Hanging around Boot Key again

Wednesday 10th March
Another day ashore downloading stuff from the Internet.

Thursday 11th March
It's finally getting warmer - woo hoo!

Friday 12th March
Time to pick up a car for a week on our Aeroplan points. With our extra mobility we rent some DVDs, take my camera back to Radio Shack for repair - 3rd broken camera!!! - and picked up some Florida brown shrimps from our favourite fish store.

Saturday 13th March
First day of the annual Marathon seafood festival. We take a walk around but don't buy anything. Interesting display of local marine life.

This Lion Fish was caught in Whiskey Creek which is jut of where we were anchored for two weeks.


This oddity is Slipper or Shovel Nose Lobster also locally caught. They are edible but I guess most people favour the conventional looking ones.

That's its front end by the way.

Carol didn't get to see her birds which were due to be at the show the next day.

Sunday 14th March
We visited the seafood festival for a second day and got to see the one-winged hawk.

We also bought some conch fritters, it was seafood festival after all. However, since they didn't seem to put hardly any conch into them I was severely unimpressed.

We had Steve and Kathy from Kit over for supper and introduced them to "Idiocracy". We think Kathy was a little startled but Steve who has one serious sense of humour laughed pretty loud.

Monday 15th March
I ferried Carol and Buddy over to shore with our luggage then Steve gave me a ride back to the marina so I could leave the dinghy tied to the boat.

After breakfast and a shrimp purchase we headed on up the Overseas Highway back to mainland Florida. It's a pleasant drive up the keys past Miami on the Florida Turnpike to Pembroke Pines where Carol's cousin and family live. Mike is now retired so he was home with wife Melanie and we got a warm welcome as usual.

Mike and Melanie's daughter Bandi and boyfriend John came back to live close by last year so that daughter Michaela could live with them instead of her grandparents. Their son Mike Junior and wife Allison, daughter Ava and son Michael (the third) also live fairly close by and they all came over for pizza.

Left to right are Michaela, Michael III and Melanie.

Left to right: Michael Junior, Michael III, John (just sliver) and Bandi.

Tuesday 16th March
Carol went to bowling with Melanie (no she didn't bowl) while I tagged along with Mike while he took Michaela for a dental appointment back in the area they used to live.

After dropping Michaela at school we met Carol and Melanie for lunch at place called Flannigans and had a tumbled onion - recommended - with other fishy stuff.

Back to the house to hangout until Melanie made a delicious supper using the shrimp we brought plus other goodies.

I tried to take a picture of their Ragged Doll cat but this is the best I could do, Angel wouldn't stay still.

After supper we went over to Bandi and John's for a visit where I got to play Nintendo Super Mario Speedway on a 65" TV while everyone chatted in the biggest apartment we've ever seen.

Wednesday 17th March
We wake up to a dreary rainy day for our drive back to Marathon, so after breakfast and our goodbyes we head back.

By the time we get back the weather is starting to clear and we have some fresh fish on the BBQ for a pleasant evening.

Thurdsay 18th March
We had one day left of the car rental so we'd planned a trip to Key West with Jeff and Jane from Deja Vu. We got there in late morning, parked the car and walked all around with Buddy.


North America loves its giant things, Key West is no exception. This pair are about 20' high.


We had lunch at our favourite Key West dining spot B.O.'s before heading back to Marathon.

Friday 19th March
Returned the rental and had a second chiro appointment - is it fixing things?
Kismet finally arrived in Marathon and we did a rare thing and went for happy hour at Lazy Days Bar with Jim and Laurie and Dick from Grey Hound. Finally got some conch fritters with conch in them.

Saturday 20th March
Spent the day just hanging out on the boat.

Sunday 21st March
Over to the Legion for breakfast and then off to see "Crazy Heart" with Steve and Kathy and friends of theirs Linda and Greg who have a place in Marathon - just OK seemed to be the general consensus on the movie.

We all went over to "Kit" for supper but an impending thunderstorm cut the evening short.

Monday 22nd March
Our generator arrived but I didn't have time to try it out before Jim & Laurie (Kismet) and Ann (recently returned from a trip north to see mother) & Dick (Grey Hound) came over for Carol's Bouillabaisse. All were appreciative.

Tuesday 23rd March
Time to play with a new toy so the new generator got a good work out while Carol did much needed laundry ashore. Kismet and Grey Hound were heading off the next day for the Dry Tortugas and we joined them over at the Keys Fisheries across the road from the marina for happy hour where Jim and Dick were relentless at trying to persuade us to join them the next day. If our fuel problems were resolved it would have been tempting - for me anyway.

Wednesday 24th March
Another visit to the chiro with side trips to Blockbuster, Publix and Winn Dixie.

The bird wildlife here is prolific with Pelicans, Ospreys, Turkey Buzzards and these guys which are as common as sparrows.


Thursday 25th March
The weather is now glorious with sunny skies and a cool wind - perfect. However, I spent the day in the marina downloading stuff while Carol did our accounts on the boat. Steve and Kathy invited us over for happy hour and burritos in the expansive cockpit of "Kit"

Friday 26th March
Another front was forecast for the day so we stayed aboard, however, this one really fizzled with just a very brief light shower of rain and no thunderstorm,

Saturday 27th March
"Green Zone" (positive reviews from all) at the movies with Steve and Kathy in the afternoon then over to "Incognita" for supper and then over to "Kit" to watch "Up In The Air" (we all liked it) on their computer - they have sooo much more room.


Sunday 28th March
Sunday and it's the Legion breakfast again. Followed by shopping for Carol. Then it's post the blog time.

Waiting for a mooring in Boot Key Harbour

Monday 1st March
A day for teak scraping and cleaning up the cockpit punctuated by helping a new arrival in the anchorage tie their boat to the mangroves. Unfortunately, in my attempt to climb further into the mangroves I end up hanging from the outer mangroves with my legs in the water. Fortunately there is no photographic record of this ignominious performance. I managed to somehow drag myself up to a safer perch and retrieve the dinghy which had shot away as I pushed up from it. Good job I'd had the presence of mind to tie it up first. That broke the ice with Jeff and Jane Landry aboard Deja Vu who gave us a bottle of wine for my troubles.

Tuesday 2nd March
In the middle of the night we awake to the sound of some body's anchor line being winched in and the sound is very close. When I shot up on deck I found our new neighbours fending our bow off the side of their boat. I thought at first we'd dragged but it turns out although our stern was tied off to shore, the wind was right behind us and pushing us forward while they were being dragged the opposite way by the current. So I just shortened our stern line to shore and we all went back to bed.

Another front was forecast for the day's entertainment so we waited for the big event which turned out to be a complete fizzle as the predicted squalls bypassed Marathon.

We had Jeff and Jane over for happy hour aboard Incognita.

They're Texans who've done many years of cruising around the Bahamas and Caribbean aboard their Morgan but now here they are aboard their current boat, a Prout catamaran.

Picture courtesy of Deja Vu

Wednesday 3rd March
It felt like a cold was coming on the day before and now it's here in spades. Deja Vu supply me with some cold medicine but I still feel horrible and Carol has to take Buddy ashore on her own - not something she does at all, in fact she's only ever taken the dinghy on her own once before.

After the front passed we have strong north-westerly winds blowing cold air at us all day and night.

Thursday 4th March
More of the same clear cool windy weather and the cold virus continues its steady progress.

Friday 5th March
Better weather is being forecast for the next week and we are hopeful this may mean people leave and we get a mooring, meanwhile here we are at anchor amongst the catamarans.

Picture courtesy of Deja Vu

Saturday 6th March
The cold symptoms are starting to recede but the temperature isn't really improving any yet.

Sunday 7th March
On the way over with Buddy in the morning we stopped by Dick and Ann (Grey Hound) and they took these picture of us to demonstrate to friends up north that Florida winters are not all sun and sand.

Picture courtesy of Grey Hound

They're good friends with Larry and Carol who we know from way back in Gananoque and are sending these pics to show them what they're missing!

Picture courtesy of Grey Hound

We both read the book "Shutter Island" a year or so back and thought it was a real zinger of a story so we've been eagerly awaiting the movie ever since we saw it first advertised last year. Marathon has a great little movie theatre which we discovered for the first time when we got a ride with Steve and Cathy (Kit) - they have a car - to go see it. The theatre is a bit like the one in Elizabeth City, NC, where there's regular seating plus table and chairs. No hot food like Elizabeth City but you can have beer and wine - very civilised.

We ended the day taking Buddy for a walk on the beach.

Word is we're 2nd on the list to get a mooring can - maybe tomorrow?

Monday 8th March
While we're onshore at the Marina with Buddy for his morning run we get the call. After nearly two weeks we finally get a mooring. So we sign up for month as we intend to rent a car and visit Carol's relatives and leave the boat for a few days.

We say goodbye to the anchorage and Deja Vu.

Picture courtesy of Deja Vu

So it's into the mooring field of around 260 boats we go after filling up with water.


Carol took a walk to Publix (I'm not quite up to that yet) while I stay in the marina and download the Oscars.

Tuesday 9th March
After breakfast it's back over to the marina to do laundry, finish downloading the Oscars and updating the blog. On the way in though we meet a poor fellow trying to paddle his dinghy with non-operational outboard back to his boat. So we gave him a tow home. Good deed for the day.