Prohibition provided the United States gave us a lot of gangland names that have become synonymous with rum running, crime, and speakeasies. Al Capone, Meyer Lansky, Frank Nitti, and Baby Face Nelson just to name a few. The Keys had the Pelicans, a group of looters who started out plundering the sailing sloops and launches that were anchored off of the southern coast of Key West. They would boast that "no anchor was too large, or no fish hook too small to be carried off once they visited a boat." The owners would return to find their motors and everything else missing.
During Prohibition when the rum runners would drop their cargo in the shallow waters off the keys in the middle of the night until such time that they had it sold, then return for it at that time, The Pelicans, a gang of men named for the flock of birds that frequent the shores in all hours of the day and night, would take their cargo and sell it them selves. The Pelicans did show some honesty in their endeavors though with the rum runners and split the profits 50 - 50. The hidden goods were divided equally between the raiding Pelicans and the smugglers,"they were entitled to that much the pelicans often boasted.
Later on the rum runners, who now had began to fear the Pelicans more than the government officials found new hiding places away from the roving eyes of the Pelicans. Times became hard for the Pelicans after the rum runners were finally able to hide from the Pelicans, members could no longer roll with large bankrolls partying like they were accustom to.
The Pelicans turned to stealing batteries, tires, gasoline, and other automotive accessories to fill their coffers. On a Monday night they hit the waterfront parking lot of the Key West Athletic Club basketball practice stealing tires, rims, batteries, tools and gasoline. They had no respect for the law, they stole the tires off of club manager Judge J. F. Busto's ford as well.
The Pelicans for all of their bad traits did however show some compassion when they spotted a disabled picket boat. They rescued three U.S. Customs agents that had been missing for five days off of Key West. This picturesque gang of beachcombers and alleged rum smugglers remembered the law of the sea and notified the U.S. Coast Guard of their location saving their lives. I guess that it is all a part of life in the prohibition era. ;o)
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| Funny how the parties on a seclude beach today all seem to end up the same way as they did back then |
Today we are having the final Rum Lab for cocktails to put into the book. We are pulling ideas that are a little off the wall, but lets just see what works and what is a big NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
For us it was wandering through the narrow streets and down the beautiful beach just watching and enjoying the scenery. A stop at the Guavaberry Rum Emporium and a tasting of the unusual flavored and aged rums was very enjoyable, but the time walking the town and riding the water taxis really was the fun point for us. 
The bay was filled with interesting vessels including some "America's Cup" sail boats that were available for rides. The water taxi is a great way to get from the cruise ship port to the town of Phillipsburg, but there are also land taxi's for trips to the French side also. 
The island of St. Lucia is one of the mountainous gems of the Caribbean, nestled between St. Vincent, Barbados and Martinique, this gem will take your breath away as you wind through her twisty mountain roads. From the city of Castries all the way through the country and the banana plantations the eyes have a hard time keeping up with the ever changing scenery.
Like so many of these islands, I find it amazing the ever changing beauty as you traverse from city, seashore, forests, and back. I guess that is why I try to cover so much ground when I am in these places. I really don't want to miss anything. ;o)
The real beauty of the city is what is within the walls, great shops and great restaurants are all a part of this old historic district. I spent two days riding around the town on the free trolley, just amazed by all the beautiful and interesting places that were there. Lunch on a little patio cafe or sitting on the veranda of a bar sipping a great rum, just walk around and you will find something of interest every where you turn. Don't just spend an hour or so here, plan to have at least 2 days and nights to really get the feel for this great historic place. ;o)
One of the highlights of our two week rum excursion was a visit to several of the famous Bajan Rum Shops along the western and southern sides of the island. Our taxi driver was gracious enough to put up with the four of us Caribbean crazy people as we imbibed ourselves in the local culture. First of all let’s talk about what a rum shop is. These are similar to our bars, in that they sell spirits by the drink, but what is different is that you can come in with a group of like minded friends, buy a bottle of rum, get glasses with ice and a mix, take them to your table and enjoy them. The “Party of Five”, June, Marta, Mike, Carl, and myself, bounced from rum shop to rum shop all afternoon learning about this Bajan wonder.
It seems these rum shops are everywhere on the island, from neighborhoods, to beach side along the coast. These places seem to be where friends gather to play cards, dominoes, share a bottle of fine rum and just plain talk. For us it was a chance to have another rum crawl, only this time it wasn’t me at the helm and I could participate in the fun. I believe that we visited 9 or so of these rum shops during our afternoon crawl and a couple of very beautiful beaches as well. 
This impromptu crawl was one of the highlights of this visit to Barbados. It never ceases to amaze me what new things you can find when you hire a taxi for the day and just have them guide you around their island. Hugh was the perfect cabbie; he listened to what we were looking for and made it happen. I just want to say a heartfelt thank you to Hugh for his effort and putting up with the “Party of Five” all afternoon. By the way, we did make it back to the ship on time. ;o)
