One year when we were on our way to Freeport, Bud's wallet was stolen while we were in the Fort Lauderdale airport. We had planned to spend Friday night in Fort Lauderdale and take an early plane out to Freeport on Saturday morning. At the time you didn't need a passport to get into the Bahamas. Actually, you still don't need a passport to get into the Bahamas, but you need one to get back into the U.S. However, when this happened, a valid driver's license was all that was required. Unfortunately, Bud's license was in the stolen wallet, along with all his credit cards and about $800 in cash. What to do? What to do? Well, first, of course, we called and cancelled all his credit cards. I still had our traveler's checks, a few hundred dollars and a credit card or two so we weren't completely destitute. We were good as far as money went, though really unhappy to be $800 lighter. Bud had been saving up for a year and had planned to take that money to the blackjack tables. We reported the theft to airport security and the Fort Lauderdale police, but obviously this kinda thing goes on there all the time because none of them seemed too interested or the least bit optimistic about us getting the wallet back. They did eventually find the wallet in a trash can (several days later) but, of course, the cash and the credit cards were gone.
Unfortunately, the worst part was we didn't know if they were going to let Bud on the plane to Freeport since he had no license. In the taxi on the way to the airport the following morning, we were discussing our dilemma with the cab driver, and he said "Well, if you can't get into the Bahamas, the Keys are always a good vacation spot." At the ticket counter, the woman was very helpful and told us as long as he had any kind of ID with a picture on it, she would accept it as proof Bud was who he said he was (obviously this was before 9-11). Bud didn't have anything else with a picture, though I had a copy of his birth certificate and our marriage license (since we have different last names you'd be amazed at the number of people who refuse to believe we are legally married). The ticket agent was really trying to be helpful and started thinking of all types of cards with photos. Our Bank of America debit cards now have our photos on them, but didn't back then. One of the things she mentioned was a Sam's Club card. Bingo! Bud had one of those, but it was back at our house in our safe, where fortunately he had left everything he didn't think he would need in the Bahamas. We called our friend Howard Benson (he and Bud have worked together since 1983) and asked him to go to our house (he has a key and knows the passcode for the alarm system since he sometimes feeds our dogs when we are out of town), open the safe (I told him the combination), get Bud's Sam's card, take it back to work with him, make a photostatic copy of it and fax it to the ticket agent in Fort Lauderdale. He did all of those things in record time (what a truly terrific friend he is), the ticket agent accepted the faxed copy as proof of Bud's identity, and we were on the next plane to Freeport -- not as early as we had planned, but still in plenty of time to enjoy the rest of the day and the rest of our vacation. However, the cabbie had put a bee in my bonnet. The next year, we banked our timeshare in Freeport and took a trip to the Keys.
We traded for a timeshare in Marathon which is situated close to the middle of the Keys. We flew into Fort Lauderdale again. We weren't really fans of the Fort Lauderdale airport any more, but still considered it preferable to Miami. We rented a car in Fort Lauderdale and drove to Florida City for the night. The next day we got up early and took off into the Everglades for a day of contemplating the flora and fauna. We saw alligators, turtles, osprey, herons, and all sorts of tropical swamp plant life. We did not see a Florida Panther, which disappointed me, but there are few of them left and they are not people friendly. As the day passed into evening, we drove on down to Marathon and checked into our timeshare exchange. It was a very nice separate unit in a cute little village type arrangement and we were pleased with the accommodations.
From Marathon, we had easy access to all the other parts of the Keys. We went to Big Pine Key which is the home to some 300 Key deer, who roam freely about the island. These deer are much smaller than any other deer species and live only in the Florida Keys and Everglades. We went sightseeing in Key Largo, Tavernier, and Islamorada. We visited an aquarium/water show type place with alligators and huge sea turtles. However, the most amazing thing to me was the incredible number of stray cats. There were hundreds of cats. I guess they were attracted by all the fish that is fed to the exhibit animals, but I don't believe I've ever seen that many cats wandering around loose before or since. I hate to think of them getting too close to the alligator/crocodile exhibits. And, of course, we ate fantastic seafood and key lime pie every where we went. Finally, we went to Key West.
No sooner than we got out of the car in Key West and I honestly and truly blew out my flip flop. I didn't step on a pop top or cut my heal and we didn't cruise on back home, but I sure was irritated. The first thing we did was head to Duval Street to buy a new pair of flip flops. Well, they sure musta seen me coming (and every other tourist). The cheapest pair of flip flops I could find was $50. Of course, I bought them. I had to have flip flops -- there's just no way I'm wearing regular shoes or sneakers. I might consider sandals, but every red-blooded American owns flip flops. I mean seriously! However, I will say those flip flops lasted me at least six to seven years and I wear flip flops year round. So, I suppose if you amortize the cost over the life of the product, they weren't so terribly expensive.
After I was once again properly shod, we went bar hopping. We visit Sloppy Joes, Margaritaville, The Hog's Breath Saloon and one bar (can't recall the name) that I swear had a picture of my father on the wall. The day we were at Margaritaville, if you ordered a cheeseburger in paradise it was free. There was no mention of this anywhere in the establishment or on the menu. The only way to find out about the special was to order it. After your table had completely ordered, the server informed you that your cheeseburger in paradise was free compliments of Jimmy Buffett. We hadn't ordered one, but the people at the table next to ours did. I don't know if this is standard procedure or was just a special that day. I've never been back, but if ever I am, I'm gonna try it. We walked past Ernest Hemingway's home, but didn't go inside. There was a wonderful French restaurant that had been recommended by some friends, but it was very expensive. We discovered a timeshare hotel that was offering coupons for $50 off on the cost of your meal at this French restaurant, just for listening to their spiel about buying a timeshare. We figured, what the heck, we'd waste an hour listening to the sales baloney, get our coupon and be all set. It was actually a really terrific timeshare apartment, and I would have loved to have been an owner there, but we already had a timeshare in Freeport, and unlike my sister Cathy, I don't collect timeshares like I collect books. If I remember correctly, Cathy has a timeshare in Freeport, Panama City, Steamboat Springs, and somewhere in the Georgia mountains. There may be more, I'm not sure. I don't know how she finds time to go to all those places. She's a doctor and she's got something like three of four regular jobs. She works for Georgia Southern University and works in the ER for at least one local hospital. I don't think she has her own private practice any longer, but it wouldn't surprise me if she did. How she finds time to do anything, including sleep, is beyond me, but she still loves her timeshares and I love her.
When the salesman reached the end of his sales pitch and was trying to reel us in, I suggested that maybe a timeshare in Key West was not such a great idea considering the Keys were sticking out at the bottom of Florida into the Gulf of Mexico. He assured us there had not been a hurricane hit the Keys in almost 80 years. I didn't believe him, and in fact that was a bit of an exaggeration, but surprisingly Key West really does not get a lot of hurricane traffic considering its location. Anyway, we told him we'd think about it and he could call us in a week and we'd let him know. We actually gave him our real telephone number too. Then he gave us our coupon for $50 off the meal at the French restaurant, and off we went. The restaurant was terrific and the coupon was a big help. Even using the coupon our tab was over $100, but we did drink some extraordinary wine.
We left the Keys on Saturday morning September 19, 1998. As we were headed north across the Seven Mile Bridge, there were hundreds of motorcycles going south for Bike Week in Key West. Unfortunately, all those bikers had to turn around and head back north just two days later when evacuation began because Hurricane Georges was headed straight for Key West. Oh, well! So much for hurricanes not hitting the Keys in 80 years. On September 25th Georges hit Key West with a vengeance. Needless to say, we never received that follow up call from the timeshare salesman. Unfortunately, Key West was hit again on October 15, 1999, by Hurricane Irene. I wonder if the sales guy jinxed them by saying they "never" get hit by hurricanes. I hope he either changed his sales tactics or found another type of work.
We've never gone back to the Keys, but it is one place I could revisit time and time again. I think we'll try to fit it into our vacation plans soon. I'm in need of new flip flops.
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