Coconut and Crew

Back Home... For Now!

2010-01-21T22:44:00.000-05:00

Location: Jacksonville Beach, FL

Well, we are back home… and back to reality. But, we had a great time our last week in Key West. So, we hope you will enjoy reading about our last week.

Southernmost Donor
Captain Jim took the time to do a good thing and donate blood. Out of appreciation for his blood donation, he got a Southernmost Donor t-shirt.

I was so proud of Captain Jim, I gave him kisses:

This is the Southernmost Donor t-shirt:

Just Another Sunset…
Just another beautiful sunset in Key West. We never get tired of them.

Reunion in Key West
While Admiral Sandy was putting our previous blog post on Facebook, she saw that her friend Denise from New Hampshire had posted: “Here we go… Blue Heaven for lunch… and of course… cool refreshing beverages.” So, Admiral Sandy got in touch with Denise and arranged to meet up with her at the Schooner Wharf Bar!

It had been almost 10 years since Admiral Sandy and Captain Jim had seen Denise, so it was great to see her again!

Girls night out with Denise and her friends (l to r: Julie, Denise, Sandy, Jen and Shelly):

Filling Up with the Octane Crew
We had fun spending the evening at the Turtle Kraals Tower Bar with Captain Scott and First Mate Abby from Octane. Octane is an 80 foot power yacht docked across from our boat that has 5 guest rooms, 2 crew rooms, 7 bathrooms, a hot tub, a kitchen with all the luxuries, a living room and dining room.

(l to r: Captain Scott, First Mate Abby, Admiral Sandy, me and Captain Jim):

Captain Scott on Octane:

Octane:

Here Comes the Sun…
Key West may be famous for its sunsets, but it also has some beautiful sunrises:

We Thought We Were Getting Away From the Cold
Unfortunately, Key West could not escape the cold weather that descended on the United States after the first of the year. For nearly two weeks, Key West experienced lower than average temperatures. Some of the days, the temperatures were nearly 20 degrees below average. And on January 11th, the low in Key West hit 42 degrees, almost breaking the record low of 41 degrees was set in Key West was in 1889. Admiral Sandy and Captain Jim didn’t enjoy having to bundle up, but I loved the cold weather!

Sadly, the tropical fish and turtles in the Keys cannot bundle up to protect themselves from the cold. The turtle hospital had to rescue many turtles and place them in their hospital in Marathon to warm them up. In Key West, we saw many tropical fish that were struggling and dying from the cold. It was so sad to see parrotfish, yellowtail snapper, puffer fish and trunk fish that were dying or dead.

At least some people in Key West have a good sense of humor about the weather. On one of my morning walks, we found these snow shoes for rent by Southernmost Snow Shoe Rental:

You gotta love it!

Kelly’s Happy Hour
The cold weather wasn’t going to keep us from enjoying Kelly’s happy hour: $2 beer, $2.50 well drinks, $3 margaritas and $4 wings. Yummy! If you are ever in Key West, you must go to Kelly’s from 4-7pm for their great happy hour: http://www.kellyskeywest.com/.

While enjoying happy hour, we met some newlyweds:

Lots of Dolphins
Captain Ken on Dreamchaser took Admiral Sandy and Captain Jim out for a ride on his runabout.

While they were out, they found a group of dolphins playing near the anchorage off Fleming Key.

The dolphins love to surf in the boat’s wake:

The dolphins also like to swim in the bow wake just below the bow:

Here’s a baby dolphin:

Time for Race Week
The racing sail boats have started coming to the Key West marinas in preparation for Race Week (Jan. 18-24). Here are some of the race boats at the Historic Seaport:

The bigger race boats are at the Westin marina. Check out the wheel on this one:

We found this boat that is named after one of Admiral Sandy’s favorite drinks: a Goombay Smash:

This boat is from the Isle of Man near England:

The crews are busily getting their boats ready:

It’s a busy day with the race boats and the two cruise ships that are in port!

Fame and Paparazzi
Well, I guess my blog has made me famous! While hanging out at the Schooner Wharf Bar, one of my adoring fans came up to Admiral Sandy and asked her “Is this Coconut?” Admiral Sandy confirmed that I was indeed Coconut. That’s when the excited fan told us that he and his wife were from Virginia and had been following our blog. As we chatted with Captain Woody and Admiral Brenda, we learned that my blog inspired them to bring their 26 foot McGregor to Key West and to blog about their adventures. So, be sure to check out their blog at: http://www.go-where-its-warm.blogspot.com/ and you can see the photo of all of us at the Schooner Wharf Bar.

Here is a photo of us all on Morgan Glory (l to r: Capt. Woody, Admiral Brenda, Admiral Sandy, me and Capt. Jim):

Captain Dennis
While visiting Key West this past summer, we met Captain Dennis who is a Captain for Danger Charters. Since we have been back, we have had a lot of fun chatting with Captain Dennis when he stops by the boat on his dinghy.

The Danger Charters boats are beautiful traditional American sailing boats called “Skipjacks”. Since we had only seen the boats from a distance when we were sailing, we decided to go to the Westin marina to see Captain Dennis and the Danger Charters boats.

Here are Sarah and Danger’s Prize:

Captain Dennis preparing to leave on a charter:

Captain Dennis leaving the harbor with Sarah:

If you ever want to sail, snorkel or do a sunset “wind and wine” trip, you should check out Danger Charters: http://www.dangercharters.com/

They Call This Art?
One day while walking around Key West, we came across a strange site: a guy painting some nude women!

I wonder if I can get in this painting:

Now this is art:

On Your Mark, Get Set, Shuck…
During our stay in Key West, Admiral Sandy has been pretty lucky and has won two chances to pick a key at the Pepe’s Oyster Races. Both times, the emcee offered her $20 shucking dollars in exchange for her key and Admiral Sandy took the deal both times. So we have enjoyed spending the $40 shucking dollars on breakfast at Pepe’s. Taking the deal was the right thing to do because neither key opened the lock.

A few days before we left Key West, the prize pot for Pepe’s Oyster Race was up to $500 so we decided to see if we could win the money! Once again, Admiral Sandy won a chance to pick a key and she chose key #6. Our friends Pat on Homeward Bound and Larry on Banana Wind also won a chance to pick a key. So, we were hopeful that someone would walk away with the $500.

Pat tried her key and it didn’t open the lock. Bummer!

Larry tried his key and it didn’t open the lock. Bummer!

When Admiral Sandy stepped up to try her key, the emcee sat her in a chair and told her he would make a deal with her AFTER everyone else had tried their keys. Admiral Sandy was pretty excited because there might be a good chance that she had the key.

The emcee tried to convince Admiral Sandy to give up her key in exchange for $30 shucking dollars, what was behind “door #3” and what was behind the “other door #3”. Captain Jim urged Admiral Sandy to try the key, so Admiral Sandy refused the deal. Admiral Sandy tried her key and it didn’t open the lock. Big bummer!

Oh well. Captain Jim said that we came in with nothing and we left with nothing. So, it’s not so bad. By the way, the emcee told everyone that the winning key was #8… so Admiral Sandy’s key #6 was really close!

So Long Homeward Bound
Captain Randy and Pat were making plans to leave Key West on Sunday to start their 3-day ocean voyage to Isla Mujeres. So, we all got together for one last time to toast our new friendship and wish them a safe and wonderful trip.

I found my favorite bunk and took a nap:

Nancy and Brian on the sail boat Four Points had just arrived in Key West from Mexico, so they joined us to share their experiences with Randy and Pat:

We are so glad we met Captain Randy and Pat. We had lots of fun times together in Key West and look forward to the day when we can get together again. In the meantime, we wish them favorable winds and gentle seas as they continue their adventures on Homeward Bound. You can follow their blog at: http://www.hbsailing.com/.

Note from Admiral Sandy: We have spoken to Captain Randy and Pat and they have arrived safely in Isla Mujeres.

We’ll Be Back…
We had to move Morgan Glory from the marina slip to make room for all the race boats, so we put Morgan Glory on a mooring. We will plan to return to Key West when it is warmer to bring her back to Jacksonville Beach. So we packed the car and headed back to Jacksonville Beach.

We look forward to going back to Key West when it is warmer. Until then, I am going to try to find places in Jacksonville Beach that will give me bacon until I can get back to key West!

We hope you have enjoyed following our Key West adventure! Be sure to watch for our blog update when we go back to Key West to bring Morgan Glory back.

Coconut and Crew

You may join my Yahoo group by going to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/coconutandcrew/

Happy New Year!

2010-01-07T14:35:00.000-05:00

Location: Key West, FL

Happy New Year to everyone! Unfortunately, the cold weather has hit Key West and we are bundled up wishing the warm weather would return. So, grab yourself a warm cup of hot chocolate and sit back and enjoy our New Year’s blog post. I hope the next time we post to the blog, it will be warmer and sunnier in Key West. Until then, we hope you will enjoy our latest chilly adventures.

Oyster Races
In my summer blog, you may recall me telling you about the Oyster Races at Pepe’s restaurant every Monday and Friday. Well, on Monday, December 28th, we went to the Oyster races to see if we could win $425 dollars. Admiral Sandy won a chance to pick a key to the money box and the emcee offered her a deal of $25 shucking dollars to give up her key. Admiral Sandy took the deal and was happy to find out that she made a good decision when her key didn’t open the money box lock! So, we had $25 to spend at Pepe’s! Since we go to Pepe’s a lot, it was great to win the money! By the way, the guy that had the winning key took the deal and was disappointed when he found out that his key opened the lock! That’s ok, that just means we all have a chance to win $450 at the next race! If you ever visit Key West, be sure to visit Pepe’s and try to win money in their Oyster Race: http://www.pepescafe.net/

Sunset on the Hook
Dave and Sharon invited Captain Jim and Admiral Sandy to enjoy cocktails, appetizers and sunset on their boat Naughton that is anchored off Fleming Key. Since they have a Gordon Setter on their boat, I had to stay behind and guard our boat.

Here is a picture of Naughton:

Captain Dave and Sharon:

Pat (from Homeward Bound) and Kerri (the Gordon Setter):

The sunset crew on Naughton:

Sunset from Naughton:

View of Homeward Bound from Naughton:

Moonrise over the anchorage:

It was hard work taking care of the boat while Captain Jim and Admiral Sandy were away. But, I found ways to entertain myself by eating half of a container of treats that I had received for Christmas! Yummy! By the time Captain Jim and Admiral Sandy returned, I was full and sleepy.

Note from Admiral Sandy: On a sailboat, it is a real challenge to find safe places for food and treats that Coconut can’t reach. She has always been such a chow hound, I was shocked to see that she only ate half of the treats. I guess she really does have a limit to how much she will eat… unless it is bacon.

Mary and Mike Add to the Fun
Our friends Mary and Mike drove down from Jacksonville Beach to spend New Years with us on Morgan Glory! I really love Mary and Mike because they give me lots of treats!

Key West sunset the night Mary and Mike arrived:

New Year’s Eve sunrise:

Pilots N Paws
On New Year’s Eve day, we met a pilot named Jeff who is with Pilots N Paws. Jeff adopted his lab mix Rocky from a litter of puppies that came from a shelter in Huntsville, Alabama. Captain Jim and Admiral Sandy adopted me May 1, 1999 from the same shelter in Huntsville, Alabama! It’s a small world!

Jeff and Rocky:

Rocky (he is such a handsome guy):

Pilots N Paws is a great organization where pilots donate their time to fly animals in need of rescue to other locations where they can be adopted. Because of the wonderful pilots, many animals are being saved from high kill shelters where they would die and are transported to areas where the animals can find a forever home. Please visit their web site http://www.pilotsnpaws.org/ and consider making a donation to this very worthy cause!

Thanks, Jeff for all you do for the animals in need!

Walking in a Wiener Wonderland
On New Year’s Eve day, we went to watch the annual Daschund parade. This year, there were 140 daschunds in the parade! Wow, that’s a lot of weenie dogs in one place!

The parade begins:

The parade even had a band!

Weenie dogs of all kinds participated:

Some rode in a boat:

Some rode in a stroller:

Some rode in a wagon:

Many of them were in costumes:

Check out this shirt. The Key West chickens should be very afraid!

Cuban Coffee Queen Time
After watching all the weenie dogs, we were hungry. So we stopped by the Cuban Coffee Queen for one of their great Cuban sandwiches. I really like the Cuban Coffee Queen because they give me ham. I am keeping a close watch on the kitchen in hopes I will get some ham:

If you ever visit Key West, we recommend you try their great Cuban sandwich! http://www.cubancoffeequeen.net/.

New Year’s Eve Festivities Begin at the Schooner Wharf
10 years ago, we spent New Year’s Eve at the Schooner Wharf Bar ringing in the millennium. So, it was only appropriate to spend some time there, listening to Michael McCloud. I love that dogs can hang out at the bar… and get treats at the bar! Thanks Missy, Vikki and Angus for the yummy New Year’s Eve treats!

This is my favorite spot at the bar:

New Year’s Eve Happy Hour at the Turtle Kraals Tower Bar
After leaving the Schooner Wharf Bar, we went to the Turtle Kraals Tower Bar to watch the sun set for the last time in 2009 and enjoy some of the great happy hour food.

(l to r) me, Captain Jim, Mike and Mary:

Last Sunset for 2009
From the Turtle Kraals Tower Bar, we watched the last sunset of 2009. Unfortunately, there was a cruise ship in the way!

Captain Jim and Admiral Sandy:

New Year’s Eve Full Moon
We also watched the full moon rise from the Turtle Kraals Tower Bar. The New Year’s Eve full moon was also known as a blue moon because it was the second full moon of the month:

Countdown to Midnight
There are a lot of things to do in Key West to ring in the New Year: Sloppy Joe’s Bar lowers a conch shell at midnight, 801 Bourbon lowers the drag queen Sushi in a red slipper, and the Schooner Wharf Bar lowers a pirate wench down the mast of the Hallie & Matthew schooner.

Captain Jim, Admiral Sandy, Mary and Mike walked to Duval Street around 10:30pm to see what was happening on Duval. They left me on the boat because they were afraid I might get stepped on because Duval Street was expected to be busy. They found Duval Street packed with people and people were throwing beads to everyone on the street from porches overlooking Duval. Admiral Sandy said it reminded her of Bourbon Street in New Orleans on New Year’s Eve.

Admiral Sandy also told me about a performer named Jeep and his dog Mo that entertained the Duval Street crowd. The man played a banjo and his golden retriever went around to the crowd collecting dollar bills in his mouth. When he had 5 or 6 dollar bills in his mouth, he would deposit the bills in the guy’s banjo case. Judging from the amount of dollars in the case, this dog was really raking in the bucks for the banjo player. You can see a photo and information about Jeep and Mo: www.sunsetcelebration.org/performers/jeep.htm

Note from Admiral Sandy: First Mate Coconut needs to learn how to beg for money instead of begging for bacon! Wow! With all the bacon begging she does, we could be rich!

Everyone returned from Duval Street a little before midnight so we could all watch the dropping of the wench. Because the wench would be dropping just a few docks from our boat, we didn’t have to go very far for the festivities.

With our champagne bottle ready, we waited for midnight:

Mary and Mike had fun with their party favors:

The wench began dropping from the mast with the lighted countdown numbers:

The New Year revelers after midnight and our first photo of 2010:

New Years Dock Party
After midnight, we went back to our dock where an impromptu dock party formed in front of our boat.

The party crew: (backs to the camera) Captain Randy and Mike; (seated left to right) Captain Jim, Pat, Alex (on a charter sailboat), Emily (Pat and Randy’s daughter) and Mary; (standing left to right) Captain Scott (on the powerboat Octane) and Captain Mike (on a charter sailboat).

I was tired and fell asleep on Captain Jim’s lap. I am not used to being up so late!

Mike got tired and decided to take a nap on the dock. But, Mary wouldn’t let him be a party pooper and blew her party horn to wake him up.

Captain Jim and Pat wearing New Year party hats. The hats look like birds to me, but I am too tired to chase them!

About 2am, Mike and I decided we were done partying and we went to sleep on the boat while the party continued for everyone else:

Sailing into the New Year
On New Year’s Day, the weather was so beautiful, we decided to go sailing. What a great way to spend the first day of the year! Temperatures were in the 70’s and there was a great wind for sailing.

Mike and Mary enjoying the sail:

Morgan Glory under sail:

Thanks to Captain Randy on Homeward Bound for the great photos of Morgan Glory under sail.

Captain Randy had signal flags flying from Homeward Bound that conveyed Happy New Year to all in the anchorage:

Blue Heaven
A good way to start off the New Year is with a great breakfast at Blue Heaven. We took Mary and Mike so they could enjoy the breakfast and watching the chickens run around the tables… I enjoyed the bacon.

Captain Jim teased me by putting a piece of bacon the glass top of our table. I wasn’t really sure how to get to it:

Sunset from The Top
Captain Jim and Admiral Sandy took Mary and Mike to The Top Bar at the top of the Crowne Plaza La Concha on Duval Street. I couldn’t go because they don’t allow dogs. But The Top is one of the best places to watch the sun set.

Mary and Admiral Sandy:

The sunset crew at The Top:

Mike and Mary watching the sunset:

Beautiful sunset:

The chilly sunset crew after the sun has gone down:

View of the Key West lighthouse:

Last Night with Mary and Mike
On Mary and Mike’s last night, Captain Jim and Admiral Sandy took them to El Siboney for the best Cuban food on the island. If you ever make it to Key West, you definitely need to visit El Siboney, 900 Catherine St., http://www.elsiboneyrestaurant.com/.

After a great dinner, everyone had fun playing cards until late in the night:

We had so much fun with Mary and Mike! We are so glad that they drove to Key West to spend some time with us and help us ring in the New Year with laughter and great friends. With such a great start to the year, we are hopeful that 2010 will be a great year for us.

We hope your 2010 has gotten off to a great start! We will be leaving Key West soon, so look for our next blog post about our last week in Key West!

Coconut and Crew

You may join my Yahoo group by going to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/coconutandcrew/

Merry Keys-mas!

2009-12-29T13:59:00.001-05:00

Location: Key West, FL

I apologize for the delay in posting to the blog, but we have not been able to get internet access. The market has had problems with their internet equipment and thanks to Admiral Sandy, the internet is up and running again. So, we can give you an update on all the fun things we have done since our last post.

O Christmas Wreath…

We decided to decorate Morgan Glory with a Christmas wreath… of the nautical kind. After searching high and low for a life ring to make our Christmas wreath, we found a used one that we could borrow (it would have been $70 to buy a life ring). Admiral Sandy decorated it with white lights and made a big green bow for the nautical Christmas wreath. Now our boat has a little holiday spirit.

Lighted Boat Parade

The Key West Lighted Boat Parade was held in the Historic Seaport harbor, so we had a front row seat (from our boat slip) to see all the lighted boats. The weather was great and the boats were beautiful. Here are pictures of some of the boats:

We also had a front row seat to some excitement: an Island Packet sail boat collided with our dock during the boat parade! The boat had just passed in front of our dock and was turning to pass in front of the judges dock when the shifter cable broke. When the captain realized the boat was about to hit our dock, he tried put the boat into forward and gave it throttle. Because the shifter cable was broken, the boat was stuck in reverse and the boat rammed the dock, just barely missing a power boat.

Fortunately, the inflatable dinghy that was mounted on davits on the back of the boat acted as a bumper and cushioned the collision with the dock. The crew threw a stern line over to tie off the stern of the boat. Captain Jim quickly retrieved a spare line from our boat and threw it to the crew to help them bring the bow into the dock. Unfortunately, the boat didn’t win a prize in the boat parade. But, we gave it a “10” for providing some entertainment and excitement! People were talking about the boat that rammed the dock for days… and we could say we were there!

Balk and Diane Visit Key West

Our friends Balk and Diane that used to live in Key West, returned from Chicago to spend a week at their timeshare. We had lots of fun with them while they were here. Of course, we spent some time at the Schooner Wharf Bar with them.

We took them out on the boat and saw a rainbow (click on the photo to enlarge):

We also spent some time with them at the Schooner Wharf with some new friends (clockwise): Me, Captain Jim, Randy, Pat, Diane, Jeane, Steve, Balk, Uwa and Eileen.

(l to r): Captain Jim, Randy, Pat and Diane:

Randy and Pat on the sail boat Homeward Bound:

Steve and Jeane (from Louisiana):

Jeane, Steve Balk and Uwa (from Indiatlantic, FL):

Merry Christmas Cruise with Dream Chaser

Captain Ken and Kathy invited Admiral Sandy and Captain Jim to join them on Dream Chaser for a sunset cruise and dinner. Although I had to stay on the boat, Admiral Sandy and Captain Jim had a great time.

The cool weather didn’t keep the dolphins from getting out and putting on a show for everyone:

Admiral Sandy and Captain Jim on Dream Chaser:

Captain Ken and Kathy on Dream Chaser:

Dream Chaser anchored offshore from the Southernmost point:

The Dream Chaser crew treated Admiral Sandy and Captain Jim to a wonderful evening with a shrimp and conch fritters appetizer. The dinner was an amazing dinner of lobster, steak and Mahi Mahi. If you are ever in Key West, you definitely must plan to spend some time with Dream Chaser Charters, you will really enjoy it: http://www.dreamchasercharters.com/. Thanks Captain Ken and Kathy for a wonderful and memorable time!

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

In addition to the decorated boats, Key West has lots of decorated homes. Our friends, Captain Bob and Captain Fran (from Double Decker) actually won first place for the best lighted home in the Key West! Congratulations Captain Bob… all your hard work paid off!

Captain Bob’s decorations are impressive with animated light scenes that he made: jumping dolphins and a rowing snowman. He also strung lights to say “Merry Keys-mas”!

The Curry Mansion Bed and Breakfast was beautifully lit:

The Cypress House Bed and Breakfast also had beautiful lights and music:

Other lighted homes in Old Town:

When it Rains, It Pours

We have been having great weather for December: 80 degrees during the day and 70 degrees at night. So, when we had some wind and rain come, we really couldn’t complain. However, it was a lot of wind and a lot of rain. It rained so much, there was flooding throughout Key West. The newspapers said that Key West got more rain that they did when Hurricane Wilma came through a few years back. Diane and Balk took these great photos of the rain and flooding.

Boats in the marina:

Flooding:

Dinner on Homeward Bound

We have really enjoyed spending time with our new friends Randy and Pat on a sail boat named Homeward Bound. They are staying in Key West until mid-January. Captain Jim met them when he was bringing our boat down to Key West and they were going to Key West. Here is a photo Captain Jim took of Homeward Bound under sail on the way to Key West. Isn't Homeward Bound a beautiful boat?

Randy and Pat are from Pennsylvania. They retired, sold everything and have been cruising for the last two years (we wish we could retire and do that!). Homeward Bound is a beautiful 42 foot sail boat that is designed similar to the sail boat Spray that Joshua Slocum sailed alone around the world from 1895-1898 (46,000 miles). You can read more about their boat and their adventures on their web site: http://www.hbsailing.com/.

One night, Randy and Pat invited us over for a wonderful Italian dinner. They also invited Sharon and Dave from Rhode Island that are visiting Key West on their trawler.

Homeward Bound is so roomy their dining table easily accommodated all 6 of us. Here is a photo of the salon with the dining table set for dinner. What a beautiful boat!

This is Pat standing in her galley:

Because Randy and Pat love dogs, I was invited to come along. I even got a special treat when they gave me a bone that I really loved chewing on!

While everyone was eating, I decided to make myself at home and take a nap in their bed. Randy and Pat were so nice and said they didn’t mind me being on their bed because their granddogs sleep on the bed when they are visiting. If you click on the photo, the picture will enlarge and you can see my eyes are closed... I am really loving this huge bed!

Dinner was wonderful and Admiral Sandy and Captain Jim really enjoyed the conversation and learning more about Randy and Pat’s adventures. Next stop for Randy and Pat is Isla Mujeras on their way to Belize. We wish them a safe and wonderful trip!

Note from Admiral Sandy: Homeward Bound is a beautiful boat that has a great layout, lots of room, refrigeration and a freezer! Boy, do I miss refrigeration. I wish we could retire and go cruising in a beautiful boat like Homeward Bound. Hopefully, some day!

Christmas Eve Fun

We decided to go to Blue Heaven for a Christmas eve breakfast... and bacon for me! Holly, who works at Blue Heaven has asked me to be their new neighborhood dog. Apparently, their neighborhood dog would come by every day and they would give him bacon. Sadly, the neighborhood dog died a few weeks ago and they are missing the visits. I am definitely interested in the job! It is quite a long walk from the marina, but I don't mind at all. I will do anything for bacon!

While I patiently waited for Holly to bring my special treat of bacon, this rooster tried to sneak up on me.

The rooster also wanted to drink my water.

I found this cat lounging on the porch at Blue Heaven. Life is good for the cats at Blue Heaven.

Admiral Sandy took this photo of me in the fountain garden at the entrance to Blue Heaven.

We decided to spend Christmas eve at the Schooner Wharf Bar listening to Michael McCloud. The weather was beautiful: shorts, tank tops and flip flop kind of weather.

Vikky, one of our favorite bartenders at the Schooner Wharf:

Serenity, a Jack Russell, came to the bar decked out in her Santa hat and with one of Santa’s helpers:

Santa’s helper came to see me and let me know that Santa would be coming to visit me tonight!

Christmas in Key West

Christmas day finally arrived and I got to open my presents from Santa! Boy did I have fun ripping open my presents!

Here is a picture of me with all my Christmas presents: a braided bully chew, a santa toy and a bag of treats. Obviously, I was a good girl this year because Santa was really good to me. I am so happy, I am smiling.

Later that afternoon, Admiral Sandy and Captain Jim went to Chef Kat’s house for Christmas lunch. I couldn’t go with them because Chef Kat’s dogs don’t know me, so I stayed on the boat. But, Chef Kat was so sweet and sent me a present of treats that I really enjoyed. She also sent some leftover turkey home with Admiral Sandy and Captain Jim… and they shared it with me. Yummmy! Thanks Chef Kat!

Chef Kat and her daughter Cassie in front of their Christmas tree:

Romeo and Mandy in front of the Christmas tree:

Chef Kat’s Chihuahua Squirt:

The Christmas crew who enjoyed Chef Kat’s wonderful Christmas lunch: (l to r) Bill, Chef Kat, Cassie, Admiral Sandy and Captain Jim:

When Captain Jim and I returned from our afternoon walk, we had a Christmas visit from Doug, Sassy and Boca. Doug lives near the marina and writes the weekly blog about happenings in Key West: http://www.thisweekontheisland.blogspot.com/. You should check it out, it is always a good read.

As Christmas day was ending, we watched the beautiful sunset and were very thankful for the wonderful Christmas we had.

And I went to bed a tired but happy puppy and dreamed of all the great things Santa brought me.

We hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas! And we wish you a happy, healthy and wonderful 2010! Look for our next blog post about our New Year adventures in Key West!

Wishing you all a happy, healthy and prosperous 2010!

Coconut and Crew

You may join my Yahoo group by going to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/coconutandcrew/

Happy Holidays from Key West!

2009-12-12T09:56:00.012-05:00

Location: Key West, FL

Hi all! Coconut and Crew are at it again! We missed the beautiful warm weather of the Keys, so we decided to return to Key West for the holidays!

Because of certain obligations in Jacksonville Beach, Admiral Sandy and I stayed back in Jacksonville Beach while Captain Jim took the boat to Key West alone. They call it “single handing” the boat, and it was something that Captain Jim really wanted to try. He had a great trip! I hope he will do a special blog posting with photos from his trip. In the meantime, we are planning to be in Key West for 6 weeks, so I am going to update you about all the great things we are doing and seeing while we enjoy the wonderful weather for the holidays.

Girl Time

Our holiday adventure began when Admiral Sandy and her best friend Amy flew to Key West for a little “girl time” before Captain Jim and I travelled down by car. Amy hadn’t been to Key West in 20 years, so she and Admiral Sandy spent most of her visit seeing the sites of Key West by bicycle.

When they arrived by plane, they missed the sunset, so they made sure they didn’t miss it the second night in Key West. They went to the top of the Crowne Plaza La Concha on Duval where they could get a great bird’s eye view of the Key West and the beautiful sunset.

They also so this guy going down Duval Street on a tricycle decorated with lights. Only in Key West!

Unfortunately, the whole time Amy was in Key West, the view of the sunset from the boat was blocked by a 177 foot yacht called “Noble House”. We were told it is owned by the Noble House publishing company in England and can be rented (including the 12 member crew) for $240,000 per week! We think we will just stick to our modest little 32 foot sailboat that is a little more economical.

When Captain Jim and I arrived in Key West, I was so excited to see my favorite dockmaster, Aunt Terri.

I brought a special present for Aunt Terri because she had been so good to me and gave me lots of treats while we were in Key West over the summer. The note on the card said “I hope you like this present ‘cause I sure do!”

Aunt Terri is so sweet, she shared her present with me!!!

Before taking Amy to the airport, we took her for a great breakfast at Pepe’s restaurant.

Moonrise over the Marina

We saw this beautiful moonrise over marina when the moon was nearly full.

After Noble House left, we caught this amazing sunset from our boat.

It wouldn’t be Christmas without a Christmas Tree

Admiral Sandy put up a special Christmas tree, just the perfect size for the boat. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of spare room on the boat, so the Christmas tree is taking up a lot of the navigation station table.

Admiral Sandy has assured me that Santa will be able to find me in Key West. We don’t have a chimney on the sailboat, so Admiral Sandy and Captain Jim plan to leave the companionway hatch open so Santa can drop off my presents.

Visitors come by Air or Sea

We have had some interesting visitors while in the marina. The pelican decided to perch on the piling next to our boat and watch us for a while. I am not comfortable around birds that are bigger than me!

We also had a visit from a gorgeous manatee! This manatee was so big and healthy and didn’t have any prop scars on its back.

Key West Holiday Parade

We had a great time attending the Key West Holiday Parade that was held at night on Saturday, Dec. 4^th. The parade was fun with lots of holiday-lighted floats, 3 Santas (I am not sure how Santa was able to be on 3 floats), lots of pirates, and people throwing candy to the kids. There were some dogs in the parade and I don’t know why they didn’t throw treats to the dogs watching the parade. I think I am going to have to talk to Santa about fixing that next year!

Pet Photos with Santa

The Key West Bight had a special night where pets could get their photos taken with Santa.

I was surprised to see a rooster getting his photo taken with Santa! (Click on the photo to enlarge it and see the rooster)

And this huge 18 year old orange cat named Boo Boo had his photo taken with Santa. He hissed a lot at the all the dogs that had come out for their photos.

I didn’t get my photo taken because I was a little scared of Santa!

Bars are Cat-Friendly Too

We found out that the Turtle Kraals Tower Bar is very cat-friendly. Boo Boo slept on the bar because he was tired from all the excitement getting his photo taken with Santa and hissing at all the dogs!

Key West Ghost Tour

We had a frighteningly good time on the Key West Ghost Tour with our friend John who is a tour guide. John did a really good job taking us to all the haunted places and telling us the stories. But, we didn’t see any ghosts. That’s ok, I was afraid of John in his long black outfit and hat… so that was scary enough for me!

Well, that is all for now. But, be sure to look for our next posting in about a week. There are lots more fun things scheduled for the next week, so we can’t wait to share them with you!

Coconut and Crew

You may join my Yahoo group by going to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/coconutandcrew/

We're Home!

2009-09-01T15:43:00.013-04:00

Location: Jacksonville Beach, FL

Well, we are finally home, 3 months after our sailing adventure began. And what a great adventure it has been. Of course, the remainder of the trip had some memorable moments. So, sit back and relax and enjoy the final leg of our trip home.

Thursday, August 27, 2009
St. Augustine, FL
We decided to stay an extra day in St. Augustine. Admiral Sandy said she wasn’t ready for the trip to be over, so she was stalling by keeping us in St. Augustine. Personally, I think Captain Jim and Admiral Sandy just wanted to prolong my yearning for my bed, my yard and my air conditioning!

Here are some photos of St. Augustine:

Fort Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine:

While in St. Augustine, we had a nice lunch with our sailing friend Fland, who keeps his catamaran in St. Augustine. We also met a couple named Paul and Malinda who live on a 41 foot Morgan Out Island named “Daydream”. They have been living on their sail boat for the last 7 years and have spent most of that time in the Caribbean. They may be headed to Jacksonville to do some work on their boat, so we hope to see them again. Here is a photo of “Daydream”.

Friday, August 28, 2009
Destination: Jacksonville Beach, FL
As we were preparing to leave the anchorage, Captain Jim spotted this turtle that swam up to our boat. The turtle was trying to get under the boat, so Captain Jim had a hard time getting his photo.

You can see in this photo, the brown color of the water now that we are in northeast Florida. Admiral Sandy said it is not as pretty as the water in the Keys. But, Admiral Jim said the water is that color because of the tannic acid released by decaying vegetation. It is good to know that the brown is not because of pollution.

Approaching rain:

Here are some photos of the beautiful scenery north of St. Augustine. Much of this natural area is part of the Guana State Park (a.k.a. Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve, GTMNERR).

If you look closely at this picture, you can see two egrets in flight:

I'm just enjoying the ride:

Here is a photo of a roseate spoonbill. We wish we could have gotten a closer shot, but it is the pink bird near the middle of the photo. We don't see these birds very often, so it is a real treat when we do.

Rain ahead:

I love all the smells:

As we approached the Palm Valley bridge, the rain hit. But after the rain subsided, the water was so smooth, it was like a mirror:

But, Wait… The Adventure Isn’t Over Yet!
We were only about an hour and a half away from Jacksonville Beach when the engine began to sputter and then it stopped running completely! I thought we had gotten to our destination, so I got excited. But, Captain Jim wasn’t so excited. When he checked the fuel tank, he realized that we had run out of fuel. I could tell that mild-mannered Captain Jim was frustrated because he had worked so hard the whole trip calculating how much fuel we needed every time we re-fueled. Unfortunately, his calculations were just a little off.

What happened next is what makes our adventure so memorable. In this section of the ICW, the waterway is very narrow. But, we were able to anchor the boat on the west side of the ICW to give boats room to pass us.

The east side of this section of the ICW is lined with homes. So, we were very grateful when a nice man named Steve noticed we were having problems and yelled to us from his dock. We told him we were out of fuel and he offered to take Captain Jim to a station down the road. So, Capt. Jim rowed over to Steve’s house.

Admiral Sandy and I were chilling out on the boat when I heard a sound that got my attention.

As we watched to see what caused the sound, we spotted 4 or 5 manatee in the water off our port bow! We were so excited because we had seen several manatees on our trip, but had not gotten a photo of any. So, we tried to get some photos, but the manatee did not come close to the boat. We were only able to catch small glimpses of the manatees as they moved past the boat.

Here is photo of a manatee’s tail that came to the surface:

Here is a photo of a manatee that broke the surface of the water, but we have no idea what part of the manatee came out of the water.

I really enjoyed watching the manatees:

Here is a view of the ICW from our anchorage while we were waiting for Captain Jim to return with fuel.

Can you find the beautiful egret perched in the fallen tree along the ICW?

Captain Jim and Steve return from getting fuel. We are forever grateful to Steve for his kindness. He is one of the many reasons our trip has been so wonderful.

Once Captain Jim put the fuel in the tank and bled the fuel lines, we were underway again only an hour after we ran out of fuel.

Ponte Vedra has some big houses too:

Home Again
The beautiful salt marshes west of Jacksonville Beach as we approached our final bridge for the trip, the new McCormick Bridge that replaced the old drawbridge:

Palm Cove Marina as seen from our approach on the ICW:

View of palm trees and the McCormick bridge from the channel leading to our marina:

Morgan Glory safely tucked into her slip #E17. By the way, #E17 was the slip where Morgan Glory resided in the Key West Bight Marina. What an amazing coincidence!

Our friend Captain Ron came to give Admiral Sandy a ride to the house to pick up the car. When I saw him, I got so excited, I couldn’t stop barking and howling! I was especially hoping his wife Sharon was with him because she usually gives me vienna sausages for a treat. She wasn't with him, but I did get to see her later and she gave me some "welcome home" vienna sausages. Yummy!

Thanks to Captain Ron who took a photo of the three salty sailors aboard Morgan Glory at the conclusion of our 3-month adventure:

When we finally got to our house, I was so happy I did a “happy dog roll” on the floor:

Well, our sailing adventure is over and we celebrate that we were able to take this trip and experience all the amazing things we did. We have come back home with so many wonderful memories, but most importantly we have come back home with these things from the adventure:

We now know we can live on a 32 foot sail boat for 3 months and love it. So, we are now confident we can live on it longer!
We can live without air conditioning in the summer. Thanks to Admiral Sandy and Captain Jim for hosing me down on those really hot days to help me stay cool.
We can live with only an ice box. Note from Admiral Sandy: I would still like to have refrigeration (meaning we don’t have to get ice every 2-3 days). Note from Captain Jim: I still want us to figure out how to live without ice or refrigeration. Hmmm… we’re going to have to work that one out.
We can live without a car, but bicycles sure would have been nice. The bus system in Key West and Vero Beach was very helpful, but neither allowed dogs!
Food on a sail boat always tastes so much better than on the land.
Anchoring is wonderful. How great to have a waterfront view of sunrises and sunsets every day!
Morgan Glory is a great boat that we trust to take us safely on many more adventures.
We don’t have to have a TV to survive.
We are so glad there were many dog-friendly restaurants and marinas along the way.
We are thankful there were free Wi-fi spots, but wish there were more!
Boating people are great people and we look forward to meeting more of our fellow boaters on future adventures.
We cherish the wonderful times spent with the new friends we made on this trip and we look forward to seeing them again soon!
We are grateful for the wonderful friends and family we left behind. They are a special part of our lives no matter where we are. They shared our joys throughout the adventure and happily celebrated our return home.
The Keys are beautiful and we definitely plan to go back again on our boat!

Some additional things Admiral Sandy took away from this adventure:

We need to teach First Mate Coconut to go potty on the deck of the boat so we can travel farther distances without stopping for shore leave.
Captain Jim did a great job of readying and maintaining the systems on Morgan Glory so we didn’t have any serious problems while we were away.
Some boating skills I gained on this trip: I learned how to back the boat (believe me, our boat doesn’t back very well at all, but I learned how to work with it), drop anchor and weigh anchor.
I could sail anywhere with Captain Jim and First Mate Coconut. They’re the best crew an Admiral could ever have. And I love them both very much!

Well, that is all for our Keys adventure and I hope that you have enjoyed following our adventure through the blog. We certainly enjoyed living it! This adventure may be over, but we definitely plan to enjoy more adventures on our sail boat in the future… so stay tuned!

Until the next adventure…

Coconut and Crew

You may join my Yahoo group by going to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/coconutandcrew/

We're Almost Home

2009-08-27T14:01:00.019-04:00

Location: St. Augustine, FL

We are in St. Augustine and are only one day away from being back home. We are grateful that Tropical Storm Ana and Hurricane Bill stayed away. We feel very fortunate to continue to have beautiful weather for our trip back home.

It has been 11 days since we had internet access, so there is a lot to share with you. When we last posted, we were preparing to leave Marathon, FL. In this update, you will be able to see the changes in landscape and water as we head north through Florida. I hope you enjoy the update!

Sunday, August 16, 2009
Destination: Sunset Cove, Key Largo, FL
When we left Marathon, the track of Tropical Storm Ana had changed and was no longer a threat to the Keys. However, Tropical Storm Bill was building and was expected to become a hurricane. So, we decided we should not stop at John Pennekamp State Park. We were disappointed because we were looking forward to the opportunity to snorkel the reefs of John Pennekamp State Park. So, now we have something to look forward to doing on our next trip!

So, with some strong winds to give us a push, Captain Jim reefed the main sail and we headed for Sunset Cove in Key Largo.

Monday, August 17, 2009
Destination: No Name Harbor, Key Biscayne, FL
We enjoyed more great sailing as we left the Keys headed for No Name Harbor on Key Biscayne. With a reefed main sail and jib, the strong gusts of wind caused the boat to heel:

I found the sailing to be very relaxing:

I have also found other great ways to sleep on the boat. I bet you didn’t know that you can also sleep with your butt on a pillow:

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009
Destination: Delray Beach, FL
When we arrived at No Name Harbor, we decided to take the ocean route from No Name Harbor to Ft. Lauderdale to bypass all the drawbridges. However, in the morning we learned the seas had increased to 4 to 6 feet. Since these seas would be uncomfortable, we decided to change our plans and tolerate the trip on the “inside” with all the restricted bridges.

Here you can see how the buildings are built to the edge of the ICW in south Florida:

You know you are no longer in the Keys because everything is bigger in south Florida:

At least they have some green space along the waterway. This is a state park in Ft. Lauderdale adjacent to the waterway:

And there are some quaint little towns along the waterway north of Ft. Lauderdale:

As we were waiting for a bridge to open, we saw a dolphin (oops, my ear got in the photo)!

Boca Inlet
Boca Inlet has a nice lighthouse:

Drawbridge Hell
On our trip from Key Biscayne to Delray Beach, we had to go through 20 drawbridges! 16 of the drawbridges open on a restricted schedule meaning that some open on the hour and half hour, while others open on the quarter and three-quarter hour. Unfortunately, the bridge tenders will not hold an opening for you if you do not arrive at the bridge exactly at the time they are scheduled to open. Because our sail boat is not extremely fast, we definitely had a challenge making some of the scheduled openings and had to wait nearly 30 minutes for a couple of the bridge openings!

However, we got lucky when a north bound tug pushing a barge showed up. Because the tug cannot stop the barge to wait for a scheduled bridge opening, the bridges are required to open for barges upon request. So, we gladly took advantage of the situation, fell in line behind the tug and didn’t have to wait for another bridge opening until the tug stopped in Deerfield Beach. This certainly made the trip a lot better!

Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Delray Harbor Club Marina, Delray Beach, FL
We were prepared to leave Delray in the morning when we learned that the remnants of Tropical Storm Ana would be bringing wind and rain to the area just north of Delray Beach (where we were headed). So, we decided to stay another day and let the storm pass. We didn’t mind the break because the Delray Harbor Club Marina has a pool. And there is a Walgreens and Publix within walking distance of the marina, so we were able to get some things that we needed.

Here are photos of Morgan Glory in the Delray Harbor Club Marina. Doesn’t the boat look small next to the tall building?

Rowing Practice
When we thought we would be taking the ocean route from Key Biscayne to Ft. Lauderdale, Captain Jim had taken the dinghy motor off the dinghy so the dinghy would ride better in the ocean waters. Because the dinghy is my mode of transportation to get to shore, Captain Jim decided we would try getting to shore without the dinghy motor for the remainder of the trip. So, Captain Jim and I practiced rowing the dinghy in the harbor of the marina where it was safe from boat traffic.

Thursday, August 20, 2009
Destination: Hobe Sound, FL

Making the Most of the Drawbridge Wait
There were still a few drawbridges we had to clear as we continued north. When we reached Jupiter, we had to wait 20 minutes for a bridge opening. So, Captain Jim and I went ashore on a pretty beach just south of the bridge and I had fun stretching my legs and taking care of other important business.

Jupiter Lighthouse
The Jupiter Lighthouse is a pretty lighthouse located at the Jupiter inlet near the Jupiter Federal drawbridge:

Just past the Jupiter inlet, there was a nice little beach area where people and dogs enjoyed the water.

Because the tide was low, this dog and his owner had their owner special dog beach exposed by the low tide. I wish I could join them!

Hobe Sound Anchorage
We found a beautiful anchorage in Hobe Sound. After getting the boat anchored, Admiral Sandy got a chance to practice rowing the dinghy when she took me to shore.

Sunset in Hobe Sound

Sunrise in Hobe Sound
Captain Jim took these beautiful photos of Morgan Glory as the sun was coming up. Look at how beautifully calm the water is.

Going Ashore
This is the beautiful little beach next to our anchorage that I visited while we were anchored in Hobe Sound.

Friday, August 21, 2009
Destination: Vero Beach City Marina, Vero Beach, FL
We decided to stop in Vero Beach and stay on a mooring at the Vero Beach City Marina. The City Marina is nice with a dog park a short walking distance away. They also have lots of trees and grass at the marina which made my visits on shore very nice.

Here are photos of the Vero Beach City Marina mooring field:

Saturday, August 22, 2009
Destination: John & Dottie’s House, Vero Beach, FL
While refueling at the Vero Beach City Marina we met a guy named John who has a Morgan 384 that is a larger version of our boat. John and his wife Dottie live on a canal in Vero Beach and keep their boat behind their house. John was so nice and invited us over for dinner. He told us we could raft up to their boat and stay the night. This was a great invitation that we were happy to accept.

John and Dottie have a nice place on the canal. It was great to visit their home and see their boat. I really enjoyed the air conditioning while Admiral Sandy enjoyed a nice shower. Captain Jim and Captain John really enjoyed comparing notes about the boats, while Admiral Sandy and Dottie enjoyed sharing stories about their trips on the boats.

We also enjoyed meeting their friends Lauren and Rob and Darrae and Greg. Darrae is a big dog-lover, so she and Admiral Sandy hit it off talking about dog stuff. Lauren and Rob are spending hurricane season in Vero Beach before they go cruising the Caribbean in their wooden boat. They have a blog that you might want to check out: http://aritacruising.blogspot.com

The dinner was wonderful, the evening was a lot of fun and it was great to have met some really nice people. We look forward to planning some sailing trips with John and Dottie in the future!

Sister Ships
Here is a picture of Captain John on his Morgan 384 called “Noble Prize”.

Here are pictures of our Morgan 323 next to the Morgan 384. You can see some of the similarities and differences:

Sunday, August 23, 2009
Destination: Rock Point, FL

Dolphin Visit
As we were headed to the anchorage at Rock Point, we were visited by a dolphin that swam alongside our boat for over 5 minutes! It was amazing to watch the dolphin surface in our stern wake. Captain Jim got this great photo of the dolphin:

Chilling Out
The anchorage at Rock Point is behind a nice little island with a beach. So, we enjoyed spending some time on the island.

Captain Jim really knows how to relax. You can see Morgan Glory in the background:

I enjoyed the beach:

Birds flying over Morgan Glory at sunset:

Monday, August 24, 2009
Destination: Titusville, FL
Rock Point beach break at sunrise (Morgan Glory is in the background):

Morgan Glory at sunrise:

When we got to the Titusville anchorage, we heard radio traffic talking about a shuttle launch. So, we checked into it and found out that the shuttle was scheduled to launch at 1:36am. So, we set our alarm and woke up to wait for the shuttle launch. We were really excited about being so close and having the opportunity to take photos of the shuttle as it left the launch pad. But, unfortunately, as with many of the launches, it was scrubbed because of the weather. So, no photos of the shuttle launch!

Here are photos of Morgan Glory at anchor in Titusville. You can see the Titusville Municipal Marina in the background.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Destination: Daytona Beach, FL

Dolphin Watch
We have seen a lot of dolphins as we have been travelling north. We have also seen some manatee, but we have not been able to catch a photo of the manatee.

This dolphin showed up behind our dinghy:

I especially like to watch for dolphin:

This is a photo of the murals at the base of the International Speedway bridge in Daytona. The murals are of dolphins and manatee.

We arrived in Daytona Beach and anchored next to the Seabreeze bridge where we anchored on the trip south. We had hoped that we could see the shuttle launch that had be rescheduled for 1:10am, but the sky was so cloudy, we couldn’t see anything and we don’t know if the shuttle launch happened.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Destination: St. Augustine, FL
Here are photos of Captain Jim rowing me back from shore before we pulled up anchor to leave. Boy, he had to row a long way!

As we were pulling up anchor in Daytona Beach, we spotted this rainbow:

We got to see our friend Carol as we passed Palm Coast. She’s on the steps behind the boat docks:

I found a really great spot to sleep on the companionway hatch. It is a really nice spot because it is shaded by the bimini and I can feel the wonderful breeze.

As we have gotten further north, we are seeing beautiful marsh grass along the intracoastal waterway:

As we passed the Matanzas Inlet, we saw Fort Matanzas:

We passed the St. Augustine lighthouse as we approached the St. Augustine anchorage. We really like the anchorage because the lighthouse shines on the anchorage at night.

Here are photos of some of the St. Augustine anchorage. This is a nice large anchorage area and there are currently about a little over 30 boats anchored. We understand that the anchorage gets really packed in the fall.

Here is a photo of the construction on the Bridge of Lions:

Because we really like St. Augustine, we will be spending a day here before the final leg of our trip home. I am looking forward to getting home to my bed that doesn’t heel or rock, my yard that I can enjoy without a dinghy ride, and the air conditioning! But, I will definitely miss the treats from the marinas and restaurants, swimming in the Keys, sailing, watching the dolphins, the beautiful sunsets over the water, exploring new places and all the great friends that we have made along the way.

Since our adventure is not officially over, I will be sending you another update when we get home. So stay tuned…

Coconut and Crew

You may join my Yahoo group by going to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/coconutandcrew/

The Return Trip Home Begins

2009-08-15T14:50:00.011-04:00

Location: Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, FL

Hi all. We are on our way back home to Jacksonville Beach. We are currently spending a few days in Marathon at the Boot Key Harbor City Marina mooring field waiting for the rain from the tropical wave to pass. So, I thought I would update you on our adventure while we have internet access.

Monday, August 10, 2009
Our Last Visit to Schooner Wharf
Of course, we had to say goodbye to all our friends at Schooner Wharf our last day in Key West. But, we look forward to seeing everyone when we return to Key West.

Admiral Sandy and Captain Jim at the Schooner Wharf:

Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Destination: Newfound Harbor, Big Pine Key

Leaving Key West
As we were leaving Key West, a Carnival cruise ship was arriving to give their passengers an opportunity at a few hours of the little bit of paradise that we enjoyed for 2 months.

Beautiful water leaving Key West:

Newfound Harbor
Our destination for the night was Newfound Harbor off Big Pine Key where we anchored in a nice quiet harbor. The sunset was beautiful:

When the sun set and night fell on the anchorage, we were treated to a special viewing of stars in the sky and stars in the water! There were no clouds in the sky, so the stars were amazingly brilliant. And for about 10 minutes, we enjoyed little bioluminescent marine animals that created bright green explosions in the water. We don’t know what they are, but they look like green fireflies in the water that swirl and explode like fireworks. It was a site that we couldn’t capture with the camera, but we hope to never forget it! Just another wonderful part of our adventure!

Happy 25th Anniversary Captains Bob and Fran
Captains Bob and Fran from the sail boat Double Decker are in Bermuda today celebrating their 25th anniversary. We wish them a happy and memorable 25th anniversary and many more happy anniversaries to come!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009 – Sunday, August 16, 2009
Destination: Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, FL

Preparing to Leave Newfound Harbor
Before leaving Newfound Harbor, we took a dinghy trip to the nearby Dolphin Marina for my shore leave to pick up some ice. It was a beautiful, tranquil morning in the harbor:

Newfound Harbor homes:

Dinghy ride: I love the smell of the ocean air!

Dolphin sighting: Morgan Glory is anchored in the background.

Morgan Glory at anchor:

Little Palm Island
As we were leaving Newfound Harbor, we passed a beautiful resort called Little Palm Island Resort. The resort is on Little Palm Island and you can only get to the resort by boat. We understand it is expensive has a very Pacific décor. It’s interesting that this resort would have a Pacific style when it is on the Atlantic. Hmmmm. Maybe some day we can afford to stay there.

Looe Key Snorkeling
On our way to Marathon, we stopped at the Looe Key reef to do some snorkeling. We had heard that the reef is beautiful. And we found that it is a really popular site. There are 28 mooring balls and boats were on almost all of them! The water was amazingly clear and there was a diversity of coral here and it seemed to be very healthy considering the amount of “traffic” that comes to this site. While snorkeling, Capt. Jim and Admiral Sandy saw some staghorn coral which they had not seen at any of the Key West sites. They also saw a five foot nurse shark and another five foot shark that wasn’t a nurse shark!

We saw the Jolly II Rover from Key West taking boy scouts snorkeling at Looe Key:

Boats at Looe Key:

The reef at Looe Key:

Beautiful Keys Water
We never get tired of the beautiful water in the Keys! We are definitely going to miss the beautiful blue water!

Dockside Bar and Grille
For dinner, we took the dinghy to a great little place called “Dockside Bar and Grille”. The bar/restaurant overlooks the Boot Key Harbor mooring field, so it was easy to get there by dinghy. The Wednesday night special was Prime Rib, so Admiral Sandy, Captain Jim and I enjoyed the first steak of the entire trip. It was such a monumental event for Captain Jim, he took a picture. Thankfully, Admiral Sandy shared some of hers with me!

We also enjoyed a musician that was playing at the Dockside whose name is Travis Proctor. He played a lot of great songs by Eric Clapton, James Taylor, the Eagles, Neil Young, Arlo Guthrie, and other great classic rock artists. His guitar playing was fantastic and he had a great voice. He is leaving the Keys and moving back to Raleigh, NC and this was his last time to play at Dockside. So, if you are ever up in the NC area, you should definitely try to find where he is playing. We know you will enjoy it.

The Hazards of Being On Shore
As we were leaving the restaurant, I decided to take my last shore leave before returning to the boat. Unfortunately, I forgot how troublesome mud could be. Before long, the mud and rocks had collected on my feet and I had cement shoes on all four feet. I didn’t like it at all and didn’t want to walk any further.

Captain Jim came to my rescue, removed the mud and rocks, and rinsed my feet off in a puddle of water. He also carried me to the grassy area so I didn’t have to walk in the mud again. That was an experience I don’t ever want to have again!

Coconuts
One morning, while enjoying my shore leave, I found a coconut while Captain Jim and I were having fun running and playing at the nearby City park! The coconut wasn’t very heavy, so I was able to pick it up and run and play with it like a ball.

When I was tired of that, I proceeded to try take it apart… which is what I do with all my toys!

I think that was my first experience with a real coconut!

Mooring Ball Maintenance
Every four months, some guys do an inspection of the mooring and clean the growth off the mooring balls and lines. Most of the work is done below the water, so a diver has to do the work. When I saw the diver, I thought there was a dolphin around our boat because he sure looked like one!

The good news, our mooring passed the inspection, so our boat won't be floating away!

The Most Important Person in Boot Key Harbor
The Pump Out man! Because the Florida Keys are a “No Discharge Zone”, you cannot discharge any waste into the water. So, it is important to pump out your boat head (i.e. toilet) on a regular basis. Otherwise, the intense summer heat makes life on a boat like living inside a Port-O-Let if you have a full head. One of the great perks of staying in the Boot Key Harbor mooring fields is that the marina provides a free mobile pump out boat that pumps out the moored boats on a weekly schedule according to the mooring ball row.

While staying in Boot Key Harbor, it was interesting to watch the Pump Out boat in action. When the Pump Out boat approached a boat with dogs on it, the dogs began barking and wagging their tails. Admiral Sandy was a little concerned that the Pump Out man might have a problem getting near the boat if the dogs were protective of their territory. However, the dogs happily greeted him and then he gave them a handful of treats! Wow! I think I would really like the Pump Out man too! When we talked to the Pump Out man, he told us that the dogs like him because he gives them treats... and the people like him because he keeps their boats smelling nice. Some may say he has a crappy job, but he is really number one to the people and dogs in the marina!

Gotta Beat the Storms!
Well, we have been very fortunate to have had such wonderful weather the entire trip. Of course, we know that it can’t last forever because they don’t call it “hurricane season” for no reason. So, as the storms start building off the coast of Africa, we hope they will stay away long enough to give us an opportunity to get home safe and sound.

Our original plan was to leave Marathon tomorrow (Sunday, August 16th) and our next stop would be John Pennekamp State Park to snorkel the coral reefs of John Pennekamp. However, the potential storms may require us to change our plans. So, we will be keeping a close watch on the weather and will adjust our itinerary accordingly.

At this point, we don’t know when we will have internet access again, but we will provide you another update as soon as we can. In the meantime, keep the wishes for fair winds and gentle seas coming our way until we can get back!

Until we have internet access again…

Coconut and Crew

You may join my Yahoo group by going to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/coconutandcrew/

Our Last Week in Key West

2009-08-10T13:20:00.012-04:00

Location: Key West, FL

Hello everyone! We are preparing to leave Key West tomorrow. So, before we leave, I wanted to share with you photos from our last week in Key West.

More Schooner Wharf Bar Dogs and Friends
As you might guess, we spend a lot of time at the Schooner Wharf Bar because it is so dog-friendly. I have made a lot of dog friends, but I like the bartenders and staff that feed me treats when I am there! Here are more photos of the Schooner Wharf Bar Dogs and and our friends at the bar.

Randy:
Here are pictures of my friend Randy doing his special tricks.
Randy’s impression of a Sharpei:

Randy’s impression of an orangutan:

Randy dancing with his mom Kathy. I really like Kathy because she gives me and all the other bar dogs yummy treats!

Romeo:
Romeo is a sweet Chihuahua that was adopted by his mom from the Florida Keys SPCA. He is such a lucky boy to have a wonderful home and get to come to the Schooner Wharf Bar a lot. All the bartenders love him and give him treats. Romeo is so small, he drinks his water from a shot glass. See if you can find the shot glass in the pictures.

Romeo at the bar:

Romeo at the bar with his mom:

Boca and Sassy:
Boca (left) is a red husky and Sassy (right) is a black husky. They both come to the Schooner Wharf Bar with their owner Doug. And Sassy always dances with Doug to Michael McCloud’s song “Schooner Wharf Bar dog”.

Lucy:
Lucy is a big girl that has tried really hard to convince me to like her. I am still a little afraid of her because she is so big. But I thank her for being so nice to me. Hopefully, someday we can be good friends.

Buca:
Buca is a 10-year old Akita and he is a very handsome guy. He was named for Sambuca the liquor.

Casper:
Casper is a 10 month old white boxer who is deaf. His mom Marianne and her sister Linda are teaching him hand signals so they can communicate with him. Marianne is one of my favorite people at Schooner Wharf because she works in the kitchen and she always gives me yummy treats through the doggie drive-thru window. If Marianne is anywhere near, I can see her, smell her or hear her… and I won’t stop begging until she gives me a treat.

Angus:
Angus is a bartender at Schooner Wharf and he always gives me treats when he sees me. A good day is when Angus is there and he gives me treats. A great day is when Angus, Missy and Marianne are all working! Jackpot! I get lots of treats!

Vikky:
Vikky is a bartender at Schooner Wharf who has become a special friend to Admiral Sandy. Admiral Sandy is going to miss Vikky when we leave.

Coconut:
And of course, the Schooner Wharf Dog pictures wouldn’t be complete without some pictures of me!

More Great Snorkeling
Chef Kat’s daughter Cassie has moved back to Key West. So, we took Kat, Cassie and Chris (Cassie’s boyfriend from Tuscon) snorkeling at Cottrell Key. Here is a picture of Kat, Cassie and Chris on the boat.

Before leaving, we decided to take one more snorkeling trip to Eastern Dry Rocks because we had heard that the water is extremely clear right now. Here are some photos of how beautiful the water is. Now this is what paradise looks like!

Battle of the Bars
Every year, the Schooner Wharf Bar hosts the “Battle of the Bars” competition to raise money for charities. This year was the 16th year for the event and the event raised $26,060 for two local charities: Florida Keys SPCA and Easter Seals. I thought it was fitting that the Schooner Wharf Bar that is so dog-friendly raise money for the unfortunate dogs that end up at the SPCA. Hopefully, more dogs like Romeo will find their forever home thanks to the SPCA and the money raised by the Battle of the Bars.

The Battle of the Bars had 39 teams competing for the winner’s bragging rights. The teams had to run a bar obstacle course where they had to make a drink, serve the drink, properly dispose of the recycle material and trash, roll a keg, tap a keg, draw beers for the entire team and then each team member had to line up and chug the beer.

This year’s winner for the fourth time was the Half Shell Raw Bar. Here is a picture of the Half Shell team chugging their beer and then celebrating.

Here is a photo of Evalena, the owner of the Schooner Wharf Bar, who is responsible for the great event and who has such a great bar!

For results of this year’s battle of the bars, check out this link: http://www.schoonerwharf.com/09battlebars_winners.htm

Theodore
At the marina, I made a new friend named Theodore. He is so cute and he is the same size as me!

In this picture, we are both trying to find the cat that hangs out at the marina that hisses at us.

Jolly II Rover Sunset
We got a chance to go out for a sunset trip on the Jolly II Rover and it was a great trip. We thought it would be nice to let someone else do all the work while we sat back and enjoyed the sunset. But, Admiral Sandy and Captain Jim couldn’t resist lending a hand.

Captain Jim helped Mack hoist the sails:

And Admiral Sandy got to drive the boat (with my assistance of course):

Admiral Sandy, Captain Jim and me enjoying the ride:

The Jolly II Rover overtook the Schooner Wolf and soon a cannon fight ensued. The Jolly II Rover fired two shots and the Schooner Wolf fired one at us. I didn’t like the cannons at all because they are so loud. I don’t guess I would make a good pirate dog. That’s ok, I would rather be First Mate for our sailboat with no cannons anyway!

We also exchanged cannon fire with the Halie & Matthew. Isn’t this a beautiful boat under sail?

Jolly II Rover sunset photos:

The Jolly II Rover crew (l to r): Captain Chris, Mate Elio and Mate Mack.

Rainbow
One morning after a refreshing rain, this beautiful rainbow showed up over the harbor.

Sunset and Full Moon Rise
On August 5th, there was a beautiful sunset followed by a full moon rise.

Sunset colors:

Full moon over Morgan Glory:

Keeping Cool
Captain Jim likes to eat ice cream at night as a special cool treat as the sun goes down. Without refrigeration, the challenge is keeping the ice cream cold until the sun goes down. Captain Jim has worked out a routine where he buys the ice cream before the Market closes at 6pm. He wraps the ice cream in newspaper and puts it in the ice box until the sun goes down.
Captain Jim also lets me lick clean the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream container. Yummy! Thankfully, my nose and tongue are long enough to get to the bottom!

Double Decker
Our neighbor at the marina has been Captain Bob and his boat Double Decker. Captain Bob does special sunset sailing trips and sunset dinner trips on Double Decker. He and Double Decker have provided very memorable moments for proposals and weddings.

We have really enjoyed getting to know Captain Bob and his wife Fran. They have told us many great stories about their adventures on Double Decker. Captain Bob and Fran are very adventurous people who quit their jobs and cruised the Caribbean, South and Central America for three years. You can see their stories at Captain Bob’s web site: http://www.saildoubledecker.com/pages/goodoldboat.htm.

Fran is a great artist and you can see her art at: www.frandecker.com.

Happy Birthday Aunt Terri!
Aunt Terri is the dockmaster at the Key West Bight Marina and she is celebrating her 50th birthday on August 10th. Happy birthday to you Aunt Terri!

Aunt Terri has a plastic jar on her desk with treats in it and I have helped her empty the jar!

If I stare at it long enough, can I make the rest of the treats come out?

Sometimes I just like to hang out with her while she works.

I am going to miss you when we leave because you give me lots of love and treats. I love giving you kisses. You are the best!

Only in Key West…
Only in Key West will you find this sign:

You gotta love it!

Goodbye Key West!
We have had a wonderful time while we have been in Key West and we will miss all the great friends we have made. But, we certainly hope to get back to Key West soon! We also look forward to more fun adventures on our return trip home. We are hoping that the storms stay away until we can get home safe and sound. And we look forward to seeing our friends and family when we return home.

Coconut and Crew

You may join my Yahoo group by going to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/coconutandcrew/

Life in Paradise...

2009-08-03T13:40:00.022-04:00

Location: Key West, FL

Hello everyone! I know it has been a couple of weeks since I last posted, so I have a lot of catching up to do! It’s been a busy and fun-filled two weeks. So, I hope you enjoy my updates! Thanks to Diane for some of the photos!

More Schooner Wharf Friends and Fun
The Schooner Wharf Bar is our favorite bar because it is so dog-friendly. Their slogan is “Hang with the Big Dogs”… and that is exactly what we like to do. Here are some pictures of some of our Schooner Wharf friends.

The girls… Diane, Kat and Admiral Sandy (and Christiaan being one of the girls(?) or a comedian):

Kat and Schooner waitress Katia (Katia used to work at Sea World in California training animals!)

Admiral Sandy and Christiaan:

Schooner barback Turtle (left) and bartender Mike (Mike is married to Marissa who won the Mel Fisher Days bikini contest):

Schooner bartender Missy who always gives me treats! Yummy!

Admiral Sandy dancing with me to Michael McCloud’s song “Schooner Wharf Bar Dog”.

Here is a great YouTube video of our friend Doug dancing with his dog Sassy to “Schooner Wharf Bar Dog”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow_l9kgPmuQ

Just Another Day in Paradise… It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This!
Great Snorkeling...
We went snorkeling at Western Dry Rocks and it was great. We can truly say we have not had a bad snorkeling experience at any of the sites. At Western Dry Rocks, the water was extremely clear and we saw so many things that we hadn’t seen at other snorkeling sites: lots of houndfish, a lemon shark, two turtles, a scrawled cowfish, some trumpetfish and lots of beautiful fish and coral.

Look at how clear the water is!

The Halie & Matthew visited Western Dry Rocks too:

A Waterspout...
When we left Western Dry Rocks, we saw this waterspout! It was amazing and it lasted for almost 10 minutes! We are really glad we weren’t near it!

A Rainbow...
We went to Sand Key for a little more snorkeling and saw this rainbow!

Here is a picture of the Sand Key lighthouse.

And Dolphins!
When we left Sand Key to go back to Key West, this group of dolphins joined us and swam in our bow wake! Balk and Diane were so excited because they had wanted to see dolphins, but we hadn’t seen any. Now we can add dolphins to our list of all the great things we have seen when we were snorkeling!

More Chilling Out
Captain Jim and I found these great chairs at the Turtle Kraal's Tower Bar, a great place to watch the sunset:

The TODAY Show Comes to Key West
The TODAY Show came to Key West on Tuesday, July 28th and we decided to go see if we could get on TV. We don’t think we got on TV, but we had a great time trying as well as seeing all the Key West craziness that was trying to get on TV too. If you didn’t see the show, here are some photos of things that were and weren’t on the TODAY show… enjoy!

The crowds and their signs… many of which got there at 4am to try to get a spot where they could get on TV:

Crowd shot (can you find me?):

Captain Jim trying to get me on TV:

Boats assembling to get on TV. Note the cruise ship that arrived and docked soon after the TODAY Show started.

Pirates! Arghhhhhh! Our friends Larry and Kristie, who dress as pirates and sing with a pirate band, got to be on the TODAY Show!

I got my picture taken with the pirates. Boy were they scary! I hope I don’t see them on the seas because I don’t want to hand over any of my dog treats as pirate booty.

The 2008 Fantasy Fest King and Queen and their crazy court. Fantasy Fest is held every October and we hear that it is crazy. Lots of partying, body painting and drinking. I don’t think there’s anything fun for a dog.

Inga the drag queen. She was BIG! I didn’t want my picture taken with her because I was afraid she would step on me with her big high heels.

Howard Livingston and the Mile Marker 24 band played “Living on Key West Time” for the TODAY Show.

Howard Livingston’s famous margarita blender made from a 1950’s outboard motor:

Kermit and his famous Key West Key Lime Pie:

Me and the 2009 Hemingway look-a-like:

Al Roker (coming back from the bathroom!):

Shots of Al Roker and Matt Lauer:

The Key West police officer that had to keep people off the black mat so the local talent and crew could get to the TODAY Show set:

The badge that the local talent wore to give them access to the TODAY Show set. For some reason, they wouldn’t let me on the set!

I had to get up so early and trying to get on TV was such hard work, I pooped out before the TODAY Show was over:

I wish I had a stroller like this so I didn’t have to walk back to the boat:

More Amazing Sunsets…
Fort Zachary Taylor Sunset
Balk and Diane took us to Fort Zachary Taylor to watch the sunset. Diane fixed a wonderful dinner picnic, I got to swim in the ocean and the sunset was spectacular.

A cruise ship departed and passed Ft. Zachary while we were picnicing:

Watching the sun set from the beach Diane, Jim, me, Admiral Sandy and Kat:

Balk and Diane:

Sunset from Fort Zachary Taylor:

Birthday Sunset ... Happy Birthday Balk and Diane!
July 28th was Balk and Diane’s birthday! Yes, they are married to each other and have the same birthday! So, we took Balk and Diane for a birthday sunset sail and the sunset was beautiful.

Good-bye Balk and Diane!
Balk and Diane are moving back to Chicago for a little while, but they plan to come back to Key West as soon as they can. They both love living in Key West, so we know they will move back real soon!

Captain Jim and Admiral Sandy helped them pack their moving van. Here is a photo of the “muscle men” Balk and Captain Jim in the packed van.

The day before they moved, we took Balk and Diane for one last snorkeling trip. I am going to miss them because Balk is such a great snoozing buddy!

One last good-bye to their friends at the Schooner Wharf Bar. Everyone will miss Balk and Diane!

Their favorite band in the background: Michael McCloud with Pete Peterson and Captain Carl:

Balk and Diane with Schooner waitress Jennette and the crew of Morgan Glory:

We are going to miss Balk and Diane! We have shared some wonderful times together!

Happy 20th Anniversary Admiral Sandy & Captain Jim!
Admiral Sandy and Captain Jim celebrated their 20th anniversary on Saturday August 1st. Earlier in the day, they went to the Schooner Wharf Bar where their friends Ron, Sharon, Mary and Mike had a card and gift certificates waiting for them.

Of course, I got a treat from Missy to celebrate their anniversary! Look at Dave (next to me) begging for treats too!

That evening, Admiral Sandy and Captain Jim celebrated their anniversary with a beautiful sunset sail.

What a perfect 20th anniversary sunset:

The anniversary couple:

And what a beautiful moon rise over Sunset Key:

Our Key West adventures will soon be ending so we look forward to more memorable fun before we go! Be sure to look for our last post from Key West!

Coconut and Crew

You may join my Yahoo group by going to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/coconutandcrew/

The Fun Continues in Key West

2009-07-20T12:19:00.013-04:00

Location: Key West, FL

Greetings from sunny and hot Key West. The last few days the temperature has been 91 degrees with a heat index of 104! We don’t have air conditioning on the boat, so Capt. Jim hoses me down with water to help keep me cool. It is so hot, Capt. Jim and Admiral Sandy have been hosing themselves down too! Thankfully, it cools down after the sun sets and we have a really great fan on the boat to keep us cool while we sleep.

Yes, we are still in Key West. We decided to extend our stay here so Admiral Sandy and Capt. Jim could celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary on August 1st. They couldn’t think of a better place to spend their 20th anniversary: with me (of course) on the boat in Key West!

Chilling Out While Surfing the ‘Net
We are excited to have found an air-conditioned room at the Waterfront Market (at the end of our dock) where Capt. Jim and Admiral Sandy can access the internet for free… and dogs are allowed to “chill out” too. This is a great place to get away from the heat during the day when we are not snorkeling or sailing.

They also have a couch that I love to sleep on.

Moonset
Here is a beautiful picture taken from the dock by Admiral Sandy early one morning as the sun was rising and the full moon was setting. You can see the Carnival cruise ship smoke stack in the background.

Camping Out at Jabour’s Trailer Park
One morning, I was taking my morning walk with Admiral Sandy and we discovered this guy “camping out” in the former Jabour’s Trailer Park. He was sleeping/passed out on some blue barrels inside the fenced area that once was Jabour’s. Apparently, he didn’t get the memo that Jabour’s is closed and people are not allowed to camp there any more… thanks to a developer that bought the property to build condos and then filed bankruptcy.

Halie & Matthew
One day while we were sailing, we caught this photo of the Halie and Matthew under sail. What a beautiful boat!

Another Beautiful Sunset
Here are photos of another beautiful Key West sunset.

As the sun was setting, Capt. Jim put me on top of the boat’s bimini. It was so comfortable, like laying in a hammock… I just had to take a little nap.

Special Roses
Every Friday, our friends Balk and Diane take flowers to the bartenders and servers at Schooner Wharf Bar to show them their appreciation for all their hard work. One Friday, Balk and Diane gave Admiral Sandy some roses too! The roses were beautiful and made Admiral Sandy feel special. How wonderful that Balk and Diane spread happiness to others with flowers!

Snorkeling at Eastern Dry Rocks and Rock Key
We heard from some of the charter boat crew that there is good snorkeling at Eastern Dry Rocks and Rock Key now because the “blue water was coming in”. When the gulfstream gets closer to Key West, the clear, cool water from the Atlantic moves in and creates great conditions and great visibility for snorkeling.

While snorkeling at Eastern Dry Rocks and Rock Key, Admiral Sandy and Diane saw two turtles and swam with them! They also saw some reef squid, beautiful healthy coral formations, purple sea fans, and many beautiful reef fish. Diane also found an Arrow Crab that looks like a granddaddy long leg spider with pinchers. At one of the mooring balls at Eastern Dry Rocks, they found an abundance of staghorn coral that they had not seen at any other snorkeling sites.

Preparing to leave. I am overseeing all the work to leave the dock:

Balk on the boat:

On the way to Eastern Dry Rocks:

At Eastern Dry Rocks:

A rain storm in the distance:

Admiral Sandy and me swimming at Eastern Dry Rocks. Isn’t the water beautiful? It's like being in a nice pool with the water temperature 90 degrees.

Sand Key Light:

Shrimp Shack
We visited a restaurant call the Shrimp Shack which reminded us of the Mayport fishing village where we live. While we were there, we listened to Barry Cuda and the Bong Hits for Geezers. This is a fun group that plays ragtime and other fun music. Barry Cuda plays the piano/keyboard, Kenny Fradley plays a trumpet and Richard Crooks plays the drums. The band was set up on a fishing boat and I got my picture taken with them!

Key West Free Beaches
There is an organization called Key West Free Beaches that is working to get a beach in Key West designated as a nude beach. The Key West City Commission is considering putting the issue on the ballot for the citizens to decide if they want a nude beach. We met the Chairwoman of Key West Free Beaches at the Shrimp Shack and had our picture made with her… fully clothed of course!

Mel Fisher Days Bikini Contest
Key West has a Mel Fisher Days celebration every year. Mel Fisher found the treasure of the wreck of the Atochia and the Santa Margarita. Although Mel Fisher is dead, his family continues his quest to find sunken treasures. One of the highlights of the Mel Fisher Days celebration was the bikini contest that was held at the Schooner Wharf Bar.

This wasn’t your typical bikini contest because the winner was the one who raised the most money for a charity. The winner received an Atocha coin from the Atocha valued at $1800, second place received an emerald from the Santa Margarita valued at $1000 and third place received a pearl from the Santa Margarita valued at $500.

This year, our friend and Schooner Wharf bartender Marissa won the bikini contest by raising over $1,100! This is Marissa’s third year to win! Here is a picture of Marissa, with her husband Mike and some of the Mel Fisher family.

Our friend William wanted his picture taken with this girl that was in the bikini contest. I wonder why?

After the Storm…
Recently, we had a storm hit in the early evening with 50 mph winds. It developed rather quickly, but we were able to get the boat closed up and secured before the storm hit. Unfortunately, we forgot that our companionway screens were on the deck, so they got blown into the water and sunk to the bottom. Capt. Jim is such a good swimmer, he was able to snorkel down below the boat and find both the screens! We wouldn’t want to lose the screens because they keep the bugs out!

Some of our boat neighbors had more serious problems due to the storm. The strong winds partially unfurled and tore the jib on Capt. Bob’s sail boat Double Decker that is next to our boat. Admiral Sandy called Capt. Bob and Capt. Jim helped him take the jib down so it could be repaired.

Capt. Jim also came to the assistance of Larry and Kristie on Banana Wind. Larry and Kristie’s son was on their sail boat that was anchored off Fleming Island and he called his parents to them to tell them that they had lost their anchor and the boat was drifting. So, Capt. Jim took them in the dinghy to their boat where they found their boat had drifted toward a bridge. Thankfully, they had also called Tow Boat US and they were already there to help them keep the boat from hitting the bridge.

Our other neighbors, the Blu Q charter catamaran, had problems when the strong winds caused their flag halyard to get fouled in the rigging. So, Admiral Sandy was able to help Capt. Steve as he hoisted Mo up the mast to fix the problem.

It’s great how the boating community helps each other whenever help is needed!

We wish you all a great week and we look forward to more fun adventures in the coming week! Please look for our next posting soon!

Coconut and Crew

You may join my Yahoo group by going to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/coconutandcrew/

More Fun in Key West!

2009-07-07T14:11:00.014-04:00

Location: Key West, FL

Hello from sunny and hot Key West. We hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July weekend doing lots of fun things. Our fun in Key West continues and I would like to share with you our latest photos and adventures.

More Schooner Wharf Bar Friends
Here is a picture of my friend Angus who is the brother of Randy the pug/pit mix whose photo was in a previous blog. He and Randy come to Schooner Wharf a lot with their parents. Angus’s mom is amazed at how much Angus and I look alike… except, at 100 pounds, he is three times bigger than me! I guess you could say that Angus is a “Mega me” of me?

This is a picture of another Angus. This Angus works at Schooner Wharf and the little kitten he is holding was given to him for his birthday by our friends Balk and Diane. I think this is the only cat I have ever seen in the Schooner Wharf Bar.

Oyster Race Winner
The first time we went to Pepe’s Oyster Race with Rick and Toni, we met their friends Kristie and Larry (aka Wasabi) who live on their sail boat in Key West. They live on a 41 foot Morgan Out Island called Banana Wind. By day, Larry works at West Marine. But, in the evening, they dress in their pirate regalia and entertain the tourists at Mallory Square.

At the June 29th Oyster Race, the prize pot was up to $125 and Kristie actually picked the winning key to the prize money box! Boy, was she happy… and we were happy for her!

Getting On and Off the Boat
The marina here doesn’t have finger docks alongside the boats, so we have to board our boat by climbing over the bow rail. Thankfully, Capt. Jim is strong and can carry me over the bow rail with him and we haven't fallen in the water! There are lots of big tarpon in the water that are much bigger than me, so I don’t think I want to go swimming with them.

Here is how we get on the boat:

Here is how we get off the boat:

Fourth of July
I love going to the Schooner Wharf Bar because the bartenders also give me treats! So, what better way to celebrate the Fourth than by going to my favorite place and getting yummy treats from Missy. Thanks to Diane for the photos!

Of course, all that begging for treats is really hard work. So, I had to take a rest at the bar.

I also got to visit the beach and do some swimming.

Later, we saw a message plane flying overhead with this message. Capt. Jim said he hoped that Michelle saw the message and wasn’t in the bathroom when the plane flew over. I wonder what Michelle’s response was.

Key West has a fireworks show from the White Street pier, so we watched the fireworks from the Southernmost House. There were lots of boats on the ocean watching the fireworks show too. It was a good fireworks show, but I think the Jax Beach fireworks show is better.

More Great Snorkeling
We have really enjoyed the snorkeling in Key West. Since we have been here, we have visited the Western Sambo reef and Cottrell Key. Western Sambo reef has really nice big coral reef formations in shallow and deep water, so it is a good site for snorkeling or diving.

But, we like Cottrell Key the best because it has the most diversity. At Cottrell Key, there are 13 mooring balls and each mooring ball has something different to enjoy: beautiful fish, soft and hard corals, a wreck, and an area called “Stingray Alley” where you can see lots of stingrays resting on the sand or gently gliding through the water. At Cottrell Key, we have also seen sea anemones, lobster, large nurse sharks, barracuda, huge tarpon, and an amazing school of amberjack. We don’t have an underwater camera, but we need to get one so we can share some of the beauty of our snorkeling with you.

Here are some more photos from our snorkeling trips:
(Thanks to Diane for some of these photos)

We let the charter catamaran Blue Q tie up to our boat so they could snorkel the same area we were snorkeling.

Snorkelers at Cottrell Key:

(left to right) Joey, Balk and Diane:

Kat and Capt. Jim:

Kat and Tim:

Kat:

The other boats at Stingray Alley, Cottrell Key:

Capt. Jim and Admiral Sandy:

Capt. Jim:

When I am ready for a nap, I am really good at squeezing myself in to any space I want to be. One of my favorite spots is next to Joey’s leg.

I actually crawled under Balk’s legs just so I could lie next to Joey.

Swimming with the Yellow Tail Snapper
On our snorkeling trip, I had lots of fun swimming with the yellow tail snapper. In the past, I have always wanted to swim with the fish when I have seen schools of them jumping around our boat. Capt. Jim always holds me to keep from jumping off the boat after them. So, when I had a chance to swim with the fish, everyone thought I would chase the fish. But, I surprised everyone by racing to be the first to get the cheese puffs before the fish could get them. (Note: yellow tail snapper really like cheese puffs and so do I). It just goes to show you that food is far more important to me than any stupid fish!

More Trip Photos
We have a new neighbor in the harbor: a 150 foot yacht called “Wheels” that is owned by the owner of Hendrix Motors (NASCAR). This boat is much bigger than our house! It is so big, it is blocking some of our sunset view!

This photo was taken by Admiral Sandy from her perch atop the mainsail as she waited for the sunset.

Here are some “artsy” photos that Admiral Sandy took from the mainsail perch. Look for my reflection in the dorade vent. For those of you non-sailors, the dorade vent is the chrome thingy.

Here is a photo of me and Capt. Jim relaxing in the cockpit. We love to sit here in the evenings and watch all the charter boats and dinghies come and go.

Goodbye Rick and Toni!
Last week, Rick and Toni and their dogs Samantha and Horatio left on their sail boat Second Wind, headed back to Jacksonville. We really enjoyed the time we spent with them in Key West and look forward to spending time with them when we get back to Jacksonville! We wish them fair winds and safe seas! We’ll see you when we get back!

Goodbye Joey!

Joey left today to go back to Chicago and we were sad to see him go. We really enjoyed spending time with him and wish him all the best in school! We hope to see him again sometime!

That concludes another update on the adventures of Coconut and Crew. We wish you all a great week! Please look for our next posting soon!

Coconut and Crew

You may join my Yahoo group by going to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/coconutandcrew/

Key West Tourist Photos

2009-06-29T14:51:00.015-04:00

Location: Key West, FL

Greetings from Key West!

This week, I am going to share with you a compilation of my tourist photos while we have been in Key West. I hope you enjoy them! Be sure to look for me in each of the photos!

Old Town Trolley Tours
The Old Town Trolley Tours take tourists on a 90-minute tour around Key West and show them the sights. Can you find me in the trolley?

Conch Tour Train
The Conch Tour Train has been in operation for more than 50 years and is really popular with the tourists. The trains take tourists on a 90-minute tour of Key West, with the drivers providing history, facts and stories about Key West. They also teach people about the different architectural styles you find in the homes found in Old Town that many people now refer to as “Key West Style” homes.

The Conch Tour Train is so much fun, I thought I would try my hand at driving one. I bet I could get a lot of tips as the only dog Conch Tour Train driver. I would have to let Admiral Sandy do all the talking which she is really good at doing.

Glassbottom Boat
Some tourists take the glassbottom boat tours so they can see the reef and marine life without getting wet. I personally like getting wet myself. I am also glad that we have our own boat so we can go to any of the reefs we want to visit.

Key West Aquarium
This old sail boat is out in front of the Key West Aquarium. Her name is Mary and it made me think of our friend Mary in Jax Beach. But, Mary is not old and run down like this boat!

Look at how big this hammerhead shark is! I don’t want to see one of those when I go snorkeling!

This old man was sitting on the bench outside the aquarium. He didn’t really say anything, so I guess he didn’t mind me sitting on the bench with him.

Mel Fisher Maritime Museum
Mel Fisher found the treasure from the wreck of the Atocha and this museum has on display all the treasure from the Atocha.

Audubon House and Gardens
This is the 1840s home of Capt. John Geiger. The home’s tropical gardens are where John J. Audubon painted.

Captain Tony’s Bar
Captain Tony’s Bar was the original site of Sloppy Joe’s Bar before Sloppy Joe’s moved to its current location on Duval Street. And Hemingway used to hang out there. People try to throw coins in the mouth of the fish on the top of the Capt. Tony’s sign. Admiral Sandy has done it before, but there wasn’t a prize for getting the coin in the fish’s mouth. I guess people just do it to say they did.

(The bartender is Tom)

Captain Tony Tarracino, the owner of the bar, became pretty famous as Mayor of Key West and he was also mentioned in Jimmy Buffet’s song “Last Mango in Paris”. He was also famous with the women because he had many wives (I think he had 13).

After Capt. Tony sold the bar a few years ago, he still came to the bar on Friday and Saturday nights to hang out. He really loved getting his picture taken with the ladies at the bar. Sadly, Captain Tony died on Nov. 1, 2008 at the age of 92. We had seen him at the bar the last time we visited Key West and Admiral Sandy got her picture taken with him.

Sloppy Joe’s Bar
This is a really popular bar in Key West. It is located on Duval Street and there is always lots of music and lots of tourists. They will let me in Sloppy Joe’s as long as I sit at one of the tables near one of the open doors.

Harry S. Truman’s Little White House
Harry S. Truman selected Key West as his favorite retreat and he spent a total of 175 days from 1946 to 1952 at the Key West Naval Station Commandant’s house writing his State of the Union addresses, drafting legislation, fine-tuning the national budget and issuing an Executive Order on Civil Rights. Thus, the name the Little White House. This house was also used by Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Carter and Clinton.

Fort Zachary Taylor State Park
We really like this park. It has really nice beaches and you can also do some snorkeling there.

Love Muscle House
Many of the houses in Key West are historical and have name plates on the front to identify the name of the house and the year it was built. We saw this one and really had to wonder who would name their kid “Love Muscle”. How would you like to go through life with that name?

Ernest Hemingway’s Home
They wouldn’t let me in here because of all the Hemingway cats. I guess they were afraid I would chase them or something. That explains why they don’t have an admission price for dogs. Oh well.

The Key West Lighthouse and Keeper’s Quarters Museum
Captain Jim says he would love to live in a lighthouse. I have such short legs, I don’t think I would like having to go up and down the stairs every day!

Naval Air Station Truman Annex
This is the gated entrance to the Naval Air Station in Key West. The Navy still has a presence in Key West.

Southernmost Point
By the time we made it here, I was pooped. Lots of people were lined up to get their photos taken at the southernmost point.

Dog Beach
This is the only beach in Key West where dogs can swim and it is next door to Louie’s Backyard. I had a great time swimming there because it really cooled me off.

Louie’s Backyard
This is Louie’s Backyard restaurant and bar that Jimmy Buffett used to visit when he lived in Key West. He had an apartment nearby and it has been said that it usually took him less than 45 seconds to get to Louie’s. Jimmy Buffett even mentions Louie’s Backyard in his song “Trying to Reason with Hurricane Season”.

Plantation Coffee House
We go to the nearby Plantation Coffee House to access the internet so we can check email and post to the blog. I really like this place because the people are really nice and give me ice water when I am there. Admiral Sandy really likes their iced Chai tea.

One day, we found a mango under the mango tree in front of the coffee house and the coffee shop said we could have it. We ate the mango when we got back to the boat and it was the BEST mango we had ever had. That mango was truly a special treat!

The End of A1A
This is mile marker 0 at the end of A1A.

And this is a sign in front of the County Court House at the end of A1A.

Blue Heaven
We love going to the Blue Heaven restaurant in Bahama Village for breakfast. Dining is outside under the trees among the chickens and roosters. I enjoy watching the chickens, but they won’t come anywhere near me. The food here is really yummy and if I am real good, I will usually get a special bite or two.

While I was at Blue Heaven, Capt. Jim and Admiral Sandy caught me snooping in the Blue Heaven shower.

Aunt Terri
Since we have been staying in the Key West Bight City Marina, I have made a great friend. I call her Aunt Terri and she is the Key West Bight City Marina Dockmaster. So, she has a really important job. But most importantly, when I go to visit her, she showers me with treats in exchange for kisses. Admiral Sandy and Captain Jim are threatening to stop feeding me since Aunt Terri gives me so many treats.

Note from Admiral Sandy: If Coconut is ever missing, we know we will find her in the Dockmaster’s office with Terri! And she will probably be 10 pounds heavier!

Sunset at Mallory Square
Mallory Square is a popular place for tourists to go watch the sun set. Mallory Square is a waterfront boardwalk and there are vendors, artists, and all kinds of acts to entertain people before the sun sets: tightrope walker, palm readers, jugglers, sword swallowers, escape artists, and the Catman. I especially like the Catman so maybe I will post some pictures of him later.

We have always wanted to be part of the Mallory Square sunset entertainment and get our boat in some of the tourist’s sunset pictures by sailing in front of Mallory Square. So we set sail for the sunset and had so much fun!

The Morgan Glory sunset crew:
(left to right): Diane, Balk, Joey, and Admiral Sandy. I am hiding behind Joey.

Mallory Square crowd:

Rick and Toni showed up in their dinghy to take photos of us and to be part of the Mallory Square entertainment too!

View of sunset from the boat:

Sunset sail photos of Morgan Glory, thanks to Rick and Toni!

Can you find Rick and Toni in these pictures?

Happy Birthday, Joey!
Our friends Balk and Diane, who live in Key West, invited us to their house to celebrate their son Joey’s 21st birthday. Kat taught Diane and Admiral Sandy how to make stuffed shells for the birthday dinner.

Balk and Diane have cats, so I wasn’t sure what to think about them. Gonzo and one of their kittens really liked drinking out of my water bowl for some reason.

I was a little uncomfortable because I had that strange feeling all the time that someone was staring at me. But, I have to admit, Gonzo was really a cool cat. He was very calm around me and that really helped me to relax.

Well, that concludes another installment of the adventures of Coconut and Crew in Key West. Be sure to check for our next posting with more photos of our adventures in Key West!!!

Coconut and Crew

You may join my Yahoo group by going to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/coconutandcrew/

Adventures in Key West!

2009-06-23T11:00:00.016-04:00

Location: Key West, FL

Hello from beautiful Key West!

We have had an adventurous week in Key West since we last posted to the blog. So, here is an update on our adventures in Key West.

Attack of the Mockingbird
When I go to shore for my walks, there is a mockingbird that always attacks me. I have found that other dogs have had the same problem. Doug’s dogs Sassy and Boca just ignore the bird. I am learning to ignore it too, but it is hard. It is interesting because it only attacks me and doesn’t attack Captain Jim or Admiral Sandy. Admiral Sandy says the Mockingbird is just trying to protect its nest, but I don’t even care about its nest. I am just trying to find a place to go potty!

Cruise Ships in Key West
Most days there is one cruise ship in Key West, but on this day there were two Carnival cruise ships. You can see how big they are and how they dwarf the buildings near them. We have learned that the cruise ships have an agreement with the City of Key West that they must leave before sunset to prevent them blocking the view of the sunset from Mallory Square.

Snorkeling in Paradise
One of the local bartenders works for the Florida Keys Marine Sanctuary and told us of a nice place to go snorkeling that is about 8 miles from Key West. It is near an old dilapidated tower that Hemingway used to use. He called the site Hemingway’s tower, but the brochures call it Cottrell Key.

So, we decided to go check out the snorkeling site. On our way to the site, there was very little wind and the ocean water was almost as smooth as glass. In this picture, you can hardly tell where the water ends and the sky begins.

The Marine Sanctuary has placed mooring balls at the snorkeling site so people will not anchor their boats and damage any of the coral. While on the mooring ball, we were in about 7-9 feet of beautiful clear water. Below our boat was a lot of beautiful hard coral, soft coral, sea fans and colorful fish that you could see from the deck of the boat! Captain Jim said it was like our boat was sitting on top of an aquarium. It was absolutely amazing and we were so glad that we took the bartender’s advice.

Here are photos that show how beautiful it was:

Can you find Capt. Jim snorkeling?

I always worry about Capt. Jim or Admiral Sandy when they are in the water, so I make sure I keep an eye on them when they are snorkeling. I always wear my life vest just in case I need to jump in and save them.

Watching Capt. Jim and Admiral Sandy is hard, tiring work… so I had to take a nap.

While Admiral Sandy was snorkeling, Capt. Jim caught a photo of this big nurse shark.

The nurse shark was as long as Admiral Sandy and swam right under her! Nurse sharks are not dangerous because they are bottom feeders with a mouth like a catfish and they don’t have any teeth. While Admiral Sandy was watching the nurse shark, another large grey shark swam up from the other direction and was hanging out with the nurse shark. The grey shark was probably a reef shark and appeared to be at least 4 feet long.

Key West Square Grouper
Half way back to Key West from our snorkeling trip to Hemingway’s Tower, we saw something floating in the ocean. Admiral Sandy drove us past the object to get a closer look and Capt. Jim said he thought it was a purse, so we turned around to retrieve it. Capt. Jim had to lean over the side of the boat to pick up the object. And when he got it on board, he realized that it wasn’t a purse at all. It appeared to be drugs!

So, we marked our coordinates on the GPS and Capt. Jim called the Coast Guard to report what we had found. About 30 minutes later, the Key West Police Department called and said they would meet us at the marina so they could pick up the package.

When we got to the marina, the Key West police officer was waiting for us. When he saw the package, he agreed that he thought it was drugs; possibly cocaine or marijuana. After getting all the details for his report, he told Admiral Sandy that she could go to the police car with him to find out what was in the package. When he cut the package open, he tested the contents and confirmed that it was marijuana!

Note from Admiral Sandy: When I walked to the police car with the officer, many of the locals at the marina recognized the package as drugs. So, they thought that I had been busted! Hopefully, no one will come by the boat hoping to can get some drugs from us!

We learned that the locals have a name for the packages of drugs that are found washed ashore or floating in the water: “square grouper”. We have been told that many times, people will throw the drugs overboard if they are approached by law enforcement so they are not caught with the drugs. Capt. Jim and Admiral Sandy were glad to have the “square grouper” off their boat and in the hands of the authorities! That was an experience we will never forget!

Schooner Wharf Bar Dog Friends
When I go to the Schooner Wharf Bar, I usually see my friends Oakley and Randy.

I met Oakley about 4 years ago and I have been seeing him every time we visit Key West. He is a Jack Russell that lives on a sail boat with his buddy Reese, a long-legged Jack Russell. Don't we make a cute couple?

I met Randy last year when he was a puppy. Randy is half pug and half pitbull and his mom calls him a pugit. The bartenders really like Randy. He had learned to sit at the bar walkthrough and they feed him goodies. You can tell he eats really good. I need to get to be good friends with the bartenders too!

Randy is crashed on the floor of the Schooner Wharf Bar after playing.

Beatin’ the Heat
Our boat doesn’t have air conditioning, so it gets pretty hot at times. So, Capt. Jim made me a sweat band to help me beat the heat.

Thankfully, we have fans on the boat, the bimini provides shade from the sun and there is usually a nice breeze to help keep me cool.

Just Another Sunset…
Our friends Ron and Sharon love a song “Just Another Sunset” that goes a little like this:

Yes I got your letter, where you talk about the weather and all of your misery,
About the daily grind and you’re feeling so confined, about your latest allergy,
About the job you hate and about your mental state,
You’re looking for some sympathy.
Sure I can comprehend, ‘cause here’s all the same… except that we have palm trees.

Chorus:
It’s just another sunset, just another starry night,
Just another boring day out on the ocean waiting for the fish to bite
Sure I have a beach but it’s just another pile of sand
Just another sunset, listen friend I understand.

Well, here’s just another beautiful sunset in Key West!

Second Wind
While in Key West, we have met a couple, Rick and Toni, from Jacksonville on a sail boat named Second Wind. They are here for a few weeks and are staying at the Conch Harbor Marina next to our marina. They have two dogs, Samantha and Horatio that travel on their boat with them. They don’t live very far from us in Jacksonville, so we hope to see them again when we get back home.

Rick and Toni:

Second Wind:

Happy Birthday, Admiral Sandy!
On Sunday, June 21st we celebrated Admiral Sandy’s birthday by taking some of our Key West friends to the Hemingway’s Tower snorkeling site. Rick and Toni also buddy-boated with us to enjoy the snorkeling too.

The birthday crew:
(left to right): Kat, Diane, Tim, Capt. Jim, Balk and me

Kat finds a starfish:

I got to snorkel some (sort of):

Kat is a chef and she brought some awesome fish tacos for our lunch. They were so good!

Capt. Rick rowed over in his dinghy to say “good bye” to everyone before Second Wind left to go back to Key West.

All the snorkeling made me tired, so I had to take a nap. I found a nice soft spot to rest my head on Balk’s knee.

On the way back from Key West, we were able to put the sails up! You can see our new “Conch Republic” flag that we are flying while we are in Key West.

When we got back to the marina, we went to the Schooner Wharf Bar to listen to Michael McCloud and Friends play.

The band: Christopher Flowers on keyboard, Michael McCloud on acoustic guitar, and Capt. Carl Peachy on the electric guitar.

Michael McCloud sang “Happy Birthday” to Bob, a regular at the Schooner Wharf Bar, who was celebrating his 80th birthday! Michael McCloud also sang “Happy Birthday” to Admiral Sandy. Here is a picture of the birthday boy and the birthday girl!

More birthday crew photos:

Scorpio the African Grey:
We met Jeanie and Scorpio at the Schooner Wharf Bar. Scorpio is an African Grey parrot that will do a “cat call” if he thinks a girl is pretty. And he will lift his foot to tell you he wants to sit on your hand.

Scorpio liked Admiral Sandy and wanted to sit on her shoulder.

Scorpio also liked Capt. Jim and took a turn sitting on his shoulder.

I was very interested in Scorpio and couldn’t help licking my chops wondering if he would taste like chicken.

Oyster Races at Pepe’s
Rick and Toni told us about Oyster Races at Pepe’s on Monday and Friday nights between 4 and 5pm where you can win money or prizes. Last week, Toni won $375! So, we thought we would give it a try!

Here’s how it works. You pick a card with a number from 1 to 5. When the oyster race starts, the oyster shucker shucks 5 oysters. He is timed as he shucks oysters 1 through 5. The oyster number that he shucks the fastest is the winner.

So, everyone with that number gets to pick a numbered key out of 100 keys. Only one of the keys will open a lock on the box with the prize money.

The emcee will sometimes offer people a chance to win oyster bucks or take whatever prize is behind “Door Number 3” or the “Other Door Number 3” in exchange for their key. A young girl that had chosen key #12 was given the chance to take $20 in oyster bucks and the prize behind Door Number 3 in exchange for her key. She decided to take the bucks and door prize (which was a t-shirt) and found that her key would have opened the lock to the prize money! So, she could have won $75! We may have to go back and try to win some money on Friday!

Well, that’s all for our latest adventures in Key West. All these adventures and blogging are very tiring, so I am going to rest so I can be ready for more fun and adventure!

Be sure to look for our next posting with my Key West tourist photos!!!

Coconut and Crew

You may join my Yahoo group by going to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/coconutandcrew/

We are in Key West!

2009-06-15T14:16:00.017-04:00

Location: Key West, FL

Hola de Cayo Hueso!
Translation: Hello from Key West!

We made it to Key West and are glad to be chilling out for a little while. Since our last posting, here are the highlights of our adventure.

DAY 12: Thursday, June 9, 2009
LOCATION: Marathon, FL

After I posted to the blog, we went to dinner at the Keys Fisheries restaurant in Marathon. This is a nice waterfront restaurant where the Lobster Reuben sandwich is a customer favorite and the restaurant keeps a tally of the number of sandwiches they have sold. As of June 9th, they had sold 11,707 so Capt. Jim decided to increase that number by one. It was a huge sandwich, but he really enjoyed it and ate the whole thing.

We enjoyed the beautiful sunset from the restaurant.

And Capt. Jim and I had some fun playing around with the tourist sign they had at the restaurant.

DAY 13: Wednesday, June 10, 2009
DESTINATION: Key West, FL

When we left Boot Key Harbor, the weather was beautiful, the water calm and there was a light breeze.

Here is a photo of the sunrise coming up over Morgan Glory before we left.

The last leg of our trip to Key West was in the Atlantic Ocean since it is a shorter route than the ICW route on the bay side. We put up both sails, but there really wasn’t enough wind, so we were only able to keep the main sail up. The ocean was amazingly calm and the water got clearer and bluer the further south we went.

It was so peaceful, I slept a lot. This sailing is a lot of work and tiring for First Mates!

Look at how beautiful the water was!

I worked har to make sure we didn’t veer off course.

As we arrived at Key West, we were able to get some photos of Key West from the water.

Fort Zachary Taylor:

Harry Truman’s Little White House:

Key West waterfront:

Mallory Square where visitors go to watch the sunset:

Key West Bight and Historic Seaport:

Once we got the boat secured, we went to the Schooner Wharf Bar to celebrate our arrival in Key West and have some dinner.

Before the sunset, Capt. Jim and Admiral Sandy had some champagne and I got a special treat to toast our arrival in Key West:

Here is the view of the sunset from our boat our first night in Key West:

DAY 14: Thursday, June 11, 2009
Happy Birthday, Captain Jim!

Captain Jim turned 49 today and we began the birthday celebration with some presents from me and Admiral Sandy.

Me helping Capt. Jim open his birthday card from me:

Capt. Jim in his new lightweight shirt for sun protection when he is on the boat. I think he really liked it and it looks good on him, too!

Then we were off for birthday breakfast at our favorite breakfast spot called Pepe’s, across the street from the seaport. They are very dog friendly and dogs can sit in the outside dining area under the beautiful bouganvilla (on the left). They give me bacon here!
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In the afternoon, we went to Schooner Wharf Bar to celebrate Capt. Jim’s birthday with a couple of our friends who live in Key West.

Pictured (left to right): Capt. Jim, me, Admiral Sandy, Tim and Doug

Tim used to work at Harpoon Harry’s restaurant and would give me bacon when we would go there.
Doug lives across the street from Schooner Wharf Bar and has two Huskies that like to come to the Schooner Wharf. Doug also has a great weekly blog http://thisweekontheisland.blogspot.com where he posts a weekly summary of all the happenings in Key West. You should check it out.

I love the Schooner Wharf Bar because they have a “doggie drive-thru” at the outside kitchen where a dog can stick their head in the “drive-thru window” and get a piece of bacon!

We also enjoyed listening to our favorite singer/songwriter Michael McCloud. Notice his dog Cindy (aka Cinderella) that sleeps in his guitar case while he plays. She stays there the whole time until he takes her for a bathroom break. Michael volunteers at the Keys SPCA where he fell in love with Cindy and adopted her. Now she’s got a great life! What a lucky dog!

That night, we walked to Kelly’s Brewary and Restaurant (owned by Kelly McGillis, actress in the movie ‘Top Gun’) for more birthday celebration with happy hour and wings (Capt. Jim’s favorite).

On our way back from dinner, we ran into Dave, Val and Dawson Pickett from Slider’s Restaurant in Neptune Beach! They are down for the week, renting a catamaran and sailing to the Marquesas and around Key West. It’s a small world!

Key West Sights…

The rest of this blog posting will be dedicated to sharing with you the sights we are seeing while in Key West.

Key West Historic Seaport
The Key West Bight City Marina is where we are staying. The City Marina is located in the Historic Seaport and is so convenient to everything. Our boat in the Key West Bight City Marina slip:

At the end of our dock is the Waterfront Market which is a great place for groceries, seafood, deli items and bakery items. Their outside walls were painted by Wyland (the underwater scenes) and Guy Harvey (the above water scenes). Isn’t it beautiful?

We can see our favorite bar, the Schooner Wharf Bar from our boat slip. The Schooner Wharf Bar is very dog-friendly and my favorite place to go and listen to Michael McCloud play. They give me bacon here when I go through the doggie drive thru!

The view of the Schooner Wharf Bar from our boat slip:

The Schooner Wharf Bar:

Across the street from the seaport are a marine hardware store and a West Marine. We have already had to visit both of these for a Whale Pump repair kit and oil so Capt. Jim could change the oil. We are really glad they are both so close!

There are also lots of great restaurants: B.O’s Fish Wagon, Turtle Kraals, Half Shell Raw Bar, A&B Lobster House, Conch Republic Seafood Company, Harpoon Harry’s, and Pepe’s.

B.O.’s Fish Wagon:
This place looks like a shack, but they have great fish sandwiches and we love to listen to Barry Cuda play the piano there.

Turtle Kraal’s restaurant:
They are very dog friendly and even allow dogs in their tower bar which is a great place to view the sunset. Can you find Morgan Glory in the sunset picture?

The view of the Turtle Kraals restaurant from our boat slip:

Half Shell Raw Bar:
We have been told that dogs have been seen there, but there isn’t an open outside dining area. So, I haven’t tried to go there.

The Historic Seaport is also port for lots of fun things to do: snorkeling catamarans, fishing charters, dolphin watch charters, eco tour charters, Dry Tortugas charters, sunset cruises and the ferry from Ft. Meyers. So, we are having a great time watching the boats come and go.

Sign of some of the Historic Seaport things to do:

Views of the seaport:

Note the large white boat in the picure on the right. This is the Halie and Matthew which requires dinghies to help guide the boat into the slip. A few nights ago, the boat hit a piling and there were a lot of people and dinghies scrambling to get it off the piling and into the slip. There's always some excitement around here!

Seaport after sunset:

Dinghy Dock:
This dock is where all the people on boats at anchor can come and tie up. The dinghy dock is usually very full. Can you find Morgan Glory in this picture?

The Schooner Wolf:
This is one of the boats that go out for sunset sails.

Sights from the Dinghy
We took a little dinghy trip beyond the Seaport and here are some of the things we saw:

Interesting sign:
I wonder why they have this sign in the middle of the water? Hmmmmm.

Here’s a house on the water near a boat anchorage. I wonder who lives there? I don’t think I would want to be in that house if a hurricane came!

Here is a picture of me riding on the dinghy, enjoying the sights. I got a chance to take a little swim while we were cruising on the dinghy, so that is why I am wet.

Key West Weather
The weather has been very warm with a very slight breeze the whole time we have been here. However, on Monday, June 15th, after it rained, we spotted this water spout. This photo was taken from the deck of our boat. Boy, were we glad that the water spout didn’t get any closer!

This photo was taken from the end of the dock.

I am really having a great time in Key West. I am so glad to be able to go to all the places I really love that give me bacon! I am truly a lucky dog to be able to do all this!

That’s all for now. We will post another update in a week to share with you more of our adventure in Key West!!!

Coconut and Crew
You may join my Yahoo group by going to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/coconutandcrew/

We Made it to the Keys!

2009-06-09T17:57:00.019-04:00

Location: Marathon, FL (Middle Keys)

Hi everyone,

We are finally in the Keys! We are currently on a mooring ball in Boot Key Harbor at the Marathon City Marina and we love it here. Since our last posting, here are the highlights of our adventure.

DAY 8: Friday, June 5, 2009
DESTINATION: Baker’s Haulover Inlet Anchorage, North Miami

When we left the Delray Harbor Club Marina it was overcast and the waters were calm.

At this point in the trip, we had the option to go out the Boca Inlet and sail 20 miles in the ocean to the Ft. Lauderdale Inlet in order to by-pass the 8 draw bridges (most of them with restricted opening times). But, weather reports forecasted winds from the south that would make the trip on the ocean uncomfortable. Since this is a pleasure cruise, we opted to take the ICW and patiently go through the bridges. Besides, we had never been down the ICW in this area, so we didn’t want to miss the sights that we wouldn’t see from the ocean.

Regardless of the delay the bridges created, we made it to Ft. Lauderdale, the “Yachting Capital of the World” in 3.5 hours. And here we found that the houses and boats were even bigger than the ones we saw in West Palm Beach. Here is a huge house with a huge yacht tied up to their dock. I can’t imagine what someone would do with a house and boat that big! We like our 32 foot sail boat just fine!

We had nice weather until we passed the Ft. Lauderdale Inlet when a storm began to build. So, Captain Jim donned his foul weather gear. You can see the storm approaching in the background.

Despite the horrible weather, Capt. Jim weathered the storm with a smile.

By the time we reached Dania Beach, the storm had blown over, but it had definitely slowed us down. Thankfully, one of the kind bridge tenders in Hallandale (south of Dania Beach) let us go through the bridge early because of the bad weather. One of the bridge tenders even held the bridge opening a little longer so we could make it through without having to wait 30 minutes for the next opening. We really appreciated these small acts of kindness.

When we reached Sunny Isles, FL, another storm was building. Admiral Sandy was at the helm when the storm hit with fierce 50-60 mph hour winds, rain and lightning. Admiral Sandy tried to keep a smile on her face, but it was hard when she was being pelted with the wind-driven rain.

Even though we were within a mile from the anchorage, it was raining so hard and visibility was so bad that we had to wait out the storm before we could proceed to the anchorage.

As for me, I was dry and cozy down below, making sure the rain didn’t come into the boat. It’s a tough job, but someone had to do it.

We were thankful when the storm blew over and we were able to get settled in the anchorage. After the tiring bout with the storms, a rainbow was a comforting sight.

That night, the sunset was beautiful.

We were finally dried out and enjoyed a nice spaghetti dinner after a long, tiring day on the water. Notice the spaghetti hanging out of Capt. Jim's mouth. Capt. Jim needs to learn a few manners for the proper way to eat spaghetti. Even I eat better than that!

And we hung up our foul weather gear to dry, hoping we wouldn’t have to use it the rest of the trip.

Note from Admiral Sandy: Special thanks to Fland for giving me the red “bunny suit” foul weather gear. It was definitely needed and worked great to keep me dry throughout the storm.

DAY 9: Saturday, June 6, 2009
DESTINATION: No Name Harbor, Key Biscayne

We left the anchorage with weather reports of more thunderstorms to be expected in the Miami area by noon.

On our way south, we passed downtown Miami. Boy, am I glad that downtown Jax Beach doesn’t look like this.

We also passed Dodge Island where numerous cruise ships are ported. I am glad that Mayport doesn’t look like this.

Our original plan was to go to Dinner Key and anchor there for the night. But, after we passed the Miami inlet, the storms started building over the mainland near Dinner Key. So, we changed our plans and headed for No Name Harbor on Key Biscayne. And we were glad we did because we never got any storms at No Name Harbor! You can see the storms in the distance and Morgan Glory is the second boat from the right.

No Name Harbor is a great little anchorage with a lot of protection that is part of the Bill Baggs State Park. The park was great park with a restaurant, picnic pavilion with boater’s facilities (restrooms, book exchange, and laundry), and a beautiful view of the ocean. Note: the objects in the distance on the ocean are houses on stilts in an area known as “stiltsville”.

The park also had nice walking trails that I really enjoyed. It was great to stretch my legs after being stuck on a boat for the last 9 days!

There were a lot of power boats and sail boats that came and went throughout the day because No Name Harbor is a popular place for people to enjoy. But, it is also a good stopping point before boats head for the Bahamas or Bimini.

DAY 10: Sunday, June 7, 2009
DESTINATION: Sunset Cove Anchorage, Key Largo (Upper Keys)

We left No Name Harbor bright and early so we could make our next anchorage in Sunset Cove, Key Largo. Here is a photo of the boats in No Name Harbor before we left.

When we made it to the Keys, we crossed over to the bay side at the Jewfish Creek bridge. Here there were a lot of mangroves that are very prevalent in the Keys.

I was so relieved to finally be in the Keys, I had to take a nap.

When we got to Sunset Cove, we went ashore to Snook’s restaurant for happy hour. At the restaurant, we listened to steel drum music and had a wonderful view of Morgan Glory at anchor. Capt. Jim and Admiral Sandy also enjoyed lots of good cocktails and food. In the second picture, Morgan Glory is the second sail boat from the right.

Note from Admiral Sandy: It was nice to not cook for a change!

On the dinghy ride back from Snook’s, we caught this beautiful photo of the sunset over Morgan Glory in Sunset Cove. How appropriate!

I love this picture of me and Capt. Jim riding in the dinghy from Snook’s.

DAY 11: Monday, June 8, 2009
DESTINATION: Boot Key Harbor, Marathon Florida (Middle Keys)

When we first awoke, the water in the anchorage was as smooth as glass.

Now that our trip through the Keys put us on a more westerly heading, we were able to take advantage of the south winds and put up the sails!

We had a long trip to get to our anchorage, so I got a lot of rest.

The water in the Keys is so beautiful and clear, you can see to the bottom. We actually saw a spotted stingray swim under the boat while we were underway!

To get to Boot Key Harbor where we were planned to anchor, we had to go under the Seven Mile Bridge. You can see the Seven Mile Bridge on the horizon.

Crossing under the Seven Mile Bridge.

We arrived at Boot Key Harbor and grabbed a mooring ball for the night. The City marina has 226 mooring balls in a very protected harbor. They also have lots of services and their facilities are very nice with free internet access, laundry, nice bathrooms, tvs, a book exchange, storage area and a workshop for those who need a place to build or work on anything that needs to be fixed. Adjacent to the marina is a city park with tennis and basketball courts, playground, baseball and soccer fields. We really love it here and will plan to spend a day here before going to Key West. We will also plan to stay here a few days on our way back from Key West because it is such a great place.

DAY 12: Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Vacation Day in Boot Key Harbor, Marathon Florida (Middle Keys)

The mooring ball we were assigned last night was on the far end of the mooring field because we arrived after the marina office had closed and they assigned us the easiest mooring ball to find. So, today we moved our boat to a mooring ball that is much closer to the marina. The dinghy rides to shore were a long way and was not much fun for me or Capt. Jim since he is typically the dinghy driver.

Here are views of the Boot Key Harbor mooring field:

And here are views of the marina (Ron and Sharon: note all the Out Islands!)

Now that we are closer to the marina, Admiral Sandy took the dinghy to the marina for a shower.

I hate it when the pack is not together and I anxiously awaited Admiral Sandy's return. You can see Admiral Sandy on the dinghy in the background.

Admiral Sandy and Capt. Jim also had a chance to check email in the marina building. You can see washers and dryers in the background where boaters can do their laundry.

The rest of the day, we plan to work on the blog and relax. Tonight, we plan to go out for dinner again! I love going to restaurants and there are so many dog-friendly restaurants in the Keys!

NEXT DESTINATION: Key West, FL

Next time you hear from us, we should be in Key West! I can’t wait to get to the Schooner Wharf Bar and get some food from the cooks. It’s a special thing they do for dogs at the Schooner Wharf Bar and I will make sure to post a picture so you can see what I am talking about.

Also, we plan to celebrate Capt. Jim’s birthday in Key West on Thursday, June 11th! What a great way to celebrate your birthday.

Until we have internet access again…

Coconut and Crew

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