Rick and Janell's News: May 2023

We were scheduled to leave for Key West on Wednesday the tenth of May. After being in Vegas helping to care for my parents, coming home for my knee surgery, tending the Phelps kids for a couple of nights and then finally getting the flu (of all things)....we rescheduled our trip for two days late on the twelfth. I knew I would not be able to travel after being so sick and needed a couple of days to recuperate.

We were able to get out on Friday of that week but had to take off a day of our trip to be back home by the next Thursday. Rick was scheduled to substitute at the temple on Friday, and I had an appointment to get my stitches out. So we had six days instead of seven, but we enjoyed every minute.

We left the house at 3:30 am to get to the airport for our 6 am flight. (Thanks to Gary who is our built in UBER driver). We got there in plenty of time. After getting onto the plane, the captain came on over the intercom saying there would be a thirty minute delay to fix some mechanics on the plane. (That is American Airlines for ya! It seems that something is always amiss.) Luckily we had plenty of time on our layover in Houston that it was not a problem for us. We actually got to have some lunch at Friday's before our next plane was to leave. Thankfully at each of the airports we were able to get a wheelchair for me because I still wasn't walking like normal yet. Even now, three and a half weeks post op, I am still getting around slower than normal. I'm improving, though.

We got to Key West in the afternoon and were so happy to have this fun rental car! A beautiful, bright red Mustang GT convertible. It roared every time Rick pushed on the gas. We felt like a couple of kids in that fun car, and the convertible part was GREAT!

After getting checked into the Fairfield Inn for the night (we were not impressed) we quickly changed our reservation for the next five days to the Marriott Beachside Hotel. They upgraded us to the Presidential Suite, and we were super excited about it. After all, the place you stay on a trip can make or break the trip. For me anyway. Rick is so easy going he would have been fine anywhere, I think.

I know. I'm high maintenance.

After arranging that, we went out exploring and found this gem of a place to eat. Duffy's Steak and Lobster House. It was a really nice place with delicious food. A great way to begin our trip. We had eaten a large lunch in Houston, so we agreed to share a meal. Rick ordered the gator nuggets... after all, we were in Florida! We shared a salad then a steak and lobster meal. It was super yummy and filling, but we just had to have some delicious key lime pie for dessert.

Key lime Pie originated in Key West, and believe me.....we had our fair share of it during the week.

The next morning we slept in. It is two hours later in Florida, so that always gets to us on the first day. We had a nice breakfast at the Fairfield's breakfast buffet and then packed up our stuff and went exploring. We got to the marker for the most southern point in the US. There was a nice long line, and we waited about fifteen minutes for our turn to take a picture.😃

Next we drove over to Ernest Hemingway's home and got to tour it. He was successful in the writing department, but not successful in the husband department. He had five wives and was not a faithful husband. It was still interesting to learn about his life, though. He lived in the house in the 1930's. It was a very nice home for that era.

After touring the home Rick walked across the street and climbed up the lighthouse. I was very happy to sit on a bench and let him. He said the views were very nice:)

I will say that Rick is a trooper. With the limp in my walking and pain in my knee I couldn't get around very well so he always dropped me off at our sightseeing stop, then would go to find a parking space and then run back to where I was. I know that was kind of a pain in the rear for him but he never complained about it. He takes such good care of me and is always thinking of my comfort.

I sure do love him for that!

After the house tour and the lighthouse we stopped for some Mexican food. Oh my goodness! We shared nachos and queso dip. It filled us up for the rest of the day! It was very good! It is so fun to eat on vacation because you just eat whatever your heart desires!

That evening we were able to get over to Mallory Square to see the sunset. It is the best place to see the Sunset on the island. We were a little disappointed because there was an island right to the west of Mallory Square so the sunset was actually over the island and not into the water. Even still, it was beautiful and fun to be out with all of the other tourists enjoying the hubbub by the water.

Me and my sweetie!

There were a few booths with people selling their wares.

I got some fresh popcorn and yes, I ate the whole thing!

Rick stood in line for a half an hour waiting to get some fresh guacamole. I got a good seat next to guacamole man and got to watch him make the fresh guac over and over until it was Rick's turn. Rick was able to speak to him in Spanish and find out a little about him. I think the man liked that Rick was so personable and could speak Spanish. He comes to the square every night throughout the summer to sell his fresh guac. Rick really liked it!

The next day was Sunday and we got to the Key West Branch meeting at 10 am. It was nice. The fellow who spoke (his name is Sid Pearson) was raised in Vernon not too far from where we live. He knew the Rigby family and even remembered Clyde. Small world.

After having lunch back at the room we decided to go for a drive up the Keys. It was a beautiful drive. Lots of islands and lots of bridges connecting them. It was so fun to drive with the top down and enjoy the beautiful weather. We decided to drive all the way to Key Largo and made it in two and a half hours.

Funny thing is we were able to drive the same distance back and it took us only one and a half hours. We were sure glad we made the drive.

We stopped at a beach in Key Largo to get a picture. Proof that we were there!

We passed this tree and it was so pretty that I had to get a picture. My right leg didn't bend so well so it was kind of an awkward position. But look at that gorgeous tree with all of the orange flowers!

Driving back!

On Monday morning Rick had a scuba dive set up so he left early and I just enjoyed some time at the pool reading my book. Unfortunately I could only get my feet in the water because I still had my stitches in and couldn't get my knee wet. I did miss getting in the water, but it was still a nice morning just lounging by the pool.

After Rick got back we stopped and had some wood fired pizza for lunch.... way too much food but we saved room for a little key lime pie:)

While in Key West we learned of Mel Fisher and his treasure adventures.

We had never heard of him before but learned that for sixteen years he was looking for buried treasure in the sea just off of the Keys. Back in the1600's five treasure laden Spanish ships were sunk off of the Keys in a hurricane. After sixteen years he and his workers were able to find the "mother lode" from the ship Atocha. They found silver bars, lots of gold, precious stones, mainly emeralds and an important look at history from these ships. He became a billionaire with all of his treasure and there is a museum showcasing much of the treasure. It was really cool to learn about the Spanish trade routes and the immense amount of wealth that the Spanish had at that time.

Here are some of the treasures. I just got a picture of a few items but there were many!

Gold bars

Gold necklaces. These are long and heavy.

An emerald cross most likely belonging to the priest on board the ship.

Silver Bars

A gold necklace. Interesting fact. While the sea water builds composites around the buried silver and is very hard to extricate, the sea water does nothing to the gold or the emeralds. They came out looking pretty much as you see in the pictures.

Outside the museum was a makeshift boat that was built in Cuba for twenty four people who wanted to escape Cuba for America. It is made of empty 55 gallon drums. The engine was from an old car. The journey from Cardenas was 111 miles and it was a twenty four hour trip. The voyagers used makeshift oars to complete their trip. Pretty amazing and ingenuitive.

That evening we had scheduled a dinner sunset cruise. I love being on the water, and it was a beautiful evening. It was a nice large catamaran with inside seating for the buffet. The food was a cuban mix of salad, fish, beef, chicken, rice, beans, potatoes, and bread. It was a pretty nice spread.

We got to see a newly commissioned Navy ship heading out into the open sea.

Can I just say that this sunset did not disappoint. My goodness it was the most amazing thing to witness! It looked as if the sun was just melting into the sea. Pictures, of course, do not do it justice. It was incredible and we loved being on the cruise!

Did I mention that our Hotel had a nice buffet breakfast every morning. We always had a good start to the day with eggs, breakfast meat, potatoes, breads, pastries and fruit. It was very nice!

In the downtown area of Duvall street there were dozens of shops and bars and restaurants. It was a happening place anytime of the day but really busy at night. We enjoyed doing some shopping, eating, and perusing in the area. There was a Haagen Daz ice cream shop which charged an arm and a leg for a double scoop, but that didn't stop us from eating ice cream at least a couple of times.

On Tuesday we had an appointment back at the Treasure Museum to see how the treasure is retrieved after sitting in the ocean for 400 years. It was fascinating to see the process of getting the ocean composites off of the iron from the ship.

After our museum tour we stopped at Hwy 1 Mile 0 and got a slice of Kermit's frozen chocolate coated key lime pie on a stick.

It was as good as it sounds!

That evening we had crab dinners at a place called Yummy Crab. It was quite good but altogether too much crab for me. It was a full pound and I could have done well with just 1/2 of that. It was a fun meal, though.

The next day (Wednesday) we had an early morning snorkel tour. I was excited to get back onto a boat! I just love being on the water. It was another catamaran with the same company that did the dinner cruise. We went out 4 or 5 of miles from the harbor, and it was really nice having the wind in my hair and smelling the ocean water. As we got to the shallow reef we were able to see turtles swimming next to the boat. It was really cool. As we got up to the snorkel spot we saw a nurse shark in the shallow waters. Rick was one of the first ones in. Oh, how I wanted to get into that beautiful clear, cool water but could not. I stayed on the boat, found some shade and read my book while most everyone got into the water to snorkel.

Rick had a wonderful time!

After snorkeling we went back to the wood fired pizza place. We were both hungry so there was no sharing goin' on at that table! Our pizzas were so good!

After eating lunch we picked up another frozen key lime pie and then wandered around seeing different things on the island. Here are a few shots...

That evening we went back to Duffy's for our dinner. Since we had such a big lunch we were not too hungry, so we each had a salad and then shared some coconut shrimp. Of course, we ended with some key lime pie yet again. Rick said that he has eaten more key lime pie on this trip than in his whole life combined! When in Rome.....

The next morning we were able to enjoy a nice breakfast poolside. We got to hang out at the pool until 11 and then had to get in and get packed up to catch our flight home.

What a wonderful little getaway. We loved Key West, the warm weather, the fun shopping, traveling up the Keys, being on the water, and sightseeing around town. It will be a trip to remember!

Goodbye, We will not soon forget you!

I had my third surgery in nine months!😐 First was carpal tunnel in both my hands in August, then foot surgery for a bone fracture in December and now a knee scope!

My knee has been giving me trouble since last September. I could not extend it backwards. Within the last month the pain has gotten significantly worse and I knew I needed to do something.

I went to visit Dr. Jarvis (a PA) at Tooele Orthopedics. He suggested I get a knee scope to help with arthritis, a possible meniscus tear, and low cartilage. He felt like it could give my knee a little longer life.

I was NOT going to have another surgery without a second opinion. I got an appointment at TOSH with a dr. (I can't remember his name) and he came right out with "you need a full knee replacement"!

That was not what I was expecting to hear! After shedding a few tears I talked with Rick and decided to get right back in with Tooele Orthopedics. They had an opening the next morning and I had Rick go in with me to help me make a decision of what to do. Both Dr. Jarvis and Dr. Douglas explained the benefits of a knee scope. We both felt good about it.

We went in last Thursday morning bright and early at 6 am. Doctor Douglas performed the surgery with Dr. Jarvis at his side. They felt all went well. My knee has been sore and maneuvering stairs is a bit tricky but I am hoping that after the full six weeks I will be able to use my knee without pain.