Snipes Point, Key West

Ask just about anyone what makes life in the Florida Keys and Key West great and the answer is the same: the water. Snorkeling, sunning and fishing – pretty much anything having to do with boating top the list. I also love a good boat outing. Since I don’t own a boat, I have to rely on the kindness of friends (and that fact that I can pack some really good snacks) to take us out.

So this weekend, when my friend texted to see if we wanted to come out on the boat, as it had just been returned from getting fixed, my answer was a resounding “YES!!!” and I had the following conversation with a friend of mine on the tennis courts:

Me: Yes, we are always happy to go out on our friends’ boats (said loud enough for the guy with the boat to hear)

Guy with boat: Where are you going?

Me: The sand bar.

GWB: Which one? Marvin? Snipes? There are a bunch of them, you know.

Me: No idea. I’ll let you know when we get back.

Turns out, we went to Snipes, a lovely sand bar which seemed, at least to my non-navigating self, to be directly west of our friend’s house in Big Coppitt. Snipes is a beautiful area where seemingly everyone shows up on Sunday afternoons. Everyone.

There are all kinds of people on a Sunday afternoon. The “Must. Grill. Everything” folks with the oh-so-serious grilling setup on the boat.  There are the “we want to enjoy our day and ignore out kids playing in the water” people. Fortunately not too many of those. There was the “oh crap, I forgot my corkscrew, but you’re drinking wine… can I borrow yours?” guy. Yes, of course you can borrow our corkscrew, as we have two of them, even though we are drinking mainly screw cap wines.

The mood is friendly and the water was beautiful. There is really nothing better than sitting in warm gulf waters, with a nice glass of wine and some delicious cheeses. It was a perfect day.

Then we got home and I took off my bathing suit to find all exposed skin scorched. My entire body looks like a lobster, except my butt, which is still extremely white. There is not enough aloe in town to bring my skin down to a normal temperature. I look like someone from Minnesota visiting Florida in January. It is not a good look, I can assure you.

Was it worth it? Absolutely. Would I do it again? As soon as I am invited back. Only next time I will wear a hat, and possibly a tee shirt.