Our Second Anniversary

Albuquerque, 2009

Two years ago in Albuquerque, NM, we secured the last of our belongings into our motorhome, hitched up the car, and with feelings of amazement, realized we were Full-Timers traveling out of town starting our first of many adventures! That feeling of adventure and amazement is still with us. We have seen a lot of our beautiful country; we have visited family and friends; and we have also made new friends. The best part is knowing there is more to see and a lot more friends to meet. Don’t worry, we have not forgotten family. Yes, we do plan to visit them again someday.

Key West, 2011

(Hitch & Squirrel)

Even our cats seem very happy with their new lifestyle. They know the travel routine very well. As soon as they see us packing away our loose items, the cats start to ‘Man’ their stations. Dusty sits near the bedroom door while Max and Squirrel sit near the barrel chair. They like to be near their hiding places so as soon as the engine is turned on, they disappear. And Hitch? Oh, Hitch is under foot, bouncing off of walls while bobbing his head and howling, “Road Trip! WooHoo!” Yes, Hitch gets a little excited and he never seems to tire of moving on down the road. As soon as we stop, all four cats are greeting us at the door or looking out the windows. They have learned that a new location means new smells to explore and grasses to eat.

Hitch & Dusty

Max

Our winter stay in Key West has been the best winter we have ever had in all the countries and states we have lived in. We now understand why many of the campers have been coming here for over 15 years. It is sort of sad to see our time here come to an end, but we could be back in a couple of years.

So, what’s next on our agenda? Well, we are not quite sure and we like it that way. We do plan to spend some time exploring the Space Coast, central Florida, and a 4-day visit to Disney World. After that, we are not sure, but we will be happy to tell you where we are once we get there!

Squirrel

On Key West Time

On Key West Time


Relaxing in Key West is an art. Relaxing Key West style is contagious and intoxicating. Ahhhhh! Oh yea, we have been practicing for the past month and you know – practice makes perfect, right? Now we don’t just sit around doing nothing all day. We just do things at a very easy going slow pace.

We are starting our third week in the Dry Camp area so mornings consist of recharging batteries with the generator while using any or all of our electrical appliances to make breakfast and cleaning. If the weather is good and it usually is – we take the cats outside for walks. Even Max has been venturing outside. Well, to the bottom step where he keeps at least one paw on the step. Make a move towards him – Poof!! – he disappears inside until the coast is clear. Dusty and Hitch will spend hours sitting in the screen house watching for birds, enjoying the breeze, and doing a lot of cat napping. Sandy says it is like having her own screened in porch. She spends as much time in it as the cats do. Watching the people go by and working on her hand sewing.

After lunch, we take a leisurely 3 mile walk around the base. We say leisurely because we make a lot of stops along the way. First stop is usually at the RV office to see how many are dry camping now. Anywhere from 190 to 200 dry campers are on the waiting list for the 88 full hook-ups and some of those are for Handicap only. Yep, the wait is long, but we don’t mind. We stop by the retaining ponds to see the large iguanas sunning themselves then onto the marina to watch the pelicans by the water. The most important stop is to visit our favorite rooster that Dan has named “Buck Buck”. Buck Buck comes running out greeting us with his clucking sounds. He usually stops right in front of us and starts scratching and clucking the whole time. Dan likes to speak Chicken and the two have a wonderful conversation about how they spent their day.

After our showers at the Bath House and dinner, we pop in a DVD since we don’t have TV reception here (the price we pay to live in paradise). Sandy likes to work on her quilts while Dan is reading the latest news on his computer.

During our hanging out around the motorhome, we get to watch the Ibis and a pair of Ospreys nesting nearby. One of the Ospreys always brings its meal to a utility post near our site. Our next door neighbor setup a very powerful telescope in front of his 5th Wheel with a sign inviting everyone to take a look at the nest. Very nice!

We are finding the White Ibis to be very entertaining at times. Dan calls them the crosswalk birds because they do tend to cross at corners. They are so comical to watch that we are always on the lookout for them. Their walk alone is fun to watch – the bobbing of their heads, the strange stork-like walk, and the soft grunts they make as they move around. We never know what to expect them to do. They are not very skittish around people or vehicles, but they do keep their distance if someone tries to get too close.

We have noticed that they tend to stay in small flocks, anywhere from 3 to 10 birds. We have seen a few mavericks out by themselves, but for the most part they like to stay together. If one decides to do something completely different from the others then the others will follow its lead. One time, the leader decided to use the sidewalk in front of the Navy Exchange (small retail store). We were just coming into the parking lot as they walked down the sidewalk in front of customers and the opened doors. They could have cared less that they were blocking the way and causing a small traffic jam. One couple was trying to get pictures. We could tell one lady had been here too long because she just sat on the bench text messaging as the flock marched by her.

Another time, there were two flocks. One was eating in the grass while the other flock was wandering around in the parking lot. The eaters decided they needed a drink and moved over to a very shallow puddle. Of course, the other flock had to follow. So, all these birds are trying to drink water at the same time which is not easy to do with their down curved bills. Each bird had to lay his head sideways into the water to fill its bill, lift its head straight up, and swallow. We were surprised they did not step on each other.

So, there it is – life in Key West. We have noticed the people staying in the campgrounds seem to have a spring in their step, love to be outdoors, and look very healthy for their age.

Now, stop groaning, we know the weather has been bad up north. We have been watching the weather and we can see that Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas are under Severe Weather Watch right now. We want you to know we still remember those cold, okay, freezing winter days and we do not take this beautiful weather for granted. Stay warm Friends.  

Our First Week in Key West

….has been Great! We have already been out kayaking four times. We saw our first Manatee close to the base shore and two sharks. We were able to follow the Manatee around for a while since he or she did not seem to care. Dan saw the first (small) shark while kayaking around Geiger Key’s mangroves. We got a picture of one 4 foot shark swimming around in the marina with some very large Tarpons.

We have been downtown just as often, and stopped to see the Southern-Most Point in America. The marker was very busy so we will have to go back for pictures. Of course, we had to visit MargaretiVille. It wasn’t crowded so we were able to spend some time at the bar, sipping our drinks, and checking out Jimmy Buffett’s place. . OH!.. and we have watched many beautiful sunsets. Yep! We got pictures. We will keep a separate album for the Sunsets so our Key West picture folder doesn’t get too large. We haven’t done the sunset ritual at Mallory Square, but we plan to do so and take lots of pictures.

The weather has been a little humid, but not too bad. How would we describe Key West? Three words come to mind: exotic, eclectic, and colorful. Exotic: a rich historic background with stories of shipwreck salvagers and an independent Conch Republic. Add in palm trees, warm crystal-clear and very calm waters, Iguanas and feral chickens blended with the eclectic culture in this balmy weather and the results are a very artistic Fun-n-Sun-Loving community with lots of flavorful food in a very beautiful old town. We couldn’t ask for a more colorful setting than Key West.

In one short week we have learned a lot about Key West history and its occupants. Such as this island’s first name was Bone Island after the Spanish found large amounts of human bones just lying around.

We were a little surprised to find the Key populated by Green Iguanas. Our first encounter with one was as we were driving our motorhome onto base. That’s when Sandy spied a very large lizard sitting on top of a bush near base housing. Turns out Iguanas are not indigenous to the Keys. From what we have been able to learn: some came by ships with fruit cargos and others were escaped or set free pets. Apparently, the weather, the vegetation, and the location have been perfect for the Green Iguana. We are going to have a separate album for the Iguanas and other Key West critters.

Then there are the feral “Gypsy” chickens running wild around Key West. They say the chickens have been here for over 175 years, but they grew in number when fleeing Cubans came here in the 1950s. We find the free-roaming chickens add charm to this area and are interesting to watch, but the locals are divided on keeping the chickens.

The food has been very good so far. Our first stop was a small place in a strip plaza. We just happened across Kennedy Café just outside the Sigsbee gate. We thought they were serving only Turkish food, but they also have Cuban-American and Italian. This time we decided to stick with our favorites: a Greek salad for Sandy and a Shawarma for Dan. Very good food and we do plan to go back.

We also had lunches at the Geiger Key Campground Smokehouse and Turtle Kraals. Both have good food, great views, a wonderful and very relaxed atmospheres.

So, do we like Key West? Most definitely!