The skies are gray and overcast this morning -- the FIRST time this entire trip. Key West must be sad to see me go.
"Didn't you just get here?" I heard that a lot this morning already -- from my charter boat captain buddies I see every morning every year, from the folks who hand me my coffee every morning, to the gals who have been making my Cuban Mix sandwiches. I will hear it more throughout today as I say goodbye. They say that breaking up is hard to do. But so is saying goodbye. But this island will be here again next year and life will quickly return to normal when I get to return home again.
WHOO-HOO!!! That's my summary word for yesterday!
Ate lunch at Island Dogs -- a relatively new restaurant on the island. Been there a couple years already but I've never been there. It's weathered the test of time so I gave it a try and was not disappointed.
Walked up inside the 100 foot Key West Lighthouse. Never had done that before. Always try to do something new every year. Going up wasn't a problem. Coming down was scary! Narrow, winding stairs. Glad they made me go up before they made me go down -- I would have never done it if I knew what the climb down would be like.
But that's funny -- getting all wobbly legged inside a closed solid building with a winding staircase with a handrail. After leaving the lighthouse, I met up with my buddy Jude for a couple hours on the wave runners. It was just the two of us -- no one else had signed up for his 4pm tour, so he pulled the regulator on my runner. I got to max the puppy out at 72 miles an hour -- "riding it like I stole it" as Jude said. FULL THROTTLE! Literally! I have problems walking down stairs but no problems flying across the water at more than 70 mph! HA! WHOO-HOO!
It was high tide at 4pm so I got to explore the back waters, an area of the Gulf generally too shallow to run any runners or boats across. Also explored the off-limits mangroves (at idle speed only). Saw a massive iguana hanging out on a mangrove branch. He wondered what I was doing there and I wondered how he possible got there, several miles off terra firma. Literally saw about 20 F-16 Navy jets coming in, probably returning from recon missions over Cuba (wonder what was going on??). They came in right overhead as I was on the runner, one right after another. Incredible sight most people never get the chance to experience! Makes one proud to be an American!
Spent a lot of time on the Atlantic. First time this trip. Incredible swells. Remember I was going 70 mph, riding 5 foot swells. Ran the wakes of a few boats.
Jude really made my day yesterday with that final wave run of the 2010 season.
Dinner last night at Cafe Marquesa, a local rated restaurant in the neighborhood I cann home when here. Haven't been there for years, but my final night in Key West is always a special dinner, so really enjoyed a Filet Mignon with peppercorn sauce. Really tasty. And I was starved.
No sun yet, so probably not a lot of time to be spent on the sun deck today. Read the paper, enjoy a couple more cups of coffee, pack up, vacate my apartment for the next folks coming in this weekend, then walk around town until my plane leaves home around 4 pm. Will be back in Los Angeles about 10 pm.
Thanks for stalking me. It's been fun to me to share my vacation with ya'll (the way they say it here at home).
All for now! Pray for safe travel.