Author: Mike & Jonell Murphree

Today, Monday Feb 12th, we FINALLY moved from Key West to Marathon.
The winds were high from the east , so we took the inside bay route (vs Atlantic side).
The waves were reasonable, about 2 footers, and the crew was comfortable during our mostly 18mph ride. We left Key West about 8am, and arrived in Marathon about 2pm. Our route was about 70 miles, with the last 2 hours being very slow due to very shallow water (4-6ft) & dodging hundreds of crabpots.

Here is our GPS Track from Key West to Marathon, notice all the little islands we had to navigate around. It was a very fun ride, Linda & Rick had their 1st experience with dolphins swimming along the side of the boat.

Here is the GPS Track for the total trip so far, I love this chart !

We will spend the remainder of February slowly working our way up the Keys.
Rick & Linda will be with us for the ride up to Miami.
The next blog post will show photos of our current digs in Marathon at Faro Blanco Resort & Marina (Very Nice !).
We will be at Faro Blanco for 1 week.

The posts below will show the last few days at Key West.
You may recall that Jerry & Lori Scheller left us on Wednesday Feb 7th.
On Thursday Feb 8th we were joined for  a 1 day Key West adventure by one of our Fiat/Chrysler coworkers Pat Morin & 1st mate Emily.

Pat & Emily were on a 4 day hiatus from the Michigan snow, and a little vacation from their 2 year old daughter staying with grandparents, since Emily is now pregnant with their 2nd child.
Pat & Emily had a hotel room in Islamorada.
Pat knew that me & Rick were in Key West and we talked them into driving down for a day visit.
We gave them the quick Key West 1-Day tour, complete with ; a few hours at the pool, walks to Duvall Street/Mallory Square/Sunset Pier, & dinner at Schooners Wharf.

During the last few days at Key West, Jonell & I had the following fun with the Spraggs ;
1. We went on a 2 hour self guided walking tour of about 35 of the old homes in Key West. We printed an on-line map called The Pelican Walking Tour. The printed materials give you a home by home map, and a little history for each house.

2. We went for one last Duvall street bar crawl, complete with visits to The Bull & Whistler Bars. We started on the 2nd floor balcony of Whistler Bar for some people watching from the balcony. The Bull Bar is on the 1st floor, The Whistler Bar is on the 2nd floor, and The Clothing Optional Bar “The Garden of Eden” is on the 3rd floor with the palm trees

After having drinks at The Whistler Bar (2nd floor bar), we went across the street and had drinks at a place called The Flying Monkeys.

 

While we were at the Flying Monkeys Bar, we looked across the street at the bar we had just left, and mentioned that we had inadvertently forgot to explore the Clothing Optional Bar on the 3rd floor.

Well , someone had to confirm if this Clothing Optional Bar was real or not.

We spent the final Key West night with a Wonderful Dinner at a place called The Grand Café.
The Spraggs, very graciously treated for the final Key West dinner.

Farewell Key West !

 

 

Hey Blog Followers,

It has been a while now since our last update, some of you have checked in to see if everything was ok.
Yes, all is good on the SS Gettin’ Looped !
Jonell & I are both mostly over our Colds/Flu & feeling much better.
Over the last week we have had special visitors; Rick/Linda Spragg & Jerry/Lori Scheller.

I met Rick in 1982 at American Motors. He was a technician in the NVH Lab when I started my career. Rick took me under his wing and taught me everything he knew, and ultimately played a large role in the assignment I had in Paris France in 1984 at the Renault Motor Company. We met Linda in about 1983 and she was also instrumental in coordinating a farewell party & welcome home party when we went to France.

We met Jerry/Lori Scheller thru the Spraggs in 2012, and have also become very good friends with them.  We all spend a lot of time with both the Spraggs & Schellers & Klines up at Rick/Linda’s cottage at Secord Lake in Michigan, at Boat Shows, and general socializing. We ALWAYS have a great fun filled care-free time, everytime we are around them.

Jerry & Lori had to go back to that Work thing, and left on Wednesday.
Rick & Linda just retired 2 weeks ago at the end of January, and will spend the remainder of February with us as we work our way up the Keys. We will drop them somewhere near Miami around March 1st.

During the Spragg/Scheller visit we did many of the same “Key West” things we did with sister Brenda, sister Paula & Michael, Ron/Michelle Kline, Pat/Jenny Haggerty, and brother Ken & Carla ; Willy T’s, Mangoes, Sloppy Joes, Hogsbreath, Southernmost Point, Pepe’s, Harpoon Harrys, Schooners Wharf, Fort Zachary Beach, Smathers Beach, Blue Heaven, Green Parrot, Grunts, Dante’s Pool, Mallory Square, Sunset Pier, The Aqua Drag Show, Onlywoods, & BO’s Fishwagon.

We also did some cool stuff that we had not yet done with the previous visitors. The most interesting new events were ;
1. Lunch @ Latitudes Restaurant on Sunset Island
2. We drove to Islamorada & Lori achieved a bucket list goal of swimming with a Dolphin.
3. Jonell & I had an awesome dinner with several of our Looper pals, at a 60th birthday party for Greg Boyer from the vessel Thistle.
4. We went to a comedy show at a place called Bottlecaps.
5. The Aqua Drag Show
6. General having fun photos

1. Lunch at Latitudes Restaurant.
Latitudes Restaurant is on the island of Sunset Key.
Sunset Key is a 27-acre residential neighborhood and resort island located about 500 yards (460 m) off the coast of Key West. The island is privately held among its residents, one of which is OPAL Properties which operates a small number of guest cottages. The island is accessible only by a shuttle boat that runs from the Margaritaville Marina out to the island. The island consists of a total of 48 single-family homes and 21 vacant lots, each of which are valued at over $1.5 million.
The entire day was incredible ; the boat ride to the island, the amazing views, the food, and the foo-foo drinks.

 

2. Islamorada & Lori achieving a bucket list goal of swimming with a Dolphin.
On Tuesday the 6th, we rented a car and drove 2 hours to Islamorada. Lori achieved one of her bucket list dreams of swimming with the dolphins. She had the “Best Day Ever”, and it was also great fun for us “watchers”.
See the videos below ;
Dolphin-1 Kissing = https://youtu.be/eexj9hBKbqc
Dolphin-2 Splashing = https://youtu.be/Rz1CsHjj1Tk
Dolphin-3 Holding/Petting = https://youtu.be/iNvI9spn9Ho
Dolphin-4 Throw Toy = https://youtu.be/_0D729EkyUI
Dolphin-5 Wave Goodbye = https://youtu.be/x07aHhhgY6E

 

3. Jonell & I had an awesome dinner with several of our Looper pals, at a 60th birthday party for Greg Boyer from the vessel Thistle.
On Monday night, we had plans made weeks ago with the Loopers, and had to let the Spraggs/Schellers explore Key West on their own. I think they enjoyed some time without the tour director.
Mike & Jonell attended fellow Looper Greg Boyer’s 60th birthday.
Greg’s wife & social director, Reenie, coordinated a birthday dinner at a place called The Key West Isle Cook. The setting was a working kitchen , where we all watched and interacted with the Chef Martha Hubbard as she discussed how she was preparing the 5 course meal. Chef Martha Hubbard started her culinary journey in 1986 in Newport Rhode Island. She attended the New England Culinary Institute in 1988 and by 1990, she was cooking at Stars in San Francisco and Mustards in Napa Valley. “The travel bug hit” and Chef Hubbard headed to the Pacific, working first at the Manele Bay Hotel in Hawaii, and then traveling the South Pacific and Asia for a year. By 1994 she settled down in Portland for six years as a sous chef at Payle’s Place, Cafe Azur and Bima. After visiting Key West in November 2000, Chef Hubbard moved here May 2001 where she worked as the opening sous chef at 915 and later as the Chef of the Upperdeck at Louie’s Backyard. In November 2015, Chef Hubbard became the Culinary Curator at Isle Cook Key West.

4. Comedy show at a place called Bottlecaps.
The show featured about 5 local key west amateur comedians, and the main liner from Boston.

5. The Drag Club – Aqua (Rick & Jerry wanted to go, not Mike)
Note = Jerry had the cat-bird seat on the end, he got the most attention from the girls/guys, he may have enjoyed it more than Ron Kline !

6. The Rest of the story !
The photos below are from places that we have previously shown on the blog, now experienced by the Spraggs & Schellers. Lots of fun times below.

 

 

 

 

 

Next Up
We will travel from Key West to Marathon on Monday.
The newly retired Spraggs, will be with us until about March 1st near Miami.

 

 

 

 

Ok blog followers, this update will be easy.
My brother Kenny & mate Carla came for their “3rd” visit on our Great Loop Adventure.
We are still in Key West, so we did with Kenny & Carla, much of the same stuff we had done with ; Brenda, Paula/Mike, Ron/Michelle, & Pat/Jenny.

It was kind of a tough week for me & Nellie.
Jonell was still not recovered from her flu/cold which left her in bed during 2 of the 3 days during the Haggerty visit. We took her to the Urgent Care for meds last Saturday.
Sunday night Mike caught the germs, Monday was my worst day, CVS drugs have improved my condition from terrible to just highly uncomfortable. To give you an idea of how rough I was/am – I have now went 5 days without a beer !

We felt bad for Kenny/Carla who spent a lot of money to visit and had less than optimal tour guides. We did try to be the tough troopers, but the Mike/Nellie smiles in the photos may not be as brilliant as normal.

It was still a fun few days, always fun with Kenny & Carla.
Enjoy the photos !

 

Next Up = Our Dear friends “The Spraggs & The Schellers”

 

Next up on our Key West visitor schedule, was Pat & Jenny Haggerty.

Pat & I have known each other for 38 years, beginning with out time spent together at the greatest Automotive Company ever – American Motors Corp.
We have watched each other age, watched our children grow, and stayed in touch as we changed companies from;  American Motors, to Chrysler, Daimler Chrysler, Cerberus, and Fiat Chrysler.
Pat & Jenny have 2 children (Celia & Liam) and live in Ferndale Michigan.

For all you loyal blog readers, now is when the blog will start to get boring & repetitive.
We have been in Key West for 20 days now, and will be reporting on a lot of the same places as the previous posts.

You will also see a lot of photos with only 3 people this week, Mrs Murph had a severe cold this week, and spent a lot of time recuperating back at the boat. We just went to the Key West Medical Clinic and got her some Meds this afternoon.

Jan 17 – Wednesday
Pat & Jenny arrived at the marina about 4pm on Wednesday, after flying into Miami.
We had the normal welcome aboard drinks on Gettin’ Looped.

We then went for a walk down Duvall, went to Willy T’s for happy hour, and had dinner at the Blue Heaven.

After dinner we went for a stroll to the southernmost homes & the famous southernmost point buoy.


Jan 18 – Thursday
Thursday was ANOTHER very cool/cloudy day in Key West, about 55f.
We spent most of the day indoors or outdoors near heaters (feel sorry for us ?)

We started the day at the Truman Little White House. We have previously reported on this place, but it was basically a place where Harry Truman had several working visits during the late 1940’s (11 visits). It is still owned by the US government, was last used by Jimmy Carter, and could be used by President Trump. If you are ever in Key West, the tour provides great history of the Truman presidency.

Our second indoor visit was to the Ernest Hemingway House. Also previously reported on in earlier blogs, the Hemingway House is where Ernest Hemingway lived from 1931-1939. It is a private tourist attraction now populated by six and seven-toed cats that are descendants of Hemingway’s cats.
It was in this house that Hemingway wrote some of his best work, including the classics;  The Snows of Kilimanjaro, The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber, To Have And Have Not, and the non-fiction work Green Hills of Africa.

We are in Key West, so in between each historical stop, we had refreshments. We visited both Grunts Pub and The Blue Macaw.

After refreshing our energy at Grunts & the Blue Macaw, we went to visit The Key West Martello Tower Garden Club. This was my first visit to The Martello Tower.
The Martello Tower is a free exhibit, owned by the Key West Garden Club.
Martello Towers are small defensive forts that were built for security purposes during the 19th century. The Key West Martello Tower was built in the 1860’s, but became a broken down eyesore that was almost demolished in 1949. Between 1950 & 1975 the Key West Garden Club took ownership, and the site became a National Historic Landmark in 1976.
It currently is owned & operated by the Garden Club, and shows many species of tropical plants.

Upon entry, we met the Garden Club representative on duty and learned that he was from Pat’s home city of Milwaukee Wisconsin. They had a lot of common memories and reminisced for about 15 minutes before we began our tour.

The Key West Garden Club is one of the island’s last remaining free tourist attractions. Plants are donated and maintained by members and volunteers. Their mission is to provide education for the community relating to tropical gardening and to the history of the West Martello Tower.
The Garden Club had many exotic plant species that were interesting, even to me (sorry Aunt Angie, plants are normally boring to me). Being an ex-defensive Military Fort, the setting is right on the Atlantic coast and is very pretty.

The Garden Club also had a recent bad experience with the passing of hurricane IRMA. The photo below shows the most prominent Strangler Fig/ Banyon Tree  being demolished by hurricane IRMA.
The rootball of the tree weighed 25 tons, and thanks to the County has already been removed. While the Fort’s damages are a loss which cannot be historically replaced, the gardeners have already begun replanting and re-envisioning the historic site into something better.

 

We ended the day with oysters at The Half Shell Raw Bar, had dinner at Off-the-Hook, and music at Grunts Pub. It was also Pat’s birthday, so we snuck in a little birthday singing with patrons of Off-the-Hook joining me and Jenny in song.

The band at Grunts was called The Shanty Hounds, a 3-piece band which sang many songs of their own creation. The music theme was a blues/jazz rock , a la Joe Cocker & Tom Waits.

After Grunt’s, we went for round-2 of music at a place called The Smokin’ Tuna.
The Smokin’ Tuna featured a rock band called Caffine Carl & the Buzz, playing everything from Pink Floyd to Bob Segar.

Murph tuckered out about 11:30pm.
The Haggerty’s continued until about 1am.

 

Jan 19 – Friday
We started Friday with coffee from the Cuban Coffee Shop, then first up on the agenda of fun was the Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center.
The Eco-Discovery Center features more than 6,000 square feet of interactive exhibits.

The Discovery Center features exhibits on ;
Aquarius – the world’s only underwater ocean laboratory
A Living Reef exhibit – 2500-gallon reef tank with living corals and tropical fish
A live Reef Cam
Other displays that highlight the coral reef environment.

Stop #2 on Friday was Fort Zachary Taylor.
Again, we have previously written on Fort Zachary, but as a short recap – The fort was one of a series of forts built-in the mid-1800s to defend the nation’s southeastern coastline. Completed in 1866, Fort Zachary Taylor played important roles in the Civil War and Spanish-American War. Fort Zachary was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1973.

While we were at the Fort Zachary State Park, we went for a little stroll along the Fort Zachary Beach. We finally saw our first Iguana. There are supposed to be many iguanas here in Key West, but this was our experience. Pat attempted to make friends.
Iguana Video = https://youtu.be/VY3SBP4xqbQ

After strolling the beach, we came back to the boat and chilled for a while while having some drinks at the pool.
Jonell was still ill and sleeping, Jenny took a short siesta, and Mike & Pat went for a walk down the waterfront boardwalk to Mallory Square.

After Mallory Square, Jenny met me & Pat on Duvall street, and we went to dinner at one of our favorites already – the Onlywood Pizzeria & Trattoria. It is a beautiful small garden setting with awesome food.

We ended the Haggerty visit with one last stroll down Duvall street, and a celebration stogie cigar enjoyed by Pat.

It was great to see Haggz & Jenny again.
The visit was way too short (only 2-1/2 days).

Next Up = Brother Ken Murphree & Admiral Carla D’Arca (Great Loop visit #3 from Kenny & Carla !)

Jan 11 – Thu
On Thursday January 11th our next Key West visitors, Ron & Michelle Kline arrived.
I met Ron in the early 1990’s at Chrysler & have known Ron about 28 years.
We have also become very good friends with Michelle in the last 10-15 years  during our many visits every 4th of July to the Spragg’s cottage on Secord Lake. Ron/Michelle also own a very nice cottage on Secord Lake.

As normal, we started their visit with welcome drinks on the M/V-Gettin‘ Looped.

Next stop in the late afternoon was a walk to Duvall street.
Along the walk we saw a prominent statue, and Ron asked who it was ?
I did not know, so we researched the statue to be Henry Flagler.
Henry Morrison Flagler (January 2, 1830 – May 20, 1913) was an American industrialist and a founder of Standard Oil, first based in Ohio. He was also a key figure in the development of the Atlantic coast of Florida and founder of what became the Florida East Coast Railway. He is known as the father of St. Augustine, Miami and Palm Beach, Florida.

On Duvall street, we enjoyed drinks & appetizers at a place called Mangoes. It was a very nice place, so much so, that I decided to leave my Visa Credit Card there overnight (more on that later).

After appetizers at Mangoes, we walked to the south end of Duvall and had the mandatory visits to some of the Southernmost Point guest houses.

Next stop was dinner at Onlywood’s , a small indoor/outdoor 100 seat Italian place. Jonell & I had been here 1 time earlier and loved it. You will probably see this place on the blog again in the future. Ron/Michelle had pizza, Mike had lasagna, and Nellie had Chicken ???

After dinner we went for a nite-time photo of the Southernmost Point Buoy. It is always very crowded during the day, but night-time photos appear to work equally well. The photo is not a big deal but it really is one of the must-do items for most 1st time Key West visitors.

We ended the night with Ice Cream & Cookies, both Ron and I have a significant sweet tooth.

Jan 12 – Fri
Day 2 started beautifully, with sunny skies & 70 degrees at 8am.
We headed off to the beach about 10am.
It was so nice we took advantage of the Mercedes convertible that Ron/Michelle rented.
They had reserved a Buick, but ended up having to settle with the beat up Mercedes.

We arrived at the Fort Zachary beach about 10:30am.
Ron & I went for an 11am guided tour of Fort Zachary, the girls stayed back at the beach.
Just after the tour started, so did the rain – not significant, but enough to make everything wet.
On the Fort Zachary tour, we simply ducked into covered area.
At the beach, the girls had to scramble to keep our towels/cloths dry.
The guided Fort Zachary tour was good, we have previously listed some history on the Fort two blog posts ago. But the most significant topics on the Fort were;  it was built in 1845 along with many other forts built after the war of 1812 to defend our southernmost territories, and it never fired or received enemy fire. It has been a state park and national landmark since the 70’s.

After the tour, when Ron & I returned to the cloudy/dreary beach, we ordered some sandwiches for lunch, then came the Monsoon Rain.
The Beach Day was abandoned.

After returning to the boat and drying off, we regrouped for the afternoon and decided to go on a highly recommended 5-star google rated Key West Firehouse Museum Tour.

The Firehouse Museum, was previously an active working firehouse built in 1907. We were guided thru the tour by retired firemen Alex & Rich. Retired captain Alex Vega above, was one of the founders of the museum. We were the only folks on the tour. Some of the interesting facts included ;
Built in 1907, Fire Station No. 3 is one of the oldest fire stations in the state of Florida. When the station opened, the Key West Fire Department consisted of 12 paid men and 200 volunteers with horse-drawn steamers and hose carriages. Each station had its own outfit name – this station housed Sunnysouth Engine Company and Tiger Hose Company No. 3.
The Fire Department received its first motorized American LaFrance Fire Truck in 1914.
In 1931, in the middle of the Great Depression, the City had no money to pay their employees, so the firemen went on strike – all except the firemen of Station No. 3. The other firemen threatened them, but with the protection of the Sheriff’s department, No. 3 station remained open through the strike and throughout the Depression. While many fire stations around the country were forced to close and board up their windows.
During the WPA years of the mid 1930s, the firemen were paid in script instead of money. The script (like coupons) was used to purchase food, clothing, and necessities. The merchants would only redeem the script for half of its face value.
Many changes took place in the late 1940s. Interior stairs were added and a cement hose trough and wooden hose rack were built in the rear of the station.
From the early 1950s until the early 1960s, more changes took place. The horse stalls at the rear of the station were removed to make room for a new kitchen and bathroom. The sash windows were replaced with jalousie windows and the original red brick engine room floor was covered with a concrete slab.

The station & city had an interesting Firebell System.
When someone rang the fire alarm from one of the red fire boxes, it would initiate a series of bell rings – both at the station & at the town bell. The series of rings had significance to the location of the fire (ie – #12 meant the fire was at Front & Duvall)

It was a great informative tour, by really interesting retired firemen.
Thinking of you Fireman Joe, should have brought Brenda here !

 

Next on the tour for Friday was a walk down the waterfront boardwalk, and appetizers at the Sunset Pier. We were able to watch the launch of one of the major cruise ships & a pretty cool sunset.

After drinks, the cruise ship, and the sunset – we were ready to pay and leave.
OOPS, my Visa Credit Card was not in the wallet !
Ok, in all the fun, merriment, drinking – where did we last use it ?
After a few minutes of panic, Jonell remembered that we had used it at Mangoes.
One phone call later, I confirmed they had the card.
We retrieved the card later that night & rewarded the honest waiter & maître d’.

After sunset we went to dinner at the Commodore Waterfront Restaurant, an elegant waterfront place with Old Town Harbor views. Ron & I had some tasty Lobster Tail.

We also finally got a copy of the Maritime Flag Symbols Chart, with each flag representing a different letter of the alphabet. The Commodore uses the flags on their menu cover to spell out the name COMMODORE.

After dinner we went to Sloppy Joes for some music. This was the place where we had heard a great 3 person female band with my sister Brenda. Saturday night was not to be. The first 2-man band was half musicians & half comedy, and their show included a lot of profanity that was really not so entertaining.
The second band was a combination of “rock-rap-dance” music. They were not bad, but prior to their start Sloppy Joes removed the tables in front of us to create a large dance floor. The dance floor was right in front of our table, so the rest of the night turned into a bunch of butts in our face (big butts), and so we called it a night.

 

 

Jan 13 – Sat
We started Saturday with coffee from the nearby Cuban Coffee Shop.
Saturday was finally a beautiful day, so we took advantage, and had Beach Day.
Beach Day was held at Smathers Beach on the Atlantic side of the island.
Remember that all beaches in Key West are man-made except Fort Zachary. The sand at Smathers Beach was beautiful from being trucked/shipped in from the Bahamas.

After the wonderful day at Smathers Beach, we went for a walk to Mallory Square to show Ron/Michelle the Key West Street Performers.  We also ran into fellow Loopers Scott & Linda from vessel Ramble On, and made plans to meet them in February on Marathon Island.

After Mallory Square we went to what may have been the highlight of Ron/Michelle’s trip, The Aqua Key West Drag Show !
I must admit that we were a little apprehensive at first, but the show was done in good humor & was quite fun with a lot of audience participation.

After the show, we had dinner at a place that I did not think Mike Murphree would ever be going to on Key West – The Café Vegetarian Restaurant.
The Ron/Michelle/Jonell talked me into it (Ashley would be proud).
I must admit, the food was good. I don’t know what they used to make my “steak” sandwich taste like meat, but it did.

Later that night we came back to the boat and watched Football – Pats / Titans.
The night ended with Magnum Double Peanut Butter Ice Cream Bars !

Jan 14 – Sun
Sunday was the Klines last day.
We had planned Pool Day, but the early morning temps were cold (55f) & cloudy.
So we started the day with Breakfast & Mimosas at a place called Off-the-Hook.
Off-the-Hook is really known for their dinner menu, but breakfast was very good.

After breakfast the temps had warmed up and the sun came out for about 3-4 hours. It was a very windy day, but the pool is somewhat covered/protected by surrounding buildings/trees, so we attempted to recover Pool Day.
Ron, the Michigan die-hard, was adamant that he was going to enjoy Pool Day.
The girls were less certain.
The music being played by the DJ right behind us was very good, with his own creations like a young Michael Jackson lyrics superimposed onto more current Bruno Mars background music.

After Pool Day, we went for a Pre-Dinner Walk.
We saw;  an outdoor street festival, the sign for The End of Hwy 1 / Mile Marker Zero, and OUR FIRST MANITEE sighting.

The Last Night Dinner was at a place called at The Flaming Buoy Filet Co.
It was a very small 25 seat place that is only open from 6-9pm every night.
They are normally heavily booked, but had a same-day cancellation when Ron called.
The food was wonderful, the Ribs fell off the bone.

The night ended with music at the Crafty Kraken Bar &  several Rockem Sockem Robot battles.

It was another great/short 4 day visit.
We packed in a lot of fun.
Ron & Michelle paid for almost everything (thx again guys).
We also got to know our friends much better in the 4 day period.
I have known Ron for almost 30 years but did not know until this trip that he was, like me, a swimmer in high school (yes, we were swimmers, so what !)
I also learned that, like me, Ron had spent a lot of time in his younger years going to school on the Detroit City Bus System. Always an interesting ride with a lot of strange folks.
It was a great week of turning good friends into even closer/better friends.

Next Up = Pat & Jenny Haggerty with a very short 3 day visit (Jan 17-19).

Jan 7 – Sunday
On Sunday, my sister Paula & husband Michael from Troy Michigan arrived about 1pm.
Prior to their arrival, and because it was the first nice/sunny day in a week, I decided to take some photos of the neighboring vessels near us at the Conch Harbor Marina. We love our boat, but once again feel like we are out of our zip code when we are in some of these nicer marinas.
Almost all of the boats here are private Sportfish types.
There are not any other Loopers with us right now (many Loopers passed on Key West due to the high cost and distance).
In the slips right next to us are Twin 60ft Viking Sportfish boats, the blue/white photos below are of 2 separate Vikings in back/back slips.

Enough of boat envy dreaming !
Michael & Paula arrived about 1pm on Sunday Jan 7th.

We started their visit with some welcome drinks at the pool at our marina, connected to Dante’s waterfront bar.

After some welcome aboard talks, we took Paula & Michael for a long walk down the famous Duval street.

Similar to Brenda’s visit , we had drinks at Willy T’s, they are world famous – the sign says so.

Further down Duvall , we had drinks & appetizers at the Viva Saloon.
Paula claims that our waiter looked like Bradley Cooper, he didn’t think so.

Further south down Duvall we passed by some of the pretty homes and bed/breakfast buildings claiming the title of  “Southernmost home”

We had dinner at a place called The Southernmost Beach Café.
The view was good, the food was so-so.

After dinner, we went to the Iconic Southernmost Buoy. Normally the photo line is very long, but we arrived just before dusk and the line was fairly short.

The night continued with music at The Green Parrot. The Green Parrot is known for great music, and they did not let us down. There was a great band called Sol Driven Train, a rock band that also had a Sax & Trombone.

We ended the night with desert at a place called Better than Sex.
The place offers only deserts & drinks.
The names of the deserts are very suggestive.
The interior was dark and seemed like a prohibition speakeasy.

Jan 8 – Monday
We began Monday morning with breakfast at Pepe’s Café, then headed to the
Beach at the Fort Zachary State Park.

Key West is not really known for their beaches. Most are man-made with sand brought in from the Bahamas. Fort Zachary is the only natural beach, as it is made up of ground coral. It also has rocky reef formations all along the beach which act as a breakwall to protect the beach and offer nice views when the waves break over the rocks. We went to this beach because it was the only natural beach & was the least populated. Much of the day was chilly (65f) , but we did get warm enough later in the afternoon to shed the towels & sweaters.

The beach is also right next door to the island of Boca Chica & the Key West Naval Air Station.

After the Beach Day, we came back to the boat, cleaned up, and went on a walk of the Key West Harbor Boardwalk. It is a 1-2 mile walk with many marinas, restaurants, and pubs.

We had happy hour at the Half Shell Raw Bar, a dozen oysters for $10.

We continued down the boardwalk, with the 2nd Happy Hour stop at the Conch Republic Seafood Company.

The final stop was at the Pier House Boardwalk, and by then we were all feeling very friendly, with the most enduring traditions of the season (hugs) which are best enjoyed in the warm embrace of kith and kin (Clark Griswald-Christmas Vacation).

The night ended with Music @ Sloppy Joes, another one of the Key West best stops for live music. I don’t remember the name of the 3 person female band, but they were great.

Jan 9 – Tuesday
We began Tuesday with Bfast at Harpoon Harry’s.
We met waiter Gary from our home city of Royal Oak, he used to live less than a mile away from our house. Gary also told us the Harpoon Harry’s is owned by a guy that used to live in Sterling Heights (Harry).

While we were at Harpoon Harry’s we noticed a photo on the wall which showed the place just after IRMA. The photos below show the water level just after IRMA. We took a current street side photo for comparison.

After breakfast, we walked off the meal with a trip down Caroline street.
Along the walk we saw a tribute left to welcome my arrival in Key West, but they got my arrival date wrong – June ’88 (RIP Murphino).

Further down Caroline street we arrived at the Art Museum near Mallory Square. I wanted to show Michael & Paula the home-made vessel used by 24 Cubans to come to America in 2010. This is the 2nd showing of these photos, but I am amazed that these folks would risk their lives to travel 100 miles in such a vessel. It makes you stop and think about their feeling of hopelessness in Cuba, to take on such a risk. Notice the V8 engine & battery in the center

After the Cuban refugee boat, we went to the St Paul’s Episcopal Church.
The church has quite the tumultuous history.

The original church was built in 1838-39 – This first building was totally destroyed by a hurricane on October 11, 1846.

The second church was a wooden structure built in 1848 – The second church was destroyed in the Great Fire of Key West in March 1886. By some good fortune the Rectory survived undamaged.

The third church was completed in 1887 – On October 11, 1909, another disaster struck, and the church was destroyed by a hurricane. The parish hall (completed in 1904) and the Rectory survived the storm and were used for services.

Plans for a new church were approved in 1911, which would be constructed of concrete. The church would be located at the corner of Duval and Eaton Streets. This required the moving of the Rectory to its current location in 1914. The first service in the current building was held June 8, 1919. During this time, many of the beautiful stained glass windows were ordered, and installation began in 1920. The organ arrived in 1931 in time for Christmas services.
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A major restoration of the church began in 1991 to save the building from collapse. The concrete used in the initial construction had been mixed with seawater and beach sand, causing the steel reinforcing within the walls and columns to split. Work was complete in 1993 at a cost of nearly one million dollars.

Today the church continues to stand as a beacon of light and hope within the diverse cultural community of Key West.

After walking off the breakfast and touring the Cuban Boat & St Pauls Church, we had Pool Day at the Dante’s Pool attached to our Conch Harbor Marina.
The day started out chilly and overcast, but ended with 75f & Sunshine. It became warm enough that me & Michael were able to enjoy a swim in the VERY COLD 66f pool.

Later in the afternoon, we went for Happy Hour at the Bagatelle.
The Bagatelle is one of the nicer/fancier restaurants in Key West, but they have a very thrifty Happy Hour with 1/2 off drinks and very tasty $5 Appetizers. The Lobster Mac-n-Cheese was “to die for”.
I love a bargain, and we had 7 appetizers & 4 drinks, and fully fed the group of 4 for under $50 (actually free for me, Michael paid).

After dinner we went to Mallory Square to watch the street performers.
While at Mallory Square, we ran in to old Looper pals Scott & Linda from vessel Ramble On. They are currently staying on Marathon island and were doing a day trip to Key West. We will join them for a week at the Faro Blanco Resort & Yacht Club on February 12th.

After Mallory Square, we walked Duvall and listened to a few musicians at the Hogs Breath & Captain Tony’s bars.

We ended the last night of Michael & Paula’s visit with some quiet socializing & DESERT  at the Blue Heaven Restaurant courtyard. Jonell did not want any more to drink after the libatious few days, but Paula talked her into gettin back up on that horse.

It was a fun,event filled 3 days with Paula & Michael !

 

Next Visitors = Ron & Michelle Kline, 20+ year friend of mine from Chrysler !

 

Jan 1 (New Years Day) – Monday
From our previous post, you may recall that we had a great 108 mile ride over from Marco Island to Key West, with beautiful warm weather & low wind & waves.

We spent the afternoon removing the christmas lights & cleaning the boat of the heavy salt water film. Mike washed the boat, Brenda performed the rinse job, and Jonell cleaned the interior.

About 5pm, the weather changed dramatically, with large wind and dark clouds moving in. The rains held out and we remained dry but windy for Monday night.

After cleaning the boat we went for our 1st walk down to Duvall street, about 4-5 blocks from the marina. We passed the usual Welcome to Key West signs, the town Roosters, and had dinner at Fogarty’s outdoor patio.

Jan 2 – Tuesday
Tuesday was the beginning of the ugly weather. Yes even down here in Key West !
The day was Dreary, Rainy, and a cool high of 65f.
We began the day with a guided trolley tour to get the feel for the city, and even rolled up the windows on the trolley.

After the trolley tour, we had lunch at the Key West famous Sloppy Joes Bar. Brenda was busy doing what she does best, making new friends.

After Sloppy Joes Bar, we went on a tour of The Hemingway House.
The house was the home to Ernest Hemingway from 1931-1939.
Some interesting things we saw in the house were; fishing photos of Hemingway & fishing pal Gregorio Fuentes, framed art of many of his movies, a urinal in the back yard, and a shit-load of cats (42) around the property.

The tour guide told us that Gregorio Fuentes & Hemingway were big fishing buddies, and that the novel “The Old Man and the Sea” was rumored to be related to this friendship. The boat they used to fish from was called The Pilar, of which you can still buy a bottle of Rum with the same name (thanks Jerry Luck).

The framed art of Hemingway’s movies prompted me to research how many novels & movies he wrote. While alive he published seven novels, six short story collections, and two non-fiction works. Three novels, four short storys, and three non-fiction works, were published posthumously. Many of his works are considered classics of American literature. There are 22 films which are based on the works of Hemingway, the most famous being ; To Have and Have Not, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and The Killers.

In the back yard of the estate is a urinal, supposedly taken from one of his favorite places, Sloppy Joes Bar. The urinal supposedly embarrassed his very proper 4th wife Pauline, who attempted to hide/decorate the urinal and make it look like a fountain.

The tour was also accompanied by a LOT of cats. All had been given names of famous people (Betty Grable, Joe DiMaggio, etc). The cats truly own the place. The tour guide advised that all the cats are six and seven-toed cats, that are descendants of the original Hemingway cats.

After the Hemingway House, we went to lunch at The Blue Macaw

After the Blue Macaw, we went walking around the Art Museum area and saw sites like;  the traveling V-J Day Statue, an interesting boat taken by refugees from Cuba, and some shops with tasty treats.

We were told by the trolley guide that the V-J Day Statue had recently arrived from ROYAL OAK Michigan, the same statue we had seen back home at 13 mile/Woodward before we left.

In the same area of the Art Museum is a home-made boat, used by Cuban refugees in 1987 to travel 111 miles from Cuba to Key West. There were 24 people who traveled on the rickety vessel.
I will stick with the 43′ Viking !

Also in the same area, were several shops which caught my attention.

The girls were not interested in the cookies/chocolate, so our next stop was Willy T’s, and their dollar bill lined walls & ceilings.

In spite of the cold weather, we had a great day.
We had dinner at a waterfront brewery, called The Waterfront Brewery.
It was a so-so, not on the Murphree’s recommended must-see places.

Jan 3 – Wednesday
Bummer, it was another Dreary, Rainy, Cool day (55f).
We started the day with breakfast at a pretty cool place called Pepe’s. It was great food & a good price ($24 for 3).

After breakfast, we went on a tour of the Truman Little White House.
Harry Truman, the 33rd president, stayed here 175 days during 11 visits between 1946 & 1953. The house was built-in 1890 and renovated in 1911. It was originally the residence of former naval officers, but became a presidential retreat during Truman’s presidency.

No photos were allowed inside.
One of the most memorable items on display was a copy of the premature “Dewey defeats Truman” newspaper from the Chicago Times.
The house is considered the birthplace of the Department of Defense as a result of the Key West Accords of 1948. In 1961, the house was the venue for a summit between President Kennedy and British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan during the Bay of Pigs incident. Kennedy returned in 1962 after the Cuban Missile Crisis. Secretary of State, Colin Powell, and foreign leaders held an international summit here in 2001. The Little White House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. The house has most recently been used by Presidents Carter & Clinton.
Harry Truman left office with an approval rating of only 20%, but currently is ranked as the 11th most popular president of all time (2007 Rasmussen). Truman had a very difficult presidency, and had to make some major decisions, thus prompting his doctor to advise him to seek retreat for rest. The Little White House became the place of retreat for Truman.

On the grounds in/around the Little White house were cool looking trees, I am told they are Kapok & Banyon trees ???

After the Little White House, we had lunch at a cool little place called Grunts.

After lunch we went to the Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park.
We toured both the Fort & went on the Fort Zachary Beach.

The fort was one of a series built in the mid-1800s to defend the nation’s southeastern coastline. Completed in 1866, Fort Zachary Taylor played important roles in the Civil War and Spanish-American War. Surprisingly, there was never a shot fired from Fort Zachary during its life.

We also went to the Fort Zachary Taylor Beach, reported as one of the cleanest beaches in Key West.

It was a very windy day, especially near the water, so much so that Brenda was almost swept away.

Next stop on the busy day was Mallory square, where we saw the large cruise ships and watched the local street performers.

Later that night, we went to dinner at a very entertaining place called Irish Kevin’s

Dec 4 – Thursday
Bummer, we found out late Wednesday night that there was a problem with Brenda’s return flight. She had to find a new flight back home and if she left on Friday as originally planned it would have been a $500 one-way ticket vs $300 on Thursday. So it was unfortunately a premature quick departure.
We went for the last tearful breakfast at Harpoon Harry’s, a nice place with a very friendly staff.

Prior to departing, we took some photos at the Conch Harbor Pool, where we spent zero time during Brenda’s visit.

It was a great week visiting with #2 (Brenda). We had great weather in Fort Myers Beach, had a nice ride & fun day with the Vrabels at Marco Island, an awesome ride across the gulf into Key West, and a lot of fun during the first somewhat cold week in Key West.

Our next visitors will be sister Paula (#4) and husband Michael this Sunday, with brother Kenny (#3) & Carla coming back for their third visit on Jan 22nd.

In case you are wondering, I often refer to my siblings as #2, #3, or #4.
Guess what, that means Michael is #1 !
Just kidding kids, I love you and appreciate your visits.

We made it !
Me, Jonell, and sister Brenda, arrived at Key West yesterday about 2pm yesterday.

It was a glorious ride from Marco Island (port #54).
Our Wind/Wave APPs were showing calm seas early in the day on New Years Day, degrading later in the day, so we had a very early 6:30am start of the day and were out of the Marco Island Marina and into the Gulf by 8:00am.

The ride began with 1-2 footers, but we were able to maintain our desired speed of 18-19mph without issue. We normally travel only 10mph, but yesterday wanted to go faster because of the 108 mile journey over the Gulf of Mexico, and the predictions that the wind would change later in the day.

About half way during the ride the waters calmed down below 1 foot, and within about 30 miles of Key West, the water was completely flat & BEAUTIFUL LIGHT BLUE.
The waters were so clam , the crew looked totally at ease and comfortable.

We arrived and got tied up about 1:45pm, a 5 hour & 45 minute ride (yea for speed when you need it). We did burn about 150 gallons of fuel on the 100 mile journey. For all you potential Loopers considering buying a Trawler, remember that most Trawlers will only do about 8mph. That would have been a 13.5 hour ride in a Trawler yesterday. The entry and tie up in our slip was uneventful. The ride in was nice & calm, but  filled with lots of traffic & big ships as we got into the harbor.

We arrived about 1:45pm.
At about 5pm while we were washing the boat of the salt water, ferocious winds picked up and black clouds appeared out of no-where. The ride would have been quite a different story had we not gotten the early start and had speed.

We ended the day with a short walk down to Duvall street and dinner at Fogarty’s. The Key West Bed/Breakfast homes were still highly decorated with the Christmas theme.

We are now about half way through THE LOOP by miles, but only 5 months into the 13 month journey. We will now be stationary in Key West for 5 weeks, slowly come up the Keys in Feb, and slowly travel the Florida Atlantic coast in March. The goal is to not get too far north too early. We have to wait for that Cold Stuff to go away. Most of you readers know what I mean about that COLD STUFF.

Check out our GPS Tracker Link below.
Use the up/down arrows to scan in/out to see yesterdays route or the entire Loop
The GPS Tracker is always available on the Welcome Page of the Blog https://share.garmin.com/GettinLooped2017

Dec 23rd – Saturday
During the day we had several work tasks; we had the reworked 4-blade props reinstalled by Diver Tom DeLoach, we performed the 2nd engine oil change so far on the loop, and we did a shake down ride of the new props.
Success – the reworked props worked great – all the vibration & humm noises were now cleared up , the boat felt awesome for our upcoming trip down to the Keys.

During the afternoon, while changing the engine oil, I received a very surprising call from one of my old directors at Fiat/Chrysler. The call was from a guy named Bill Rotramel. I answered the phone and said “Bill Rotramel, what a surprise”. Bill responded by saying “So you think my daughter is hot”. He soon explained that we had met his daughter and son-in-law on the beach the day before. Like many times before, me & Jonell struck up a conversation with a young couple next to us on the beach. We discussed the great loop. They explained that their dad was a big boater in Michigan with a boat & house on Lake Erie, and recently a new house & boat in Punta Gorda. We later discussed the recent birth of their new 3 month old son. I complimented the young woman on how hot she looked after pumping out a baby only 3 months ago. The next day they told Bill about the couple they had met on the beach doing The Loop. Bill asked them “did the guy have a brush cut” The result – a phone call from one of my favorite FCA bosses, Bill Rotramel !

At night, we went to dinner with new Looper pal and great guy Joe Upchurch. Joe is 80 years old and is doing The Loop single-handed in a 36 Ranger Tug. Joe has an in interesting background, as we have found with several Loopers. He started his own Insurance company at age 21, he built a helicopter with a kit, he became a helicopter pilot, he aided the South Carolina News and police with his piloting abilities, & he worked in a coroners office. His wife of about 40 years passed several years ago after a long battle with dementia, with Joe being the nurse-maid. He is now doing The Loop alone, but did do 1 month with his 21 year old grandson. He is really a great guy.

Dec 24th – Christmas Eve
On Christmas Eve day, we used our local taxi buddies (Madd Cab) to go into Fort Myers city. We had several tasks to get done. Madd Cab driver Bob took us to ; the ACE Hardware to return an unused tap set, to O’Reilleys to drop off the used engine oil, and to the Publix grocery store. We know all 4 drivers at Madd Cab, and we got Bob a case of his favorite Busch Beer for Christmas.

Prior to doing chores, we had another strange Fiat/Chrysler encounter. I was doing some work near the back of the boat when I heard “Hey Murph, Hey Murph”.
I went out near the ICW water to find another Fiat/Chrysler director, and boater pal Joe Guertin. Joe & wife Lisa keep their main boat “Balena” at Jefferson Beach Marina, right next door to our Miller Marina. Joe & Lisa were in Fort Myers Beach, renting vacation houses with other friends/boaters from Jefferson Beach. It was another one of these strange/fun encounters we have had on The Loop. Joe & Lisa sent a great photo of our boat as seen from the ICW.

In the afternoon, we met and had drinks with Fort Myers natives & potential future Loopers, Mark & Sue. After striking up a nice friendship, we ended up having Christmas Eve dinner with Mark & Sue at The Yucatan restaurant. Interestingly , almost ALL of the restaurants in Fort Myers Beach were open for Christmas Eve & Christmas Day, and all the restaurants were very busy !


After dinner, Jonell & I  returned to Gettin’ Looped and watched the mandatory Christmas Vacation movie, AGAIN.

Dec 25th – Christmas Day
Nellie & I spent Christmas Day all alone on the beach (the kids went home Dec 22nd and the next visitors did not arrive until Dec 27th).

I love this video (2nd showing) = https://youtu.be/reLbyeZB_4w

Dec 26 – Tuesday
On Tuesday we prepped for more visitors by washing the boat & cleaning the Isinglass and the helm.

Dec 27 – Wed
Wednesday was a big day for us, we were expecting several post-Christmas visitors to arrive.

The First visitors were Doug Edgar & 1st Mate Sharolyn, who arrived about 9am for a day-visit.
Doug is the father of my great friend at Chrysler, Ashley Edgar. You may recall from posts in August, that when we went to Beaver Island in Lake Michigan, Doug & Sharolyn gave us the 5 hour Beaver Island Tour, in Doug’s police car. We went to breakfast at Jacks restaurant at the Pink Shell & then laid out on the beach and caught up from our last visit at Beaver Island.

The next visitor was my sister Brenda, from Madison Heights Michigan, who arrived about noon. After having a late night in Michigan on Tuesday, Brenda was very tired and had to get up about 4am for her flight to Fort Myers Beach. So after her arrival, she took a short nap in the guest quarters of Gettin’ Looped.
Later that evening, we had a drink on the boat & then met my pal Dave Vrabel & 1st mate Carol Perotta for dinner.

Dave & Carol arrived during mid afternoon like Brenda, but they spent the afternoon gettin’ acclimated to their new rental home, a few miles south of us on Estero Island.
Jonell, Brenda, and I met Dave/Carol for dinner at the normal welcome restaurant – Nervous Nellies.

After dinner, we came back to the Gettin’ Looped for some friendship reunions.

Dec 28 – Thu
On Thursday- me, Jonell, and Brenda went to breakfast at Reeses Restaurant. They have excellent breakfast sandwiches. After breakfast, we joined the Vrabels at the house they were renting for the week in Fort Myers Beach. We sat around in the hot tub & pool, and played card games most of the afternoon. Later that night, we went to dinner at a place on the south end of Estero Island called , The Sandbar & Grille.

In the late afternoon, we had yet another Fiat/Chrysler interaction. Work buddy & boater pal Dave Snyder was in Fort Myers Beach for a few days of vacation. Both Vrabel & I have met Dave Snyder in Lake St Clair at Muscamoot Bay several times. We attempted to hook up with Dave, but due to conflicting schedules were unsuccessful.

Later Thursday night, about midnight, Dave’s son Eric & wife Laura arrived at Dave’s rental house. Some of you may recall that our son Daniel was Eric’s best man & Eric will soon be Dan’s best man next September. We did not see Eric & Laura until Friday.

Dec 29 – Fri
On Friday, the Vrabels came  to the Pink Shell Resort & Marina. We spent the day on the beach. The girls went for a walk down the beach to Times Square, did some shopping, and had some refreshments (don’t they look happy with refreshments in them).

We spent the full day on the beach, and in the late afternoon & evening we watched the sunset & went to dinner at Jack’s restaurant at the Pink Shell. The food was awesome.

Dec 30 – Sat
Saturday was a somewhat sad but exciting day. We finally moved after 1 month at Fort Myers Beach. We traveled about 50 miles from Fort Myers Beach to Marco Island. During the ride we saw a few dolphins and a LOT of off-shore boats apparently racing from Fort Myers to Naples.

We arrived at The Marco Island Marina Association about 2pm. We got tied up and registered at the office, then walked to lunch at a place called The Marco Island SpeakEasy. It was another beautiful outdoor setting, with a great solo musician performer.

Dec 31 – New Years Eve
I spent most of the day working on travel plans to Key West, getting the heads pumped out, & working on the full-time job called the Gettin’ Looped travel blog.

Nellie & Brenda took an Uber to one of the local shopping malls.

We all then spent a bit of time at the marina pool, then took an Uber ride to dinner at the World Famous Snooks Inn Restaurant (at least they say they are world famous on the T-shirts).
The place was another pretty cool waterfront establishment with music (notice a little hurricane Irma damage repair, this was true all over the island).

Tonight will be an early night, no 12 midnight kisses tonight.
We have a very early departure tomorrow, due to the 108 miles to Key West.

So anyway, to all of our friends, family, coworkers, and blog followers – HAPPY NEW YEAR !
Photo below compliments of my sister Brenda.

Hey Blog Followers, here is a little Christmas song from me & Jonell.
Do you remember the words to – I’m dreaming of a White Christmas ?

I’m dreaming of a White Sandy Beach Christmas.
Just like the ones I’ve never seen.
Where the palm trees glisten.
And adult children listen.
To hear big block engines running off-shore.
I’m dreaming of a White Sandy Beach Christmas.
With every Christmas card I did not write (sorry, normal delivery will resume next year).
May your days be Sunny and Warm.
And may all your Christmases be on White Sandy Beaches !

Actually – A White Snowy Cold Christmas is still the Best !
But, this White Sandy Beach Christmas is pretty sweet before & after Dec 25th.

Love & miss you all,
Mike & Jonell

Merry Christmas Video = https://youtu.be/reLbyeZB_4w

Merry Christmas to All, & to All a Good Night !