Phil and Liz' Kids in Key West

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noreply@blogger.com (BOBXNC) — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 03:26:00 +0000

Arrived home around 9:30 pm. The flight from Charlotte to Norfolk (ORF) was delayed and was looking for volunteers to take later flights. We noted that an earlier flight to ORF was cancelled and that dumped a lot of people on our flight. We cleared the airport quickly, car was fine, all bags made it. In short a successful trip.
We are glad to be home even though it is half the temperature it was in KW. 41 when we pulled in the drive with rain on the way.
Next step laundry and mop up.
Got some great news while we were in Charlotte. The Outer Banks Visitors Bureau board agreed to recommend a $109,000 grant for the Eure Outer Banks Arts Center. This is something I have been working on since Sept. It took a lot of people doing a lot of work but it is a major piece of that puzzle.

Over the weekend I will try to put the finishing touches on the blog. More photos, more details and more polish.
Thanks for joining us in KW.

In Charlotte

noreply@blogger.com (BOBXNC) — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 21:34:00 +0000

Sitting in Charlotte Airport. Our flight from KW was delayed but we got out and made our connection in Ft. Lauderdale. That flight was delayed into Charlotte and there appear to be a lot of delays so we are not sure what the status of our Norfolk flight will be.

Saw Betsy and Ed at the KW Airport. It was a great vacation.

Time to go check on the flight.

Time to go - Last Post

noreply@blogger.com (BOBXNC) — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 13:45:00 +0000

Pretty sunrise for our last day. Yesterday just went by without a post.

Tues. trip to Fort Jefferson was very rough and very impressive. The fort is amazing but the ride out was really rough and about half the people on the boat were seasick. I got very queasy but held it down. I did a little snorkeling and it was pretty murky. Saw a few fish and some small coral but not much. Dinner was at Camille's with all 6 of us and it was GREAT/. Service was slow because our waitress was slammed but the food was first class.

Dorothy and Jeff left yesterday. I think they had a great time. We spend the day packing up and wandering around. Did some souvenir shopping. Read some. Lunch was the Beach Cafe. My Mango Pork BBQ was great but it upset Carole's stomach. She read, rested and talked on the phone. ;

Later Betsy Ed and I wandered down Duval in search of music. There was lots of entertainment (in th form of people on Duval) but not much good music. The band at the Green Parrot (hereinafter known as the GP) canceled so no sound check. The guys at Sloppy Joes were more into toilet comedy than good tunes. We settled at Hogs Breath and had good bar food, burgers, chili dog, and fries. We helped several people make a statement on the web cam.

OK so this is the last post for KW. It has been a great trip. Lots of photos yet to come. Fort Jeff, Sunset at Mallory even some shots from today. Thanks for taking the trip with us. See you back in NC.

Monday Walk

noreply@blogger.com (BOBXNC) — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:48:00 +0000

A few shots from a quick walk. For individual photos or a better slide show you can go to the Picasa Web Album.

Monday morning and back to Sunday nigh

noreply@blogger.com (BOBXNC) — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:47:00 +0000

Quick post. Short walk Monday, sat by the Cuban Cafe and drank my con leche, took a few photos of coconuts, flowers and Louie's Backyard a great local restaurant. Betsy and Ed ate there yesterday and were really displeased with a rude hostess. Carole and I got rude treatment there 10 years ago. We ne never did eat there. Dinner Sunday night was duck for Dorothy, Jeff and Bob. Carole had meatloaf. We ate at Alice's Restaurant – serving Key West Fusion Confusion cuisine. It was excellent.

Jeff caught a great concert on Sunday afternoon. A classical pianist performing at a local church. He and I went to the Green Parrot in search of music but weren't overwhelmed with the band.

Monday has been pool, reading and working on Mallory Sq. fotos (to stay out of the sun)

No post tomorrow. We are off to the Dry Tortugas. A great snorkeling and photo spot. Its an all day trip. Betsy, Ed, Jeff and Bob are going and Bob is really looking forward to it.

Mallory Square performer photos

noreply@blogger.com (BOBXNC) — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:44:00 +0000

Some of my images from the sunset celebration. To see individual photos or a better slide show you can go to the Picasa Web Album.

Sunday afternoon and sunset at Mallory Square

noreply@blogger.com (BOBXNC) — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:38:00 +0000

No trip to Key West would be complete without a stop at Mallory Square for the traditional sunset celebration. For the uninitiated, everyone in Key West (well all the tourists or at least most of them) gathers about an hour before sunset in a large open area overlooking the Gulf of Mexico and of course the setting sun. Vendors of all varieties set up their wares, all types of food and drink are available from funnel cake to fruit punch and from popcorn to Planters Punch. Lots of beer, cameras and people. Spread out around the square are street performers, jugglers, card sharps, a tight rope walker and of course the guy with the trained cats, yeah trained cats that jump through hoops, fiery hoops even, and walk a rope, sit, roll over and generally ham it up. Topping this scene is lots of tropical music. Steel drums, guitars even a flutist gently blowing a jazz tune. Mix in a couple thousand sun drenched (and rum soaked) visitors and you have quite a scene. On the Gulf all sorts of pleasure craft, some chartered, some private cruise slowly by watching both the sun and the scene. It is what Margaritaville is all about fun and sun(set).

Anyway I wandered down tonight (Sunday). It was very crowded. Lots of kids and cameras. Watched a guy who had women from the audience, a complete stranger, stand on this stomach while he lay on a bed of nails, no kidding. Sat and watched a juggler toss flaming torches, knives and then hatchets. He closed by getting on a 7 ft. unicycle and juggling all three at the same time. Listened to some music then tried to capture the magic of a cat jumping through a flaming hoop.

The sunset was reminiscent of a Penguin Isle fall or summer sunset. Lots of color, with sail boats silhouetted in the background. It was quite picturesque what with the sail boats, the islands and of course the beautiful sunset.

As I post this I have worked on photos of the performers but not the sunset itself. So enjoy the freaks now, the pretty stuff is coming.

Sunday Walk

noreply@blogger.com (BOBXNC) — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 20:09:00 +0000

Dorothy and I did about 8 or 9 miles this morning. A nice 2 and an half hour walk from the hotel to the nothern end of the island then back down the center and across to the hotel. It was hot and I got a lot of sun but I am recovering. It didn't help that I was a little hung over this morning. My night of revelry had a price. We made it fine and saw some sites. We met 2 teenage girls who had been walking the opposite direction for half hour looking for Smathers beach. They were a little disappointed to discover they still had about another mile or more to go. I think mom and dad may have gotten a rescue call.

Tommorow will be a quick bike ride and recovery from today's efforts. Then Tues. is snorkiling day. I am getting excited. I think tonight will be sunset at Mallory Sq. night then maybe some music at Hogs Breath (saloon).

Here is a quick slide show:

My cute young models.

noreply@blogger.com (BOBXNC) — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 20:04:00 +0000

While walking on Duval after dinner I stopped I a hat shop. 3 very cute young women came in as I was leaving (I think they were swimsuit models tying to travel incognito). One complimented me on my camera. Long story short here are the 3 photos. I gave them a card and we went our separate way. I will let you know if I hear from them. The retouched photos are going on Flickr. One commented that she was on Flickr a lot and the card had my bobxnc user name.

Betsy and Ed Arrive for Sat. nigth

noreply@blogger.com (BOBXNC) — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 19:58:00 +0000

The gang is all here. My younger sister Betsy and her husband Ed flew in from Boston late Sat. afternoon. They were in their room before we realized they had arrived. We gathered at the tiki bar for a celebratory beverage before setting out for Mango's on Duval for dinner.

We had a great meal, sitting outside right on Duval St, watching the free show walking by. Dinner was very good. I had yellowtail snapper with veggies and mashed tators. All in all a very satisfactory evening. The rest of the crew headed back to the hotel after dinner by I lingered and stopped by the Green Parrot to hear a 3 piece blues combo. I lasted for one set, about 80 minutes worth. They were good but not outstanding. Still this was the first live music I have heard in KW this year. It was a good treat. I made it home safely around midnight, none the worse for wear for a couple KW Sunset ales. Very nice beer.

Sat. walk and pool photos

noreply@blogger.com (BOBXNC) — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 20:23:00 +0000

Shots from our adventures on Sat.
You can see the individual shots and a better slideshow at the Picassa Web Album.

Sat. Morning walk, pool and sushi

noreply@blogger.com (BOBXNC) — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 20:15:00 +0000

Sat. morning

Egg sand-wiches on Cuban bread with my cafe con leche this morning. Carole decided to have one as well. Dorothy and I set off on a 4 mile tune up for our big 8 miler tomorrow. We went down past the Hemingway house to Mallory Sq. Saw 2 cruise ships coming in. One was in the process of tieing up. Very interesting. Around the waterfront then back up Simonton just in time to meet Jeff at Camille's. They decided to try Cuban instead so we went back up the street and they had breakfast.

Carole and I returned to the quiet pool for a while. You can see some shots in the Sat. walk photos. Not so many pictures today. More Clapton then off to the sushi place for some tuna and a spider roll. The waitress, Adrienne, explained grades of sake and brought me a very nice glass of fairly dry sake. It was served chilled in a large shot glass. Very good. The sushi was as well. I will be back for more.

While we were at the pool Carole called George and Vicki Barnes. They are in Chapel Hill for a UNC ball game. We sent them a photo from my phone. We got a fairly polite reply considering it is exactly twice as warm here as there (4o in NC - 80 in KW). Life is tough. They would really enjoy this place. Hell who wouldn't. Mark maybe but thats about it.

Betsy and Ed are on the way. They want to go to the Dry Tortugas on Tues so I made reservations. I am really excited about this trip. It should be great fun.

Carole is napping. When she gets up its time to go shopping. Then welcome Betsy and Ed. It just keeps getting better and better.

Friday Afternon and the Cavlary arrives

noreply@blogger.com (BOBXNC) — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 20:07:00 +0000

Dorothy and Jeff arrive
Friday afternoon
Carole and I spent most of the afternoon by the second pool. This is a quieter spot. We read and swam and swam and read. Very relaxing.
I spent some time eavesdropping on a group of women who reminded me very much of "the Girls". Boy would we have fun here. Maybe, sometime.... we will try it.
Back to the room around 4:30 to await the arrival of the first family members to make the trip.
My older sister Dorothy and her husband Jeff finally arrived around 5:30. They had a good flight from LaGuardia to Miami then the quick hop down to Key West. This is their first trip. Once we got them settled in their room we got them oriented on the property: this is the pool, this is the tiki bar, this is the other pool, this is the tiki bar, this is the grocery store, this is the tiki bar, this is the tiki... Well you get the point. We had a cocktail at, yeah you guessed it, the tiki bar then dinner at the beach cafe. Carole and I figured they would enjoy a beachside meal. They did. Everyone seemed satisified with their meals. Jeff, Dorothy and I decided to take a Duval crawl.
They wanted to get a sense of what they had wandered into. We made it as far west as Sloppy Joe's before we headed back. They saw it all. Friday night was just getting rolling but it looked like it would be a good one. We stopped by the Green Parrot on the way back and agreed that we might try to catch a sound check (pre dinner) on night.
We discussed my proposed Dry Tortugas trip on Tuesday. I had also asked Betsy and Ed to consider this so I could book it on Sat.
After discussing our morning plans we all turned in.
I was still up so I started a new book. Eric Clapton's autobiography. It is excellent. Very revealing and very cleanly written. I am enjoying it enough to put aside the Revolutionary war for a while,

Friday ride photos

noreply@blogger.com (BOBXNC) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 17:53:00 +0000

Starting at the Southernmost point in the USA a little ride around Key West.
For individual shots and a larger slide show go to my Picasa Web Album

Shell Car

noreply@blogger.com (BOBXNC) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 17:49:00 +0000

Ok, Key West has some strange sights but few stranger than this car. Its covered in shells and plastic fish. IT getting a little worn but it is still impressive.
To see all the shots and a larger slide show go to my Picasa Web Gallery

Friday Bike ride

noreply@blogger.com (BOBXNC) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 17:47:00 +0000

riday bike ride
Set off this morning to scout out a route for my sister Dorothy (the voice from Dobbs Ferry NY) and me to walk on Sunday. She wants to do about 8 miles so I mapped out a circumnavigation of the island. The bike paths are great. There is good sidewalk or bike path everywhere. It will be an easy walk with good views of the water most of the time.
Saw them cleaning, grading the beach morning. This is an interesting operation that involves running a rake along the beach and picking up the sea grass that has washed up. It leaves nicely graded beach without foot prints.
Around the north east corner and along the northern shore. This used to be house boat row with lots of houseboats moored along the beach. They were run off and now you find the houseboats moored at the public docks. You can see some of the most sophisticated in the shots from todays ride. (next post)
Perhaps the most remarkable thing was the Shell Car but it gets its on entry, so read on.
Dorothy and Jeff arrive this afternoon. That will be fun. We plan to take them to the Tiki bar then break them in easily at the beach cafe to give them a quiet introduction. Betsy and Ed arrive on Sat and then the games should really begin.

Valentines Day Dinner

noreply@blogger.com (BOBXNC) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 17:40:00 +0000

Had a great dinner at the Beach Cafe. We had the same waiter we had on Monday night. Some new clothes for Bob and a heart patterned shirt for Carole. It was a very nice dinner. Carole had chicken marsala from the menu while I had the prix fixe meal with gazpacho, 2 perfectly cooked lamb chops with glazed carrots and asparagus. For desert we split my chocolate lava cake. Really nice meal.
We listened to more of the audio book before retiring. I didn't make it down to the Green Parrot. Maybe tonight.
If you notice a difference in the quality of some images there is a reason. These and the "Coming Down" images were shot with a Koday point and shoot rather than the Nikon I ususally use.

Thursday morning images

noreply@blogger.com (BOBXNC) — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 20:56:00 +0000

Shots from my bike ride this morning. A trip down a different looking Duval St. then to the waterfront and the Mallory Sq. area.

For a larger slide show or to view individual images click on the slide show. Of you can click on this link to my Picasa Web Album.

Valentines Day. Morning and afternoon.

noreply@blogger.com (BOBXNC) — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 20:54:00 +0000

Thurs. morning

Bob was out the door around 7 for a bike ride while Carole rested. About 10 it was pool time. Lots of sun and a bit of wind but it was great to read beside the pool. Photos from the bike ride were downloading and after a brunch at Camilles it was time to work on them and get this post ready.

I am looking forward to visiting the arts center by Mallory Square. You can see the enormous likeness of American Gothic outside this building. Last year there was a similar exhibition of sculptures based

Big plans tonight. We are going to a special dinner at the beach front restaurant. We exchanged cards and kisses for valentines but we are both looking forward to tonight. We may even get down to the Green Parrot for Jason Ricci and his band.

Photos from the Duval Crawl on Wed. night

noreply@blogger.com (BOBXNC) — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 20:52:00 +0000

For a larger slide show or to view individual images click on the slide show. Of you can click on this link to my Picasa Web Album.

Wed. afternoon and evening

noreply@blogger.com (BOBXNC) — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 20:44:00 +0000

Wed. afternoon and evening
We finally spend some time by the pool on Wed. afternoon but the rains came, serious rain. There was a tornado in Marathon associated with the front that came through. We beat a retreat to the room and read. Bob went to the lobby and worked on the Internet a little, checking email, news and blogs. We surfaced around 5:30 and had cocktails. Time for some phone calls and snacks.
At some point after the rains stopped we rented bikes for both of us. We are a little rusty on coaster brakes but hopefully it will all come together.
Dinner was at Camilles, again just around the corner. It was excellent. Carole had pork and Bob had sashimi appetizer and snapper for an entre. It was all excellent. Just right.
We walked back to the room and listened to our audio book for a while. When Carole was ready to drift off Bob decided to take a stroll down Duval St. to check out the nightlife.
Duval was crowded with revelers even at the early hour of 10 pm. Lots of action. Saw a near fight and caught some of a great band at the Green Parrot. Hopefully we can make it back there after dinner on Valentines.
Everybody was accounted for by about 11:30.
Photos to follow.

Counting down in Dobbs Ferry

noreply@blogger.com (Dorothy) — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:56:00 +0000

OK, it's 11am Thursday and 24 hours from now we'll be in the air! The class presentation I have to give today at 4 is pretty much ready; I've only got another hundred pages of reading to do before then.

I lied about the times of our flights when we talked last night. I just looked it up and here's the truth: Leave LaGuardia at 10:40 am on AA flight 599, landing in Miami at 1:55 pm. Then we leave Miami at 3:55 pm on American Eagle flight 4935, landing in Key West at 4:54 pm.

So if all goes as planned, we should be there in time for a margarita by the pool (or on the beach?) before dinner (if that's what one drinks in Key West).

It has warmed up to about 40 degrees here today and is bright and sunny. But there is still a bunch of snow and ice on the ground from the storm of the last two days. Even this sun is not a temptation to stay here.

See you very soon!

Photo album link

noreply@blogger.com (BOBXNC) — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 18:48:00 +0000

Sometimes the flash slide shows don't work exactly as advertised . You can find all the KW photo galleries at my Picassa Web Album (thanks Google for another free service)

Wed. Walk images

noreply@blogger.com (BOBXNC) — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 18:36:00 +0000

Images from my Wed. walk. Sunrise, some house boats, a couple of chickens and of course every place that

Click on the slide show to go to my gallery. This will let you get a larger slide show and see individual images.

Flowers from Wed. walk

noreply@blogger.com (BOBXNC) — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 18:34:00 +0000

Here are some flowers from my Wed. walk. KW is just lush. So much green that the flowers just really stand out.