Key West 2008
Key West 2008
The weather would make any person who did not live in south the Florida envious of the perfect conditions the weekend of our annual trip to Key West. The Southernmost Motel welcomed the members of our club back like long lost friends. We all arrived in different groups at different times during the day. My group made a lunch stop at the Quarterdeck Restaurant in Key Colony Beach, which was better than ever, in both food and service. It fueled our bodies to continue our journey. After setting into our rooms, we seeked out other club members from our club as well as our friends from the S. W. Miata Club from the west coast. It is always great to see our old friends once again. Food was on our all our minds, so it didn’t take long to walk to Camielle’s Restaurant where our tables were waiting. The food was excellent along with the service. We hardly had room for the great complementary desserts, but somehow we managed. The next day we all walked the long road down Duval Street over and over again. We stopped in stores looking for things we really don’t need or will never use, but it makes us happy. The real purpose of our journey is to burn calories. Those we consumed last night, as well as the calories to come the rest of the weekend. Saturday afternoon, everything stops and nothing matters but the decorating of our Miatas for the evenings Christmas Parade. I really do believe everyone outdoes themselves as the cars decorations are more elaborate and exotic year after year. This is one of the first times I believe there were almost no glitches or problems with the decorating designs. The only problem was arriving at the parade grounds heading in the wrong directions with no way to turn around. It’s a common occurrence in our club, but now I included the S.W. club as well. 24 cars in all. Once we got turned around all was fine. Of course we got lost finding our way back to the motel like we do each and every year. This year we had our Tom-Tom to help…not really. That’s why we’re always last to dinner on Saturdays. Dinner at New York Pizza was in a great outdoor setting with plentiful and good food, but I believe it is time for a change. One of the best parts of the evening was the Gift Exchange, for a few reasons. First it is always fun, with some gifts wanted by all, and some wanted by none. It is always taken in the best of spirits. Next year a new restaurant location is already in the works to follow the parade. The highlight of the evening was when Jess Dunham presented an engraved wooden plaque from the Miata Club of Southwest Florida to Turbo and myself in appreciation for including their club in our annual Key West Parade each year. We are now Lifetime Members of their club. There can be no greater honor. Sundays for most is a time to say our goodbyes until next year for a lot of us. The photos and memories will have to last till then.
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