I'm surprised we haven't seen T-shirts with that on them yet. While people survived, the cold temperatures were lethal to many species. There are hundreds of dead fish in the marina with even larger numbers farther north. Iguanas were falling from the trees (it was bad enough having to watch out for falling coconuts) as they passed out from the cold. Sea turtles (170 plus) washed up in a dazed condition and were rushed to the Turtle Hospital in Marathon and put in warm kiddie pools. And several Pythons were captured in the Upper Keys when they wandered out of hiding trying to find warm spots (Brenda kept the cabin door and hatch secured at all times). But as you can see the Humans survived to feast on Cuban sandwiches (from Sandy's - White Street - best so far) on Smather's Beach once again.
Key West is a place with a variety of cultural activities. Last Thursday we went to a piano concert (Mozart and Schubert) at noon at St. Pauls Episcopal, spent the afternoon at Schooner Wharf listening to the "tell it like it is" song style of Michael McCloud and endured a portion of the "Pete and Wayne Show" at Sloppy Joes (the only part I can repeat -"She was so ugly even the tide wouldn't go out with her"). We really enjoy Michael McCloud. As a testament to his popularity he has been performing at Schooner Wharf 5 to 6 days a week for the last 16 years.
Another cultural event we attended was a presentation at the Key West Library by the Key West Maritime Historical Society on rum in the British Navy. The presenter was Admiral Edward Vernon who first made captain in 1706. He was a practical man and realized that the reason crew members sometimes fell out of the rigging was due to the daily ration of 8 oz of rum each sailor was given as part of his pay. The ration was originally one gallon of beer a day but once the West Indies started making rum from sugar cane, the switch was made - it took up less space and didn't go bad. Capt Vernon decreed that the rum would be mixed with 3 parts water and half a ration served in the morning and half in the afternoon. He liked to wear a coat called a Grogram and hence got the nickname "Old Grog" . And yes - you guessed it - the mixture became known as "Grog". When a key line on a ship called the main brace parted it took exceptional skill to splice it. And the seaman who did it got an extra ration. Well this led to much grumbling so they started giving every one an extra ration. After that "let's splice the main brace" became a call for drinks ashore. And Key West has got to be the only place where the library actually served "Grog" at one of it's lectures (purely for educational purposes - with free refills). 
More history at the Mel Fisher treasure museum - this time Spanish. Treasure ships heading back to Spain hit a hurricane 2 days out and sank near the Marquesas. Part of the exhibit is a 16 carat 72 oz gold bar that you can reach in and touch/lift. Well Admiral Brenda tried every which a way to yank that bar out of the hole until a guard came and told her to stop. If we come again I'm bringing my portable Roto-Zip tool.
This Saturday was the Key West Commercial Fishermen Seafood Festival in Bayview Park near the marina. The picture says it all "see Woody hold the lobster - see Brenda eat the lobster". It is a nice festival with almost no tourists. The residents of Key West are very friendly and we enjoyed talking to many of them.
We were very fortunate to run in to Coconut and Crew at Schooner Wharf one afternoon before they headed north. Jim, Sandy and Coconut (the dog) have been writing a blog about their adventures in Key West aboard their sailboat Morgan Glory. (Actually the blog is written by Coconut - no lie - click on http://coconutandcrew.blogspot.com/ ) We have been reading their blog for months and getting inspiration and ideas for our trip. It was fun to have their blog come to life. They have discovered the way to assimilate into Key West society - have a dog. At Schooner Wharf the dogs sit on bar stools or on the bar. And the bartenders give them treats. We're thinking about renting one from the Humane Society on Stock Island or buying a stuffed one at Kmart and telling everyone he's just lazy. 
Some serious sailboat racing will take place this week in Key West. Many of the boats have already arrived and it's clear that they are built for one purpose. My money is on Highland Fling - an 84 footer from Isle of Man. Here are some panarama scenes we've put together. Some of you have asked how this is done. You just take overlapping pictures and open them in Serif Panorama Plus Se. It then stitches them together as a panorama. You will need to crop the final result- I use Picasa for that. The Serif Panorama Plus Se is a free program (download at http://www.freeserifsoftware.com/software/panoramaplus/panoramaplus-se.asp ) and Picasa is a free download as well.
The top one is Smathers Beach. The next one is watching the sunset from the Sunset Pier at Ocean Key Resort and the bottom one is the Sunset Pier. Other activities this past week were visits to the Tropical Gardens on Stock Island, the courtyard gardens at Pelican Poop (Ernest Hemingway lived there when he wrote Farewell to Arms), the observation deck on the roof of La Concha Hotel and the Museum of Art and History in the old customs house. Finally we are.....Thawing in Key West - Woody and Brenda
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