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When I arrived with the boat in tow at the end beginning of April, our neighbors, Eric and Carlisle, invited me over for a dinner of Stone Crab. I got to meet Carlisle's wife Susan before she and Carlisle departed at the end of the winter season. Eric and Carlisle took me fishing on their flats boat the day after the Stone Crab feast. Eric hooked a pretty good sized fish and handed the rod over to me to bring it in. I actually got it to the boat where Eric netted it and brought on board a nice looking Amberjack. Eric releases all his catches, so we let it go after pictures. These guys are great neighbors.

Carlisle prepares to cast.

Eric maneuvered the boat so I could get this picture of an Eagle Ray. It had about a three foot wing span. 

Our friends arrive. The Challenge: Drink all this liquor before the vacation is over!!

Cindy came in on Thursday evening. The next day Jeff and I took a dip in the pool while an anonymous friend toadied to the girls by delivering drinks and snacks, and sitting on the boat and looking on in an admiring fashion.

One of us sucks up to the girls by acting as their pool boy. He walked right by Jeff and me carrying their drinks. You think you know a guy.

Jeff and I were already in the pool.

That evening we went out for a sunset sail. The sunset was beautiful, the drinks were cold, and the running lights actually came on when it got dark.

The next night we enjoyed the sunset while dining on the patio.

Jeff and Julia enjoy another sunset from the dock. We had a LOT of nice sunsets this year. Julia said, "Oh my God!"

We practiced kayaking from the dock in preparation for our big kayak trip with naturalist/guide "Captain Bill" Keogh.

The big day was here. We embarked on Summerland Key and went out North along the mangroves. 

We spotted lots of fish and birds and navigated a tunnel through the mangroves. 

We stopped for lunch and those with the proper plumbing were able to unburden themselves. After this we crossed two pretty good sized channels on our way to the Blimp Road take out on Cudjoe Key. It got very windy and rather exciting. However, we all lived. We all had a great time.

Note that Julia is in a solo Kayak. She took lessons the previous summer and performed ably (after the wind came up, you might say heroically) on this trip. 

The next big adventure was a dinner on Little Palm Island. This is a ritzy resort about five miles from the house. You take a launch to get to the island. It was very expensive, but our friends sprung for dinner, desert, and an excellent Chardonnay that Jeff discussed at length with the waiter. He also sniffed it, swirled it, swished it,  silhouetted it and, at length, declared it fit to drink. Thank God!

I believe Julia said, "Oh My God!"

We took the Chardonnay for a little walk around the premises. And very nice premises they are!

We were visited by a Key deer. He came right up and nuzzled Cindy.

No trip to the lower Keys is complete without a stop at the No Name Bar and Grill. There are approximately 100,000 one dollar bills stapled to the walls and ceilings of this place. One of us feels strangely happy and relaxed in this environment.

One day we took a trip to the Naval Base. It is about 14 miles by boat. We sailed all the way there in about 3 hours. We had a nice lunch and cheap beer. We motored back. That took about an hour.

Next stop the sunset from on top of the La Concha hotel in Key West. This is kind of a tradition. It is a great view of the city and the harbors. Also, of course, a great sunset.

I think this is a great picture. I took it in the middle of the night when I woke up an could not sleep. It turned out that another of us also got up while I was out taking the picture. She has trouble sleeping too. Anyway, when I got back to the house she was standing in the kitchen and did not see me come in. I said, "Hi." She almost jumped over the counter.

The final adventure was a trip to the Looe Key reef. You can see the reef behind the boat. It was great! We were visited by the world's largest Barracuda. He must have been five feet long and as big around as a culvert. We still went in, but we did not splash and we did not wear any sparkling things.

Julia definitely said, "Oh My God!"

There is nothing like a nice dip in the hot tub after a long day on vacation. We would just jack up the temperature and keep cool with icy drinks. 

On a particularly calm day we all took turns kayaking to Gopher Key, which is about a mile in front of the house. I shot this picture on the way back. Cool reflection, huh?

Everybody else packed up and left me. I stayed a few more weeks doing odd jobs around the house.