Click The Link - Whaddya Think?

Greetings from Miami. How 'bout that - a picture of Miami minus the traffic! We travel a lot. In fact, we're mapping out a couple of new adventures in the upcoming weeks, though the mode of transportation, in one case, is under serious debate. First on the agenda is a trip to The Dry Tortugas, about 70 miles offshore from Key West. I want to go by seaplane - Deb's thinkin' that a boat's the way to go, since she's not a great fan of small planes, especially the ones that land in the ocean. Time to negotiate. The 2nd trip planned is a little further south to the Virgin Islands - by boat. For the record, taking off & landing in a seaplane is a total rush. So how 'bout helpin' me out with a strategy.

Now I get lots of emails askin' about the Rackhams & their lifestyle. It's true they're loaded, have a few awesome boats, including an 82' schooner named Reckless Endeavor, & they've recently built a second home in the Bahamas. In fact, here's a picture - taken from a seaplane I might add. It's much smaller than the house in St Augustine, but it's comfortable. 

Where the Rackham tale is somewhat embellished in Reckless is the part about Nan being totally comfortable island hopping in a seaplane. Now the Rackhams have some very good friends, Eb & Flo, who own & operate The Last Resort - a secluded getaway in the middle of the islands. Flo pilots a yellow seaplane, 'cause it's easier & more fun to get around. In the story, Nan gets a kick out of cruising with Flo above the turquoise seas. In "real life" that's not quite true. The other day Flo sent Pop a picture of her new plane & he forwarded it to me to use for this post. (Sadly, the one in the book crashed in the Everglades, but at least it was insured.)

This plane's a real beauty, dontcha think? Congrats, Flo! Can you think of any reason NOT to wanna fly in one of these babies? So back to my dilemma. How do I convince Deb to forget the boat n' give the seaplane a shot?

Sidebar - I really like reader comments. This one was posted on my FB by Matt Keever from Houston:

Your book made me want to start talking like a pirate. The dialogue for Calico Jack is absolutely PERFECT.
I actually read all of it aloud, which made me laugh harder than I have in quite some time.
I'll write a short review of the book and put it on Amazon soon. Thanks for the great read, Dave.

(Thanks, Matt.)    

Okay - now about the seaplane .....  Click the link -  Dry Tortugas - Whaddya think???