All Is Calm...All Is Bright

Hello All!

The other evening, we had the pleasure of dining at Key West hot spot "Roof Top Cafe" near Mallory Square. Just off Duval Street, this restaurant is very quaint and quiet, not to mention the food is amazing! We opted to sit outside on the rooftop where we could view the activities of the Downtown Key West nightlife.

Following our delicious meal, we decided to take a tour of Old Town Key West on the Conch Tour Train to see the historic homes which were beautifully decorated with Holiday lights. At one corner of Old Town, down a small cobblestone street, a boy came out of his house to serenade the guests on the train with Holiday music on his trumpet. Only in Key West!

Make your dreams come true! The Florida Keys has beautiful weather year-round and many outdoor activities to enjoy. Now is an excellent time to buy property in the Florida Keys! There are also some great deals on homes in the Florida Keys and your little piece of paradise awaits you. Visit our website at www.PlaceInParadise.com or drop me a line at teammullins@bellsouth.net. I would love to hear from you!

"Want to change your life? Just add water!"

Fantasy Island

Hey Everyone! Hope you all had a fun and safe Fantasy Fest! For those of you who don't know, Fantasy Fest is a HUGE week-long festival that takes place in Key West at the end of October. The festival is very similar to Mardi Gras in New Orleans in that it has parades and bead throwing as well as a multitude of activities and shows and everyone dresses in costume.

A friend of mine and I were invited to participate in a float for the Fantasy Fest parade. Our float was called "The Fair Comes to Key West". We had Clowns, a Lion and Lion Tamer, "Strong Men", many ladies dressed in "little girl" dresses, not to mention two dashing Ring Leaders! We also had a band, a carousel, and a ferris wheel on the float. I had never seen anything like it!

I was assigned a chair on the ferris wheel, which honestly made me a little nervous. Being up that high, going around a ferris wheel while also moving forward on the float was a new concept for me, but it turned out to be more fun than scary once I got used to it. Plus, being up high made it easier to throw beads to people standing on the rooftops of buildings! If you've never been to Fantasy Fest, plan on joining the festivities next year. Don't forget your costume! We'll see you there!

Make your dreams come true! The Florida Keys has beautiful weather year-round and many outdoor activities to enjoy. Now is an excellent time to buy property in the Florida Keys! There are also some great deals on homes in the Florida Keys and your little piece of paradise awaits you. Visit our website at www.PlaceInParadise.com or drop me a line at teammullins@bellsouth.net. I would love to hear from you!

"Want to change your life? Just add water!"

Blame it on Robert

In honor of Halloween coming up at the end of the month, I would like to share a haunting tale of my terrfying Ghost Tour experience in Key West. It begins on a particularly dark Saturday night in the middle of summer. Guests on the tour were to rendezvous in the lobby of the La Concha Hotel-an old stomping ground of Ernest Hemingway's which just happens to be haunted. Hemingway used to visit the hotel to write some of his books and also to spend time with his mistress who later became his wife.

Our tour guide was a tall man with a loud, booming voice. He wore a top hat and cloak, carried a lantern and walked with a cane. He told us that frequently during the tour, local people walking or driving by would make fun of the tour by yelling "BOO!" or making ghostly sounds, and when they do this we should yell back, "You're Doomed!" Later on the tour, our group "doomed" a local man on a bike and he fell off! Coincidence? I think not.

Our guide preceeded to take us through cemeteries and old theaters and churches telling frightening tales of burning orphans and necrophiliacs. When the tour reached Eaton Street, a particularly eerie story was told. It was about a doll named Robert who is thought to be possessed.

Legend has it that Robert was made much the same way a voodoo doll is made. There are many people who claim to have witnessed the strange things Robert does-on his own accord. The guide then passed around a photograph of the doll. It was truly one of the most horrifying sights I have ever seen.

I went home that night and tried to sleep but all I could see was the face of Robert the doll.
Robert now resides at the East Martello Museum on South Roosevelt Boulevard. I encourage you to visit...if you dare.

The Ghost Tour of Key West is a fun activity and tours run at 8 pm and 9 pm every night.

Make your dreams come true! The Florida Keys has beautiful weather year-round and many outdoor activities to enjoy. Now is an excellent time to buy property in the Florida Keys! There are also some great deals on homes in the Florida Keys and your little piece of paradise awaits you. Visit our website at www.PlaceInParadise.com or drop me a line at teammullins@bellsouth.net. I would love to hear from you!

Want to change your life? Just add WATER!

Un-Fay-zed

Tropical Storm Fay paid a visit to our island paradise this past month and brought with her some much needed rain. Although some other parts of Florida suffered power outages and flooding the Florida Keys were "unfazed". Some people are concerned about the Florida Keys and hurricanes due to the Keys location between the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. There have been only 3 major hurricanes that have made landfall in the Florida Keys in the last 10 years. We are fortunate here in Florida because the latest weather forecasting technology allows plenty of time to prepare for hurricanes. Unlike many other areas of the United States and the world, where tornados, earthquakes and tsunamis do not give much if any warning. It's a great time to grab a Margarita and catch up on a good book or a great movie.

Make your dreams come true! The Florida Keys has beautiful weather year-round and many outdoor activities to enjoy. Now is an excellent time to buy property in the Florida Keys! There are also some great deals on homes in the Florida Keys and your little piece of paradise awaits you. Visit our website at www.PlaceInParadise.com or drop me a line at teammullins@bellsouth.net. I would love to hear from you! Read our blog for more Tales from the Tropics!

Want to change your life? Just add WATER!

Embrace your Sense of Adventure!

Every year at the end of July, visitors from all over travel to the Florida Keys for one similar goal: Catch as many lobsters as you can! Mini Lobster Season brings out the inner competitor in us all.

This year I had the pleasure of diving with an amazing group. The first day we awakened early, got to our spot around 7:30 or 8 am and we had our limit before noon! Mini season is so competitive that the second day our typical spots had been picked over and we had to work much harder. Boats were lined up for miles so close together that you could jump from boat to boat. It makes me feel so victorious to return home scratched and bruised with a cooler-full of hard-earned Florida Keys lobster.

Truly, though, there's nothing like a day out on the water. The water was flat and crystal-clear. The beautiful Florida Keys sunshine shone down upon us through puffy white clouds.

Come join in on the fun and become a staycationer (a vacationer who loves the Keys so much they decide to stay). Call us to find out how! Make your dreams come true! The Florida Keys has beautiful weather year-round and many outdoor activities to enjoy. Now is an excellent time to buy property in the Florida Keys! There are also some great deals on homes in the Florida Keys and your little piece of paradise awaits you. Visit our website at www.PlaceInParadise.com or drop me a line at teammullins@bellsouth.net. I would love to hear from you!

Want to change your life? Just add WATER!

July 4th in the Caribbean

Summer is officially here! Hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th of July! My Independence Day began bright and early with a Patriotic Parade in Marathon. I participated in a float to promote Fred Colvard who is running for Monroe County Superintendent of Schools. A group of us rode on the star-studded float and passed out candy to kids and other parade-watchers.
After the parade, it was time to head to the neighbors’ for a cookout because, after all, it’s not the 4th of July without a big, juicy hot dog!
I ended my Independence Day with a spectacular fireworks display at the Sugarloaf Key Airport. I always enjoy the fireworks displays no matter how small. For a few moments, the world just seems to stop as the fireworks pop like huge, brilliant-colored stars in the night sky. It is, without a doubt, my favorite part of summer.

Join me next summer for the July 4th in the Caribbean celebration.

Make your dreams come true! The Florida Keys has beautiful weather year-round and many outdoor activities to enjoy. Now is an excellent time to buy property in the Florida Keys! There are also some great deals on homes in the Florida Keys and your little piece of paradise awaits you. Visit our website at www.PlaceInParadise.com or drop me a line at teammullins@bellsouth.net. I would love to hear from you!

Want to change your life, Just add water!

Mini Season begins at 12:01 am on the last Wednesday in July (this year it's July 30th) and ends at 12:00 am on the last Thursday in July (the 31st). In State and Federal waters the bag limit is 6 lobster per recreational harvester per day. Diving at night for lobster is NOT permitted in Monroe county and the adjacent Federal waters during Mini Season.

Regular Season begins at 12:01 am on August 6th and ends at 12 am on March 31st. Night diving is allowed during regular season. The bag limit for recreational harvesters is 6 lobster.

DON'T FORGET TO MEASURE!

• Each harvester is required to have a gauge made for measuring lobster while harvesting in the water.


• All lobster must be measured in the water and released unharmed if undersized.


• Lobster carapace must be greater than 3 inches.


• All recreationally harvested lobster must remain in whole condition while at sea.


• Tails may only be separated on land. When the tail is separated it must be greater than 5 1/2 inches.

There are several prohibited areas for recreational harvesting. Please visit the following websites for more information:

floridakeys.noaa.gov

www.nps.gov/ever

www.nps.gov/drto

www.nmfs.noaa.gov/

www.dep.state.fl.us/

www.floridaconservation.org/

http://www.myfwc.com/

http://www.divealive.org/

Pineapple In Paradise

Yesterday was Mother's Day, and to all you Moms, I hope you had a wonderful day! I spent the day with my family relaxing, and cutting up a fresh, ripe pineapple that they grew in their front yard. The pineapple tasted like pure candy and we ate a few slices as an after dinner treat. There are many delicious recipes you can create using pineapple such as pineapple salsa, and pineapple upside-down cake. You can even cut up pineapple chunks and ham for a homemade "Hawaiian style" pizza!

The Florida Keys is one of the only places in the United States where the climate is good for growing pineapples. In addition to pineapples, many other exotic, tropical fruits flourish in the Florida Keys. Fruits such as mangoes, bananas, and Key limes turn up in many Florida Keys yards.

Make your dreams come true! The Florida Keys has beautiful weather year-round and many outdoor activities to enjoy. Now is an excellent time to buy property in the Florida Keys! There are also some great deals on homes in the Florida Keys and your little piece of paradise awaits you. Visit our website at www.PlaceInParadise.com or drop me a line at teammullins@bellsouth.net. I would love to hear from you!

Want to change your life? Just add WATER!

Theme Party Friday!

Friday night at Boondocks has turned into "Theme Party" Friday. Every week for the last 3 weeks, a group of people has come up with a theme of the week, put together a costume, and headed over to the Patio Pig Pickin Party at Boondocks on Ramrod Key.

This past Friday, they got decked out in their island best--and by "island", I mean tribal paint, and spears, with various sea sponges used as head gear, foot coverings, and cuffs. At one point the gang of "natives" attacked the pig that stands by the street to wave at passersby. They carried the pig through the restaurant as if they were going to roast him on a spit.

Boondocks is located at Mile Marker 27.5 on Ramrod Key. The Patio Pig Pickin Party is every Friday from 3-6. Ramrod is a very quiet, primarily residential Key. There are however two restaurants, bar operations, two dive shops, a convenience store and an excellent veterinary hospital. A good portion of the Key consists of wetlands. the boating out of Ramrod is typically 2-1/2 ft. controlling depth to get to open water. Ramrod is said to be named after a Spanish ship wreck from the 19th century.

Make your dreams come true! The Florida Keys has beautiful weather year-round and many outdoor activities to enjoy. Now is an excellent time to buy property in the Florida Keys! There are also some great deals on homes in the Florida Keys and your little piece of paradise awaits you. Visit our website at www.PlaceInParadise.com or drop me a line at teammullins@bellsouth.net. I would love to hear from you!

Want to change your life? Just add WATER!

And the Award goes to...

The Coldwell Banker Schmitt annual Awards Event was held this past weekend at Hawks Cay Resort in Duck Key. Agents from all five Coldwell Banker offices here in the Keys (Key Largo, Islamorada, Marathon, Lower Keys, and Key West) were in attendance to offer congratulations to the outstanding people in the Coldwell Banker Schmitt community. Team Mullins was given the honor of receiving the award for the #1 agents in sales in the #1 real estate office in all 181 offices in the Florida Keys. Way to go Team!

Now, on to the most important part of the event- the food! We were served a duet of fish and beef with fresh steamed vegetables and a twice-baked potato. And the dessert- a cup of smooth crème brulee and chocolate mousse topped with a drizzling of raspberry sauce-was absolutely decadent. After dinner, we were entertained with an electrifying laser light show and dancing.

After dancing the night away, it was time to return to the room-a quaint two-story villa with a screened-in porch overlooking the water. The next day, after a nice, big breakfast at the Hawks Cay restaurant, we headed out to the area where a family was preparing to swim with dolphins. We watched as the dolphins played and swam upside-down and jumped out of the water to play with the children.

Hawks Cay Resort is located in Duck Key at Mile Marker 61. Charter and private aircraft can fly into Marathon Airport which is just 9 miles away. Besides swimming with dolphins, there are many other outdoor activities to enjoy at Hawks Cay. The Hawks Cay marina offers world-renowned fishing, boat and yacht charters, a Jet Ski Island Adventure, and parasailing. The Colgate Offshore Sailing School™ at Hawks Cay provides lessons for life on and off the water.

Make your dreams come true! The Florida Keys has beautiful weather year-round and many outdoor activities to enjoy. Now is an excellent time to buy property in the Florida Keys! There are also some great deals on homes in the Florida Keys and your little piece of paradise awaits you. Visit our website at www.PlaceInParadise.com or drop me a line at teammullins@bellsouth.net. I would love to hear from you!

Want to change your life? Just add WATER!

It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's a SKYDIVER!

I was driving down to Key West one especially gorgeous afternoon- sun roof open, shades on, singin’ along to my Howard Livingston & Mile Marker 24 cd (a local band here in the Keys)- when all of a sudden I saw this huge, colorful parachute floating down from the clear blue Florida Keys sky! I thought to myself, “If I were into skydiving (yikes!) I would definitely pick a day like today to take the plunge”. A friend of mine did actually come down here one spring to go skydiving after graduation from college. I remember being so nervous—and I wasn’t even jumping! But when he returned safely to land, he was so blown away by the magnificent view of the Keys from the air. He expressed his insane jealousy that I am fortunate enough to live here while other people only dream of it.

SKYDIVE Key West is located at the Sugarloaf Airport in (you guessed it!) Sugarloaf. Locals say that Sugarloaf was named after a now defunct Plantation that grew Sugarloaf pineapples. Sugarloaf Key is located just 17 miles from Key West and boasts a restaurant, motel, marina, a public airstrip and an auto repair shop plus the infamous Bat Tower. In 1929 a Mr. Perky erected a large 50 ft. tower, which he hoped would attract bats which in turn would eat the mosquitoes. The bats never came but the tower still stands. The northern part of the Key has a new elementary school and a church.

Howard Livingston & Mile Marker 24 have the top three best selling CDs at CD Baby under their Trop Rock genre. Visit their website at http://www.milemarker24.com/index.php to buy cds and for more information about the band.

Make your dreams come true! The Florida Keys has beautiful weather year-round and many outdoor activities to enjoy. Now is an excellent time to buy property in the Florida Keys! There are also some great deals on homes in the Florida Keys and your little piece of paradise awaits you. Visit our website at www.PlaceInParadise.com or drop me a line at teammullins@bellsouth.net. I would love to hear from you!

Want to change your life? Just add WATER!

Happy New Year!

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday with family and friends. There has been some unusual weather here in the Keys in the past week. Temperatures have been in the 60’s. I must admit that living in the Keys has made me quite a “cold wimp”. I’ve been bundling up in my sweatshirts and winter coats—for 60 degree weather! I know I shouldn’t complain, what with the northeastern United States getting slammed with snowstorms and for most of what people would call “winter” I’ve been in t-shirts and shorts.

Other than the temperature, though, we have had some gorgeous days. The skies have been clear and sunny, and the humidity low. And once in a while it’s nice to get the sweatshirts out, drink hot cocoa, and snuggle on the couch with a blanket and a good movie.

The Florida Keys has beautiful weather year-round and many outdoor activities to enjoy. There are also some great deals on homes in the Florida Keys and your little piece of paradise awaits you. Visit our website at http://www.placeinparadise.com/ or drop me a line at teammullins@bellsouth.net. I would love to hear from you!

Want to change your life? Just add water!