Day 1: Running Backwards, Part II -- Veggie Burgers in Paradise

Two weeks ago today, cheshcat and I reached our eleventh anniversary. This year, we went to Key West for a long weekend to celebrate. We got to Fort Lauderdale late Thursday evening and started the one hundred eighty miles down to the end of US Highway 1. Arrived around 3:30am and promptly collapsed.

On Friday, the actual anniversary, we decided to do the tourist thing. After a tasty lunch of Thai food -- anything but India would be tasty at that point! -- we visited the Butterfly Conservatory. This is a new attraction; it did not exist the last time that cheshcat and I went to KW together in 2002. As one can expect, we saw plenty of butterflies, including butterfly sex and an enormous Atlas Moth. After leaving the Conservatory, we swung by the supposed "Southernmost Point in the Continental USA". Then we headed to Mallory Square to watch the street performers during the daily sunset celebration. Probably the best performances were this one and this one. We also caught a glimpse of a double rainbow poking out from behind the clouds. Then, the final performance of the celebration was the sunset itself, dipping down into the Gulf of Mexico. Once it was dark, we headed to a vegetarian cafe for dinner, then back home to chat with Momwitch and BS, who we were staying with for the weekend.

Saturday morning, I woke up early and headed out to go SCUBA diving for the first time since April 2004. I was more in the mood for some long bottom time, rather than a short deep dive, so I signed up to go out diving on the reefs not on the wrecks. I logged two dives, each about an hour, on a reef that I had not previously explored. My buddy and I spotted barracuda, a nurse shark, and plenty of lobster. Some of the folks we were diving with had nets to catch lobster, but all the ones they caught were too small and had to be thrown back. Which made me feel good! It was fantastic to get back under the ocean; it is a wonderfully different world down there.

After returning from my dive, cheshcat and I went out to lunch with Momwitch and BS. Then we headed to the "Pride in Exile" demonstration. In a nutshell, the Hillsborough county commission -- that's the county containing the city of Tampa -- voted not to recognize Gay Pride in any form. So Key West and Monroe County invited the Hillsboroughians to celebrate Pride in Key West. There was a rally, speeches, and a march carrying a large rainbow flag. Then it ended with a silly ceremony where the county commissioners were hit with chickens in effigy.

Sunday, cheshcat and I decided to do more sightseeing, focusing on places that we had not visited during past Key West trips. So we went down to the Shipwreck Historeum, and then onto see the nifty animals at the aquarium. Then it was back to the Butterfly Conservatory to pick out a piece of butterfly art that we wanted for the Event Horizon.

Sunday evening, we took our hosts out to dinner and then they took us out to a drag show. This particular show has been running in Key West for about three years. It is called Broadway Three Ways and consists of two drag queens and a man performing an ever-changing selection of tunes from Broadway musicals. I saw a different version of the show on my last trip to the Key, but for cheshcat, it was the first time. The show was, of course, excellent.

After the show, I collapsed into bed while cheshcat spent time with Momwitch editing poetry. In the morning, I woke early and packed. Then, after breakfast, we left the Key and started the long drive back up to Fort Lauderdale. All in all, it was a good anniversary weekend and much fun was had by all!

Day 1: Running Backwards, Part II -- Veggie Burgers in Paradise

Two weeks ago today, cheshcat and I reached our eleventh anniversary. This year, we went to Key West for a long weekend to celebrate. We got to Fort Lauderdale late Thursday evening and started the one hundred eighty miles down to the end of US Highway 1. Arrived around 3:30am and promptly collapsed.

On Friday, the actual anniversary, we decided to do the tourist thing. After a tasty lunch of Thai food -- anything but India would be tasty at that point! -- we visited the Butterfly Conservatory. This is a new attraction; it did not exist the last time that cheshcat and I went to KW together in 2002. As one can expect, we saw plenty of butterflies, including butterfly sex and an enormous Atlas Moth. After leaving the Conservatory, we swung by the supposed "Southernmost Point in the Continental USA". Then we headed to Mallory Square to watch the street performers during the daily sunset celebration. Probably the best performances were this one and this one. We also caught a glimpse of a double rainbow poking out from behind the clouds. Then, the final performance of the celebration was the sunset itself, dipping down into the Gulf of Mexico. Once it was dark, we headed to a vegetarian cafe for dinner, then back home to chat with Momwitch and BS, who we were staying with for the weekend.

Saturday morning, I woke up early and headed out to go SCUBA diving for the first time since April 2004. I was more in the mood for some long bottom time, rather than a short deep dive, so I signed up to go out diving on the reefs not on the wrecks. I logged two dives, each about an hour, on a reef that I had not previously explored. My buddy and I spotted barracuda, a nurse shark, and plenty of lobster. Some of the folks we were diving with had nets to catch lobster, but all the ones they caught were too small and had to be thrown back. Which made me feel good! It was fantastic to get back under the ocean; it is a wonderfully different world down there.

After returning from my dive, cheshcat and I went out to lunch with Momwitch and BS. Then we headed to the "Pride in Exile" demonstration. In a nutshell, the Hillsborough county commission -- that's the county containing the city of Tampa -- voted not to recognize Gay Pride in any form. So Key West and Monroe County invited the Hillsboroughians to celebrate Pride in Key West. There was a rally, speeches, and a march carrying a large rainbow flag. Then it ended with a silly ceremony where the county commissioners were hit with chickens in effigy.

Sunday, cheshcat and I decided to do more sightseeing, focusing on places that we had not visited during past Key West trips. So we went down to the Shipwreck Historeum, and then onto see the nifty animals at the aquarium. Then it was back to the Butterfly Conservatory to pick out a piece of butterfly art that we wanted for the Event Horizon.

Sunday evening, we took our hosts out to dinner and then they took us out to a drag show. This particular show has been running in Key West for about three years. It is called Broadway Three Ways and consists of two drag queens and a man performing an ever-changing selection of tunes from Broadway musicals. I saw a different version of the show on my last trip to the Key, but for cheshcat, it was the first time. The show was, of course, excellent.

After the show, I collapsed into bed while cheshcat spent time with Momwitch editing poetry. In the morning, I woke early and packed. Then, after breakfast, we left the Key and started the long drive back up to Fort Lauderdale. All in all, it was a good anniversary weekend and much fun was had by all!