US COAST GUARD

March 8th - Monday Temp 62 low - 74 high - Beautiful

Today is the best day weather wise that we have had here in Key West. We were up early and Lou went over to have coffee and doughnuts with the guys, which they do every Monday and Friday. Women can go also, but seems like the majority use this time as I do, to change beds, run the sweeper and such.

When Lou got back, I had completed everything that I wanted to get done, so we set out for our walk. We walked three miles and it was very enjoyable, the breeze was just right, very low humidity and sunny. In fact, Lou got a little sunburn today. While we were walking he got a phone call from one of the daughters that had just returned from Italy, so he talked while we walked, as were about finished with our walk, his son called, so he also talked to him. He has talked with all of his kids today, and has gotten caught up on all of the goings on of their trips and the one daughter that didn't go had been traveling to visit their son at Fort Campbell for the weekend, so she had a lot of interesting details to share with her father.

When we finished our walk, we stopped to visit with Joan and Bill, she had a dish of water ready for Estee and she was very grateful for that along with the shade of their RV. We chatted with them until lunch time and then Lou asked me if I wanted to walk to the Coast Guard Dock, silly question, I could spend my day there watching the men go through their daily duties. Today we were able to talk to two of the young men. Their ship had just returned from Hatti and will be here for two weeks and then ship out again. The ship in the picture is the one I am talking about. It is 210 feet long and has a heliport on board. The young man suggested we climb up the long flight of boarding steps to get a better look. Estee was ready to go, but when we got to the top, the ridges were a bit open for her, so Lou carried her around. As we left the large ship, we walked past one of their sailboats. I think they are all very impressive. I certainly enjoyed my morning.

After lunch we drove around a bit and took Estee and ended up at the Greater Key West Airport on the other side, close to the beach and watched planes come and go. We had both decided we were pooped out today, and spent the rest of the afternoon reading and enjoying the fresh air and sunshine.

Tonight after dinner, I have done the laundry and have both had showers and off to bed a little earlier. Don't have fast plans for tomorrow. We soon need to think about cleaning out the compartments under the RV and cleaning out the car and washing both for a trip up the line a bit. The time has gone so quickly and we are already thinking about things to do different before we come next year.