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Shirley and Bob finish packing, then Reenie picks us up at 11:15 AM and drives us to Park & Ride bus stop by 11:45, for the 12:30 bus ride. Shirley walks over to Veteran's Building across street to look at flowers. Bob watches suitcases and takes pics of Shirley.
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The Groome bus arrives (actually 2nd bus, first going elsewhere). Bus takes us to San Francisco airport (SFO). We then catch bus to Holiday Inn Express Hotel in Burlingame. We quickly get room on 2nd floor with view of Bay and airport - nearer elevator then we wanted, but noise not a problem.
We go outside to walk, but way too windy. We stop at nearby restaurant, pick up two small, tasty things, come back to room, snack and watch news/TV.
Get up at 4:30 AM, dress, go down elevator with baggage, get snack bags from receptionist. At 5 AM bus arrives and takes us to the airport. We check in our bags and walk to terminal/gate. At 7 AM boarding begins for first flight to Atlanta. Flight goes pretty smoothly.
In Atlanta we arrive at Gate B5 and discover our next flight gate is Gate B2, so no big walk. (In the past we have arrived at one gate, then walked a distance and down stairs to get subway to another gate). While waiting for next flight, we each walk around, get snacks (to share!). Around 6 PM we board our flight to Key West (so about a 3 hour wait).
Gillian and David fly from Birmingham to Key West, also stopping in Atlanta. They get to Key West earlier than Shirley and Bob, go to and get into their reserved airbnb with no problem.
The Key West flight taken by Shirley and Bob goes smoothly and we arrive around 8 PM. After we get our baggage, we get our Enterprise car (a Chevrolet Malibu) and drive to our Airbnb. We are only a block from David and Gillian's Airbnb and can park our car at their place (our Airbnb does not have good parking) and carry our luggage down to our place.
We all get together and walk to restaurant near David and Gillian's place - Ocean Grill & Bar. We have a good time together - food is ok. Coming back David and Gillian stop by our place to take a look. Gillian opens icebox and Bob sees Key Lime pie that he had not noticed before. Bob and Gillian both claim to already be full from dinner and then both eat pieces of Key Lime pie, which is very good.
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Shirley and Bob go for walk down to a wildflower garden on Catherine Street.
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Walking along Key West streets we see butterflies, chickens, roosters and, of course, lots of flowers. Throughout Key West we see chickens and roosters everywhere. Here are a few pics of them from this walk, along with a picture of Shirley posing!
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Along the way Bob buys a hat.
We all 4 drive to Publix to get groceries. We also drive to where Bob's father and mother once lived - 3508 Sunrise Drive.
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After returning to our airbnbs we later all 4 get together and walk up Duval St. to Mallory Square. We see the aquarium and get lunch at a Cuban sandwich shop in Mallory Mall. Gillian and David walk home, while Bob and Shirley take the free Hopper Bus. While on the bus, Bob sits next to a very talkative woman. David in the afternoon does some on-line work.
Bob eats more pie when home. Then later David and Gillian come over and eat salad Shirley prepares. We also eat more pie. After dinner we all walk to Gillian and David's place, hug, then Shirley and Bob walk around a bit before heading back. And then its bedtime!
Bob and Shirley walk to Southern Most Point, then to South Beach. We also walk along a pier. On the way back we see a guy sandsculpting near 4 Marlons Restaurant.
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As we are walking back, we stop at a store and Shirley buys a t-shirt. We get together with Gillian and David who also want to go to the Southern Most Point, but now the line is too long. We all go to lunch at the Moon Dog Cafe. (See picture at top of page.)
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We also visit the Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory.
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We all come back to our airbnb's and nap. Later we all go to CVS for David to get some electronics. Then Shirley and Bob visit four or five art galeries - Wyland's is the best. Then walk back to the airbnb. Later in the evening David comes by and we three watch TV for a bit.
Bob and Shirley walk the streets, then meet David and Gillian. David and Gillian walk to the Pier House while Bob and Shirley take the Duval Loop Hopper bus, meeting them at the Pier House. We all sit at the Pier House pool. Gillian and David swim, then Bob changes into his swim suit and also gets in the pool.
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Gillian floats on her recently bought innertube from CVS. Bob and David walk to the nearby beach and swim in the ocean. While in the ocean a large sting ray swims right by - within inches. Afterwards, Gillian and David go to the nearby bar, while Shirley and Bob order lunch, which is brought out to the pool.
After lunch and swimming, David and Gillian walk home, while Shirley and Bob take the Hooper bus back.
In the morning Shirley and Bob go for a short walk, stopping at a store Island Colors (same name as our airbnb) to buy a hat for Leyla, who is taking care of our yard in California.
All 4 of us go to Higgs Beach area. David and Gillian walk out into the water, which is very choppy and full of seaweeds.
Next we go see the Key West Garden Club garden (2 acres) at West Martello Tower. So lovely - lots of orchids.
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We go to the Ft. Zachary Taylor State Park, where there is a long line of cars to get in, but worth the wait. A great beach - white sand, blue/green Gulf waters. David and Gillian have masks and see lots of fish incuding sting rays, parrot fish, sargent majors, etc.
We all walk to the Sunset Festival at Mallory Square. There is a great entertainer - Reidiculous [stage name of Reid Conklin] - juggler/street performer. Best of all - he chooses Gillian to be part of his show! Gillian!. She hands him part of his act. And throws a knife at him - OK, to him, from a short, safe distance away.
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We all walk to Blue Heaven Restaurant (Petronia & Thomas) and have a wonderful late meal. Topping it off by splitting a piece of Key lime pie - 4 ways! Meringue is a mile high.
Great reggae band across the street. We stop. David and Gillian head to Green Parrot for music.
Turns out Bob really did get burned yesterday. Fortunately no pain at all. Bob and Shirley walk to Southern Most Point Buoy Marker and meet Gillian and David there. We have to wait in line a bit, so a good chance to take photos. Then we take the Hopper Bus to Old Town and walk the neighborhood near Grinell and Angela Streets. We walk past the the Key West graveyard.
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Back on Hopper bus stop 13? At the next stop bus gets loaded with people. Standing room only. Back at our airbnb for lunch & nap. Very hot outside today. 84 with high humidity - feels like 104?
Dinner tonight at our place - tomorrow we leave. Such a fun time.
All four of us have the same flight to Atlanta, leaving Key West at 11:48 AM. The flight goes smoothly. However, David and Gillian have only 20 minutes from landing to getting to their next flight. The flight to San Francisco for Shirley and Bob leaves 3:25 PM, so we have time to wander around the airport. That flight is supposed to arrive about 5:30 pm in San Francisco, but it arrives early. We rush to baggage pick-up. Shirley's bag is the first out, Bob's is the fourth. Bob picks it up and runs out to the bus stop, where the driver is closing up the bus baggage compartment, getting ready to drive off. Bob waves. The driver re-opens the compartment, puts in Bob's bag, then Shirley arrives and he puts in her bag. All three of us get on board and the bus ride begins, passing through the Golden Gate Bridge of course as leaving San Francisco.
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It goes smoothly to Petaluma. Along the way Shirley texts Reenie, who drives to the Santa Rosa Park & Ride and is there when we arrive. Reenie helps load luggage into the car and drives us home. Thank you Reenie! Reenie helps us bring in our luggage. We all hug and Reenie heads home. Bob discovers plenty of food still in the refrigerator. Perfect end to a perfect trip.