Well, the early part of February was spent doing tons of boat research, and such. We met up with my cousin Steven and his wife Christina on the 12th at Epcot center and had great Moroccan food. (Thanks guys for the great time!)
On the 13th, we headed out to Ft. Lauderdale to meet up with my friend Selina who I met at Burning man 2006. The three of us went to the Miami Boat Show on the 17th. (Thanks Joe for our tickets!) You can imagine all the great boats there. Here's a pic of Christine and I with Tony Smith, the maker of the Gemini catamaran:
On the 18th we went to Key West. We looked at a NON-Gemini cat and it was a dud. Key West was the usual touristy place. Kind of cool, but not too exciting unless you have a boat or it's Fantasy Fest or something. Token tourist photo:
"Southernmost Point Continental U.S.A." Or is it?!!! Well, Key West is an island. If you define per Mirriam-Webster or Random House "Continental United States", it's either "...on the North American continent,...", or "...lying on the continent...", so I for one, find that claim to be questionable. Also, the land on the Truman Annex property just west of the buoy is the true southernmost point on Key West. The private yards directly to the east of the buoy and the beach areas of Truman Annex and Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park also lie farther south than the buoy. If you are going to count islands and keys, then Florida's southernmost point is Ballast Key, a privately owned island just south and west of Key West. Also, the claim "90 Miles to Cuba" on the monument isn't accurate either (by nautical miles or by statute miles). Maybe I need a few beers to overlook these technicalities.
The next day we went through "alligator alley" and saw a ton of alligators - a couple on the road, even. Then up the gulf coast for more boat viewing. (Hint: Our future boat is located there.)