Happy 2010

Happy New Year! !

Cleveland, OH to the Key West, FL --- Tom Kotula stopped by Jan. 1 after completing his trip on his modified 19' sailboat, rowing from Cleveland OH to Key West, FL. For more information visit: www.habitatcrew.com

Tuesday, January 6th, 2010

Well, now that the holiday season is over and life is back to 'normal', thought it was time I let everyone know what we've been up to for the last few weeks. I had to refrain from writing just before Christmas because I was afraid I might inadvertently give away the surprise --- I went home to Montreal to visit my family for Christmas and my parents didn't know I was coming. Planned it all with the help of Veronique and Alex who were going over to my parents on the 22nd to help decorate their tree. I phoned them from out in the hallway and they thought I was calling from Florida. During the call there was a knock on the door. Mama almost fell over when she saw me standing there phone in hand!

It was nice being home for Christmas and I hardly noticed the cold. Rainer, meanwhile, celebrated back in the Keys with our new friends and enjoyed several games of tennis.

(Anyone how has ever watched the animation, Rudoph the red nosed Reindeer, will know about the island of misfit toys. Well I came to realize that Gilbert's and Key Largo, is the island of misfit toys. I spent Christmas on the island of misfit toys and loved it. Each of the characters on this island is a misfit in some form or another. Rainer)

I flew back into Miami on the 27th and met up with our friends Tom and Janet from Ottawa and drove back down to Key Largo the following day. We drove down to Key West for the day on the 28th since the weather wasn't warm enough to spend the day at the pool. Stopped for lunch at Dockside in Marathon on the way down and then for drinks at Rob and Garth's on our way back. Key West was a zoo, no where to park and really crowded, so we dashed into Tony's for a quick drink and then drove down Duval street to gawk at the sights.

Had a great time with Tom and Janet and enjoyed celebrating New Year's Eve with them here at Gilbert's. (see pics)

The last few days have been exceptionally cold down here but we've been keeping cozy on the boat with our little heater going. Things are supposed to warm up by the beginning of next week.

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

Glad to say that even though the first few weeks of January were quite cool, temperatures have come back to the 80's. We've had a really exciting couple of weeks. Rainer and I flew back up to Toronto on the 14th. Visited with Janine and Steve, stopped in at the Moonshine, had dinner with Rainer's family and even managed to pick up a few items from our storage unit before heading back south in my car. The drive took about 28 hours but it really wasn't that bad since we had a third driver with us. Jonathan came down to spend a week with us before heading to Hong Kong!

During Jonathan's visit, we played 'tourist' and did a few day trips to visit the sights. We also went to Marathon one day and had a picnic on the beach and then met up with Rob and Garth at the Tikki Hut at the Sombrero Resort for drinks. While we were there, we checked out the slip where we will be taking the boat at the end of February. It is in a great spot, not far from the heated pool and just a few minutes walk to Dockside. The resort is also right across from a golf course and only a fifteen minute bicycle ride to the most beautiful beach. We are looking forward to friends and family coming to visit us there!

Celebrated my birthday the same day Jonathan had to fly out which meant we were up at 3 am to leave here by 4 and get Jonathan to the airport by 5. From there, Rainer and I went to South Beach and took a long walk along the beach shortly after sunrise. We enjoyed breakfast up on Espanola Avenue before walking back to the car and then stopped in at Homestead on our way back to Key Largo to do some shopping. That afternoon, we had cake with all our new friends at Tikki 11 and finished off the day with schnitzel at the German restaurant on site.

I'm looking forward to making a full day trip back to South Beach, pack a picnic lunch and really enjoy it. You can walk for miles there and it really is beautiful. And only an hour's drive from Key Largo!

Next major event planned is our move to Marathon at the end of February. Unfortunately, we haven't got anyone planning a visit down this coming month. My parents have postponed their visit until the beginning of April when we will be at the Sombrero and Mike and Ashley will be down here near the end of March.

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