Cats, Dogs and Zincs

This morning Anne and I went to Key West on the 10:00 am shuttle.  George and Murff stayed on the boat to wait for Chris, who was going to clean the bottom of the boat and check our zincs.  Zincs attract the electrical current in the water and keep it away from the shaft and propeller.  This slows the rusting of those metal parts.  The zincs wear away instead of having the shaft wear away.  There's more wear if a boat is sitting still and more if it's in salt water. Aunt Aggie has been sitting for three months in salt water.  (This is my limited understanding of zincs on a boat.)  We had heard someone else say they were having their boat cleaned and zincs checked and thought maybe we should do that too.  Good news!  Chris cleaned the boat easily by wiping off sludge.  It was not too dirty.  He checked and found four zincs that are still in good shape.  Yahoo!  So our zincs are fine, but we are $80 poorer.

This afternoon on the return shuttle, Tom, a guy I had just met, said he was pulling his boat out to replace the transducer.  I immediately wondered if we should check our transducer.  Of course, I also wondered what a transducer is.

Anne and I had a great shopping trip downtown.  We went into crafty stores and clothing shops and art galleries.  It was fun to look at things through Anne's eyes.  We went to Kino's sandals, which are made in Key West and sell for just $14.  I bought a pair of blue lace up sandals.  They feel like flip flops but look fancier.  Our only other purchase was a few postcards.

We met George and Murff for lunch at Pepés restaurant, the oldest restaurant on Key West.  Pepés was founded in 1909.  The walls are covered with photographs of famous people who have eaten there.  We spotted Buddy Holley, the Blues Brothers, and President Truman.  Truman was playing a piano on which Lauren Bacall was perched.  While we waited for a table, we sat in the bar.  A couple with a pit bull sat beside us, and the dog was roaming under the table and too close to me.  I know that it's not the dog's fault, but I am uncomfortable with dogs I do not know,  especially pit bulls.
They pulled him back in, and all was well.  Then we looked up, and saw a cat lying in the ceiling covering.

This cat was right over my head.

Another great restaurant in Key West.  Anne and George had the fish sandwich; Murff  ate barbecue; I had a hamburger.