A White-Hot Christmas in Key West
by Shayne Benowitz
On Christmas morning, I rolled out of bed at 7:30am just like I always do. I threw on my bikini, my red board shorts, and my Fury crew shirt. I brewed a cup of coffee and grabbed my foul weather jacket—a Christmas present from the boss—and hopped on my bike towards the marina.
The roads were quiet, the sun was shining, and the projected high was 80 degrees. At the Westin, mates and captains mustered along the docks, on the boats, and at the shed preparing for a busy day. I rode on to the Ocean Key House to prepare for the Ultimate Adventure check in.
An hour and a half and a hundred people later, the Key West Fury was ready for its departure and I hopped aboard Fly Girl with Captain Scotty for a marathon day of parasailing. We loaded up passengers and sent them sailing two at a time into the air on 600 feet of parasail line. As I harnessed passengers and chatted with them, the topic of conversation hovered around the weather.
“Where are you from?” I asked my passengers. Ohio, Rhode Island, Canada, New York, Boston, Indiana were among the responses. “There’s a foot of snow in my driveway.” “It’s eighteen degrees back home.” “The wind chill’s below freezing.” “I’d be shoveling snow if I was home,” my passengers told me.
“We’re so glad we’re here,” was the consensus on the boat. The mood was laid back and families relaxed soaking in the warm Key West sun sporting bikinis and board shorts. They squealed with excitement as Scotty dipped them into the water and then dried off quickly aboard the boat.
No one seemed to be dreaming of a white Christmas, but instead relished in the white-hot Christmas that can only be found in tropical Key West. There are still months of winter chill ahead for most of the world, and if you ask me—and all of my customers—there is no better time to plan a quick escape into the sunbelt at the very tip of Florida. Here’s hoping to see you in Key West in the New Year!
Shayne Benowitz is a Fury crewmember and freelance writer working on her debut novel. For more travel stories and a daily dose of what’s cool around the globe visit her Wanderlust Website at http://web.me.com/shaynebeth.
