By: Nathaniel
After a long boat ride of bumps, bangs and vomiting we made it to Key West. There we
saw some old friends Liz, Dave and their dog Henry. We had met them in Jekyll Island, GA.
The only reason we saw them was because they were docked outside the restaurant we
ate at for dinner. They weren’t aboard so we left a note saying that we were in the Galleon
marina in slip 7. The next morning while walking there dog Henry they decided to go find us
and give us a surprise visit.
That night my mom’s cousin Amanda and her husband Andy showed up even though there
luggage took a detour and ended up in Miami. Clean clothes, Christmas presents etc.
didn’t get to the marina until a while after them. Amanda and Andy stayed in the
“basement” (aka the aft cabin) for 4 and ½ days. They didn’t get to the boat until 11ish
because of waiting for luggage that didn’t show up, long cab ride and marina crew that didn’
t know that we even existed although we were docked a few yards away with our bow in
plain sight and no masts in sight. For the next morning my dad booked us a dolphin
watching and snorkeling trip on Froggie’s adventures. He asked the Captain to pick us up
at the boat but as luck would have it, as soon as Froggie’s pulled in to the Marina the evil
dock master was on him like a hawk. She made him go 3 marinas over to pick us up,
something about insurance reasons and that their a “5-star resort”. While on Froggie’s we
learned about how dolphins have three main behaviors: sleeping, hunting and playing.
When they sleep only half their brain is “off”, when hunting they all blow air bubbles around
the fish to confuse them and bon appetite fresh fish. Playing is just like what kids do best.
Any two male dolphins born in the same year will spend the rest of their lives together.
After watching the dolphins we went to a “backcountry” snorkeling spot. The men (Andy
and John) were the only ones who stayed in the water, although Wyatt and me did get in
but we got right back out because it was so cold. The water was so cold that when I got out
the air seem so hot that I didn’t need a towel until we got going fast and the wind got to be
unbearable. The next day was the first day we went to the pool and boy was it warm, the
only flaw was getting out. The next day we took Amanda and Andy to Mallory Square.
Mallory Square is home to a whole bunch of street performers who pay to perform. There
only profits are made by tips from tourists. At Mallory Square you could find jugglers, a fire
eaters, sword swallowing, an excellent comedian, an escape artist and an extremely lousy
performing dog. The next day Amanda and Andy left. All of us were a saddened by there
departure.
Our spirits were lightened by the arrival of my dad’s parents . My grandparents didn’t stay
in the basement like Amanda and Andy. Instead they stayed in a marina/motel on a
houseboat. The night they got here I got to have a sleepover on there houseboat. In the
morning my family came over for an excellent breakfast. We had a good time with them for
the next couple of days. One day while we were coming back to the boat and saw Nelson
and Diane riding in our dingy out of the marina then when we got to the boat we saw Pat
and Brett sitting on the sides of the cockpit. We had a great time with everyone for the rest
of the time we were there.
Report about Duck Key
By Wyatt
We arrived in Duck Key Florida on January 15th. It is nice. There is a nice dock master
and there are three pools and a pirate pool that squirts water out of cannons. My brother
went scuba diving today and yesterday. Me and my mom are here waiting from my brother
to get back and do his schoolwork and play with me.
There are some nice neighbors. Johnny Mack and Eric are friends that we like to go to the
pool together. And Emily who went with my brother to go scuba diving yesterday. We got
to watch them in the pool and it was fun. We’ve had a lot of visitors here on the boat.
First it was Pat and Brett. Grandma Mary and Phil were here too. Me and my brother got
to have a sleepover at a floating houseboat with them. Our friends on Cardigan Bay,
which are Liz and Dave and me and my brothers favorite dog Henry came to visit. You can
shoot Henry with your finger and he’ll rollover dead, then you give him a treat.
Lignumvitae Key
By Wyatt
We are having a good time at Duck Key. Grandma Mary and Phil came to visit. We went
to Lignumvitae Key. There was a poisonwood tree. If you touch it you get a rash. If you
burn it and it gets in your lungs it is dangerous. So don’t burn it!! We saw Ironwood trees
and it will dull a chainsaw if you try to cut it. They named the island Lignumvitae Key
because there were so many Lignumvitae trees. If you cut LV with a chain saw it will
quickly go right through because it is so oily. If you see a tree with little yellow outlines on
the leaves don’t touch it because it is a poisonwood tree. The bark on the poisonwood
tree has orange and black dots. The poisonwood and gumbo limbo trees live together. If
you get a poisonwood rash you cut the gumbo limbo tree, boil it in water, rub it on your
rash and it will help your rash.
