Blogs from Keys, Florida, United States, North America

Visited family in Beaufort, SC, for a few days then set out for the Keys. Friends had encouraged us to go before they sink into the ocean and we thought that a good idea. Of course, the weather report for Thursday was torrential downpour and high winds. We had planned to go part way—staying overnight in Titusville, near Cape Kennedy. Began to rain at 3 a.m., lightning, thunder, the whole bit. Got soaked getting to and in the car. Huge puddles by the roadside and, of course, a variety of accidents (mostly on the other side). Hard drive but we made it, got checked in just in time for it to clear up. Walked to a steak house for a yummy dinner. On the road next morning, lots of traffic! Stuck to the toll roads which, ... read more

Dear All Greetings once more from my Floridian travels. This one relates my adventures on the intriguing chain of islands dripping off the end of the Florida peninsula, known collectively and very famously as the Florida Keys. I had an amazing time island-hopping down there, using the interconnecting and quite spectacular Overseas Highway, and driving the coolest rental car possible for such an adventure. This was a beautiful white Ford Mustang Cabrio convertible! I’ve only ever hired a car on two previous occasions, and I couldn’t quite believe my luck not only when I booked this car months ago as it was the cheapest deal available, but also on this day when I picked it up, as it was indeed true to its picture on my rental agreement – a Ford Mustang Cabrio convertible, and a ... read more

After spending spring at our East Coast home in Florida, we traveled up to Chattanooga for a LaGraff reunion and also to the Midwest for an Atkins family wedding and reunion in Minneapolis. After that it was on to Sausalito to spend several months on our West Coast home, our lovely boat, Mana. Happily this season’s hurricanes bypassed us in Florida and we missed the firestorms that plagued California all summer. We got back to Rotonda in time to celebrate Thanksgiving with sister Roberta and niece Cary. We haven’t been on a ship in eight months, so it seemed time to be looking seaward again. Regent beckoned with a short pre-Christmas Caribbean cruise to Cuba, Central America and Mexico. We drove over to Miami and joined Suzanne, our world cruising friend, for a nice evening before ... read more

In our cabin mailbox arrived a warning notice: our port call at Key West would be during the annual Fantasy Fest. Passengers were cautioned they might see some outrageous things ashore! Carnival Paradise docked at the Key West Naval Pier. It is the pier of the former Key West Naval Station and still remains on Naval property. In the basin, special operations forces were swimming in full combat gear getting ready for their 24-hour endurance swim. Shuttle busses were required to transport passengers from the ship through the Naval installation and to downtown Key West. There are a number of attractions at key West. Of course, I wanted to see the Southernmost Point marker. But there are also the Truman White House and Ernest Hemingway house. The bus left us off at Mallory Square. There we ... read more

IT’S WHEEL DIP DAY!!! This morning we woke around 5:15 to start getting ready for the day and our wheel dip! We packed up our bags, ate breakfast (apple pie with a side of apple? Why not!), filled the coolers (trying to make you proud on Cooler Crew Tay ?), and cleaned the host. Since it was our host for leader & rider orientation and 3 stories, we had quite the mess to clean up and make it look better than how we found it. Eventually we got downstairs and had our route meeting and town facts for Marathon. I did our NC2SD14 cheer to get the team fired up and ready for our first official ride! They finally got to experience Rally Aly and why that’s (one of) my nicknames. My crew rolled out and ... read more