Friends, Art and Sunsets

When we went on the road one of our goals was to spend the winters where it was sunny and warm. We soon learned that unlike WashPA there are places where the sun shines almost daily with enough intensity to keep us warm even when the temps are in the high 60's or low 70's.  Another thing we learned was many warm places are also very windy, something we did not have to deal with that often up north. With that in mind I can say the weather in the Keys this year has been less than ideal with many overcast, rainy and windy days. One day this week as a cold (cool) front moved through people's chairs and rugs went flying through the RV park.  I thought the awnings were going to be ripped off Opus before I could get them closed.  That said, it has still been the best place to escape the cold so far this winter.  So we are not complaining.

Here is the proof.  While this map shows the great temps we are enjoying (we are down by the 70) it does not show the massive storm that is threatening the East coast.  Even with the clouds, rain and wind we will not be getting any s**w.

This week we got together with Dave and Lynda who were the park managers the first time we stayed at the Elks.  They are staying further south in the Keys in Marathon this winter.  We had a fun time getting caught up with them at Puerto Vallarta, our favorite Mexican restaurant.  Here are Bill, Mary, Kathy, George, Linda, Joe, Jim, Nanc, Dave and Linda.

A grand time was had by all with a couple glasses of wine and margaritas.

We did have a couple of nice sunny days of which Deb took advantage to get out the sewing machine to work on t-shirts and sweatshirts that she sews to sell at arts and crafts fairs held in the area.  I bought a very neat tie-dyed Steelers tee that has a very warm weather theme.  Too bad it came after that tough loss last Sunday.

A down side of the cloudy weather is that we have not had nearly as many beautiful Keys sunsets.  This was the only one we had last week.

It lasted for almost an hour and changed from minute to minute.

Very nice.

It is amazing how long the sunsets continue down here.

I liked the big X on the clouds and the reflection on the water.

If you are in the Upper Keys the third Thursday of the month add the Art Walk in Islamorada to your to do list.  There are several galleries showing works of art and local artisans' booths with a big variety of work.  There is always music and a great new addition this year, the Florida Keys Brewing Co.  We enjoyed looking and even bought a couple pieces of jewelry.  Of course I tried the beer and it was great. 

You gotta love the Keys.  Where else other than here can an old man meet a beautiful, young mermaid?  Our month here has been flying by and as always it has been fun spending time with all our friends and just kicking back while we wait for it to warm up.  I remember the first time we visited Key West and a guy in the band said, "I'd rather be here drinking a beer than freezing my ass off up north".  Well said, well said!!