2013 SOUTH & EAST COAST Key Largo 8 - Lazy Day with Bob P

Key Largo (Day 2)

THE STATS: Woke up to 74 degrees and 88% humidity. Only eight miles on the car today (round trip to the grocery store).

THE HAPS: Just like at home we got up natural, but the view from this balcony   is a lovely marina, swim pool, and palm trees. A nice change of pace from the parking lot and kids' jungle gym we see from our own balcony at home. A scuba diving lesson was proceeding in the pool. Sun shining. Waaarm and wonderful. Brown pelicans (our fave bird) flew overhead every now and then.

I read the Kalamazoo Gazette (on-line style) as Mike made my coffee with the in-room single cupper. We did laundry in the guest facilities on the ground floor. Two loads to wash and dry. Good thing because yesterday I used the last of my fresh underwear. I went commando while the laundry was churning and was happy to get back into my fresh "full" attire a couple of hours later.

After that, Mike anticipated arrival of our friend Bob P. (who lives about 1-1/2 hours away), while I went to the grocery store for refreshments. I stopped by the sandal outlet on the way but no deals as far as I could tell. Passed.

When I arrived back to the hotel, Mike and Bob were already deep into the chat. Bob is looking fit as a fiddle, healthy, and tanned from the Florida sun. The guys were reminiscing about old time friends (Ron, Scott, Lynn, Don, and Jim Page and his "The Suit"), re-living Northwest Airlines history (ramp rat vs stock clerk, cities where we had worked, other stories of labor), comparing medical records (big topic these days), and re-hashing Thailand trip tales (RA-Ma-Da, food, tuk-tuk races, taxi ride into the bowels of Bangkok). Too many memories to mention.

After a couple of hours of chatter, we walked a few blocks to the Conch House Restaurant. We had eaten here ten years ago almost to the day with Joe and Cheryl DesN. We were surprised and so happy to find it is still in business, as we had enjoyed a fabulous meal here and had yearned on many occasions to try it again. It had not changed and we were not disappointed. Still a quaint old house converted to a restaurant, so the old living room is the dining room. Only about nine tables inside. Outside on the grand wrap-around, gingerbread-dressed porch and in the yard are a few more tables.

We opted for inside and the moment we stepped in, we knew for sure that we had been here before. Bonus, the food was just as good. Bob and I had blacked mahi-mahi and Mike had garlic scampi over linguine. Mike also had key lime pie. I advised the waiter "no use bringing extra forks, as Mike would polish his plate on his own." But he did offer Bob and I some after all. Whatta guy! (PS - Bob, thanks for treating us.)

Back at the hotel in the fresh air of our balcony, more chat and more laughs. Bob left around 9:30pm. It was a great visit and we hated to see him go. We may connect with him again at his home on our way back north. After his departure, we started prepping for travel tomorrow to Key West, the southern most point in our travels and the southern most point in the continental US.

THE BEST OF: Best hotel and room so far. A double room with two balconies overlooking the pool and marina. Mattress is fabulous (you can buy one for $1725). No free breakfast, but you can purchase from a delicious variety made on-the-spot for about $7 per person. We'd certainly rather pay for a good breakie than get a crappy one for free.

Best mattress and linens, so far, was Courtyard Marriott in Key Largo.