Key West - No sail today but we visit Mallory Square

Matt was holding Hoolie so he wouldn't get excited but then the boy led his dog over to say "Hi", chaos..

Ahoy! It is I Matt, on day five of Camp Fleetwing. Due to the wind deciding to pack up and quit today I was not able to go out and sail but believe it or not it was still a great day. After waking up at the unthinkable time of 9 but not actually getting out of bed until 12ish, I made myself a corned beef melt for lunch. A corned beef melt is corned beef, cabbage, cheese, and some mayo between two pieces of bread, grilled. This afternoon consisted of a series of drawing and showing music to Nana. I drew a seagull and began drawing a rocky shore. Nana was surprised at how eclectic my musical tastes are, ranging from heavy metal to smooth indie rock. 

Somehow we finished the entire plate, mostly Matt

After some more doodling I went down below and made nachos for dinner. My monster tray of nachos consists of a huge pile of several layers of chips, cheese, and salsa. One tray can feed 5 easily. We managed to clear the whole tray. After a spot of ice cream we hooked Hoolie up and went for a stroll to Mallory Square to watch the sun go down. No green flash tonight but it was still beautiful. Hoolie was a regular old superstar with every other girl in a sundress having to stop to pet him. The sun went down and we meandered back towards the boat stopping to see the sword swallower. Today marks my last day on the boat. Tomorrow I leave to return to the snow up north. Grandpa will be renting a car for us to tool around in until it’s time to go to the airport where I’ll catch a flight to Newark and then to Providence. Here’s Matt, Veteran Crew, signing off for the last time this week. Until next time! Happy sailing and strong winds from Camp Fleetwing!

The weather went from too much wind to no wind in the course of 24 hours. We barely had a breeze today, about 5 to 8 kts tops. With that we decided not to take Fleetwing out since it would just be motoring and not sailing. Matt kept Ann company up in the cockpit with drawing and music and I paid bills down below. However, the weather was perfect with a high of 78 with full sun. Matt made his signature dish of nachos for lunch which we polished off with no leftovers.

The water in the harbor is pretty clear, here you can see a tarpon hoping for a handout

It was such a good day that we walked over to Mallory Square to see the sunset activities. When you walking in that direction near sundown, it's like being in a river of people. Everyone's going in the same direction. Even if you didn't know where Mallory Square was located, all you needed to do was go with the flow. The usual array of performers were there. One guys playing a piano that people were dancing to, a fortune teller, an acrobat climbing a pole, a woman pretending to be a statue, a juggler and more. One little known fact is that the performers have to audition to be allowed into Mallory Square, not just anyone can claim a splot.

The trip to Mallory Square was worth it to see this sunset!

The sun did its thing with all the sunset cruise ships in full array and we returned to Fleetwing to plan Saturday. Matt has to catch a plane in the afternoon so we'll catch a fish sandwich at noon and drive him over to the airport in a rental car we'll pick up in the morning. We will be sad to see Matthew leave. In this stay in Key West, we've had everyone of our kids down here for a stay. All five grandkids and both families of Caroline's and Philip's. There's just nothing better than family with you for a stay, especially in Key West during the winter!

Key West - Corned Beef and Cabbage

Fish flipping in Key West - see the fish flying to the pail - headed for the cooker

Ahoy! Today marks the 4th day in Key West. Today was an exploration day. I walked a way down Caroline Street and rented a big\ke for ten bucks and proceeded to explore the island. First stop was the beach at Fort Zachary Taylor. the entrance has been repaved and decked out with brand new sidewalks and a guard house. After a quick nap on the beach which led to the frying of my arms, I moved on to stroll through Fort Zachary. It looked as if there were preparations for a war reenactment with authentic tents and rifles set up in the courtyard. After exploring Fort Zachary, I set out again on my rental. I went as far as the southernmost point where a church group was singing to the tourists waiting in line on the sidewalk to take a picture with the monument. From there I headed back in the direction of the boat. Down Duval Street I went with a quick detour to Mallory Square. The sidewalks and streets were packed with tourists and a cruise ship's worth of folks. On my return to the boat I lounged in the cockpit with Nana and shared some of my musical tastes with her while reading my book, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. For dinner we had corned beef and cabbage. boy was it great. Soon we will be off to Schooner to see our neighbors play in their Irish band Blarney Rabble. Here's Matt signing off from Camp Fleetwing.

A look overhead at our table at Schooner Wharf, cover those drinks!

We've not been able to get good corned beef and cabbage in Key West so we've taken to cooking it ourselves during Irish Week. We bought the standard package with included spices and Ann follows her own directions for cooking. I got the last cabbage at a local store and we were all set. The only problem is that we have four to feed: myself, Ann and two more counting Matt. All went well and we had a great meal.

Our next door neighbors play in a band so we're going over to Schooner Wharf to listen for a bit tonight. We'll cheer them on. They are breaking into the big time in Key West when Schooner Wharf has them for night's stand.

Our neighbor is at the far right in the picture - he broke into the big time playing at Schooner Wharf!

On Friday it's predicted to be much calmer than the last few days. If that holds up we may go out for a sail with Matthew. It's also supposed to be much warmer with a high of 78 which is more like normal for this time of the year and with the usual east wind. It is also Matthew's last full day. He leaves for school up north on Saturday afternoon, so sad.

Key West - Navigation App Review and a sunset

A typical Key West bike, meant for long distance traveling

Ahoy! Day 3 on the Fleetwing was probably the least laziest so far. I actually got up at a reasonable time today and proceeded to have a nice breakfast. Nana then dredged up memories of the yellow bag of death by putting me to work on finding information on an internship this summer for school. Something I have been putting off due to a very busy semester. After digging through the interwebs and the almost helpful school website, it was time for lunch. I heated up the last of the chicken alfredo from last night and had that with a few Easy Macs. I found Finn’s stash of Easy Mac tucked away in the aft cabin.  Nana and I switched gears to more artistic outlets. Nana has been working on some new pastels while I doodled a mountain range. Nana and Grandpa went out for a walk while I fell into the old habit of hunkering down in the aft cabin and watching movies. They returned and Nana started in on cooking up some shrimp for tonight’s dinner. Should be delicious. Tomorrow will be an exploration day. I plan to rent a bike and explore the island in style. Here’s Matt signing off from Camp Fleetwing

The iPad navigation app review was finally published today on Waterway Guide. It was months in the making and now it's out for the world to see. You can read it here. The evaluation is meant to be neutral based on features I think are valuable. Furthermore, I've included a spreadsheet of all the features of all the 14 apps I evaluated so you can make up your own lists of apps you like based on your own feature list that you think is important. I've also included screenshots of Charleston Harbor taken on most of the apps so you can compare how the charts look from app to app. Take a look. If you see mistakes, don't hesitate to give me a note back so I can make corrections.

We're starting to get sunsets again

The winds continue to howl and the temps continue to be in the 60's. It's the longest cool spell we've experienced but as soon as Matthew leaves, it's due to return to the high 70's with little wind. I wonder if there's a connection there? If the good weather returns on Friday, then we'll take a sail and Matthew's challenge is to top the 8.3 kts posted by his Aunt Caroline last month. We'll see.

Key West - Focus on Food

Willie-T's specializes in dollar bills stapled to the walls and ceiling

Ahoy! Day 2 on the Fleetwing was a lazy one for sure. I did some catching up on sleep and didn’t start my day until one thirty. Most of the day has been lounging around with a quick walk with Hoolie. The island is hopping for sure. Nana and I sat across from a Conch Train stop and people watched. A mini van passed us with a series of shells and paintings on it. There was a series of motorcycles and small scooters littering the streets with an assortment of convertibles. I don’t think I seen so many Ford Mustangs in one place before. Nana is cooking up some chicken alfredo for dinner. Can’t wait to have some proper alfredo, the school’s cafeteria isn’t exactly the best at making alfredo. As the day winds down and the party boats roll out, there is bound to be more laziness to come. Here’s Matt signing off for day two of Camp Fleetwing. 

Yes, they are real $1 bills, just signed and drawn on

One thing you have to do above all else for someone just beyond their teenage years is to feed the furnace. Our cooking recipes are simple, we just double whatever we would have made for ourselves. It may not satisfy the need for late night snacks but it satisfies the moment, at least for a couple of hours. 

The house may not look like much but the flowers are beautiful.
By the way, it's hard to find a house in Key West for less than $1,000,000, this one included

The winds are starting to moderate down to the 10 to 15 area but it's still cool at less than 70 degrees for a high. Early in the morning with our walks and running, we see a lot of parkas with hoods pulled tight. We haven't run our air conditioning for several days now. However, it's nice walking weather.

My review of navigation apps is finally getting published this Wednesday on Waterway Guide. After that passes, I'll post the review on this site too. I'm sure it will generate some controversy. Captains like their anchors, propellers and their nav apps! There's a little logic in there but a lot of emotional attachment. The review comes with an Excel spreadsheet of all features vs apps, a slideshow of screenshots, an how-to on using GPX files, a description of features offered  by each app, and my own recommendations. See Wednesday's edition of the Waterway Guide Newsletter for the evaluation. 

Note:  I just looked up that house shown above with the flowers, it's valued at $1.675,861

Key West - The return of Matthew

Early Matthew

AHOY! The Return of Matt is upon the Fleetwing. After an early morning and a day of travel, not only have I returned to the Fleetwing but also to Key West. It has been close to 3 years since I last step foot in the Conch Republic. What better place than Key West to spend my spring break? In true Fleetwing fashion, the day started early. I was probably up before the captain and first mate. Five thirty I left home to catch a nine o’clock flight out of Providence to Newark, New Jersey. Had a great window seat right on the wing. The pilot made good time coming in twenty-five minutes early. After having a turkey salad wrap for lunch I caught a flight straight from Newark to Key West. Surprisingly enough, it was far from a sold out flight. Half the plane was empty so I ended up with a whole row to myself. Four hours and a couple hundred pages of The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy later, and I arrived at the Key West airport. 

The now Matt

My flight ended up missing the thunderstorms that hit Key West earlier in the day. Those same storms kept several planes grounded here in Key West that was planning to go up to Miami. The delayed flights left my flight stuck on the runway with no parking spot. An extra hour was tacked on waiting for a spot to open. Once the plane got a spot, I caught a taxi just outside the airport that took me the rest of the way to the Fleetwing. The driver moved down to Key West from Wisconsin. He said it was a four-day trip by bus. The other patron of the cab was a Thai chief out of Boston that had just spent five days by bus traveling down to Key West with five hundred pounds of cook wear for the restaurant. Once I was dropped off, it was a quick two-block walk to the boat. Nana and Grandpa met me next to the new hotel that replaced the dirt lot next to BO’s. It was built in the time since I was last on the island. They walked with me the rest of the way to the boat where Hoolie greeted us. We got Cuban sandwiches from the Cuban Coffee Queen for dinner while a front of clouds rolled in. Hopefully the weather will stay in our favor for the rest of the week. Its good to be back on the boat, especially down on Key West. Here’s Matt, veteran crew, signing off. I’ll be here all week don’t miss the new Blog posts.

The feed me Matt

Matthew first joined us on Fleetwing for an extended trip in 2007. He was several sizes smaller then! Wow, has he grown. He's now a junior in college at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island majoring in Architecture. It's a five year effort to get a degree in that field.

He's now ensconced in the aft cabin and I think he's mainly just going to chill-out for five days. Key West is not a bad place for that strategy. However, our string of 78 degree days has come to an end with the temperatures forecast to only be in the high 60's the rest of the week with winds around 20 kts. That's certainly warmer than where he spent the winter so far and I don't think it will deter him very much. We're looking forward to having Matt around for awhile.

Key West - The Green Parrot Bar

The famous Green Parrot Bar

In dedicating my stay to exploring the institutions of Key West, I thought it time to pay a visit to one of the most famous - The Green Parrot Bar.  True to Key West form, it is open-air which is shorthand for saying there's no air conditioning. It's been around forever and has a reputation for the best music in Key West which is saying something given all the venues available.

The Jazz band played on

This afternoon was jazz time with a band playing from 1:00 til 4:30. We arrived around 2:30 which was just in time for their break! So we sat around for 40 minutes waiting for the next set. Of course, there's a bar and I got a beer for $6 and then partook of the free popcorn which was kept fresh from the constant popping. We listened for about an hour before leaving to return home. We took the free Duval Loop bus both ways, very convenient.

The lead singer put i a great performance (worded so I didn't have to commit as to gender - this is Key West!)

The seating in the bar is mostly on bar stools, there's no back support unless you lean up against the bar - but, hey, this is Key West. Even without air conditioning the bar was cool inside. There are no windows to close, everything is open to the breezes.

There's also a peanut gallery, a hard to get spot - it's always crowded

It's a place unique to Key West, yet another institution you should be sure not to miss if you're ever in town.

Key West - To BO's Fishwagon for sandwhiches!

The free bus is pictured behind the tourist train. I can't think they're too happy about the free bus.

We do our walking and running on the weekdays but save the weekend for just relaxing and a full breakfast. It's still warm but the rain is coming later tonight. We missed seeing Barry Cuda play last weekend so we made it a point of setting aside Saturday night for BO's Fishwagon.

We have a good view of the band. You can see the fine decor of the place

Alas, when we arrived we discovered that Barry was in Europe! There was a substitute band that wasn't bad but it wasn't Barry. However, the fish sandwiches were just as good as ever and we topped it off with conch fritters. When I went up to order the sandwiches, the counter guy thought I was a local and gave me the local order which was the same but with french fries at no additional charge. I guess he's seen me around so much for so long that he thought I belonged? This is a common practice that's not advertised in Key West - specials for locals, either a reduced price or something extra.

This is in jest for Key West but it was meant for
somebody somewhere

So we had a fine dinner and returned to Fleetwing to await the arrival of storms through the night. We are so far into the harbor that nothing can really touch us. We have the seawall and all the other boats between us and the entrance, one of the advantages of being on E dock. Of course, the big disadvantage for some it having to get off the bow of the boat, especially when there's a high tide. We like the privacy it affords and watching the comings and goings of boats in the fairway.