Silently Celebrating Warm Weather

Are we warm?   Yes
Are we hot?   Sometimes
Are we cold?  NO!

Do we feel guilty?  Not really.  However, we do hate that our friends and family are suffering with ice storms, single-digit temps, and dreary days. 

This past year we have "Liked" as our friends and family posted on Facebook of their trips to the beach to put their toes in the sand.  We were happy for them that they were having fun, enjoying life, and getting away from their normal routines.   We did wonder why they chose to make these trips when the weather at home was wonderful.  Vacations are typically scheduled....so why not schedule that beach trip for a time that you really might want to "get away" from the cold?

So, if you're reading this and are offended, I don't apologize.  Just stop reading.  This is our blog, not a social media site where our posts are forced upon you.  This is similar to a lady at the park that was fussing about her daily television shows being interrupted over and over again by Justin Beiber's recent arrest in Miami.  She was being forced to watch these news broadcasts over and over.  Well, it seemed really simple to us.....turn the TV off and do something else for heaven's sake. 

So don't hate us for spending January in the Florida Keys.  We are trying to live an active life while we are still young enough to do the things we enjoy, instead of spending the day huddled under an afgan looking at our tablets and laptops. 

So, other than sending a few "sunny" pictures by text to our closest friends, and an occasional beautiful sunset picture being posted on Facebook, we are quietly doing high 5's, happy dances, all the while slathering ourselves with sunscreen. 

Its All About The Dog!

 I'm not quite sure why, but children seem to love Lucy.  All the other dogs at "Yappy Hour" at Sunset Park are "designer dogs", and then there's our 15-year old "mutt", that has never really liked children.  But kids will walk past these "pretty pooches" and want to pet Lucy every time.  One of us always keeps a hand near her head...just in case.

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 After her daily outing at the park, she usually spends the next 18 hours resting.  Fortunately we have a fenced in backyard this year, so we leave our back door open and she's free to come and go whenever she likes.

 

Mutley, Grant's pug, is Lucy's best friend in the Keys.   She gets so excited when she sees him.

Par 3

 

 

Key Colony has the only municipal golf course in the middle Keys. Its surrounded by beautiful palm trees and you sometimes have to stop to let the occasional iguana cross the fairway.   Its a 9-hole par 3 course, and while its not Augusta, its still a lot of fun.  The dress code in the Keys is very informal and this is also true on this golf course.  Yesterday, a young man was playing barefoot!

 

I'm sure its not a surprise that I keep score and then come home and put our scores into an Excel spreadsheet, complete with averages per hole, per game, etc.  How else are you going to know if you're improving, right?

So, while single digit temperatures are haunting our friends and family in north Alabama, we try to maintain a positive attitude down here.  We're positive that we love the Keys, we're positive that we're enjoying life to the fullest, and we're positive that, God willing, we'll return again next year.

So KeeZee....What's Not To Love

We drove 1100 miles with kayaks on the roof of our truck.  Whether its kayaking around the island of Key Colony, through the canals with an old friend (Susan), through the mangrove trails in Sisters Creek with new friends (Eric and Piret), or just the two of us, its a great way to explore, enjoy a sunny day, and get some exercise.

 

 





Coolng Down...

We took a day trip to The Dry Tortugas on Tuesday.  Discovered by Ponce De Leon in the early 1800s, it is home to Fort Jefferson.  Construction of the fort began in 1846, and although it was never officially finished, its quite an impressive site.  Its located 70 miles off shore from Key West.  It takes a 2-1/2 hour ferry or float plane to get there.  We left Key Colony Beach at 5:45 a.m. and returned home at 7 p.m.  A long day, but worth every minute.  I would recommend going during the summer, as the snorkeling is great....but in January, the water is still pretty cold. 

The cold front has finally reached the Florida Keys today.  Its a very cool and windy 67 degrees, with no end in sight....at least for the next few days.  

One Week Down....

Its hard to believe we've been here a week already.  The rain has stopped, the sun is shining and it averages 80 degrees every day.  Our days are busy with round-robin tennis on Monday and Friday mornings, golf on most afternoons (I got my first birdie!), kayaking, walking, biking, and eating lots of fresh seafood.  But there's still time for Facetime calls with the little ones back at home. 

We're looking forward to our trip on Tuesday on the Yankee Freedom to visit the Fort Jefferson Dry Tortugas National Park. Its located 70 miles off of Key West.  So, if there are no more posts...check Cuba to see if we landed there accidently!

Florida Keys 2014

On New Year's day we left home with kayaks and bicycles loaded on the truck.  We stopped overnight in Tallahassee, then spent a couple of days in Ft. Myers, and finally reached our destination...Key Colony Beach in the Florida Keys. 

This is our third year to vacation here and over the first few days, we ran into many people we knew.  It was almost like coming home again.

We've been here five days so far and although we've seen quite a bit of rain, its been much warmer than the record-breaking, single digit temperatures we left behind. 

On Lucy's first trip to Sunset Park, she met up with Mutley (the pug), which was one of her favorites.  Although she's 15 years old now, she remembered him immediately and began to play like a pup.

This made the entire trip worth it!

 

 

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