A Great Florida Keys Family Visit

Some of the party in Key West

Brenda and I were so excited when the kids started planning a joint trip to visit us in the Keys. They coordinated flights, rental cars, motels and a condo to make the visit happen. We ended up with John, Matt, Tina, Brittnie, Kelley, Karen, Katie and Mom all joining us along with "Aunt" Joni and "Uncle" Jim.

The Greene's at Greene and Duval

Mallory Square festivities

We started the visit off at Havana Jack's where the kids marveled at the view and warm weather. From there we started a whirlwind few days which included exploring Key West for a day, numerous lunches and happy hours at tiki bars, dice games, swimming, paddle boarding, beach time and so much more. By the time everyone left for their homes we were exhausted.

Sombrero Beach day

 

The boys playing Frisbee

Jim motivated me to end my three year hiatus from playing basketball as we shot around and eventually began playing some one-on-one and a fun pick up game against some locals. Later we faced off against John and Matt in what we knew was going to be an uphill battle. We gave them a good first game, but after that their talent, conditioning and youth showed us we might just be past our prime basketball days. Later Tina and Kelley came skipping onto the court to join in the fun. It was hilarious to watch their antics guarding each other. I didn't know that yelling "Bubble bubble bubble butt!" at the opponent was a good defensive strategy. They did show off some pretty good basketball skills though.

Tomas was partied out.

Kelley and Tina in Key West

The kids loved the weather remarking once that back home it was -12 F and here it was 80 F. We had great breezes and lots of sunshine to warm their frozen bodies.

The end of Hwy 1

We gathered at the condo to watch the Green Bay Packer vs. Giants playoff game. We were joined by Bret and Theresa (Elusive) to make it a party of 14. The Packers rewarded us with an exciting win which we celebrated with a wonderful dinner prepared by Karen and Katie.

Matt and Kelley

As our time began to run out we started figuring out the logistics of getting everyone back to either Ft. Lauderdale or Miami for their various flights home. This process was later complicated by a flight cancellation for Matt, Kelley and Mom due to ice issues in Chicago. Even after a final, final, final plan was decided upon we ended up modifying it enroute to Miami. In the end everything worked out and all our our family except Tina were on their way home. Tina had one more day left before her flight so we planned to make the most of it.

The Conch Train tour

Tina slept aboard Wrinkles for the first time and she loved being rocked to sleep. As soon as all three of us were awake we dinghied ashore heading for The Stuffed Pig for breakfast. We ate outside under their tiki hut with the girls enjoying a fresh Mimosa along with our wonderful food.

Key West sunset

After breakfast we took Tina for a nice long dinghy putt-putt out Sister's Creek to the Atlantic and then through the scenic canals. We had called Jim and Joni to arrange a lunch date at Burdines, so we putt-putted our way to the restaurant. After a really good meal watching the channel boat traffic we walked over to Castaway's Restaurant for a final cocktail. Finally we dinghied Tina back to Wrinkles to relax in the cockpit and enjoy the view. The dreaded time came that we had to say goodbye to our final visitor, so we dinghied Tina ashore and sadly said our goodbyes. It was so fun to share our cruising lifestyle with Tina and see her enjoying the things we enjoy so much. Maybe now Tina won't think that we are out in stormy seas all the time.

Bret and Theresa

Now it is just us and our good friends Jim and Joni spending a couple more days visiting before they head up to Ft. Myers for the next portion of their snowbird vacation. We rewarded Jim with the "opportunity" to help install a solar collector on Wrinkles. Always the good sport he spent one of his last vacation days in the Keys working on Wrinkles. Brenda and Joni walked to the Turtle Hospital for a tour. Once they were done touring and we were done working on Wrinkles we went ashore for a game or two of Bocce with the other cruisers. From there we dinghied along with Bret and Theresa to Lazy Days for their awesome happy hour. Afterward we all assembled aboard Elusive for sundowners and a gorgeous sunset.

Jim, Joni and Brenda aboard Elusive

It will seem so quiet here when it goes back to being just Brenda and I. But, we will be left with so many great memories of our time here in the Keys with so many of the people we love.

 

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