I cannot begin to describe what a massive sense of relief we all felt at safely crossing the Gulf of Mexico. Some serious celebrating was in order. After sleeping for about 14 hours we began exploring Key West. Especially the bars. We rented bikes and pranced around town like we owned the place. We waited for people to talk to us.
Them: Hi, where are you from?
Us: We’re from Houston. We just sailed across the Gulf.
Them: That is totally cool.
Them: Hey dude. What’s up?
Us: We just sailed across the Gulf.
Them: Right on, dude.
Them: Would you like french fries with your burger?
Us: We sailed our little sailboat from Houston to Key West!
Them:
Us: How bout them apples?
Them: We do not sell apples here, sir.
Them: Where is the bathroom?
Us: We just sailed our friggin boat across the friggin Gulf!
Them:
Us:
Them: Are they over in the corner?
Us: High five! Woooo! Hoooooaaah!
Them:
Us:
Them: Please do not touch me again, or I will summon the police.
Us: Cmon… another high five? Across the Gulf, baby.
Them:
Us:
Them: I’m dialing 911.
Us: Sh!t. Run everybody. And remember, if you turn sideways, the Cops probably cannot see you.
We went to Mallory Square and heckled the street performers. Sam juggled. Dana was overserved. Walter and Beverly rented a room with a real shower and a real TV and internet access. Then went back to Houston a few days later.
Sam, Dana, and I drove up to Disneyworld for a few days in our killer Avis minivan rental. We left the boat tied up at Safe Harbour Marina. So much has been written about Disneyworld, that we will not attempt to do it justive here. It was about what you might expect. All touristy and stuff. We were a little taken aback by how clean and antiseptic Disneyworld is. It is definitely not a real world experience. And it’s seriously pricey. We’re still finding credit card receipts. But Sam loved it and Dana and I had never been. So we checked it off the list of things you really should do at least once.
When we got back, wanderlust reasserted itself and we began planning the next phase of the game. We weren’t too keen on cruising Florida, so we wanted to make the jump to the Bahamas fairly soon. We envisioned a 3 day trip up the east coast of Florida, and a jump point some where near Rodrigez or Tavernier Keys.
We like typing the phrase “jump point.” Sounds cool too. Vaguely military.
