A Weekend Comparison

So while I was doing this in St. Kitts:

Yet another empty beach. This one powder-white sand - great on the feet; a little painful when whipped into my face by the gusty wind, but still my favorite beach walk.

Michael was doing this in Key West (well, watching it):

I'm pretty sure we couldn't have been any farther apart on the spectrum. Yes, the last few days in Key West have been all about Key West Pride. This weekend included a street fair and parade, and Michael, being a true blogger's husband, dutifully took lots of photos.

Oooh, a dunking booth.



The parade looked like a lot of fun (slideshow).



Michael could have jumped in while just wearing underwear and fit right in

Locals Day in The Garden

Photo from: Sandy Hunter Guy

You'll recall that we've been able to take advantage of the great offers by several Key West museums (and conch train) to get in free on Local's Day - the 1st Sunday of every month. The Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden decided to get into the action for the first time and we, of course, jumped at the opportunity.

Photo from: Bahama Bob's Rumstyles

I might have questioned the "tropical forest" aspect of it, but it's been really humid here lately. Even the long-timers have been complaining about it - it has been like living in a rain forest. Fog rolled in the other night (again), was gone by the time I went running early the next morning, but rolled back in again around 8am and stayed around for hours, wreaking havoc with boaters. Strange.

As we left our apartment this morning, we noticed our own pine forest and neighborhood mammal (Calvin).






Once at the Gardens (on Stock Island), we barely left the parking lot before we saw turtles and lizards/iguanas.

Holiday Parade

That was fun. Not only did it not rain, but the temperature could not have been any better. No sweatshirt needed - finally!  It was nice to come to an event meant for families, and there were lots and lots of kids...with bags for all the candy they were going to rake in. We planted ourselves near a few because we knew they'd get candy tossed their way and we wanted some too. They came out ahead though, because we gave them most of what we caught - most...



There were many kids on the floats themselves throwing candy, and sometimes they tossed the nuggets so hard and right at us, that we had to duck and cover our faces lest we lose an eye. AACK!

Time For Some Fun

I have to admit I'm still struggling with this blog a bit. I'm just not feeling Key West yet and that makes it difficult to write about. To be fair, we haven't done that much that would be considered fun as we get ourselves settled in, but I miss wind. I miss our "private" Sunday beach.



I miss hills. I miss the view of the sea and ocean we had from almost anywhere. I miss my morning run up the peninsula and hikes with friends.

Road Trip

Curious about some of the outer cays, we borrowed a truck and headed for Marathon, which turned out to be a longer version of Key West...The drive was pretty with bridge ruins and glacier-colored water.

Even a turtle popped up.

Comparisons

Is it still okay to miss St. Kitts? In full disclosure, I have to admit that after four years in St. Kitts, we were getting tired a few things: the lack of "stuff" to replace things that had broken; the clothing choices that were either too expensive, too limited (especially in sizes), or too gaudy/cheap in many cases; the difficulty traveling to/from the island thanks to limited flights and high airport fees. We figured we had another year left in us. Just as we were thinking that, circumstances changed, and three weeks later, we were in Key West. I seem to adapt slower than I used to.

 Since we've left, St. Kitts has had a tsunami watch issued (and canceled)! Wilbur the pig, the huge mascot of Reggae Beach Bar & Grill died. The Brimstone Fortress Fit & Fearless (uphill) Run is coming up - that's where I got my first running medal ever! I already can't wait to see the video of our friends on the upcoming hash. Should I give it up cold turkey?

Welcome

Do to popular and surprisingly vocal demand, I have decided to start my fourth blog. I hear the cheers from my Island Babble fans now. Thanks for the push guys.

For those of you who don't know me... in 2006, my husband and & I sold everything we owned, bought a boat we didn't know how to sail, and took off for the Caribbean (with our cat). The point was to find a warm island to live on and to find jobs on one we liked so we could stay as long as our sanity allowed. Believe it or not, our plan worked and after three years, we ended up selling our boat and living on the wonderful island of St. Kitts. Once on land, I started to convert my sailing blog to a printable keepsake for family and boater friends, and realized I had a fun story to tell. There aren't too many books that are honest about what it's really like to cruise for three years, nor were many from a female captain's point of view. The next thing I knew, I had A Sail of Two Idiots, and McGraw-Hill made sure it got out on shelves around the world (and online and in ebooks). My Babble fans were invaluable, not only by buying the book, but also making sure that their local bookstores stocked up as well. I will be forever grateful. If you haven't read it yet, I think you'll have a good time with it, whatever your background. Here's a video to give you a little taste.