Wednesday morning was a little rushed at the start, Derek wanting to get breakfast over with in case Mark showed up really early. By 11, that was no longer possible. Derek called around 11:30. Someone at the office told him that Mark was in a job that should have been simple but was taking longer than expected. Mark would be ready to come by tomorrow morning, instead. First thing. So, no Mark today. Arm still broken, I will not be able to remove the engine-covering stairs and open the access panels if he doesn't get here before Derek goes off to his conference.

Derek worked on his science paper and Grant worked on his tests and I worked on grading. Pretty quiet! Finally in the late afternoon, we all went down to DJ's Clam Shack on Duval and had some excellent Lobster Roll sandwiches (Grant had the pulled pork, which was also excellent). DJ's has garden seating in the back, from the front it just looks like a food stand. It also has a resident rooster and his family - a hen and one or two chicks! Grant was delighted with watching them.

We strolled along Duval, something you just have to do as a tourist in Key West. The end around Mallory Square (which has the nightly Sundown Ceremony) was somewhat active, but the other end was a ghost town, like the amusement park in the Miyazaki anime, "Spirited Away" -- lit up in the early dark and glittering with open doorways and various diversions on view, but almost no people. A bit eerie.

We bought gelati in a large, attractive, empty gelato bar, coffee at a Starbucks that at least had a few customers (but everyone working there was from somewhere in Europe, by the accents), and after taking Grant all the way through Mallory Square to the waterfront (near Pier House) - where the wind had really picked up! - we returned to the car (on its meter) and thus to the marina. A peaceful, if blustery, evening.