Our day aboard the 45' Catamaran

It was great to spend the day with friends and to learn a little bit about the art of sailing. Neither of us are ready for a transition however. We enjoy the comforts of our Nordic even with the price of fuel! Still, it was fun to watch the enthusiasm of sail boaters and to be a part of the way in which they too love the water!

Ron before and after the crab pot

Notice how all the guys had life jackets on. If you'd have seen the waves, you would not be wondering why! They were doing all sorts of gyrations to free the boat and then gather the line.

Crab pots are a great joy :-(

Leaving the harbor, it was a lot rougher than any of us anticipated. It was difficult to see, and avoid, the crab pots. We got hung up on one, had to drop the sails, put her in reverse with the motor, and eventually break free. But Mike could tell there was line around the prop based on the vibrations. So we went even further out, to grab a mooring ball so that the divers among us could go overboard and free the second engine prop. The cutters you see in John's hand (first picture) was used to cut through the tangled line.

Our Host and Hostess

This was our host in the yellow shirt, Mike and our hostess in the green shirt, Jake.

45 Foot Catamaran

This afternoon we were invited to do a little sailing on this 45' Catamaran.

Heading BACK from the reef!

And here we all are coming back from the reef. We did not get into the water! We had seas 3-4 feet out there. For the most part, you will find people who are doing this Loop are conscientious boaters with safety first in most cases. The seas were too high to safely get on and off the swim platform. Besides the safety issue, it isn't much fun to snorkel in heavy seas either. So we all had a wonderful time together for the morning hours and headed back to the marina, seeing one sea turtle while we were off shore.

Heading toward Sombrero Reef

Many of us wanted to do some snorkeling while we were here in the Keys. Last night during "Happy Hour" one of the boats decided to organize a snorkeling expedition all together. Here we are heading out toward the reef.

Coral Lagoon - Boathouse Marina

This is a typical "happy hour" for the Loopers. There are 7 boats represented here. We try to get together at least once a day.

At the Crane Point Museum

The Island behind us is called Rachael Key. A few weeks ago, we anchored by the little key when we'd made the passage from Shark River in Everglades National Park. From here, we continued down to Key West the following morning and returned last week to remain in Marathon for this month.

A Golden-silk spider

This guy is about an inch long (head/thorax) and is pale gray with black spots. There are actually tufts of black hair on their first and last legs. The web was about 36" and the guide told us the web is extraordinarily strong. Lucky for all of us, they only live in the swamp or the woods. He truly was beautiful. Another spider was called a "crab spider" because he did indeed look just like a crab up close, but I couldn't seem to get a picture as he was so well camouflaged. Had the guide not pointed him out, we never would have seen it.

Meet Kelly

Kelly has devoted her life to the bird population in these keys. She works at Crane Point tending whatever is brought in. On premises we saw some of the birds that were unable to be released into the wild. One Osprey was hit by an airplane and sustained severe wing damage. Another hawk was electrocuted, which again injured the wing so that the bird could not be released. About 50% of the injured birds make it and are released back into the wild. The remainder become part of an education program so that children of all ages can enjoy the magnificence of these animals up close.

For the firefighters out there ...

We biked into town (3 miles) to the Crane Point Museum and Nature Center. Passing the Marathon fire station, we decided to share it with you. :-) Thought of all of you, and miss you dearly!

However will we survive?

Here for the month! Humm. Tough to take. There's still room on the boat to sleep three more! Any takers? You have my personal E-Mail!

Retirement?

Somebody said retirement was sitting on a porch in a rocking chair! We were grateful to stop for a minute here. We'd walked into town this morning. Here, we just got back to the resort. Good to stop a minute.

Some of the neighbors

Great egret and beautiful moth!

Coral Lagoon Resort - Marathon, Florida

Brand new resort. We're here for a month. It's about 2 miles from where one of my brothers are renting a home for the month of February, and we'll be able to spent a little time with them also.

Here is where they put us!

Can you spell WEDGE! We are literally port side up against the protected piling. And the mooring ball on the starboard side between the two boats, is compressed! BUT it was too late in the day to continue out into the Gulf again and around to another marina, so we used every resource at our disposal and I truly have to hand it to Ron for even attempting to get into this berth! Can't wait to see the faces of the boat next to us when they return from a days trip to Key West by trolley! To the left, we requested some additional padding on the CEMENT catwalks! They are installing a section of fender over the point of the walkway! Tomorrow is another day. One where we'll be investigating every option. The problem is that there are six loopers coming in February 1. Here this evening is five more and we all know one another. There's already a Super Bowl party planned. We hate to miss out on all the fun and they are all going to be here a month! We've certainly never been THIS close before!!

Did you say 13.5 foot berth?

Yea, we said this was impossible. Here we are wedged in soooooo

We'll never tire of this beauty!

Let's hear it for the creator, ha? This is leaving Key West yesterday morning. This is sunrise.

Rumble seat and all!

The owner tells me if it had a stick shift, it's a model T. The model A had no stick shift. Notice how simplistic the dash was and still is! This was a striking looking car. Thought you would enjoy it.

One for the road

Even in the fog, he posed for you! He was bigger than Gilligan, by the way!

Tired of seeing Chickens?

Meet the newest animal entertainment! It's an orange iguana and he was sunning himself on the cement dock last night when we went out for a walk. This morning, he was in the trees bobbin his head to his sweetheart that is directly behind him, but I doubt you can see her, even enlarging this. Hay, it isn't any more chickens :-))))

Here's one I forgot

While in Naples the earlier part of this month, we came across this boat with the name as our prison ministry group. We looked for any signs of life over there, but no one was aboard. Kairos means God's special time. What were the odds of this? Hope my team enjoy it! Miss you all.

Just incase!

Ron laughed at me when I set out the life jackets two nights ago. I just thought if we or someone else broke loose from the mooring field, we might be on deck and if so, I wanted the life jackets handy. Well, guess what, not one or two, but THREE boats broke loose during that hefty wind. We'd decided after this last one, we were going to get to a more protected area. Tomorrow is the first window of opportunity for us to travel. We went in to see the dock master. The assistant informed us we'd have to loose the three week fee and neither of us swallowed THAT too well. So we decided to go in and "reason together." We got full reimbursement without any hassle whatsoever. It was a 180! Humph?

We find out, the winds were 50 MPH that night. For some comparison, hurricane winds begin at 74! And you all thought I was exaggerating!!

The boats that broke loose? One turned completely on its mooring and got the line wrapped around the prop. That was an unmanned boat and then two large sailboards grounded (we saw both the next morning) after they had broken their mooring lines. The good news was that the moorings held in all cases. They are helix moorings which are screwed into the bottom. They are supposed to withstand hurricane force with a 60' craft. An interesting fact is that they limit the size of the boats in the mooring field to 40 feet.

I'll be glad to get back to the mainland.

It was so noisy during that blow we actually slept in the salon for two nights as some defense against the constant pounding. It was like a drum concert! Much nicer riding mid ship. Tomorrow we begin our slow journey HOME folks!! Can you just see the smile!!!!!

What's a mother to do?

O.K. I won't bore you any more with my chicken pictures, but these guys were so doggone cute, I had to show you. They appear to be street wise chickens for sure! 8 little chicks, bobbin' and weavin' through traffic like the pro their parents seem to be. I wanted to go out there and direct traffic but mom seemed to be doing quite well without me. :-)

HeHeHe

Keep it real my Mom always said! To the auxiliarists out there, I could have sworn I had that thing belayed on that cleat! This never happened before :-D Yet here he was, floating away as I ran for the phone that was ringing. I had to call them back! I was laughing too hard to talk for a minute or two. There he went! Engine was already up, last gas expelled, ready to step aboard! He called out: "Oooo Hon-ey!"

OPPS!!

Getting supplies before the front

Yesterday Ron and Gilligan did the last minute provisioning. We knew the front was moving in this evening, and for the first time on the trip, I'd gotten a touch of Montezuma's revenge. This is probably more than most of you needed to hear, but we're keeping it real for the Loopers to come and yes, this is an unpleasant part of the years trip.

Doesn't Gilligan look like he's just enjoying every minute of the trip back? He's such a good dog for a trip like this.

Nasty Northern Blow

The pictures do not do this justice. We had a cold front move through early this morning. Waves at the mooring, about 3 feet with an occasional 4. It's not unsafe. It's merely uncomfortable. We won't be doing much today beside reading, board games and on board exercise. Gilligan? He's sleeping in the corner! We took video of the sailboats and the waves tossing the dingy around. The sound of the wind was another thing we wanted to capture. It's constant, never ending, day and night! Boy, it's a good thing we both love the water! This is predicted to be with us until Tuesday! We're seriously thinking of cutting the time here drastically, once it is safe to travel again. This is the second front we've gotten in a week.

Trolley Tour

Today we merely took the trolley tour to see WHAT is on the island. They offer a Conch Train which I had ridden back in the '60's during the heavy influx of Cuban immigrant. The trolley is run by the same company but allows you to get on and off at will for the entire day. Because we'll be here a month, this was merely an overview for us. Later, we hope to go back and visit some of the historic homes and the Little White House where Truman, Eisenhower and Kennedy came often. The home now is open to the public.

Old Sailing ship circa 1800

This was in Mallory Square. Big sign with caution not to touch the tar because it "doesn't come off." Yeah, I can tell you, it really IS still tacky. Would you believe a little kid told me? No, I didn't think so. But seriously, it is still wet and it has been baking in the sun taboot! (I had to wait in line not to touch the tar, so I wasn't alone!)

Pepe's

The oldest eating establishment in Key West. Frequented by Harry Truman and many other celebrities. Pictures adorn the dining area. Ron was staring at Don Ho. The food was good, a little on the pricey side, but worth the experience and we were grateful to sit for a minute anywhere!! (Ron was also staring at a beautiful painting of a naked lady -- and I thought the smile on his face was from the dinner -- until we got up to leave!)

Key West Southermost Point

Yep! Here's THE buoy. From this point on folks, we're headin' home!!! This was taken out of the trolley window. I'd seen it before when I was a kid and Ron wasn't all that interested in standing next to it. No, we don't know the people. But we can tell you for this moment in time, they are the ones standing in the southernmost point of the continental USA. AND they're looking at a trolley that holds a couple that is HEADIN' HOME from this point on!!!

(From here, it is 90 miles to Cuba)

Steve, check out the seat

Two together. Beautiful and check out the seat. Can't get more comfortable than that!

Eat more Pork?

While waiting for the taxi cab that never showed, we kept hearing roosters crowing. Looking around, they were all over the parking lot. About 8 in all. Just mulling around, crowing when the mood struck and jogging to avoid the moving vehicles. Can you guess what our little Gilligan did? Yea, it was pretty funny to see them scatter. Lucky for him. They have claws that could seriously do some damage.

Waiting for Ron outside the store, I met a woman who has been living on a houseboat with her husband now for six years. They come from Kentucky and have decided this is the last year for houseboat living. Suddenly this didn't seem like all that long.

I saw another dear sole that reminded me of how much we all have to be thankful for and seldom realize it. She looked to be about 40-45, distinctly wrinkled, and toothless. She was unlocking a bicycle with two loads of permanent cargo in front of and behind her seating area. She stood up from unlocking the bike and lit a cigarette. Holding the cigarette in a toothless mouth, she turned sideways. Pregnant. Very very pregnant. I'd guess about 8 months. It was pretty obvious that cigarettes was not the only drug being ingested and my heart bled for her. As she peddled away in a bowlegged fashion, I said a little prayer for her and that innocent unborn child. I can't even imagine the life the child will have even if adopted. Coming back to our 37 foot boat, I realized we had all we needed right here, and more! We are grateful.

Key West

It's difficult to get wave shots. We've been at Key West since Sunday. The mooring field we had chosen, we knew, was well protected except from the North. Do I need to tell you what direction the winds have been coming from since we have arrived? In the harbor, waves are 2-3 feet. At a mooring, that's substantial because the slap against the hull is constant, and the howling winds add to the noise factor. Yesterday we went ashore for some provisions and to drop off the garbage which had been accumulating. The ride in was fine. The trip back??? So much fun! We were drenched from head to toe and all the way through! The water is about 74 degrees so it didn't feel to bad, especially after walking three miles to the grocery store. Also great fun! We hailed a cab for the return trip. However, they never showed. We decided it wasn't all that far to hoof it back -- and we did. Sitting in the dingy felt pretty good no matter how much bouncing we were doing. Gilligan went with us. Remember I said he does not like water? Well, he put his little head between us and looked straight down at the inflatable bottom all the way home. When waves splashed over him, he appeared not to notice. Sort of like saying: "If I don't see it, it isn't happening." Poor little guy.