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[Ron]

Week 6: Ending 12/22/2002:

Monday:
We went shopping to replace the UnHappieSurge Protector and the Alarm Clock. Now it’s not like we have important meetings to attend under tight time constraints, but we do have to work on a regular schedule to accommodate our medical needs, and Jake’s walking needs. So we have to replace Mr. Alarm Clock.

We decide to see what is all the hoopla about the sunsets. Very nice.

Tuesday:
Ok, ok, we’ll tell you more about the sunset event.

Monday (continued by popular demand):
First, we had to find the place where everyone gathers. Eventually, we asked. It’s Mallory Square, right where the cruise ships dock. This seems to *US* to be a poor choice, strategically. It’s hard to see the sun set on the horizon with a million-ton vessel in between you and the sun. Fortunately, one of the ships pulled out of dock about ½ hour before sunset, so there was ample room for the reduced-size-off-season crowd to enjoy mother nature’s nightly spectacular.

You can see a little bit of what we saw by clicking HERE.

We also met our first OES on our trip, a 3-year female from Queens, along with a black Newfie mix.

Tuesday, Wednesday
We are still learning to unwind and hangout. It is pretty here at Sunburst. There is a KOA campground just up the road, but the RVs seem very tight together there, with no landscaping, “Awning to Awning” as one camper put it. Although the campsites do vary in length and width here, everyone seems to have enough room to stretch about their RV, there are palm trees at every site and plenty of other foliage providing a sense of privacy. We chat a bit with our neighbor Ivan about RVing to and around Alaska. Life is good. Warm, breezy. We wonder how humid and non-breezy it gets here in the summer.

Thursday:
Saw another sunset and did a little gift shopping. Ron was enlisted as a stage-hand in an escape artist’s show. The entire 45 minute show consisted of people wrapping “Rondini” (No, we didn’t make that up!) in a strait jacket, then multiple chains, locks and handcuffs (attached to the chains), then bungee tied by the ankles to a scaffold, so that he is hanging upside down. About 100 pounds of metal. Rondini proceeds to gyrate and lose all of the chains, then proceeds to wiggle out of the strait jacket.
Ron says that the act was well worth the two dollar ‘donation’, and even though participating caused him to have to wait 40 extra minutes to eat his 8oz Angus burger from the beach pub, he enjoyed the experience.

Friday:
Tooled around the southern part of Key West. Sought out Dennis Pharmacy and Conch Luncheonette, heralded as the Southernmost Pharmacy, Photo Lab and Luncheonette in the United States. Ron and Joan both enjoyed Cuban-style specialties for lunch. Ron ordered the Cuban steak and Joan the Cuban Sloppy Joe. Both excellent and worth finding. Dennis Pharmacy has been written up quite a bit and is also heralded as the place where Jimmy Buffet learned to appreciate cheeseburgers. We will have to return to try their cheeseburgers.

Saturday:
Ron works on the computer, Joan works on housework. Guess who gets done first? Another Sheepie joins the campground, a 9-year old male from NY named Lucky. Lucky is very tall, deaf from birth and owns two very loving (upright) parents named Teri & Tom. Teri & Tom are full-timers, staying for the season in Key West. It is neat to meet other Sheepie-lovers. Lucky was rescued by a NY group. We provide info about NEOESR and learn another couple are due at the end of the month who have two Sheepies. Sheepies rule!

Sunday:
Jake gets a bath (tricky event in our no-too-big tub/shower combo!) To reward Jakie for being such a good sport about his bath, we decide to take him for a ride to Key West. We search out Dog Beach. We were expecting a good-sized sandy beach. It was a small, mostly seaweed-covered postage stamp. Still, Jakie could stroll in his arthritic way down to the ocean and no one would complain. Ron wore his bathing suit “just in case.” The opportunity arose- first, he tossed his polo and sandals. Inch by inch, his sun-starved flesh crept into the ocean. Another brave man had already ventured out past his thighs and was trying to gather the courage to plunge the rest of his body into the 70ish, not really warm, ocean blue. Both men finally succumbed to the ocean’s call and submerged themselves for an invigorating swim. Joan and Jake watched from ashore and tickled their toes in the sand and surf. Sandy and tired, we returned home a HappieTrio.