Looking for the Green Flash

It's in Key West right? At least the merchants and Chamber says so. In fact they have built an economy around the Green Flash. Every bar, hotel and restaurant covets the favored spots for the throng of tourists to see the Green Flash every beautiful evening. There are jugglers and magicians that fill Mallory Square every evening and the crowds love it. In fact they make the cruise ships (there were three in port on our first day there, and one or two every day) leave by 6:30 pm every day because they block the view from Mallory Square to the western sunset.

But all in all we loved Key West. It reminds me a bit of New Orleans. There are some seedy parts, strip clubs, night clubs, and back alleys that I did not want to go down. But it is a very unique crowd and a great boating center. We had a perfect spot at Conch Harbor Marina right by Dante's pool and bar, which was full all week of Spring Breakers. That means scantily glad college girls taking shots all day, and lots of guys buying those drinks. Makes you so proud of the efficiency of our economy.

Our good friends, Bob and Marilee Peterson from Cruisin Cat were in town as well, so we got to "hang" with them all week. Bob and I took the fast ferry boat out to the Dry Tortugas and Ft. Jefferson National Park. It takes about 2.5 hours each way and they feed you breakfast and lunch. While there you can walk through the never completed but huge Ft. Jefferson. It is the largest masonry building in the Western hemisphere with over 16 million bricks. They forgot one Big thing, fresh water. That is why they are called the DRY Tortugas, there is no water to drink. So the fort did not work out so well, but today it is a marine and bird santuary, with pristine waters which are great for snorkeling. I did some of that as well. All in all a good trip.

Rock Chalk is now moving up the Keys on our way to Ft. Lauderdale and eventually the Bahamas. This is some of the prettiest water in the world, but it is full of fish and crab pots, each marked with a floating ball. You see the lines of balls everywhere, and it is good to avoid catching one of these lines on your props. You can see what happens when you do NOT pay attention. Oh well, the water was nice for a swim. Once again, I wish I was a fisherman. This is one of the best places in the world to fish. There is a challenge to all my fishermen friends who might be reading this. Come join me for a few days and teach me the ropes, er....lines....whatever. Marc