Boating in the Keys
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Category Archives: Vacations
Saturday in Key West
Today is gorgeous weather and Key West is hosting their annual seafood festival. Martha has her GPS loaded with assorted geocache way-points to search out while on route to Key West. It’s a great day for a motorcycle trip and thankfully no cruise ships are scheduled to be in port today and flood the KW streets with tourists. Lots of pictures after the break. Continue reading
Burrr… it’s Cool Here
We arrived to Key Colony Beach to experience their coldest weather snap in about 20 years. The water is so cold (52F) in this area, some of local fish are dying and the iguanas are dropping out of the trees in a state of suspended animation. The forecast calls for lows in the 40’s but warming up to normal later in the week. We got everything unpacked and did our initial grocery shopping, with a stop at our local pub for happy hour festivities. Continue reading
Snowbirds Day 3-4
We had a leisurely breakfast this morning in Orangeburg SC and I was determined to find a car wash to get all this salt off my bike, trailer, and pickup. We got directions for this cramped multi-bay car wash that turned out to be an obstacle course for trailers. Low and behold, after weaving my way in, the car wash pipes were frozen but the owner “expected them to thaw out around 1pm”. Continue reading
Snowbirds Cross the Mountains-Day Two
The roads through the “Mountain State” (WV) were extremely slippery today. We discovered the importance of the sign Watch for Ice on Bridge. Tom did a fantastic job keeping the truck and trailer (mostly) between the white lines but it was white knuckle for about 5 hrs today. The temp was -6 with a steady icy mist going through the mountains so I am so glad we came through unscathed. When we passed through the last tunnel in Virginia and started down that steep hill into North Carolina the sun came out and we donned our sunglasses. As we continued south we watched the temperatures go from minus to positive and finally the wet salty roads were thankfully behind us. We stopped at Orangeburg, SC for the night and will head into Florida tomorrow.
Snow Birds Day One
We got up this morning at 7, threw the totes in the box hitched up the trailer, did last minute house preps and were on the highway by 9. Yeah, let the winter retirement vacation begin! We made a pit stop in Windsor and got a receipt to validate our departure date. The customs officer at the border was friendly and the tollbooth operator did not charge us for the trailer. We decided to try the eastern route this year and at Toledo turned onto the Ohio Turnpike and down Hwy 77. The roads were wet but well salted and the traffic not too bad. Continue reading
Springtime in Kentucky
We enjoyed our road trip to Kentucky last week. As we drove further south, it was as if Spring turned to Summer in a matter of hours. Activities over the week ranged from sightseeing, visiting , dining in, dining out to shopping for summer clothes. Continue reading
Teeing off in Texas
We decided to start the Spring off right and get in a few rounds of early golf. We traded in our timeshare for a townhouse in the woods at a place 3hrs east of Dallas TX called Holly Lake Ranch. It was a gated community for Texans wishing to get away from the concrete jungle and head for the hills and the “cabin in the woods” experience. We were glad to have our Tomtom GPS to guide us on those dark country backroads. Our place was lovely and we were surprised that it had no highspeed or blackberry service. It was a true getaway for us.
Fishing in the Keys
Getting Baked in KCB
…clam baked that is :) This afternoon we went to the KCB Clam Bake at the local park by our golf course. It was put on by the Key Colony Fishing and Boating Club. The food was fresh and very well prepared. They had raw clams, clam chowder, steamed clams, fried clam strips, raw oysters, fried oysters, fried tilapia fish, fried chips, fried onion rings and a free flowing bar of draft beer and wine. We were impressed with how quickly and efficiently so many people were served. It was so much fun and a great way to spend a Monday afternoon. Pictures after the jump. Continue reading