This Week on the Island 01/27/2008

'This week on the Island' is written by Doug Bennett and is an update to friends about happenings in Key West last week. Everything is true except for those parts that are lies.----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The picture this week is 'Earth Rise' (the island Earth) and is one of my favorite space pictures. Every morning I check out http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html for pictures from space but 'Earth Rise' is still the best.

The Weather: Mixed bag of cloudy, cold, rain, then sun, warm and dry, then sunny cooler and dry.

The book this week was 'Double Whammy' by Carl Hiaasen.

'Last Flight Out' on Green Street across from 'Sloppy Joe's' has closed. 'The Iguana' on Green Street across from 'Captain Tony's' has opened. The building on the corner of Duval and Charles (across from 'Irish Kevin's') has been torn down and rebuilt making the 'Rick's/Dirty Harry's' complex bigger and nicer.

Our third cold front of the winter got here last Saturday night. This time it did NOT get to 45 degrees, but it was rainy and cold enough for those of us that live here. The Sun was back out and it was 79 degrees by Wednesday and then another cold front came thru.

The island is packed and the 'Snotty Yachties' are everywhere. It was too windy for their races on Monday so they started on Tuesday. They leave the harbors around Key West using motor power and do not raise their sails until they reach the race area, which is about 4 or 5 miles off-shore. They come back in to harbor the same way, so I cannot get any good pictures of all these ships under sail.

This weekend was a street fair on Whitehead Street at Green. Also a march of Civil War soldiers down Duval and to Fort Zack where an encampment and re-enactment took place. (Key West was in Union hands during the Civil War). There was also a Health Fair at the High School.

The Key West Polar Bear Club met this week at the Tiki Bar at the Court Yard Marriott. The ice was broken and put into drinks and members got in the solar heated pool.

There was a picture in the paper Thursday of the 'Coconut Races' down at Sunset Pier. There were a bunch of people watching as the current caused their nuts to float by. I missed the whole thing. The races will be held every Wednesday at 5:00 PM and you are invited to 'float your nuts'. Contestants are encouraged to paint and number their nuts to distinguish them from other peoples nuts. This contest is open to both sexes.

It is really bad to get old and have nothing to do.

Key West, You have got to love it

'Living the life that others dream'

Doug Bennett

Lat 24.5597N, Long 81.8016W

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