Watching a storm develop....

Even a bad day in Key West is better than.... but today looks a little threatening! Two different weather map views of the same situation, top one is Windy (degrees Celsius) showing direction and strength, the second is Storm Radar.

Fishing in the Florida Straits....

Ocean to plate! Morning fishing run with Emerson off the Marquesas Keys, some 20 miles south-west of Key West, where we caught Hogfish, Atlantic shark, Black tip reef shark, Grunts, Porgies, Yellowtail and Grouper with Captain Josh Collins who did a great job locating fish and skillfully making fillets for us to take home to the Southermost Beach Cafe for our delightful dinner!

Latitudes Lunch

Going for lunch at Latitudes on Sunset Key feels like an airport security check! Your reservation time is based on the ferry shuttle time and woe if you try to come early or late. Identity and number of guests is verified by radio with island security control and you are allowed to board. A peaceful five minute cruise later you arrived at the covered dock and walk ashore to the restaurant which features photos of the life of local legend Ernest Hemingway. Lovely lunch by the large windows as it was too windy and cool to be on the terrace. We had lobster, grouper and shrimp, with chocolate dessert of course. Our truck was comped for four hours of free parking in the hotel parking deck and we needed every minute of it!

Evening light show!

Just to add a little sparkle to our sunset evenings in the Keys we have strung a double chain of red chili pepper lights throughout the Tiki hut and fired up a discrete blue laser moving starfield.... great reflections off our shiny aluminum!

Dinner at Geiger Key

Sunday evening dinner at Geiger Key Marina and Fish Camp.... sitting on the dock of the bay.... far enough away from the band so that we can still talk!

Arrived in Key West

Moved into our new site #17 at Geiger Key, enjoyed yellowtail snapper for dinner, then woke up to sunrise over the inlet. A balmy 74F breeze and a few F-18 jets from the local Naval Air Station got the day going!

Project completed!

Some projects fall outside the realm of tweaks and should really be considered significant upgrades. The drawer unit was a month long project with lots of challenges! We sacrificed 2 feet off our port berth bunk and a small pull out bed and replaced it with a five drawer unit, with 6 cubic feet of storage, purpose designed cabinet. This took us into the realm of cooking rather than camping with an entire 24 x 24 drawer for cutlery and kitchen tools, a complete spice collection with cutting boards and blenders, a drawer of 15 pop-up containers for all the culinary staples, and two spare drawers with books and computers. Topped off with an exotic wood butcher block counter top, it transforms our Airstream function and appearance! More info to follow on this project.....

So much for Privacy!

Margaret and Claudia checking out Tiger Woods private yacht "Privacy" at North Palm Beach, Florida. Tiger's yacht is registered in George Town, Grand Cayman islands in the Caribbean, a well established tax haven. No sign of Tiger or any of his groupies!

Testing new antenna system

Having spotted an excellent idea on the Alaska caravan I ordered a telescopic flagpole and converted the mast to accept two aluminum channels to support the cell phone booster and the wi-if booster antennas. Weboost is giving us an additional two bars above normal cell phone reception! Visiting the splendid Jonathan Dickinson SP near Jupiter Florida.

Titusville Florida

Ah... leaving the north and the first day of warm moist air in Florida is quite unforgettable. Shirts and t-shirts get taken out of storage and sunglasses are needed! Catching up with David and Diana Spahn ( of SW Adventure and Alaska Caravan fame ) in their new house in the The Great Outdoor community dedicated to RV travelers! Every home comes with a 13 ft tall garage to accommodate motor home or trailers!

Welcome to 2019

What a start to the New Year! Margaret's crack of dawn photo from our bedroom on January first! Is this an omen? Red sky in the morning.... Sailor's warning! Usually we start our trek south just after Christmas Day but this year due to an injury we delayed a week. Our reservation at Geiger Key, 1,200 miles away, starts January 8 so time to start rolling! Time enough to visit friends along the way!