I want to wish everyone a warm holiday this week and next.
It was a good year for us at JRiver. MJ stood up and walked. MC was born. Life was good. We owe you for that. Thanks. We'll do our best to make it a better one next year.
Here in Minnesota, the lakes are frozen and it's pretty gray and white. Days are about as short as they get.
So last week, I took off for the Florida Keys. If you've never been there, imagine what it's like to drive to the southern tip of Florida and then drive another 90 miles south and west, down a series of islands connected by bridges. On both sides, you can often see water, with lots of mangrove swamps and thousands of boats.
Key West, at the tip of the keys, is a place where all kinds of different people have settled. It's a true melting pot, with influences from the northern U.S., the south, Cuba, Haiti, Africa, and Europe.
It isn't very big, but it is a lot of fun. Last week, it was warm enough to wear short sleeves and sandals. I got sunburned.
Here are some pictures:
http://www.jriver.com/~jriver/2002/keywest/Index.htmYou'll see a few pictures of a Cuban restaurant called Versaille in the beginning, then some miscellaneous pictures of keys on the way to Key West, then a bar called Conch Republic Seafood, a ride I took on a tall sailing ship and another on a PT boat. The one picture of completely blue water was out the back door of my motel room at Sugar Loaf Lodge.
If you've got anything else you can think of to post to warm things up, let it fly. It's cold here.