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Pre Thanksgiving jaunt to Key West

rzbill

Well Known Member
A few weeks ago I made the comment to Diane that I was itching to jump in the plane and really GO somewhere. We've already done much of the obligatory family travel. The decision was Key West. I posted with some about the upcoming trip towards the end of this thread:
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=92912&highlight=key+west
The info was helpful.

Prior to leaving, I practiced my IFR skills. I didn't think I was ready but Diane prodded me into scheduling an IPC. Passed. It was convenient to have it on this trip. I punched through an overcast at AVL and flew on top for about 1/3 of the journey. Smooth as glass.

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We stopped in Lakeland for some gas (Cheap too! $5.03!!), bathroom and snack.
There was a thin line of showers sitting over Homestead.

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The Keys were clear. Beautiful. I like the cloud reflections on the polished wing.

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Walking Duval

We got a hotel and snorkel outing deal through Fury. They put us in the Doubletree by the airport. Very convenient. The hotel provided ALL our transportation needs. Pickup at the airport and multiple trips to and from the "Oldtown"/Duval St area.

A Key West resident.

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We went to the Hemmingway house. We enjoyed it and think it is well worth the entry fee. His story is interesting, the house is nice and the cats are cool. I was there in the summer many years ago and was amazed at how comfortable it was in the house (No AC of course).

We also toured the lighthouse. Good views of Key West.

Here is our lunch venue.

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And the serving. Yum!

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The food was one reason for the trip. We love seafood and went to a different place for every meal. The first night was Mangia Mangia for a selection of seafood pastas. Second night was Turtle Kraals. We ate light because of event timing. I had conch fritters. The last evening was a Raw Bar whose name escapes me at the moment.

Oh yeah, there was a stop at Kermits Key Lime Shop for lunch. Yeah baby.
 
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As I said earlier, we got our hotel in concert with a snorkeling outing. The pics from that are not too interesting. It was fun though.

Here are some shots from a sunset sailboat ride that was really good.
SEBAGO tours. The boat is the Appledore V. The sales pitch said something about this boat being built for some National Geographic event. I didn't pay attention.

The sky was cloudless. Perfect. A little cool but not too much so.

Me and Diane on the bow

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A nice shot of Di against the sails.

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Di took this image of another sailboat doing the same thing we were.

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Well there are more pics, but this is probably enough for y'all.
The trip back was uneventful. We stopped in Lakeland again for fuel. The next leg was the longest. We decided to take a break at WDR Winder Ga for fuel, pee and snack at the Spitfire grill. Good sandwiches. Met a gent with a yellow RV4 on his way out.

I played with LOP on the last leg home. I will do some more later to document the fuel flow peak splits. The rest of the journey was done at 75% HP max hp ROP on purpose. True speeds were right on the book.

Happy campers :D
 
greetings from the carribean

Right.
I wanna' do that flight sometime but my nads have got to drop a little first.
Heck, I got "automatic rough" just flying down the Keys! Sheesh! :D

Oh yeah, Nice one Bri'. !!
 
You beat me to it Bill! I've never been to Conch Republic with my RV. Several times I was very close. Tried several weeks ago again no joy :D


I drove my pocket car there once. Visited my favorite writer's house and took a biplane ride. Used suggestions from this very forum. Those reading, finish you turkey and go to the shop. Direct.



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