We’ve been spending the past week bummin’ around town, exploring all of the little side streets and hidden gems that make this place amazing. We learned pretty quickly that spending more than one or two nights a week down by Duval Street is not sustainable if you’re planning to stay here for more than a few days. That place is absolute craziness, which is great, but not our thing for more than a few hours at a time. Plus, it’s expensive! We’ve been learning to take advantage of the Happy Hour specials for 1/2 priced food and drinks. That’s definitely the way to go on our budget.
We’ve been limiting our exposure (and saving some coin) by alternating our days in town and on the boat. The other day was laundry day. Let me tell you, laundry day on a boat is a process. It involves 2 or 3 stuffed Ikea bags full of laundry, a baggie full of quarters ($3.00 a load, hello!), and a 10 minute dinghy ride to shore to use the marina facilities. When you get there, you’re hoping that a washer is available so you don’t have to wait forever, or even worse, have to pull out someone else’s (clean) load and transfer it to a dryer, hoping that they come back soon and start the dryer so you won’t have to wait on that too. It only takes one person who abandons their load to mess the whole system up. Think about that the next time you casually walk downstairs and load your washer free of charge. It’s a process… just one of the many we’ve had to adapt to during this cruising life.
On our days on the boat, we’ve been taking it easy and doing a lot of reading. The other day I had to laugh because Matt was reading A Salty Piece of Land by Jimmy Buffet, while simultaneously listening to Buffett, all while sitting on a boat in Key West. Definitely living the lifestyle down here. And we’re tan too. We’re just fitting right in.
It’s unbelievable how clear the water is. We looked down the other day and saw a starfish… right at the dinghy dock! Pretty cool. I get freaked out sometimes when we’re zipping along in the dinghy and all of a sudden, I can see bottom, clear as day. Totally think we’re going to run aground. Those coral heads pop up on you quick!
There are a few piers of houseboats we pass by every time we come into the marina that I am obsessed with. I guess these are more like floating houses, actually. I wonder how they stay afloat? Floating docks? One or two are for sale and I’d really like to take a peak to see what they look like inside. I’m also kinda obsessing over all of these sea planes we see everywhere. One landed in the mooring field not too far behind our boat the other day. So cool!
THIS is the channel marker coming into the bight. LOL. Its all preparation fro the Bahamas, right?
Our new morning commute…
Saw this on the way in yesterday…. a house was tented for termite fumigation. The only time I’ve seen this was on the TV show Breaking Bad, so it was cool to see on in person. Looks like a huge circus tent! These are all over the Island with all of the old wooden houses.
Half Shell Raw Bar is one of our favorite new spots. Love the lobster pot Christmas tree they have. And good Lord! Look at that bike rack! Trying to find your bike after a few drinks… in the dark… is a whole other level of crazy.
