Key West with Spencer

I finally made it to Key West on New Years Eve. As I sailed my into Boca Chica (Key West Naval Air Station) I heard a hail from the service dock. It was my friend Maury on Gypsysails. Since I needed to check in I went over and rafted up. The good news was that I got to see many old friends. The bad news was that although there were quite a few empty mooring balls the marina would only rent them at the daily rate. Since I intended to stay for a month it was well out of my price range.
I took a slip for New Year's Eve. In the early evening I went over to the Navigator Bar and had a couple of beers with old friends. Since I had just sailed for 52 hours I excused myself and said I would be back for the midnight festivities. I went back to Reboot, took a nap, and returned to the bar just before midnight only to discover that everyone else had gone home to bed. Ah, the wild life of sailors.
I relocated Reboot to Garrison Bight Marina where I was able to rent a mooring ball for the month. Jim (of HOBO II) was already here so we said hi.
Jim had a friend from Canada visiting so we went to dinner at Blue Heaven. We had planned to go to Key West NAS but Jim was stopped at the gate and refused entry since he was Canadian. Quite a change from the last time I was here.
Jim accompanied me to Miami International to pick up Spencer and we had a great political argument all the way back. As we got out Spencer said "that was a great way to pass the time quickly, lets not do it again." Jim and I laughed and agreed. It was about 1AM as we set out in our dinghies for the boats which were a 25 minute run in the dark. It was the first time Spencer had ever had to find a boat in the dark. He was a great assistant trying to highlight the channel markers with the flashlight having only a vague idea of where they were.
The last few days have been great fun with Spencer here. We have been swimming off the stern and I have used the opportunity to do some needed cleaning of the waterline. We have had a couple of fun times with Jim but most of all just enjoyed great Dad and Son quality time. I am looking forward to the rest of his stay.