Throwback Weekend

July 30, 2008



Third World

Throwback Weekend



Seventeen years ago when I first arrived in Key West, there were a few things that I immediately fell in love with. One was the frequent reggae concerts that were held at various beachfront resorts; The Pier House, East Martello, The Reach and The Casa Marina. The other was the ability to just get in a boat and head out to one of the many beautiful out islands and beaches that are only accessible by boat; Marvin Key, Snipes Point, Archer Key, Man & Woman Keys etc..





We used to do both of these awesome Key West activities with regular frequency, but somehow over time and for various reasons, they seem to have faded from our landscape. Reggae shows have virtually vanished from the island as the demographics have changed and our lives have become so hectic and busy that we rarely make it out on the water anymore.






This past weekend, we recaptured some of the glory of Key West past by attending a huge and successful Reggae beach concert at the Southernmost Beach Café featuring the amazing band Third World. The setting was perfect, as was the weather and the set-up, organization and vibe of the event were great. Third World is after 30 years performing, a tight, well-oiled reggae machine. They put on a great show, playing all their familiar reggae hits that had the diverse crowd that was packed with old-time Key Westers dancing up a storm. It was a wonderful night.








On Sunday we joined a group of friends for their regular Sunday Funday of boating. Jim & Fiona Smith and a nice collection of friends gather each weekend to spend the day boating…well actually it is more of heading out to a beautiful sandy beach that forms only as the tide goes out and setting up an amazing picnic of all sorts of incredible food and libations.

Fiona



Sharon

Rob

It was another perfect day, pretty much flat calm and nicely overcast, though still warm and calm, at least until the sun came out later in the afternoon. We love hanging out with such great people and want to thank Jim & Fiona for another amazing day.

Kathy

Jim & Randy

Island Summer

July 28, 2008



Reggie's Birthday!

Island Summer



The summer season continues to percolate along here in Key West and Kathy & I have been busy enjoying the pace that summer brings. There is something special about the summer in that the people here seem to share a heightened sense of community and we seem to be able to spend more time enjoying our friends rather than attending an event where they might happen to be, as is the case during the season.



We found plenty of opportunities this week, whether it was celebrating the birthday of our friend Reggie at Virgilio’s, heading to Ft. Taylor beach for a sunset gathering of friends or even attending the street fair and part of the Hemingway look-a-like competition during the annual Hemingway Days celebration.

Virgilio's



Reggie’ birthday was celebrated at one of Kathy’s favorite bars, Virgilios. We joined Reggie and her boyfriend Terry along with many of her girlfriends who work with her at the Stock Island branch of First State Bank. Reggie is one of the friendliest and fun people we know and we were thrilled to be invited to share in her birthday celebration.

India



One of the great joys of living on a tropical island is being able to head over to the beautiful beach, just about any time with very little effort. We have been taking our dog India to dog beach regularly of late, swimming helps combat the arthritis that is affecting her as she ages. We also have been able to take advantage of the beach at Ft. Zachary Taylor State Park, which is still beautiful despite the increased commercialization of the park. We joined our friends Nancy, Mark, Bob, Jody, Ruth & Dan for their weekly Friday sunset picnic last week and it was great fun. The beach was beautiful , we just need to be reminded occasionally about how awesome living in the Keys can be.

Two former winning Papas.

The many annual festivals just add to the fun here. We made a trip down to the annual Hemingway Days Street fair and took in a round of the Hemingway look-a-like competition at Sloppy Joe’s. More than 150 entrants try each year to win the contest and the town is overrun with Papa’s. It is an entertaining way to spend an afternoon; we were astounded at how serious these men take the contest.

George Murphy hosting the Papa contest.