A different lifestyle in Key West

Living in a mooring field is very different from common modern life. It's hard to underestimate the beauty of waking up to the sun gently rising over the water, and enjoying a Corona as you watch it set, while knowing that you're in your own remote spot accessible only to those who also have a boat handy.

As I found out the hard way though, electronics don't like salt water; and I think my cell phone bit the dust when a few salt water crystals got inside it. Riding to shore on our dinghy, which we dubbed Enterprise, could be a wet ride, so we have to keep everything covered every time we ride in and out . The ride to shore from our spot in the Garrison Bight Key West mooring field is about 20 minutes long by dinghy. Also, Wifi is no longer working out in the mooring field, so we came into Miami Subs today to get Internet, and that's where I am now.

 Avalon and Bayshack (our buddy boat) in Garrison Bight, Key West. Captain Ken photos

 Avalon at rest in Key West

Avalon at rest in Key West

But these little inconveniences can't dampen my spirit. When we first came to Key West, I noticed on a tourist map the prominent presence of St. Mary, Star of the Sea, a minor basilica that takes up a whole city block. It just goes to show, even if you are going to Key West to party on Duval Street, God is never too far away.

I promise to get photos of the basilica. Stay tuned.

Made it to Key West

From Marathon we traveled about fifty miles southwest to an island where iguanas and roosters roam the streets and cruise ships come to dock every day. Key West, the Southernmost City in the continental United States, with all its tourism and hoo rah, welcomed us with fair weather and good fortune. The five hour ride down from Marathon was smooth as can be. Also, after days of struggling with the dinghy motor off Boot Key, it started up right away this morning as if the motor simply liked Key West waters more than it liked Marathon’s.

Our buddy boater Michael also met up with us here, so the three of us wandered around the island for a few hours looking for a West Marine store, and kind of got our own pedestrian tour of the tourist section of town along the way. We saw some well-known bars and restaurants, like the official Margaritaville bar owned by Jimmy Buffet, and Sloppy Joe’s, which was one of Ernest Hemmingway’s favorite spots. The bars and restaurants on Duval Street, the main drag, are too many to count, and even on an early Tuesday afternoon the streets were crowded. 

Along our walk we passed an impressive basilica, Our Lady Star of the Sea. The parish grounds occupied an entire block with its convent, perpetual adoration chapel and school. After walking further through town, we came to a park that had a whole section with busts of all the historic figures that have connections to Key West. One of the busts was of Sister Louis Gabriel of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. She served the Key West community and is said to have known everyone on the island except transients. She served in a hospital during the Spanish American War and helped establish a school on the island. She also had a grotto depicting Our Lady of Lourdes built at the aforementioned church, which happens to be the oldest parish in the Archdiocese of Miami (1851), and has the first Catholic school in the archdiocese as well (1868). With all of the things I’m coming across on this trip, it’s comforting to know that there were faithful ones who came before me wherever I go. 

Here are some random photos of the day.

A rooster near the Key West cruise ship dock.

This ship, Carnival Conquest, woke me up this morning blasting its horns just outside Garrison Bight, which is where we're tied to a mooring. 

Dinghy expedition on Marathon

Exploring the creeks along Marathon’s islands in the dinghy, as we did today, will be a fond memory of mine for a long time. The islands here are very narrow, like most of the Florida Keys, so I didn’t expect there to be many navigable waters all around us as we went back and forth from the boat to the marina. Sisters Creek, for example, goes all the way from the harbor to the ocean, where it provides access to a beach. A very small island within a half-mile of the beach is accessible by dinghy as well. Needless to say, that’s where we went.  We circumnavigated, but finding no place to come ashore we headed back. It was no more than a half hour to get back to the boat.

Our buddy boater, Michael, headed for Key West today since the weather was fair. We would have gone with him if we hadn’t paid for a week here already. We’re in no rush apparently. If we headed for Key West Monday, we’d still have more than a week to continue exploring and enjoying the keys.