Florida Lobster Mini-Season

So next week brings another 'first' for us in this never ending adventure. Florida's lobster mini-season. This is an event where Florida spiny lobsters are the center of attention.

The spiny lobsters are actually very large crawfish and are locally known as 'bugs'. So when we were asked last week if we were ready to 'hunt bugs' we had NO IDEA what this was all about.
The commercial lobster season starts August 1 but before that takes place the public is allowed to get in on the action (the public can also hunt the entire season through March 31). So 2 days prior, July 30& 31, an estimated 32, 000 people descend upon the Keys (Key Largo to Key West) to 'hunt bugs'. The Keys are located in Monroe County and is one of the few counties that allows the 'hunting of bugs' before the commercial season begins.

The Rules:

• Only 6 lobsters per day per person.
• Only equipment allowed is a net, tickle stick, gauge and heavy gloves. What is a tickle stick you ask, it is the stick you use to 'tickle' the lobster to swim backwards into your net.Then the gloves come in to be able to grab on to the lobster to measure it. They don't have claws like Maine lobsters but the edges of their shell is very sharp.
  
• Only lobsters with a body larger than 3 inches and a tail larger than 5 1/2 inches thus the need for the gauge. The measuring must be done while in the water so that if the 'bug' isn't the correct size then it is released. No taking the 'bug' up on the boat or shore and then measuring to throw back if it isn't large enough. This is also why you must be in the water, scuba diving or snorkeling to hunt.
  
• Must have a fishing license with a crawfish endorsement.
• There are also limitation on where you can hunt since you can't hunt in the marinas, boat canals, national parks and sanctuaries.

So on Wednesday and Thursday the scuba divers and snorkelers will get in their boats and take to the water to find the lobster. Then a lobster is found the fun begins.
The lobster has to be 'motivated' to leave the crevice or hole it is found in. That is where the tickle stick comes in. It is used to tap the lobster to crawl out of the hole (they swim backwards) so they can be trapped in the net. Then measured for the correct size. If it is border line in size then it is better to let the lobster go since the rules are strictly enforced by Fish and Game who will be out in Full Force checking all of the boats.

This is also when Tom will be out with our friend Chris, captain of the Lucky Dog, as first mate to go 'bug hunting'. Chris has his own charter boat business for diving, fishing or whatever (www.floridastraitsdiving.com) and we have gotten to know him through Mel Fisher since he takes investors out to dive off the treasure salvage boats. Tom has been working with him as his first mate on and off when Chris needs help. He and his boat has been chartered for the 2 days to take people out to 'bug hunt'. So this week Tom's help is not only needed (playing first mate/ dive master) but also his 6 bugs a day which will go to the annual Mel Fisher lobster cook out. The cook out is next week end after the lobsters are all in from the 2 days.

Then the following weekend is the Key West Lobster festival. The commercial fisherman put their traps out on Friday, August 1 and the first time they can pull them is Wednesday August 6. The Festival begins on the following Friday and last through the weekend so there are parties, cookout and activities to attend.

So on to Tom's first 'bug hunt' adventure..........

Tom and the Restoration Lab

Since Tom is still waiting for a dive position to open up (we like all of the divers to much to take any of them out) Mel Fisher offered him work in the Restoration Lab. This was a relief to me since I had him underfoot for way to many days! Our 1000 sq ft is just to small for both of us when its 24/7!

Anyway he finally went into the Restoration Lab to work a couple of weeks ago. It wasn't full time, just a few days a week to get him out of the house and have something to do.
The Restoration Lab is where the artifacts are taken once they have come off of the salvage boats. Everything that is found, no matter how big or small is taken in, tagged with a unique ID and photographed. Many of the objects are encrusted with sea 'stuff' since it has been on the bottom of the ocean for over 400 years. There is also processes to remove the 'ocean stuff' and reduce the salt water content.

So Tom spent a number of days, tagging, photographing and checking in objects. As the days went along he found that he liked it less and less. After spending so much time out on the boats and not in an office the transition was harder than expected. He also was learning that he wasn't crazy about the computer work or the closed in space.

Today he went into the office and 2 hours later he was back home. He had quit! It wasn't what he wanted to do and he didn't come down here to spend it in a lab staring at a computer.
He talked to the guy who runs the lab and explained the situation. He COMPLETELY understood and was cool about it.
He then talked to the guy who is his boss until he can get on a boat. He also COMPLETELY understood.
It is not the job for everyone.
So he is back to being at home everyday and waiting for a spot on one of the boats to open up. We still have hope that the one diver will leave at the end of summer but as we have learned in this Adventure ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN......

Mel Fisher Days

23 years ago today, July 20, 1985, the Mel Fisher crew found the Atocha Motherlode. This was 400 million dollars in treasure. Each year this is celebrated with Mel Fisher Days as it was during the last 5 days.

It started last Wed night with a group of the investors and employees getting together to kick off the week with a cocktail hour.

Thursday night was held at Schooners Wharf with the Annual Miss Atocha Bikini Contest where the contestants created a treasure themed bikini or wear one of their own. Our favorite Schooners Wharf bartender had entered (who had also won last year) and the winner is based on how much money they raise for the charity. In KW is it legal to be topless as long as you are painted so we had a couple of girls, including our gal who had amazing body paint and looked great. Based on all of the support she got she won again this year and was given a grade 2 Atocha coin. It was A LOT of fun and a great start to the evening.
There was also the customary cup cakes for sale, as Mel used to do, as a fun game of chance. The person who picks the winning cupcake won an Atocha Coin! There was only 100 that would be sold. We bought 2 but didn't win!
We also had a 50/50 raffle with the proceeds going again to the Have a Heart Foundation. We didn't win that either but give to this charity since it is very close to the Fisher Family’s heart. The foundation was created in the name of Taffi Fisher-Abt and Michael Abt Sr.’s son, Michael, who passed away just two years ago when his heart suddenly stopped in gym class. The money raised is used to purchase Automatic External Defibrillators and training in their use for Florida schools to help ensure no other families have to suffer the pain of losing a child.
Once the festivities completed at Schooners we were off to Finnigan's, an Irish pub, for a late dinner with a group from the party.

Then Friday afternoon brought the Annual Mel Fisher Days’ Parade with all of us from the Mel Fisher group gathering with kazoos, candy and beads in hand then got into decorated floats, fire truck, trolley, cars and trucks to head through town to make sure everyone is a part of this Mel Fisher Days’ Celebration. It was a HOOT to be included in the parade!
After the parade concluded we started the Pub Crawl to celebrate at Mel's favorite bars. We started at Rick’s in remembrance of the Hard Times before the Motherlode was found!
During the Pub Crawl there was raffle prizes being given out, partying and having a great time with friends and family in honor of Mel. After Rick’s we headed over to The Bull, another of Mel’s favorite hang outs to dance and hang out. The next stop was Two Friends where they used to always take care of the divers and crew during those Hard Times before the discovery of the Motherlode. There we sang karaoke and had a great time.
It was also there that we actually won one of the raffle items, a gift certificate to the Westin for brunch which is a great place to eat.
We also won the 50/50 raffle. It was $250 but I split it with our friend Ray since we had mixed up all of our raffle tickets together as a joke and I ended up with a couple of his tickets. Of course that happened to be the one that WON!
From there we went to the Chart Room. This is an incredible little bar that actually has a small amount of Mel's ashes sealed in the bar. It is a place we like to hang out usually on Sat since Greg is the bartender and does amazing bar magic with cards.
Then we ended the night at Cowboys Bill's!

Saturday brought a quiet day (after 2 nights of drinking) and then the Midnight Gambler Texas Hold ‘Em Poker Tournament aboard the Sunset Water Sports Party Cat. We took to the water from 9 pm to 3 am for a night of gambling and fun. Once again the money paid to play went to the Have a Heart Foundation. The top 4 players won an Atocha coin. Tom played but didn't win and I hung out with friends. It was a full moon and a beautiful night to be out on the water.

Then Sunday was the Diver Reunion Party at Dante’s Poolside Bar and Grill but we didn't make it. We had already spent a lot of time with some of the old divers at the Pub Crawl and spent everynight with the current divers so we decided to not attend. Hard to believe I know but after 3 late nights and all that goes with it we were WORN OUT! We can still hold our own with going out but have found that with age comes a LONGER time to recover. With having to work Monday we needed the day to lay low and get back on our feet!

I do think that at times the Adventure is bigger than both of us but we wouldn't change a minute of any of it !!!

Perfect KW Weekend

So I wanted to share with you the most perfect weekend we have had in KW. It was one of the best so far.

It started Fri night with the happy hour at Schooners Wharf. Our usual hang out to start our Fri night. A lot of our friends were there so much to catch up on from the week and then 7 of us had dinner together. It was a great evening!

Saturday we were invited out on the water by some friends that have a boat. Actually most of our friends have boats. We are one of the few who doesn't. Here in KW it is really all about the ocean! So we spent a glorious day out in the backcountry. The back country is the area between the main islands and the reef. It is a beautiful ocean area full of shallow waters with ocean creatures, mangrove islands and incredable views! Once we left the island we traveled through the Mud Keys, and past Snipes Key to the area known as the Narrows. This area is where there are channels though a set of mangroves that vary in size to boat through, kayak or float through. We spent the hours floating in the ocean in one of the channels and since the tide was going out there was a great current to float along in. Of course there was lunch on the boat and ice cold beer! And wouldn't you know that I forgot to take my camera with us so I don't have any pictures to share but I promise I will next time since I cannot find the words to truely describe the day.

Sunday was emerald hunting day with Mel Fisher investors on the JB Magruder. The Magruder is one of the treasure salvage boats. Tom and I have been on it many times as divers and Tom has been emerald hunting on it but this was my first time. This is the first time we would be hunting them together.
The emeralds are in the sand from when the Atocha went down in the hurricane. Sine they are hard to find when diving there is an airlift that sucks up the sand into a set to trays on the boat that we then sift the sand through and hope to find emeralds. When Tom did this a couple of years ago he found 4 and this trip we found 4, Tom found 3 and I found one. The picture below is of the 4 of them. You will notice that mine is the smallest and it is a mircle that I even saw it. To see it you will need to look REALLY REALLY close! It is the small green speck next to the M. What a day it was! The sifting is hard work and we do it for hours. In total for the day there were 6 found. The day before a friends of ours found a great one and that one is estimated at $10,000. Of course none of ours are anywhere near worth that. But they are ours and we found them so it was a great treasure hunting day!

So the weekend ending up being a perfect one. Two days spent on the ocean, one relaxing and the other treasure hunting. A perfect KW adventure weekend!!!

The Events Begin Again

So it has been quiet the past month or so with no special events happening around town. The last one was Memorial Day but the time has come to get things started again. Next week brings 2 Events happening.

The first is Mel Fisher Days that begins with investors going out emerald hunting on Sat and then continues on through the week. We are scheduled to go out to emerald hunt on Sunday. If we find any I will be sure to let you know. MF Days commemorates the 23rd anniversary of finding the Atocha mother lode. There are many investor friends coming in for it so the week will be filled with much to do and many to see. The official events start on Thurs with a kick off party, Fri with a parade and pub crawl, Sat with an all night poker party and then of course a final party on Sun.

The other event that will be happening in town the same week is Hemingway Days. In case you don't know Hemmingway spent alot of time here. His house is still here and is a museum that you can tour. This is the place that has the 6 toed cats.
So this week long event is when the town fills with Hemmingway look alikes. There is a look alike contest at Sloppy Joe's that draws people from all over the world. It is amazing how many old guys there with white hair and white beards that look like him.

So I will let you know if we find any emerald in this never ending adventure

KW Libations

While Patti was here we took her around KW experiencing all of the eating and drinking establishments. It is estimated that there are over 350 different places to eat on the island at any one time (and almost all of them serve libations) but that is a blog for another day. For this blog we are going to take a tour of the various bars and our favorite drinks that go along with them.

My #1 favorite is THE Key Lime Martini. Now this is not just any key lime pie martini since you can get them almost everywhere here, this one is different in many ways. The OTHER ones are more like the pie color and like having dessert. This one is served at the White Tarpon, which is a very small bar that we love, and it is a 'true' martini. I have even included the recipe and a picture of one that we made here at home. Patti had the bartender give us the recipe and we spent the evening trying it out until we got the perfect mix.

You will need:
Pint glass (need this so proportions of liquids turns out correctly) - Makes 1 drink at a time
Finely crushed Graham crackers (food processor works great here)
Lime
Vanilla vodka (spigot in bottle)
Liquor 43 (spigot in bottle)

Line rim of martini glass with lime and dip rim into graham crackers
Fill Pint glass almost to top with ice
Pour vanilla vodka into glass for a count of three
Pour Liquor 43 into glass for a count of 2
Add a splash of Rose's lime juice
Fill rest of the glass with sweet & sour mix
Shake WELL and pour

My next favorite is a TIE! It is either a Mojito at the Iguana Cafe or a Dark and Stormy at Schooners Wharf.
Now I will only get the Mojito at Iguana if Mike is the bartender. He makes the BEST in town. Once again (just like the martini) I have tried them many places and come back to Mike for more. The Iguana also has 20 different beers on tap so it's a great place to hang out.
Then at Schooners there is the Dark and Stormy, what is this you ask..... it is dark rum (preferably Goslings Black Seal) mixed with ginger beer and a splash of ginger ale. Ginger beer is non-alcoholic like root beer. I will tell you that this seems to be an acquired taste. I loved it the first time I had it but it took a few for Tom to decide he liked it.

Then next it would be the Hogs Breath for the Key Lime Pie Shooter. It DOES taste exactly like a key lime pie.
And yes there is a theme going on here with key lime things. I am also addicted to key lime pie on a stick dipped in chocolate that has to come from the Blond Giraffe.

After that is The Flying Monkey. Here they have frozen drinks like Fat Tuesday. We even have our own Monkey coolers that can be refilled. These are awesome on a hot day and last for hours!

After that it is pretty much open. There are many, many places that are open to the outside with seats to hang out in and watch the crowds go by. It seems that each time we head out we find another amazing place so we will keep you posted when the favorites change.

Patti Does KW

I’m writing this blog entry on my last afternoon in Key West. I thought I’d share some of my thoughts while here on this beautiful and laid-back island paradise.

I came to Key West via Ft. Lauderdale. The plane they use to fly here is a twin prop. There is a single of row of seats on each side of the plane. Yes, they still fly those types of planes. Who knew?

First things, first. Key West in July is hot and humid. Unless you are on the water, plan to be back in an air conditioned room by noon and don’t leave again until 6 pm or so. The good part about coming to Key West in July is you pretty much have the town to yourself. Just you and the locals.

Plan on two outfits a day as you’ll sweat. A lot. Even if you are not a person that typically sweats, you will here. Oh and make those outfits 100% cotton. Polyester and rayon were not made for Key West. The good news is the dress code is very casual here. Even calling it a dress code makes me chuckle. Dressing up here means you are wearing flip flops that match your outfit.

If you have long hair, bring hair clips and pony tail ties. Keeping your hair off you neck is a good thing. I also learned that visors are best since they let your head breathe. If you wear a hat, you will sweat even more.

Girls, do not plan on wearing any makeup. You look ridiculous here wearing it and it only melts off your face anyway.

I’ve read that baby powder helps as well, but all I can picture is the powder mixing with the sweat and turning into a type of Paper Mache. Ick.

Being in old town Key West means you will do lots of walking. Be sure you have comfortable sandals and if wearing flip flops, make sure the piece between the toes is fabric as the plastic ones give you blisters on your first day here. They do have lots of bicycles you can rent as well as scooters and electric cars. But parking them can be tricky. Also remember, you will be drinking alcohol. I saw more than one person wearing neck braces. I can’t be sure this is why, but …

The Royal Poincienna trees are stunningly lovely; bursting with bright orange flowers. They were the first thing I noticed as we came in for the landing. Yes, they are messy but who cares? They are just beautiful.

You would be hard pressed to visit every bar here in a single week. If you plan to try, bring a large bottle of Advil with ya, because you’ll need it. My favorite bars so far have been Schooner Wharf where the old timers and locals go and bring their dogs. Amazing bands perform here as well. The Chart Room is a teeny tiny bar tucked into a hotel that has the ashes of several legendary locals imbedded into the bar itself. They serve hot dogs and popcorn and the bartender does amazing card tricks. Even if I had not been drunk, I would have been very impressed. I also had Key Lime Martinis for the first time and am hooked.

They have a thing for web cams here. A lot of the bars have several web cams set up so you can drunk-dial your friends and show them how drunk you really are! The Hemingway House actually has a web cam set up so you can watch the cats on the property. Cracked me up!

The food here is really great; lots of fresh seafood and food with a Cuban influence. They even sell a Reuben sandwich made with fish instead of corned beef. Almost every single restaurant offered smoked fish dip and it is much yummier than it sounds. They also serve COLD pie on a stick. A piece of key lime pie dipped in chocolate and frozen. Yum yum. I was shocked to learn they don’t grow Key Limes here!

The Mel Fisher museum is simply amazing. The pieces the divers have found … I got to hold a 5 lb solid gold disc, an 8 ft. gold chain, a gold bar and hold a captivating emerald. It’s hard not to get the treasure hunter fever! I even read an entire book on it while was here.

Tom and Myrla’s new friends are wonderful and welcomed me with open arms. A few of them are a bit quirky, but I mean this in the nicest way. As you can probably tell on your own, the people who live here come here to live an unconventional life. As Myrla says, when I get off work each day, I’m on vacation. I could not say it better.

Today is July 4th and its almost 6 pm. We are off to Schooner’s to see the gang and watch fireworks. There may be rum involved.

Did I mention I’m really sad to be leaving? I will be coming back.