Just Wandering

Our new anchor #1 is now officially named Mr. Mark in honor of our dear Dragonboat friend we lost this week.  A faithful, reliable, strong and determined fighter – a perfect name for an lifesaving device.  And we are safely and soundly anchored in our “home” position once again. It was a good day to get off the boat and shake it off.  We spent the day wandering Key West’s “other” side.  We walked to the different beach areas and through the residential streets.  At the head of one beach pier is a beautifully done aids memorial that gave pause and the Key West cemetery is quite an historic and interesting place to wander. 

We found a great little botanical garden run by the Key West Garden Club that is free to the public and a great little sanctuary built on the site of an unfinished civil war fortification.

And just a ways further down the road was a wildlife refuge where all of the injured birds and other wildlife of the area are cared for.  Funny, where else but Key West would you find numerous cages designated for chicken refuge?!  The chickens of Key West are a mainstay here.  Apparently when a chicken becomes a nuisance, the refuge will assist in its capture and then care for it until a new “home” is found.  Why does this all sound crazy to me?!

I asked how they found “homes” for delinquent chickens . . . but that didn’t seem funny to them.  Ha!  Actually, they have numerous orange groves with a weevil problem that takes the birds to feed on the weevils.   A mutually beneficial arrangement – go figure.

And then we finally made it to Finnegan’s for happy hour Guinness and Rob’s new favorite burger while I feasted on the veggie format of the same.  New boat neighbor friends, Dennis and Wanda, joined us there and we spent the rest of the night otherwise unwinding from the night before.   A little drink, a little dance, a little friendship and a calm breeze . . . aaaahhhh.