poking her head in the doggie door which we knew would lead to just one thing.... sooner or later Misa would be in the house. After a week of that Misa got the guts to come through the door one evening about a week ago. We were watching TV and here comes Misa wandering around the living room. She was pretty skittish and didn't stay long even though she did the same thing a few more nights.

On Saturday morning we were up having coffee when Misa waltzed in, got up on the dining room chair and napped. That is the picture above. She slept so hard we could hear her snore!!!!

So now anytime we leave the door open Misa will come on in, find a cozy place and nap away. She even had the guts to nap on Dyna's dog bed today. Dyna just laid there and looked at her, not sure what to do!

Of course we are still concerned about fleas and stuff so Tom put a flea treatment on her today and it looks like Our Cat Misa is here to stay!

St Croix from Tom

Last Saturday I returned from 10 days in St Croix USVI. I went there to help Ray (the husband of Jan who are friends of ours) clear a piece of beach front property. There are preparing the land to be able to build a house. I have never been to St Croix so it was a chance for me to check out the island as well as help Ray with the work he wanted to get done while we were there.

The day we left was a typical travel day getting to the airport at 5:00 am and getting to St Croix at 5:30 pm. It took three flights to get there (you would think being this close would make it easier... NOT). Of course one of them was delayed due to mechanical problems after we had boarded the plane and had to get off while they repaired it. We think it was just a low tire, safety first! We got the rental car and found our hotel with out any problems, after all the island is only 14 miles by 5 miles and Ray is quite familiar with it. The first cold beer at the bar after we checked in tasted pretty damn good and so did the fifth and sixth, after that it was the traditional island drink, Pain Killer, which I was feeling none of by then.

Thursday our first full day where we spent driving around getting the demolition permit, verifying the delivery of rental equipment and buying some tools we needed to start cleaning up the lot, like shovels, rakes and a chainsaw. The next two days me and the chainsaw became one while we cut down several Seagrape trees and a few palm trees which then had to be cut up intp pieces. Needless to say I was pretty sore on Sunday. We had rented a bobcat to load the dumpster and use it to remove some of the smaller bushes and trees. Ray did most of the bobcat work and at one point all you could see was the tops of the trees and bushes moving and hear branches snapping so it looked like Jurassic Park when the T-Rex was crashing through the trees, pretty cool! See the picture to the right for what it looked liked when we started.

Monday the demolition contractor showed up and started tearing down the shed and the house. They had the shed down by the time we got there Monday morning but it took until Friday for the house because it was built all out of concrete and they used a lot of re-bar, it must have been cheap back then. See the picture to the left of the end result.

We did get a day off on Tuesday because the crew was off for Veterans Day which did not make Ray very happy because he was worried about them finishing by Friday. So we took the day to drive around the island and hit quite a few bar/restaurants including drinking with the pigs in the rain forest, yes you give the pigs a whole can of beer (near beer since the SPCA found out they were giving them real beer and it is bad for the pigs). They just chew it up, drink the beer and then spit out the crumpled can.

Each evening we would go to a different place for drinks/dinner to explore both the local and tourst places. My favorites (besides the pigs) was Parrott Cove which is a local hang out with great music and the Island Brewing Co which makes Black Beard Ale. It was interesting to see the different places since the island goes from the beach to the rain forest.

I did manage to get in some scuba diving on Sunday and Thursday.
Sunday was pretty cool because we dove the new cruise ship dock which was very different swimming around all the huge concrete columns that hold up the dock. It is a great place for sea life like all the different colored Sea Horses and some Frog fish that I have never seen before. Thursday I went to Cane Bay where you just walk from the dive shop to the beach and swim out and dive a wall that drops off to about 3000 feet deep. You could see some reef damage from the recent hurricane but there was still some more Sea Horses and some Reef Sharks.

I also got a tank and tried to dive off of the beach at Ray's property but the water never get deep enough for me to actually dive. There is a reef about 200 yards off of the beach and Ray wanted me to see if there was any place he could get a boat through but not that I found.

The Island is beautiful and the people were very friendly and laid back. Nothing happens to fast there so Jan & Ray will have to be patient when they build there house. We will be going back next year maybe in February or March so Myrla can check out the island and we can do some more diving.
You never know with Jan & Ray moving there it could be the next stop on our adventure.

Bachelorette and Boats

So what does this all mean......
Let's start with the bachelorette. That would be ME! Tom left for St Croix on Wed so for 10 days I will be the bachelorette. He will be back next Saturday so I still have one full week on being on my own in KW.

So why is Tom in St Croix.... Our friends, Jan & Ray, bought beach front property there. It is a beautiful place (so I hear since I don't have pictures yet) with lots of sand, palm trees & a great ocean view. The house that that is on the property is in bad shape and isn't something that J&R want to keep so this is when the house is coming down and the property is being cleaned/ leveled for the building to begin. They aren't sure when the building will begin since it takes along time to get the permits and get the house built. They are estimating a couple of more years till it is ready to move into. Yes things move slowly with island time. It has taken them months just to get the permits to clear the land. They have already started the request for the permits to build but there have been many obstacles that they are having to overcome, some due to the beach front restrictions, some due to difficult govt regulations and the interpretation of what they mean and they are trying to do it all long distance. Ray is a contractor and had done many houses so the process is not new to him and since he knows how it all works so that is very much in their favor.

Anyway Tom went with Ray to help clear the property. Things have been slow here in KW due to weather so the he has only been out once in 3 weeks with an investor dive trip. With so much time on his hands I booked him a flight and room and sent him with Ray. You already know that 1000 spare feet is just not enough room for both of us 24/7. So far Tom has spent the last couple of days swinging a chain saw to down trees that are where the house will go and to clean up the trees lost from the last hurricane. St Croix took a direct hit from Hurricane Omar a few weeks ago so there was clean up to do from that. So for 10 days I am just a KW bacholette doing the usual stuff with friends!

Note on Tom's captain status. He has received all of his official paperwork and license to be a Certified Charter Captain! The last time he was out he took the Lucky Dog as both boat captain and dive mater. Happy to say that captain and investor divers all made it out, dove and made it back safely. As Chris (owner of the Lucky Dog) would say "Cheated death one more day".

Now the Boats. This week has brought the 28th Annual World Championship Super Boat races to KW. Last weekend the big boats started rolling in so it has been a week filled with the sound of boats racing on the water. There are 23 boats that have already had races on Wed and Fri. I didn't get a chance to see any of them since I was working but the finals are tomorrow and I am going to watch. The race course is set up along the island so there is a number of places that you can watch from. Last Sun they had a boat parade down Duval. The Iguana is just off of Duval and one of our favorite places to what Duval so we were there and had a great view of the boats. Some of the are amazing! Then Wed night Mel Fisher hosted a party for the racers so I went along to help out. It was a lot of fun and I got to meet some of the race teams. Then last night part of Duval was closed for a street party and once again they had many of the boats parked along the street so you could see them. I ant wait to see them in the water tomorrow. Here is the web site if you want to check out more about it. http://www.superboat.com/

So that is the story of the bachlorette & boats. When Tom gets back next Sat I will have him post about this St Croix adventure.

The Phlock & Capt Tony

Yes the Phlock ascended on KW and is flying out today. This weekend was the gathering of the 17th Annual Parrot Heads in Paradise Meeting of the Minds. So a Phlock of them, over 3,000, started arriving on Thurs and have spent the weekend. Appeared to be a mild bunch after the crowds that we experienced with Bike Weekend and Fantasy Fest. The good part was the music that they brought with them. Jimmy Buffett wasn't here but many of his band members were with their own bands to good music was in the air.
By the way.... we think we have found Jimmy's KW house. Officially he doesn't live in KW anymore and the local 'coconut telegraph' says he bought a house recently so we went on a hunt to find out. When Jimmy was staying in KW (many years ago when he was starting out) he lived in a place not far from where we live and it was said that when he bought his latest place it was in our neighborhood. Just a little place to hang out in that no one would know about...... Another friend told us that its not a rumor and that their friends were the ones who took care of Jimmy's house since he isn't here most of the time. She told us where to find it since the house is only a few blocks from our house by the little park. It is overgrown with plants and trees so it is very hard to see. We have been walking past it for months with no activity or lights. Then low and behold last Thurs we went by and the place was all lit up with cars outside so it appeared that someone was finally home...... interesting that it is the same weekend as the Phlock. We figured it was some of the band members staying there but nothing has been confirmed yet. Of course we are still on the watch!!!!

On another note this weekend we also lost Capt Tony. He passed away on Sat at the age of 92. He was a KW icon and more than a legend here. Below is the link to the local paper where his death made the front page. It is a sad day for of the locals. We had heard about his passing last night when we were at a friends house. As soon as he was gone the text messages/ phone calls were flying on the 'coconut telegraph'. We all knew he was ill and had been in the hospital for the last week. A book about his life was just released so if you would like to read about a colorful man then I would suggest it. Its called Life Lessons of a Legend.
He is also famous for the quote "All you need in this life is a tremendous sex drive and a great ego - Brains don't mean shit". Of course he did have 13 kids with 8 women so the quote is not a surprise.
The other note to the story is that Capt Tony owned Capt Tony Saloon and was one of the first people to give Jimmy Buffett a job. Guess it is fitting that he would pass when the Phlock was in town.
http://www2.keysnews.com/citizen/KWC_TFP.pdf
He will be greatly missed and as our friend Jean text us last last night "Godspeed Capt Tony"

Haunted Fort Taylor

Blog posting by Tom

With Fantasy Fest over and the wind keeping the boats in port I found myself with even more time on my hands and looking for something to do. With Halloween coming we figured something must be going on (as it always seems to be). Myrla was reading the paper when she saw an article about a group setting up a haunted house at an old military fort so she did some research (as only she can do) and found out they were looking for volunteers to help with construction and actors. After a few emails and phone calls I was at the fort helping with construction, mostly painting and organizing. It was interesting as to how the haunting scenes were put together since we were unable to attach anything directly to the fort due to it being historic.

As with most things here in Key West things don't happen as we expect due to 'island time'. A lot of people here work late into the night and even into the next morning so they are not in any hurry to get moving in the morning or even by noon. The first day I went to help I was told to be there about 11:30 am, I finally met someone there around 3:30 to find out what they needed done. Our schedules are very different because I am ready to work early and be finished by the time they just want to get started so I would find out what they wanted done the next day then I would not have to wait until 4:00 to get started. Even with all the volunteers and different schedules the work all got done in time for the first show on Sunday night.

On Monday night we went through the fort with a group of friends. It was fun and scary. All of the scenes that are portrayed are from actual fort history of how people died since there was a total of over 400 people who died there.

We all know that once you volunteer for one thing they get you into everything and this was no different. They talked me into working inside the fort as one of the actors after the construction tasks were finished. This is not something I am comfortable with doing but I did it for one night and it was fun scaring people but have 'retired' from the night time scary stuff.

At the fort they also show old horror movies on a large screen out in the courtyard area where people can watch before and after the haunted fort. As usual this whole thing is to raise money for the restoration of the fort.

In case you are interested in the fort here are a couple of sites with the history.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lotAZTC-Nts
http://www.forttaylor.org/

Fantasy Fest Survived!

We have survived! Though I have to tell you that by Thursday night I wasn't sure I was going to make it. Working and staying out each night is for the YOUNG!!! None the less we did make it, had an excellent time and am really glad we didn't miss all the things we were able to get to. So let me recap the week......

Friday and Saturday night were Goombay which I have already shared with you.

Then came Sunday and we went to the Hot Wench & Wicked Pirate Tea Dance at the Mel Fisher Museum. Yes I know that the tea dance part sounds a little strange but that seems to be what an afternoon of drinking and dancing is called here. It was our first introduction to the costumes that we would see worn through out the week. There are many people who come down for the entire week and bring a different costume for each day. The theme for this years Fantasy Fest was Pirates, Pundants and Political Party Animals. To say the least there was a lot of pirates, Obama's, McCain's and Palin's running around. We then met friends are Schooners and ending the night early (actually home by 8 pm) after being out late Fri & Sat.

Monday we decided we needed a night off after being out the previous 3 night and had 6 more nights to go.

Tues it began!!!
We started with dinner at Finnegan's Wake which had a Green Party. Everyone was to dress in green which many did (Tom included). We stayed there for a few hours, eating, drinking and making friends. A couple sitting next to us were down for a few days and didn't even know it was FF. What a surprise for them!
Then we headed down to Capt Tony's Saloon for the Plaid Party. There is where everyone is to wear plaid and we had heard it has become 'the place' to start the party week. Boy was that true! I don't think we even made it all the way to Capt Tony's since when we got to the street where the saloon is and it was already closed to traffic and the street was packed. It just so happens that our Iguana Cafe is across from Tony's so we found a place to adjust to all that we were witnessing. Now people had tried to explain to us what the week was all about but until you see it I am not sure you can believe it. It is a week where people leave their everyday lives to live a fantasy. That fantasy has many themes through the week that includes wearing little if no clothes at all. Yup you hear me right.... LOTS of naked & half naked people, all shapes, sizes, ages and everything you probably cannot imagine (but trust me I say 'ALL' and yes I mean 'ALL'). I probably spent the first 30 minutes out in the middle of the street just staring with my mouth open before Tom made me move and to get a grip. He seemed to take in all in stride and adopted the Ron White saying of ' If you see 1 naked boobie you want to see them all'. We were just amazed at the amount of people who wanted to walk around in various stages of nakedness. After a bit of this we headed down Duval (the main party street) while the people were still coming into the street to party and parade around in their costumes. We ran into Josh and Danielle who were having dinner and wanted to check out Capt Tony's so we once again headed down into the craziness but this time there were so many more people that they had closed off sections of Duval. Any this was only Tuesday night. We spent a number of hours people watching and manage to get home around midnight which we had chosen as the cut off time to be able to make it out so many night this week. I have to say that by the end of the evening had had grown accustom to the costumes and was developing a new appreciation for body painting. I have included a couple pic of lady who were painted and were my favorites of Tues night. Yes the pink top is all paint!

Then Wednesday was to be another night out to the parties... but Mother Nature had a different idea! We are still technically in the rainy, hurricane season but usually by FF things are pretty quiet. Not so for this week! It was the rainiest week on record and Wednesday was a record breaking day. The last time I checked out weather gauge (a thank you to the HACI group for the great gift) and it was over 5 inches that one day. We had been having rain everyday the past couple of weeks but it came in squalls and moved on (as we are used to) so it wasn't stopping us until Wed. It rained ALL DAY!!! When we started out to meet Jan, Ray and the gang it was still raining. There was the Walk the Plank Party at Schooners that we wanted to get to along with a couple of other parties down on Duval. Even though we had a umbrella we were soaked by the time we made it to Jan & Ray's house and it didn't appear to be letting up anytime soon. Since we weren't going to let the rain get in the way of a good time we all stayed there, drank, ordered dinner to be delivered and practiced our Zombie Pirate dance for Friday. Now you would think that we would cut it off early but once again it was midnight before we made our way home.

Thursday the rain had let up and there were more parties to get to and to participate in the Guinness Book of World Record for the tattoo. So once again we met up with friends and headed down to Key West Ink to check in for our tattoos. Now that turned into being a Cluster! We didn't get the tattoos. We had a 7 pm appointment and they were so far behind to tattooing that it was going to be HOURS before they would get to us. The worst part was that they wanted us to stand in line and wait. The appointment meant nothing. As of 8 pm there had been only 70 people tattooed (since 2 pm) with 80 more staged to go. We figured they would never get to us and decided a Duval Crawl was more fun so off we went.
The party of the night was the Toga Party at Sloppy Joe's which brought out some of the most amazing togas I have seen. Of course there was the crazy pirate costumes and the body painting everywhere. We had a great time just walking, drinking and people watching. The picture to the right is the group of us out Thurs night.

Friday was the highlight of the week with the peoples parade which is officially called the Masquerade March. It is the where anyone can can join in the parade (it's all just people dressed up in their own costumes) that starts at the cemetery and moves 2 two different directions until it meets on Duval. It starts at 5 pm and was one of the craziest, fun things we have done. We were the Zombie Pirates, Ray had built a coffin that was a ice chest to carry the rum & beer, and had even come up with a short dance to do on the parade route to Micheal Jackson's' Thriller. So 30 of us gathered (once again at Jan & Ray's so it a good thing they only live 2 blocks from us) early to dress, do the 'dead' makeup thing and get ready to march. The picture at the top of the blog is the group photo taken before we hit the parade trail and th picture to the left is Tom and I before the parade. It is amazing what white makeup and baby powder (in large quantities) can do.
Then as things go.... we had a major mishap. The cart carrying the coffin and the music set up went through a puddle that was deeper than it appeared. The music set up burned up! We had no music to do our dance but continued on the route anyway. We did get lucky that on a potty stop at a friends house they had speakers that went out to the street. We put in the music and got to do the dance a couple of times out in front of their house. We heard that someone had videotaped it so if I get that I will let you know. It was a blast to do! The parade took us 3 hours and we never made it to Duval. We dropped off the coffin and headed out to party... in costume and all late into the night. There are many more pictures that were taken but I haven't had a chance to gather them all. Here is a link to a local photographer that took pictures of us during the parade. this link starts on photo 132 and ends on 141 for us. There are many pictures of the others in the parade so check those out too. They are quite a hoot. I take no responsibility for what you may see.

http://www.printroom.com/ViewGalleryPhoto.asp?userid=bigdfatboy33&gallery_id=1324113&image_id=132

Then Saturday brought us to the final day of the Fest. There was a street fair and local music stages set up on Duval for the afternoon and then the grand parade was to start at 7 pm with over 60 floats entered. We slept late then started out for the street fair at 2 pm. Of course met up with friends, had a few drinks and found the first decent Mexican food we have found here and it happened to be at a street vendor upstate Florida. The burritos made me homesick so through out the day we had 2!
To watch the parade we headed to Josh and Danielle's. They are the young kids in the picture from Thursday night. They have an apartment that overlooks Duval with a balcony so it was the perfect place to watch the parade. Josh is the grandson of Mel Fisher and also a treasure diver on the Dare so we a bunch of the divers with us on the balcony. The picture to the left is of diver Bill who was dressed in costume the last 3 nights that he was out with us. For Saturday he got body painted.
It was an amazing parade with float after float and most of them with live bands. The picture to the right is one that I took of the Junkanoos (yes I have a thing for them) and the great thing is the beads that are flying mid air. There was A LOT of beads being thrown from the floats to the crowd. At one point we had to so many beads we were throwing them back to the floats.
After the parade ..... well you already know the drill.... it was out to the street to check out the crowd. Now you would have thought that we would have been done after a week of this but ohhhh noooo! The streets were crazy and by midnight things were getting weirder than they had all week. A bunch of us decided it would be better to finish the night somewhere else so we headed to our house for some Wii bowling, cheese steaks (a local place, Mr Z's has the best ones ever) and the last drink of the night. Well those of you who have done late night Wii know that it is never just one game... Finally at 3 am we were done and our friends headed home!!!

Now it is Sunday and we have done NOTHING!!!! It has really taken us a whole day to recover and I am not so sure it won't take a couple more!
So ends another week of Adventures.... many that I can't believe I saw but an adventure none the less. There were many events we didn't get to and are already planning those for next year. The theme is Villains, Vixens and Vampires so the planning for the peoples parade will also begin at the next Schooners happy hour on Friday.

Goombay, Fantasy Fest and Tattoos

I know you won't be shocked to hear that it is party time again on the island. Yes I do believe that drinking is the national past time here! So this week or shall I say the next 10 days brings an estimated 50,000 people to Key West for Fantasy Fest, the BIGGEST party of the year!

It started last night with Goombay. Now I am figuring you haven't heard about Goombay and we certainly hadn't but it is a KW African-American Heritage Festival that originated from the Bahamians who came and settled here many, many, many years ago. It is a 2 day street fair that takes place in Bahama Village, a local area in KW, and is set up to have food, drink, music and shopping. We were there last night eating and drinking our way from the beginning to the end where the stage was with a band playing great music. I have to say I had a bit to much of the Goombay Smash (some kind of rum punch) but we are going back again tonight since the Junkanoos will be there. I hate to miss that! Here is the website in case you want to know more.
http://www.goombay-keywest.org/

Also starting last night is Fantasy Fest. This is KW version of Mardi Gras with a pirate theme twist. This is THE festival of the year or so we have heard. In the previous years of coming to KW we never came in Oct so this is our first FF (yes there are still a few things in which we are virgins).
The events started on Fri night with the crowning of the FF king and queen and ramp up with more events each day till it is done on Sun Oct 26. There are SO MANY events each night that we can't even decide on which ones to attend when it gets to Tues - Sat. Here is the web site with the list of events for you to check out if you would like.
http://www.fantasyfest.net/schedule.cfm
If you want to check out the happenings live you can use the KW web cams.
http://webcam.keywest.com

There is ONE thing we have decided to attend or in this case participate in and that is the FAIRVILLA MEGASTORE MASQUERADE MARCH that takes place Fri night. Locally it is called the peoples parade since it is for anyone who wants to dress up and be in the parade. It is a HUGH deal for the locals and with our Mel Fisher group. There about 25 of us who will all be in the parade together and our theme is Zombie Pirates! So we are dressing up as dead pirates, are creating a coffin to carry the beer & rum drinks, will have a boom box with music and have created a dance to do in the parade that is to the music of Micheal Jackson's Thriller. WHAT A HOOT!!!!

The other event that is happening, not a usual FF event, but something that is taking place during this time. A local tattoo shop, Key West Ink, has decided to take on the Guinness Book of World Records for the most tattoos done in 24 hours record. The event starts at noon on Thurs and goes till noon on Fri. Now you know that Tom and I can't resist getting involved in this one. We both have wanted to get a second tattoo (yes it's true that once you get one you want another) and this will be a great way to be involved in setting the record. We have an appointment at 7 pm Thurs night to have ours done. We have a choice of a couple of designs that include a conchshell, dive flag or KW. These will all be small ones since it has to be done in a few minutes so that makes it a great one to have done. We haven't decide on which ones to do or where to put them. That will be left for Thurs night. Here is the website if you want to check it out. http://www.keywestink.com

So once the week is done and we have finally recovered ( yes it takes longer than it used to as we get older) I will report back on what all went on and will include pictures.
What an adventure this week will be!!!

Curb Shopping

Yes curb shopping... a form of dumpster diving KW style. Another new phenomenon that we have discovered in this life on the island.

Due to the small space, people living close together and limited land there aren't any alleys here. The trash is all put out on the streets just as we did in AZ. The difference here is people also put anything they no longer want out on the curb too. It is a way of sharing with others things you no longer want. This is what is done rather than donating to Salvation Army or Goodwill.

When we first got here and had brought things we found we didn't need we gathered them together and held on to them till we had enough to donate. In a few months we were ready and started to look for a place to take them. Much to our surprise we could only find 1 place in the lower Keys and that was a Salvation Army location. They even had a policy that you couldn't drop things off after hours. Donations could only be during store hours. So off we went to drop off the items.

Later that week we were telling friends about this when we were told about 'curb shopping'. The locals take whatever they no longer want and place it out on the curb. Usually within a few hours or at the most overnight it will disappear. It is a common 'exchange' process where when you no longer want anything you place it outside and then those that need it will take it home. Then when you get home with the items you are replacing (it is something you got that is better than what you had) you place that item out on the curb and the cycle begins again. This is common with EVERYTHING!

So a few weeks later we had cleaned out shoes and a few others things. To see if it really works we placed the items out on the curb in front of the house about 9 pm. Then just before we went to bed at 11 pm we checked on the items and they were GONE!!!! This was within 2 hours and we didn't hear a thing! What a hoot that someone who wears a size 6 1/2 women's and 12 men's would happen by our house that night and need shoes.

As time has gone by we have seen an amazing amount of items set out for curb shopping. This covers large things such as furniture down to books, clothing, once there was a cat stroller, computer parts, an old scooter that didn't run and so on. I will say it did take 3 days for someone to take the scooter that didn't run.

Now I am sure you are wondering if we have done any curb shopping. No not yet. Yes we do look since we take Dyna for a walk most nights and are always out for the next great deal but have yet to come across something that we want. But believe me we are shopping just like a local!

26th Wedding Anniversary

This past week Tom and I celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary on Thursday, Oct 2. As with most celebrations food is part of it. We decided to have dinner at one of favorite places, Cafe Marquesa. Not one of our usual places since it is expensive to eat there but reserved for special occasions.
http://www.marquesa.com/cafe-marquesa.htm

As we as we were getting ready we lost electrical power. Now this is not an unusual occurrence. It happens quite frequently with living on a island and had already occurred earlier in the day so we didn't think anything about it. We got dressed up island style, our 'dress' shorts, a shirt that is not a t-shirt, and sandals that are not flip flops (the Cafe is a little more upscale than our usual haunts) and headed out.

The Cafe is only a few blocks from us and a nice evening was taking place, the sun was just setting and there was a breeze as we walked for the few minutes it takes to get there, thinking that the power would come on any minute. Usually the power is not out more than an hour so we figured we could arrive and while having a drink then the power would return.

We arrive at the Cafe where there is still no power but a few people setting at the bar waiting for it to return. We sat at the bar (this is a small place with only 8 seats) and talked with Maggie, she is a great bartender that we have had before. She makes an interesting margarita martini that Tom loves and I just couldn't decide. She recommended a new one she had just created, pear and pineapple martini. It was AMAZING! I fell in love with it!!!!

We order the martinis, had some bread with hummus and wait for the power to return. Since it is never out for long we were all sure it would come on at any moment. Now the time passed, the sun set and started to get dark. The Cafe is all windows on 2 sides so we sat, drank and watched the world go by with the employees and 4 others who were hanging out just like us, all of the tourists that were staying at the hotel. Minutes turned into hours and it became dark. The candles came out and the Cafe offered us salads & desserts for dinner since it was the only thing that could be made without power. We had a salad, bread and more martinis with good conversation with those around us. The couple sitting next to me was from England who were at the end of their holiday and returning the next day. What a way to spend their last night in KW.

So this went on for a couple of hours... still no power! Hmmmmm interesting........
After 3 martinis on a salad/bread dinner we decided it was time to make our way home. What a HOOT!!! Not only had we had the martinis but there were no street lights so it was a dark and slow walk home. Most of the sidewalks in towns are not in great shape due to wear and tear so the walk was an adventure in itself.

We arrive home and of course all of our neighbors are out on their porch's discussing the lack of power. We found out the power lines had gone down into the water and the power company had to get a barge out to carry the crane to fix the lines which would result in the power being out for an hour to 3 hours more. So we grabbed a couple of beers, settled in on our porch chairs and waited as we watched and listened to the neighborhood. Eventually the power did come on, it was out 3 1/2 hours, and we were off to bed with the A/C cooling down the house.
The never ending adventure on an island!!

6 Months and Counting

Tom and I went diving this morning, a couple of wreck dives with a local dive shop, afterwards was having lunch at Schooner's and enjoying the amazing weather that we have had since a storm moved out yesterday afternoon, when we looked at each other and said 'We don't have to leave tomorrow' with a clinking of beer bottles to celebrate the moment!
This moment describes the last 6 months..... yes it has been 6 months... almost 7 since we landed in KW.

When we look back over these past months so much has happened we are still in amazement that we took the leap and did the move. It wasn't and still isn't always easy and we have learned a lot but definitely one of the best decisions of our life!

So here are a few observations about following our dream........

Stuff is just STUFF! Boy was this a large lesson for me to learn as you know from the blog when we were packing and moving. It is really amazing what little you need to live to be happy and that Internet shopping doesn't have to be a way of life (as many of you know it was for me). With only having 1000 square feet and too much stuff in it already (yes we are still getting rid of clothes and shoes) there is no need to shop. As part of the general population down here we too have little space and limited money to spend so we all do with what we have and share what we can.

Living on ONE income..... Yes this has been a transition! We knew that when we left we would be living on my income and that Tom would make some money but we referred to that as 'beer' money. Of course things don't play out as we plan and after the initial 2 months of Tom working on the Dare in dry dock he has spent most of his time logging sea days (non-paid of course) for his captains license and diving as an investor. So this has severely limited out disposable income and we are learning to budget. Now this is not an unusual position to be in here. It is expense to live here and we are lucky that we are not dependent on tourism for our income, as many are. It is not uncommon for a friend to say 'low on funds so we need to find the best happy hour for the money'. We all know we all live on tight budgets and are in it together.

Thank heavens for friends! We didn't realize how much our Mel Fisher friends would come into play with us getting settled in and calling KW home. It is interesting on how you get plugged into life in a new place when you don't work in a job where you make friendships through work since my job works out of the house and Tom doesn't have a full time one. We have had to meet and create friendships in a different way. Jan, Ray, Cliff and Susan have been there for us more than they will ever know in getting us connected and providing us support.

Island lifestyle. Such a difference!!!

• First of all I haven't driven on the island since we have arrived. No need to! We walk to almost everywhere and I can tell you it must have been a hoot today when Tom and I were both on the scooter along with 2 large dive bags. A tourist photo op if there ever was one.
• There is a market, drug store, hardware store, dive shop, liquor store, restaurants and of course bars all within walking distance. We do drive about 1 a month to the Publix grocery store to stock up on the large, heavy items that are to much to carry home and usually hit any other stores that the car is needed for at that time.
• The weather is amazing. It is a nice change to have weather and wake up each morning to something different. We will admit that August was hot and muggy but lately the ocean breeze has been coming through so even if it is hot and humid the breeze makes it very livable.
• Events are never ending.... this is a busy place! It seems that almost any day of the week you can find something to go to. Everything from gay bingo on Sunday afternoon to poker on Tuesdays to coconut races on Friday and so on. Sometimes we aren't sure what to go to next.
  
• Music! Due to the amount of bars here there is also an endless variety of live music all the time. We have already found a favorite local band, Caffeine Carl. So no matter what you want to listen to you can usually find it. There is a local paper, Paradise, that comes out each Thurs filled with the events and music played around town.
  
• KW people. Of course everyone we have met is from somewhere else. We are refereed to as 'fresh water conchs' since we were not born on the island and can never be a 'true conch'. We have met a few true conchs but not very many so we know they exist. Our friends are from Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, Virginia and the list goes on. Once in awhile we meet someone from California but usually it is an east coast state. Jan and Ray have been on the inland the longest with 10 years (from Penn) and of course we have been here the shortest time. With so many people from so many places it makes for a lot of fun with sports and everyone cheering for there own teams.
  
• Sports.... usually water based with fishing in the lead. Lots of fishing here and lots of fishing tournaments. Then it would be softball then bocce ball. We are joining a team for the winter league of bocce ball. People love to be outside here and anything you can do when you are outside, even if it is having a game of horseshoes in a friends back yard (Saturday night at Chris's house).

So we have settled into island life easily and really love it. It was easier than we thought possible since it seems it is where we were meant to be. Yes we miss our family and friends, not enough of you visit by the way, but this is the place for us. At least for now..... Jan and Ray are moving to St Croix in a couple of years and we are thinking about going with them. So if you want to experience KW from the local side then make your travel arrangements soon!

Boobs & Bikes

Yes in deed... I think I have now seen more silicone and chrome in one place than ever before!
It was the 36th Annual Key West Poker run and it was the most bikes (and boobs) that I have seen in one place. Here is the website in case you are not familiar with what a poker run is - http://www.petersonskeywestpokerrun.com/custompage.asp?pg=history

They started rolling in on Thurs and then rolling out today. It was estimated the 10,000 came down for the event and based on last nights crowds that seemed about right. Duval (the main party street) was closed for at least 5 blocks and Greene (which crosses Duval by Sloppy Joe's) was closed for 2 blocks. This is where bikes lined both sides of the street. It was amazing all that we saw. There were some amazing bikes!

Then of course there were the much endowed woman who also had a lot to show so at times it was hard to determine what to look at next. In Key West it is legal for women to be completely topless as long as they are painted so it is a tradition during events here that painting booths are set up and many women get painted. So to say the least there were more than a few of those around. I was amazed at the number of older woman (over 50) who get painted or have amazingly small tops on. Who would have thought!

Tom and I spent a few hours just watching the crowd and wandering through the bikes. Luckily we live a few blocks off of Duval so when we were done it was a 10 minute walk home to where it is much more peaceful with only the occasional bike coming down the street. Ours is also a one way street which cuts down on traffic.

Then in contrast to Sat night I attended the CMA Bike Blessing this morning. Tom was off playing dive master for Mel Fisher investors (which he is doing all week) so I decided to attend. It's the closest thing to church service that I have attended since we moved. We haven't found a new church here since the first run of looking for one led us to the usual standard religion, conservative churches which is not the non-denomination/ bible based church we have previously attended and loved. You would have thought that in a place that is so unconventional that there would be more of a choice. OK there is 1 non-denominational church but it is for the gay community so I didn't think that was a good choice. In fact there are a lot of churches but at first glance we haven't found one we want to attend, have to dress for (yes they dress up for church here) and sing hymns!
OK so back to the CMA Bike Blessing..... CMA is the Christian Motorcyclists Association and they held a nice service at Mallory Square which included a blessing of the bikes and those who ride. There was about 100 or so people who attended, some of them who are CMA members and other, like me, that just wanted to attend the service. The majority of the attendees also brought there bike to be blessed for the ride so they were all lined up in Mallory Square facing the ocean. It was a beautiful picture of all of the bikes and ocean in the morning sun along and a great group of people to spend some time with. Here is their website in case you are interested in their work - http://www.cmausa.org/

So ends another weekend in KW. It was good to have the city filled with tourists again. With the last 3 storms coming through and 2 of them having mandatory evacuations it causes people to change their vacation plans and head elsewhere. This town is very much dependent on tourism so it was good to have the noise & money return (even if I wasn't able to get my favorite seat at the Iguana) and hopefully to stay since there isn't any storms headed our way in the near future. At least we hope not but the storm season doesn't officially end till Nov so continue to keep us in your prayers.

Taryn & Brandon's Adventure

There has been a lot going on in Taryn & Brandon's life so we wanted to share it with you.

Lets start with May of this year when Brandon graduated from GCU with his degree in Christian Studies. This will allow him to pursue his passion of being a youth minister. While going to school this year he had already started his pastor adventure by working with a start up church in Scottsdale and creating thier youth program.

Then this summer he and Taryn moved to Scottsdale to be near the church and her work. She also had a job in Scottsdale working as a nursing extern for Mayo Clinic for the summer. Taryn still had 1 more semister to complete her degree in nursing from GCU so this was a great opportunity for her.

They also decided to become dog parents once they had there own apartment which wasn't on campus. They went to the pound and are now the proud parents of Tayler. She was 6 months old when they got her and is a lab mutt. The cutest thing you have ever seen!

During the summer they also found out that the start up church wasn't going to be able to move Brandon to a full time job so they decided it was time to look for a job that was something more stable. This led them to a country wide search of churchs who had an opening for a youth pastor. Brandon ended up with a number of interested churchs from CA to IL to MO to VA. In the end it was the Journey Christian Church in Midlothian VA (a suburb of Richmond) that won! If you would like to check it out here is the web site
http://journeychristian.us/index.php?nid=37507&s=hm
The postion they offered was for Brandon to start Sept 21. This meant that they will live apart for 3 months with him in VA and her in AZ. Then when she graduates in Dec she will join him. They have given up thier Scottsdale place, rented a VERY cute house in Midlothian and she is going to live with Catheryn (her old college roommate) until she leaves for VA.
As I write this she, Brandon and Tayler are in Brandon's car crossing the country to move him to VA. Then we will be back in AZ in Dec and get to drive her to VA after graduation. Can't you just picture Tom, Taryn and I in the Echo for this road trip. What a hoot that will be!
Also remember that Taryn & Brandon helped us drive to FL so this makes MULTIPLE trips for all of us across many states with Taryn winning the prize for the most since she gets to do it 3 times in 1 year.

The latest (and best) part in all of this is Taryn found out a few days ago that she is pregnant!!!!!!!
Yes Brandon will be a Dad, Tayler will have a sibling and we will be grandparents. All of us are VERY EXCITED!!!!! She is only 6 weeks along and due May 17 so things will stay as planned with us scheduling a trip to VA in May! Of course there will be blog updates as things progress.

If you would like to send them a Congrats she can be reached at volybal2@msn.com

Capt'n Tom

Tom's New Office!

Yes he is Capt'n Tom!
As of yesterday at 6 pm Tom passed the test to acquire his OUPV Captain's USCG license.
What the means in KW terms.... he will have his 6 pack license or be a charter boat captain.
What that means to me is that he can take people out in a boat AND GET PAID FOR IT!!!! With an added bonus of being out from under my feet everyday (although I will miss my man-slave and all the work he does).
What it means to the Coast Guard is that he will be an Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessel of no more than 6 paying passenger for Inland or Near Coastal waters (up to a 100 miles off shore) on a boat up to 100 gross tons.

So what is this all about you ask..... no, not just something I had him do to get him out of the house for 6 days..... but something that he was asked to do to help out with a friend's business.
Chris (who owns the Lucky Dog and I have blogged about before) has taken an Investor Relations position with Mel Fisher so Tom has been helping out as a dive master as you know. Now Chris has asked Tom to captain his boat. This means that Tom will be taking over some of the Lucky Dog charters that Chris books. Chris will remain the owner and Tom will work for him. Most of the work for the Lucky Dog is taking MF investors out to dive the treasure site (yes Tom still gets to treasure dive) but when it isn't booked for that then there are charters out for dive trips (independent of the treasure work), fishing trips (Tom will take a fishing guide with him), dolphin watching, back country travels or custom charters. Tom will now have the pleasure of spending many of his days out on the water.

There are still a few items he has to complete and send in for his license which he will be working on this week (official logging of previous boat hours, drug test, physical and so on that the Coast Guard requires). He and Chris continue to work together to teach Tom how to run the business and the boat. Tom is learning the water routes out to the treasure site (30 miles off shore), dive and snorkel spots out on the reef, routes to take in the back country and so on.

So when Chris called a few weeks ago and asked Tom if he would get his 6 pack and captain the Lucky Dog boat we were both shocked. Now Chris has known us ever since we have been involved with MF but with all of the other people in KW (and Chris knows a lot of them since he has been here 10 years) that already have their 6 pack it is an honor to be asked to help out with someone else's boat/business.

So this is part of the amazing Adventure that we weren't expecting. Tom is getting to do something he hadn't ever thought of or planned on. Being here has opened up a lot of opportunities that you just never know you can do until you follow your dream!

Ike Dodges KW

So the winds are blowing and the rain is on it's way!. Ike has moved off to the south of Cuba and will miss us as a direct hit, YEA!
We are still under a tropical storm warning with rain and wind which should last through Wed. So I just wanted to give an update that all is well and another one has missed us.
Cuba is our lucky charm since it either deflects or weakens a storm before it can hit us. That cannot be said for them, Turks and Caicos or especially Haiti. Haiti has been hit the hardest with the last 4 hurricanes this year being a direct hit. Last count 630 have died so we count our blessings for Cuba and the protection it gives our island.

Here We Go Again With Ike

WE ARE NOT EVACUATING......

That being said we wanted to let you know we have decided to stay and are not leaving even though you have heard from the news and the Weather Channel that there is an evacuation. It is true that one has been issued. The tourists are leaving and many have left based on our walk around town this morning. Tomorrow the residents are supposed to leave. No one that we know is leaving. All of our friends and and neighbors are staying so we have decided to continue the adventure and stay too. At this time the only residents that seem to be leaving are those that live in mobile homes or have medical issues. The designated hurricane shelters are only rated to withstand a category 2 and it is estimated that Ike will be a 3 by the time it gets close to us. That is why these people have to leave since they have no where to ride out the storm. We don't have that concern with our house since it is protected, on the highest point of the island, and has withstood many previous storms.

Now Ike is not scheduled to be in our area till Tues. That is along time away and a lot can happen during that time. Based on the latest set of hurricane tracking models (11am today) there are 4 that show Ike heading south of us and 2 that have him coming close to us. Still to early to tell.

So I just wanted give the latest..... don't believe everything the media tells you ........ and I will give an update on Monday as to what the scoop is. If you want to know before that or want to check in just give us a call..... we will be at the bar with the rest of the locals!

Crusing Complete

We have returned from the cruise with Taryn and Brandon and had a GREAT time. Hurricane Gustav was behind us the whole way but never caught up so it was a great week of sun and water. It was also the first time Tom had left KW since we have arrived. Of course it wasn't to traumatic since he went from being on an island to cruising around islands!

The above picture was taken in Jamaica where we spent the day hiking up a water fall, yes we hiked UP a series of waterfalls called Mayfield Falls. It was a great time. And yes you will notice both Tom and I had a tan. Not a big surprise with Tom since he is out on a boat so much but I to have one. In fact it is probably the tannest I have ever been. It's not that I am trying but we spend a lot more time out in the sun here so it just seems to happen.

Back to the cruise..... the islands were great. The cruise was great. The biggest ship we have ever cruised on and Brandon's first cruise. There were 4200 passengers on the boat but they did an amazing job of handling the people and getting things done. It was rare to stand in line for anything. The cruise activity staff was the best we have seen. They were a lot of fun and had so much for us to do that we didn't get to do all that we wanted to. And of course the never ending amount of incredible food!!!! Believe it or not Brandon got FULL about day 6. I wasn't sure that would ever be possible!

So we are back home to unpack and get ready to go back to work (for at least one of us), from vacation to island living, it is tough ;)

Taryn & Brandon in KW

Taryn and Brandon have arrived in KW. I have asked Taryn to blog for you the trip down, life here in KW and the cruise.

From the moment Brandon and I stepped foot in Florida it has been a whirlwind. As many of you know Tropical Storm Fay hit Florida right in the middle of our travel plans. It all started with a flight into Fort Myers....we arrived to an airport full of paniced people stated "the hurricane is coming!". Brandon and I weren't too concerned since I had spoken to my parents several times since the storm hit and both of them agreed it wasn't anything to get upset about. We found out our flight into Key West was cancelled, so we booked a hotel room next to the airport until we could get another flight out. It had started to rain that afternoon, but Brandon and I didn't think anything of it. When we arrived at the hotel, a truck stocked full of bottled water and packaged food arrived and the hotel managed explained to us that the hotel was ready for the storm to hit and that "in case we are all stuck here for a few days, we have plenty of supplies!". Again Brandon and I just rolled our eyes since I had just hung up the phone with my mom who just said it was now clear and sunny in Key West. I called that night to re-schedule our flight for the next morning, the airport was still open.

It rain continuously through the night, and then the heart of the storm hit Tues morning. Our flight was cancelled again, and when I called to re-schedule the only flight available was for Thursday morning. Well that didn't sit well with Brandon and I since we were ready to sit on the beach and start relaxing. So we decided to check out of the hotel in the early afternoon and rent a car to drive to Key West since all other means of transportation were cancelled. The hotel refused to drive us to the airport to pick up our car due to "safety reasons", so I asked them to call us a taxi. They looked at me as if I was crazy, but I told them we were going to be in Key West by nightfall no matter what! The taxi arrived, and on the way to the airport we had to listen to the driver explain to us how the entire island of Key West was underwater and that we were crazy for going down there. During this lecture, I was on the phone with my dad who just got back from taking Dyna for a walk in the DRY, WARM streets of Key West. We picked up our car and drove to Key West in record time, only 5 hours (the tolls were suspended and no one was on the road)!

We finally arrived and to our not-much-surprise, Key West was not underwater! It was great to see my parents and my dog again. Of course it is hot and muggy, but totally worth "battling the storm" to get here. The town is completely dead from the people leaving due to the storm, which is great for us! We are now enjoying shopping on duval st, eating EVERYTHING, and soaking up way too much sun (I am already completely sunburnt). I feel bad for all those people who decided to let a "little" rain keep them from enjoying the Keys.

Tomorrow we leave for the cruise! 7 full days of excursions, eating, and having a great time! All four of us are going! We depart from Miami Saturday afternoon, with our first day on the cruise being a full day at sea. We plan to use all the luxury emenities the cruise offers. My mom and I are hitting the spa, the boys will enjoy the all-you-can eat buffets, and of course the many shows and activities that will accompany everyday life on the boat.
Our first stop on the cruise is private island the cruise ship has where we will be zip lining down a 2,600 foot line that starts on top of a mountain and ends on the white sand beach. We will also enjoy having our own private beach for the afternoon.
On Tuesday we land in Jamaica. There we will be hiking to waterfalls and enjoying the beautiful scenery.
Wednesday it's off to Grand Cayman where we will be boarding a private boat for a trip around the island.
Thursday we head to Cozumel. There we are renting a car and heading to the far side of the island to hang out and do our own thing.
Friday is the last day at sea and Saturday the 30th, we dock again. It is going to be a whirlwind of fun and adventure. Brandon and I will be home soon with a nice dark tan!

So the Adventure continues with anyone who dares to venture to the island!
Will be back blogging when we return.

Surviving Tropical Storm Fay

So another chapter in the Great Adventure.... our first tropical storm!
As reported before we didn't board up any windows, just took the items off of the porch that could blow away in the wind. As we walked around town it was the same with the other locals. There were a few businesses that did close up their large store front windows on Duval. That would be the pictures that the news people show.

It wasn't all it was supposed to be. We didn't find the rain and wind anymore than any of the AZ monsoon storms we have been in. The only difference was the length of time that it lasted. Instead of blowing in and then out as a monsoon does this tropical storm lasted longer with rain continuing for hours today. Sometime very hard with lots of wind and at other times just a steady rain with no wind. It is still lightly raining tonight. Our weather machine has recorded 4 inches today.
What was really interesting was the news media and all the prep that goes into it. Since there is no way to really know how strong the storm will be or if it will turn into a hurricane there is a lot of prep that was not needed for this storm.
The most interesting was the evacuation of the tourists. We have NEVER seen the streets so empty. Some friends went out with us last night and it was only the locals hanging out at the bars and having dinner. It was an amazing time. Kinda of like having Disneyland to your self and a great group of friends. We came across a few media crews but they were very picky on who they were talking to and I think the amount of rum we had scared them off!

The bad thing is Taryn and Brandon trying to get down here. They made it to Ft Myers this afternoon but that was when the storm was passing over KW so they couldn't go any further. Now that it has passed us it is on to that part of FL. We have tried to get them flights out Tues but there are none until Thurs and same with the ferry that comes across to KW from there. So based on that they have rented a car and will leave tomorrow morning to drive down. It's only about 6 hours so they will finally make it!

One down and who knows how many more to go..... Invest 94 is the latest storm to roll off the coast of Africa that we are watching......... always watching till Nov!

Watching Tropical Storm Fay

Hurricane season begins June 1 each year and this year was no different. The local paper sent out their hurricane preparedness paper and we read it cover to cover. We want to be ready. We have also talked with all of our friends about previous hurricanes and what they have done or not done. Very interesting conversations about the island and past impacts from the storm. The one that did the most damage was Wilma and that was not a direct hit but the island took a high storm surge hit.

Anyway the beginning of the season has been quiet for our island as it usually is until Aug & Sept. We are also learning a lot about the weather and why it is hard to predict where the storm will hit.
As of Fri afternoon we have TS Fay headed our way. We have been watching and checking the hurricane status a couple of times a day to see what may happen. Right now Fay is only predicted to be a Category 1 and looks like the eye of the storm will go west of us sometime Mon night/Tues morning. We will get rain and wind for sure. Here is the site I use if you want to follow along on where the storm is.
http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/

So Fri night for happy hour we started at Schooners, as we usually do, and of course the discussion went to the TS Fay and what may happen. No we are not boarding up the windows or planning to leave or anything unusual right now. Life on the island is pretty much as it always is on a Sat morning. We do have our hurricane kit ready with food, water, cash, batteries, candles and a hand cranked radio. We have enough supplies to last at least 3 days so at this point we are planning on staying along with everyone else we know. None of our friends have left the island for any of the previous storms (longest here is 10 years) since none of them have been a direct hit or larger than Category 1 when it got to us.

And to add to the story Taryn and Brandon are flying in for a vacation with us on Monday. Right now there plan is scheduled to land in KW at 4 pm. Depending on the storm that may be delayed. They have to change planes in Ft Myers so I am reserving them a hotel there for Mon night just in case.

So tonight we are going to play horse shoes, drink rum & cokes, hang out with friends and continue on as we usually do since it is to early to tell where Fay may go or what may happen....... just waiting and watching as this amazing Adventure continues.

Dive Master Tom

Tom's work Adventure continues..........

As you know Tom has been hanging out, diving as an investor and underfoot most of the time. The past week brought a new chapter in this saga.
A friend of ours, Chris, is an independent boat captain for the Lucky Dog. I have talked about him in previous blogs. Anyway Tom has been diving with Chris for years and a lot since we have relocated. We have also become friends with him and his wife, Michelle with Saturday BBQ's at their house with a group of others to play horseshoes. Yes life on the island includes horseshoes!

Anyway Chris has decided to leave the boat life and take a great job opportunity with Mel Fisher as a investor relations guy. He still wants to keep his boat business going so he has asked Tom to help out.
Tom is a WORKING Dive Master on the Lucky Dog!!!!!!

What does that mean you ask.......
Chris has a number of boat tours he offers which include taking MF investors out to dive off of the treasure salvage boats and out scuba diving out along the KW reef.
When the Lucky Dog takes investors out a dive master has to go along to guide the investors that are diving since the boat divers don't have the time. They are there to do the salvage work. Tom is now the dive master guiding these dives. YEA! (Chris is also hiring a captain to drive the boat since Tom isn't able to).
Right now that means he is out anywhere from 2 to 6 days a week (depending on weather and investors scheduled to dive) diving 4 -6 treasure dives a day. It's not a full time treasure salvage diver but it is as close as he can come at this time. He is very excited to have this opportunity.
As mentioned above there are other tours that Chris offers which include scuba diving. Tom will also be the dive master on those trips. This means he will be learning the KW waters and reef. I may even get to go along and dive.

By the way the picture at the top of the blog is one that I took of Tom when we were diving off of the Dare during one of our KW trips. It's the best treasure dive picture I have of Tom until I get a chance to get back out on one of the treasure boats and get a new one.

We are forever grateful to Chris for the opportunity in this amazing Adventure.