Key West Memories: Warm Day, Surprise Encounter, and Sunset Sail ~ March 10

March 9, 2017

It was another beautiful day here on Key West, although quite warm and a bit humid.  Temperatures soared into the mid eighties under a mostly sunny sky with occasional light breezes.  As I checked my Facebook feed the first picture I saw was posted by my sister, Vicki, indicating that her cruise ship had docked overnight just around the corner in the "Navy Mole" -- literally a stone's throw from our condo!  I knew she was on a cruise, but I had no idea that their last port of call before returning to Miami was right here in Key West!  And, irony of ironies, she was aboard the Norwegian Pearl - the same ship Jeff and I sailed to Alaska!

We set off a little before noon to go to the Farmer's Market.  It wasn't a large market, but it had a wide variety of tents with many different wares for sale.

 

Just inside the area we entered was a young man with a business called Keez Beez.  Jeff tasted the palm honey, declared it "delicious" and bought a jar.  There were vegetables galore - tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, and more - and a wide variety of fruits.  I saw some luscious-looking raspberries and blackberries, along with the usual suspects - oranges, lemons, grapefruits.  Lots of vendors were selling orchids which literally grow on trees down here!
 

Others were selling dried fruits - Betty Lou bought some dried kiwi that is so green that it looks artificial! There was a hat seller, several jewelry and clothing sellers, and a number of tents serving food like Argentinian beef, Thai sandwiches, and meatballs in marinara sauce!  After about an hour and a half of meandering, we got back in the car and drove back to the cottage to have lunch.

I finally made contact with my sister, and she ventured off her ship for the first time on the cruise and made her way over to our condo for a short visit and a glass of wine.  
She had to be back on her ship before 4:30, and we needed to be on our way to our Sunset Sail by 4:00, so Jeff drove her back to the boat and we began our preparations for our evening sail.  The backpack was loaded up with water, leftover chicken, and some sort of pork and provolone "sandwich" that Betty Lou created and cut into quarters.  We set off on foot for a thirty minute walk over to the America 2.0!

(photo from website)

We have done a lot of sailboat cruises - some were sunset; others were just day cruises - but this one was truly the most delightful in my memory.  The crew, Alex and Danielle, were charming and fun; the food was first rate (wonderful cheese assortment of aged cheddar, smokey manchego, and an aged parmesan; vegetable platter and dip; and yummy large shrimp with cocktail sauce); and the sunset was truly spectacular!


I didn't get a good shot of Alex, but Danielle was great about answering all kinds of questions!



As we pulled away from the dock, we could see the Pearl setting sail for Miami.  My sister and I exchanged texts to see whether or not she could see us, but we were too far away.  


What a hoot to see her ship sail off in the distance.

It truly was a perfect evening for sailing, and there were many sailboats out enjoying the light breeze.




And it was a truly spectacular sunset!  






I even shot a video of the sun going down.


All great days eventually come to an end and we arrived at the dock, made the trek back to the cottage - with an obligatory stop so that Jeff and Peter could have a slice of key lime pie.  Funny ... in Italy I took all kinds of food pictures, but haven't thought to take pictures of the key lime pie slices here.  Oh well ... too late now!




Another great day in paradise, as Jeff would say!

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