MAY 24, 2003
Ramblings from the Eden House & Key West

We had our fourth drawing this week and Matt and Jill Larsen up Minnesota ways won. Congratulations guys! We are no longer taking donations for our next and last drawing for Volleyball Fundraiser , which will take place mid June. That drawing is for the half-day fly fishing trip for two. Good luck!

After talking with the staff, we have decided to give away a stay at the Eden House each month for the foreseeable future. We really appreciate all the support we have received from you folks over the years with our fundraisers and would like offer our support with some of yours. In these tough times it is getting harder and harder to raise money for charities and fundraisers. If you would like our support please email us. We are limiting our support to local needs (not that national stuff).

For your comfort we have added a 'Misquoto Magnet' to the Eden House grounds. It has been in use for about 4 weeks and seems to be working. Gary, our trusty/dusty maintenance man, will be putting a grill at the rear of the parking lot next week. So, when you bring those coolers full of Grouper and Snapper back from your day on the high seas, you'll have a place to grill it. There is nothing better than fresh caught fish. Yes, you can even go out and buy some fish and we won't tell. Those 'veggie dogs' will taste great too.

Howdy out there in TV land. I hope everyone is hanging in there. I am pleased to announce that Sandy and Peter Frank (from Colorado) won our March 1st drawing for the volleyball fundraiser. Nice folks, I think this was their 4 th or 5 th time with us. They were here mid March, picked up their Eden House towels and are making plans for their next trip to collect the rest of their winnings. A friend of Skippy's drew the winning ticket and needless to say Skippy was upset that he didn't win. At least he got to see the winning ticket drawn.

The fundraiser has gone so well that we are going to take the varsity and the JV's to a skills camp as well as team camp. I am sure this improves their game. I know it will make them sore as heck. I have decided to give away another stay at the Eden House with all the fixin's. That drawing will be mid April and the fly fishing trip with Sting Rea's drawing will be in mid May. I'm doing this to thank all the folks who have supported the team. Everyone has been so enthusiastic about the drawing and I guess one more prize would be appropriate. Needless to say, we might bring in a few more dollars.

We have sold 364 tickets, great odds.

I have a couple to things to mention that are a MUST to see and do on your next trip to Eden House. First is the Dolphin Lady (Sylvia), as I affectionately call her. Sylvia recently purchased Dolphinwatch, a 31 foot catamaran from Captain Ron Canning, who has owned and operated the boat since 1986. Your guides on the trip are very knowledgeable and help make this an unbelievable experience. Some guests recently went on the trip and were completely 'gaga' about it when they returned. They described swimming among the POD (a family) of Dolphin with at least 15 adult and 3 babies. They were in the middle of the POD and said the Dolphin were all around them. Alison, from Goldman's Deli, told me she has been out twice in the past ten days. She was also gushing with joy. The folks of the Dolphinwatch are very respectful of the Dolphins and they police up after each trip. As of today two trips are offered daily and I highly recommend it.

Secondly, the Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory is outrageous! You walk in a large glass enclosure with a running stream, lush vegetation and well over a thousand LIVE Butterflies. They are flying everywhere! There is a section where you can look at cocoons and occasionally see a butterfly hatching. They have a gift shop with mounted butterflies in plastic cases. They are beautiful and reasonably priced. They mount the butterflies when they die at the end of their lifespan. It is nice to know that no butterfly is murdered to make a gift. Some of the butterflies may take the tour with you.do not worry.they have a "butterfly removal" area prior leaving the conservatory.

We have a new wind chime by the pool and the reviews are very favorable. I wasn't too sure at first; I thought it might be too noisy. It came from Nancy's Secret Garden and I might add they are very reasonably priced. We have the 'Island Melody' model.

Judith Rae, an old friend and guest from years past stopped by and left us a bit of her joy. She calls them her 'coconut fish'. Judith is a product of the 60's, extremely creative and cosmic.

Bill has added a bazillion new pictures to the Eden House family album as well as many new galleries. I have to share something with you. I was taking pictures with our old 35 mm camera and was on picture number 8 on a roll of 24 exposures. I took pictures for about 3 days without my reading glasses and then thought, I should check to see how many pictures I had left. Yep, the camera was still on 8, therefore I blew it. Hello, is there anyone home in there? I went out the next day and purchased a new digital camera, no more screw-up on my part. At least is this area. This explains why some of your pictures are not on the web. If it was one your pictures I missed, I am very sorry. I will get a picture of you next time you are down or you can send me one, if you like. Only the good ones, please. Send any other flicks of Key West and the Eden House that you would like to share. I need some wildlife shots for our new page, 'Wildlife and Fish Stories' page. Do not send pictures of the in-laws.

I hope everyone weathered this bear of a winter. I can almost remember what you went through, being from Michigan. Thank goodness summer is just around the corner. Keep in mind that we don't close for the summer. The sailing, snorkeling and fishing are at their best in the summer and we offer summer rates. We also have Sun N' Fun and Romance packages and have specials throughout the summer. So, if swimming in our pool at midnight (83 degrees, of course) and lounging in a hammock (in shade, of course) hits your hot button, drop us a line.

An Ira update. Ira has been bitten by the 'love buy' and her name is Betsey. They were down in February and both had that glazed look in their eyes. I think Betsey has been a good influence on the old boy. He has lost over 20 pounds and is walking rather than riding everywhere. John and Joanie from Ann Arbor or A squared, as it is know up there, are getting married, congrats guys. I'm still waiting on that new Dick Siegel CD to be released. Dick is also from A squared and is one of my favorites (yes, I have many favorites). You can get his CD 'Angel Aweigh' on Schoolkids' Records in Ann Arbor. His CD 'Snap!' is out of print.

Another item of interest is Cernitin. It is flower pollen and appears to be a wonder drug or shall I call it a MAGIC BULLET. From what I have read on the net and the Graminex web site, it sounds like Cernitin is good for just about anything that ills you. If it can eliminate taking another medication, I am all for it. Off and on for years I have taken bee pollen, which is supposed to be good for you. I like the boost of energy I get from it

Our "Missing Link" page is up and we will be adding to it daily. Send us your links.

I have added a couple and deleted a couple restaurants from our "Recommendations" page. Sorry Charlie, "only the best tuna."

Ken, the waiter at Café Med has started a new sideline business. He is making water bowls for pets. He just made this beautiful bowl for Priscilla, nice huh? Ken loves working with clay but his day job keeps too busy to devote much time to it. If you would like a bowl, drop us an e-mail and let us know the color, size and name of your pet and I'll try to have it waiting for you when you get here. If you won't be down for a while, we can ship it to you. I might add, Ken is one of the best waiters in Key West and can be found at Café Med five nights a week.

We just ordered new deck furniture; it should be in the next week or so. Thanks to Courtney's sophisticated eye, I think we made a great choice on the color. I know the guests will be as pleased as me. The old furniture's straps are getting so stretched out that it is hard to not fall through. We'll put a picture of the new furniture when it comes in.

I was talking with Bruce and Lynn Hildabrand, (from Schaumburg, IL) yesterday by the pool and they brought up a chuckle from days past. Bruce said that he remembered when a guest called the front desk and said there was a 'homeless' guy by the pool handing out flowers. The front desk person said yes, that is just the owner passing giving Passion Flowers to the guests.

Here is a quote that I like and want to share with you. John Wooden was asked to define success. He said," success is peace of mind attained only though self-satisfaction in knowing you've made the effort to do the best of which you are capable." I like to think that we have all been successful.

I have talked with several guests of late and it seems like more and more people are flying AirTran Airways. My guests tell me they are a very 'people' friendly airline. You can book one way flights, get great online rates and they fly all over the country. AirTran Airways doesn't fly into Key West yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see them in the future. I would diffidently check them out because they can get you to Ft. Lauderdale, Miami and Tampa at a great price.

Let us all pray for our men and women overseas as well as the Iraqi people. A line from a Bob Dylan song comes to mind, "What price do I have to pay to get out of going through all these things twice." That about sums things up at this end. Stay in touch, you know we will.

If you can't make it down, drop us an e-mail every so often.

we miss ya,
-- Mike & Eden House Staff

Stay tuned for updates.
On another note. Don't forget that tofu and ginger in your diet.
Stay in touch, we will.
-- Mike Eden and the gang