Okay, I'm probably boring you, but we awoke to yet another fabulous day!
Today is the weekly Krogen breakfast at Key West Diner on US 1, not far from the marina. By 8:10, Tom and I were heading to our car for the short hop to the diner. When we arrived 5 minutes later, the room put aside for us was nearly filled to capacity (I found out later that there were 39 of us). I was thrilled to see some folks I met at the Rendezvous and introduced Tom to everyone I knew. We saw the person who sold us our first Krogen For Us, and finally met the couple who bought her (now known as Serenity's little sister). That was a happy reunion. We each got up to briefly introduce ourselves and our boat and share our travel plans (we stayed quiet on that one). There was a lot of gasping and laughing.
I'm meeting Laura and another friend for lunch at the beach this afternoon. Looking through my closet for a cute sundress, I couldn't help but think that next week at this time, I'll be looking in my closet for a cute sweater. Enough of that kind of thinking. Live for the moment!
Soon I was dashing up the dock to meet Laura. Off we sped to the beach and Shuckers for lunch. For those of you that live here, I know the sight of turquoise waves breaking on a talcum powder beach is no big deal, but for those of us from New York, seeing this sight in January is a dream come true.
We had a wonderful lunch, great conversation and just enjoyed being in the sunny, warm moment. Since Laura had to get back to work, Karen offered to take me around. For the next couple of hours, "around" is where we went. Our first stop was to the famous Mrs. Peter's Smokehouse. Nearly every restaurant worth its name in this area carries Mrs. Peter's smoked fish as an appetizer. It is normally served with carrot and celery sticks, sliced jalapeno peppers and these wonderful salty crackers. I order it every chance I get. Karen and I sampled every fish available - I settled on the spicy mahi mahi and smoked whitefish. Yummy! As an aside, these 2 innocent containers of fish caused an uproar at the airport Saturday. I was determined to have Mrs. Peters smoked fish at home, so I packed them in a zip-loc bag of ice cubes and put them in my carry-on. The alarms rang as the bag went through the X-ray machine. Next thing I knew, someone called over someone and then many "someones" were peering into my bag. When they held up my treasure, no one knew what to say. Someone tried to explain that my fish exceeded the 3 oz. of liquid allowance. "But they're not liquid", I protested. I was told that they were "spreadable". If they were macaroni salad, not a problem. Since I couldn't believe I was hearing something so lame, I stood fast and asked for my fish. Guess how I got that fish on the plane? Had to be patted down. After the pat down, the TSA person had to run her gloves through something to make sure my fish weren't laced with explosives. In this case, the means justified the ends - the fish are happily living in my NY fridge.
Our next stop was the produce market. It was incredible to see huge strawberries and blueberries - grown in Florida. I picked up locally made tortilla chips for the next group of folks coming for cocktails this evening. I'm used to seeing fruit and veggie stands out on eastern Long Island during the summer, but to see this abundance of fresh goodness in January was a sight to see!
Not done yet - next stop was Total Wine (also my 2nd trip there since Sunday). Had to stock the wine larder to entertain our new friends. There we met Lisa who helped us navigate the awesome selection of wine from everywhere. After looking through a mind boggling selection, I settled on a few reds and whites that I thought would have mass appeal. Now we're done Karen and I chorused. Holy cow, a bit after 4 and folks coming at 4:40. The captain will be more than wild-eyed by now I thought.
I raced down the dock (remember we're slip B21 and the numbering starts with B1) to find the captain indeed wild-eyed. He was more wild-eyed when he saw my arms stuffed with "stuff". Without giving him a chance to say anything, I flew past him into the galley to prepare the "snacks". I must admit, it was a nice spread.
We were happily eating, drinking and chatting when another Krogen person came by on his bike to ask if we were planning to participate in Taco Tuesday. Oh wow, we almost forgot! Everyone sprang into action to put away our spread. Off we dashed to the Santa Fe Cafe, which is within walking distance of the marina.
I was delighted to discover that Taco Tuesday meant that tacos were $2 each and Coronas were 2 for 1. Twelve of us crammed into the restaurant (we had to split up a bit) and had a wonderful time. The tacos were not the best I ever had, but the company (and Coronas) more than made up for the mediocre tacos.
This is a fun loving group. Doesn't matter what is served, as long as the company is good - and good it is.
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