The Storm(s)

Jesus Christ I need to stay the hell away from Key West. Seriously. We took a little trip down-island with Opre and his two cousins to see Jen's friends from UF Law school, and, well, it was pretty much like any other weekend down there. I don't know what happened to our camera (lost at Irish Kevin's on Friday night) but luckily Abbye got plenty of pictures of this motley crew. Unfortunately we lost our camera the first night so we don't have any and now we have to use the old, half broken one. We tore up Duval St. two nights in a row, hitting, among other places, Irish Kevin's and the Lazy Gecko the first night (this wasn't really a female nurse, girls!) and Schooners and Captain Tony's the second. Luckily, we did more than just bar hop (although it seems drinking was still involved at every step). Saturday we got to head out to the remote beach that's not unlike the Sandbar (and a lot unlike the Dredge) on Randy and Erica's boat (the "Reel Conch"). It was a pretty cool trip, something 98% of Key West tourists never get to see - Dad would love it. After sitting around in the water and making a few cocktails for the afternoon, we headed back in (and took the requisite jump in the canal) and headed back to the condo for sunset (and a beautiful sunset it was).

Sunday FunDay started out with breakfast at Camille's, with the special of the day, Lobster Omelet (I got the to-die-for French Toast and happily raided everyone else's omelet leftovers). Then it was Bloody Mary time at one of my favorite Key West places, The Rum Barrel. Jodi makes a mean Bloody Mary (thanks to Mark Ardire for turning me onto this at the bachelor party) and I had two (or three) while whupping Opre's butt in Golden Tee. Surprisingly, after about 40 hours of drinking, sleeping, and eating, we weren't quite done yet, and the "quick stop" didn't even end when Jodi (in the Favorite Bartender Pantheon, up there with Mitch, Greg, and Joey Eyes) had to clock out. Luckily for us she joined us on the other side of the bar for even more (plus some Rocky music and Mummers). The loooooong journey back began with a nice dinner that was partially missed by a couple of us, and a drunken car ride home, except for Jen the Responsible Wife (wow!). Needless to say I owe her big time for getting all of us home in one piece, even if it was well past midnight. Until next time, Cayo Hueso, I'll be back once I recover... and I am sure I won't have learned my lesson.

P.S. The Key West storm was way worse than the Tropical Annoyance that was Fay. All's we got was a lot of wind and rain.
P.P.S. Just to show you we can't even make it a week, Lisa's Housewarming Party was Key West in miniature, except Sunday was a lot less stressful for both of us, although not nearly as productive as we should.

The Calm Before the Storm

What better way to start a cosmically significant date in history then heading down A1A to the end of Highway 1 - Key West, estimated departure time 3pm. Scott Kirby playing at the Hog's Breath. Lobster season officially beginning with Lobsterfest. Jodi serving rum drinks for breakfast at The Rum Barrel. Sitting at Schooner's listening to Michael McCloud and watching Frank Everheart. All kinds of other misbehavior. It's going to be a good weekend... and Monday is gonna suck.

And randomly: my high school backup OLB is running for PA State Representative. The look of abject terror on Wally's face when he came in for a down as a sophmore (my senior year) was a sight i'll never forget, but he turned into a decent player and apparently a pretty damn good lawyer. Vote for Wally!