December 2011 - 2011 was a blur of visitors, overnight sails to nearby Keys and road trips north. Winter was warmer than the previous year and passed quickly. It began with our annual Italian night hosted by our good friend Mark who visits us every January here in Key West. Mark gets a great suite at the Marriott Hotel and as I do the cooking, we all sit around drinking Mark’s excellent wines.  
    In March I made the first of several road trips to CampLejeune to see Christopher off to Afghanistan for his 4^th combat deployment. Seeing a loved one go off to war once is more than enough but 4 times really sucks for everyone, most of all for his wife and children.  
    Teresa’s daughter Ashley and Matt escaped the North Carolina winter and visited us in April. We had a great time showing them around Key West and they were soon, doing their own thing at some of the “younger” hang-outs.
    Summer in Key West was hot with daily temperatures in the mid 90’s beginning in May and remaining there until the end of September, so yes, we finally broke down and bought an air conditioner. The good news is we didn’t get wacked by any tropical storms.  
    A week later we attended the annual Key West Drag Races. No, there aren’t any Funny cars roaring down Duval Street burning nitro but there are some “funny cars.” They are Home Depot kiddie shopping carts powered by Chippendale looking guys in speedos pushing local drag queens around pylons as tourist and locals alike, sip margaritas served in little buckets and cheer on their favorite team. 
    The next event was the Minimalist Regatta. This is cool and being members of the Key West Parrot Head Club, Captain Lou and I got snockered at a meeting and we were “volunteered” to build the club’s entry. You get 1-4’x8’sheet of plywood, 4-2x4’s, a pound of screws, a roll of masking tape and all the paint you care to use. From that, you must build a boat and paddles and hope it floats! Being incredibly adept at procrastination, we delayed expending any effort whatsoever on design and construction of our craft until the weekend before the race. The result was predictable and with Lou’s son manning her, our brave little ship capsized and sunk just moments into the race. Lou and I could only watch helplessly as the automatic life vest inflated explosively, nearly choking our one-man crew to death. We did win the “First to Sink” award which in Key West is held in high esteem!
    Knowing that viewing a space shuttle launch was on my bucket list, Teresa prodded me into submitting a request for tickets to the last launch of the space shuttle Endeavor. Amazingly, we were selected from the very competitive lottery to buy two tickets. I sucked it up and drove 240-miles to MarcoIsland over on the west coast to attend my Cousin Carol’s 70^th birthday party. The next day I drove north and east 160-miles to Cape Canaveral and after buying the best general public tickets available, I drove 300-miles back to Key West; picked up Teresa and turned around and drove 300-miles back to the SpaceCenter. 
    With the launch scheduled for 8-am the next day, my plan was to get 4 or 5 hours sleep in the car but it was not to be. We met a “professional” space shuttle watcher and he informed us that it doesn’t work like that. You go in as soon as the doors open at midnight and get in lines. That’s right, lines as in plural. You can’t even camp out in one place and get some sleep. About every hour or so they move you closer to the buses that take you out to the launch area 12 miles away! Oh, and it isn’t Key West, it gets friggin cold at night at Cape Canaveral; and us just in T-shirts!
    It was all worth it though. Once we got to the viewing area, there just 6-miles away stood Endeavor looking huge under the bright floodlights that highlighted the contrast between the white shuttle orbiter and orange external fuel cell. Sitting there at the shore of the BananaRiver we became chilled to the bone as the hours ticked by slowly until we felt the first warming rays of sunrise. As the countdown ended, my excitement level peaked when I saw sparks below the main thrusters. Then ignition! Even in the morning sunlight, the glare exploding from the main engines was absolutely brilliant and then even before we heard the sound, ripples appeared on the river surface as the earth shook for miles around. Then liftoff! Endeavor rose slowly and then quickly accelerated, leaving a billowing trail of thick exhaust across the sky. A moment later she disappeared from view into the clouds but we could still hear her as she arched into the heavens. Wow, what an experience!
    Over the next month we had visits from our friends David and Linda who sailed down from Ft Lauderdale in their beautiful little ship, s/v Tenacity, built by Linda years ago. Rich, Laurie and their daughter Samantha came down by more conventional means and we got to enjoy some time and a few good meals with them as well.
    Christopher came home from Afghanistan for 2 weeks of R&R so with hurricane Irene headed right for Florida, I decided to make a bee line for CampLeJeune and spend a few days with him. I hated to leave Teresa alone on Lastdance with a Cat-3 hurricane on the way but I felt certain that if it looked threatening to Key West, I could get back to in time to secure the boat.
    Chris returned to Afghanistan and I stayed behind a few extra days because as you all know, Irene turned north and made landfall in North Carolina. It came ashore at Cape Lookout, just 20 miles north of Christopher’s house so I was able to help my Daughter-in-law, Michele with preparations and weathering the storm.
    Back in Key West a week later, we held a memorial ceremony for the victims and 1st responders on the 10^th anniversary of 9/11. A large group of us simultaneously read their names aloud; a stark reminder of the magnitude of the horrendous attack by Islamic madmen on our country.
    With the arrival of October, average daily temperatures dropped to the lower 80’s for a pleasant change and we were invited to attend the commissioning of USS Spruance (DDG 111). It was the first US Navy ship to be commissioned in Key West so it was quite an event.
    Another great year end highlight was attending the 20^th annual Parrothead convention because Jimmy Buffett showed up and gave a free concert right on Duval Street. Along with friends Tom, Gerri, Art & Brenda, Teresa and I squeezed our way through the crowd and secured a place not 50’ from the stage. There we were entertained by Mr. Margaritaville himself for an hour and a half. 
    On Veterans Day, the local VFW organized a float for its members so along with friends Art, Squeek and Eddie, we participated in the surprisingly large parade aboard a tour Conch Train, decorated for the occasion and there wasn’t a bar in town that charged for drinks if you were a veteran
    After almost 10 years of good service from our old inflatable dinghy, we thought it was time to upgrade to a bigger tender and engine. West Marine was running a sale to we bought a 10.5’ rigid hull inflatable and then got a great deal on a 9.9 hp engine from our friends Art & Brenda; selling our old 5hp on Craig’s list. It was pure joy as we got up on plane for the first time and zoomed around at 20-knots but it’s not just about fun, the added carrying capacity and speed add a measure of comfort and safety when we’re anchored far from the nearest tiki-bar