Only a few voices, and an occasional cockadoodle doo, carry across the harbor as the clock on my laptop shows 1:10am.  Last call has surely been rendered as the volume diminishes with each minute.   Time hasn’t played a roll for us here in Key West, our days are kept by the rise and set of the sun, and the speed of the never-calming wind.  It blows from the north, and then from the east, and then it stirs the waves with extra gusts.  And so we wait. 

In patience comes surprises. 

This morning we hired an electrician to work on the Garmin GPS system up on the bridge.  He worked diligently all day.  As darkness began to fall, we looked forward to heading out for a delicious last dinner here on the island – where the dining is splendid.  We knew it would be an early night as we were planning on a bright morning run across the Florida Bay toward Marco Island, or further, if we could handle it.  That was our plan.

Until Mike, the Electrician alerted us to the fact that our GPS Navigation system would not turn on, only after an 8 hour day of re-wiring and re-connecting for a smooth journey home.  This was not the news we were hoping to hear.  I had already set my heart on seeing Yankeetown within days, hugging my mom, and spending time with our friends.   Richard, too, was looking forward to the trip back. 

Yet here we are, at the far end of the t-shaped pier of the A&B Marina. 

So tonight we dined on the stern of the boat, with take out food.  We had placed our order just before receiving the news that we would not be leaving in the morning – otherwise, we surely would have gone out.  So we entertained one another with stories from the books we’ve been reading.  Richard educates me on the history of the earth, and I share with him the ways of Hemingway.  And then we discuss our next boat, and how much bigger it will be…

We’ve come to discover that no matter what size boat you have, it’s just never quite big enough. 

Richard took a stroll down the dock to find our friends from Minnesota, who were eager for company.  We joined them for a delightful time on the bridge of their Mainship Trawler.  Jerry and Bruny, who are originally from Germany, were yacht and sailboat dealers off Lake Superior.   After deciding that teaching was no longer fulfilling, Jerry pursued his passion with Bruny, short for Brunhilda, at his side.  They both sold yachts and sailboats successfully for the last decade.  Now retired, they are living the dream they sold to so many others.  They spend their time cruising on their trawler from Ft. Meyers, Fl to the Keys, or taking their sailboat across Lake Superior into the rivers of Canada, when they’re not traveling to China, or skiing in Colorado.  At 66, they are an inspiration.

So a surprisingly wonderful evening it turned out to be.  We don’t know if we’ll ever leave this island, but until we do, we welcome evenings like tonight.

Signing off onboard the Suki Sweet II