Welcome to the Keys

We moved to the Florida Keys Elks on New Year's Day for the month of January. We have found that traveling through Miami on the holiday is easier than on any other day. This is the sixth time we have been to the Keys and the fifth time we have stayed at the Elks, so our time here is more about having fun with friends rather than touring and seeing new things. Of course escaping winter's chill is very high on why we come this far south. While there have been a few cooler than normal days, it has been no where near the -6 our friends in WashPA are experiencing as I write. 

Our view for the month is the best we have had in our time on the road. We can sit in Opus and watch the birds and boats coming and going.

We arrived at 2PM and were happy to see the group was gathering for a New Year's celebration. Here are ladies Beth, Mary, Sue, Chris, Patty, Mary, Linda, Kathy, Jean Nanc and Laura.... 

....and the guys Gary, Dan, Billy, Dennis, George, Jim, Jim, Joe, Dean, Steve and Tim. We have met about half the group on our earlier visits and are looking forward to getting to know the new people.

One of the local Elks showed up in a Model T to help us ring in 2018 in style.....

....including a Keys tradition, the blowing of the conch shell at sunset. The sunset was not one of the best but it was a different way for us to ring in the new year.

The north wind brought some cool weather that left this white stuff piled up on the beach. No it was not sn*w, just a bit of sea foam from the rough water. 

There are always different activities happening at the Elks. The Paint and Sip evening was a huge success with many painters and sippers. 

A few of the RVers participated and had a fun time. Dan was the only guy and the next day we found that there is much more to him than his painting.

He is also a great chef and cooked a wonderful Thai meal for the group. He had something for everyone including a vegetarian dish for Nanc. As you can see by his shirt the meal was very spicy. 

Nothing brings this group together like food. Many of the RVers gathered to enjoy Dan's excellent food and the beautiful Florida weather.

We have several favorite restaurants here in the Keys but we always look forward to finding new places dine. One day we went to Mrs. Macs where Joe had this interesting whole fish. Another day we had sushi at Maki Sushi and Thai. We give high marks to both.

RVers are always ready to help others when they have a project. Gary (left) had to replace the TV in his rig. George and I pitched in and after several trips to the local hardware store, we modified the old bracket and mounted the new TV. Guess what? The new one did not work either and when Gary checked, it turned out the electric outlet in the rig was bad not the old TV. Oh well, it kept us out of trouble for the day. 

One of our favorite things to do at the Elks is to watch the sunset. They are not spectacular every day but they are always different. Our blog's heading picture was taken here.

The group gathering for the sunset.

We checked out a couple places that have music. The Ocean View Pub, owned by former Steeler Gary Dunn, has a great jam session of Tuesday evenings. If you like rock and blues this is the place for you.

Another new to us restaurant, Morada Bay, has really good food and a great outdoor water view. We had a fun time there with Joe and Kathy.

Another evening we went to the Pilot House for music and dinner. It had been a rainy afternoon and right as the sun set, the clouds cleared enough for a beautiful sunset.

We drove down the Keys one day to check out the damage from Hurricane Irma. South of Islamorada to Layton there is still a lot of debris piled up from the storm.

While this home was damaged, the houses that are built out of concrete came through the storm in much better shape than mobile homes and those built with wood frames.

Long Key State Park was totally destroyed. This spot used to be lined with RVs. All the sites are gone and the park will not be opening any time soon.

Trailer parks were hit very hard. Several are closed, creating a housing shortage for many people who work in the Keys. While most hotels have reopened, there are several that are still closed and will not be opened this season.

Another fun evening at the Elks. Sue finally got up her nerve and sang at the karaoke....

.....and Joe got Nanc on the dance floor. We really have a great time with all the people at the Elks.

Joe is always up for a fun time. Kathy took this picture when he served as Santa's elf for the kids Christmas party at the Elks. Since Mary Lou is selling her place in Jupiter, we are hoping to get into the Elks next winter before Christmas so we can join in on the holiday fun.