Florida: Marathon - Flea Market and Sevens

Day 231 - 232

Saturday 2/27/2016

Since Wednesday night we have had unFloridalike weather with temperatures in the 50s and 60s and gusty 20 to 22 mph winds. The sun has helped some, so I have been able to wear shorts with sweatshirts and / or jackets during the day. However, as soon as the sun starts to drop so does the temperature, and it is back into long pants. The pool has not been inviting at that temp with those winds. No one has ventured out to the lighthouse for docktails in several days.

On Saturday we decided to walk to the "Marine and Knot Flea Market" at the Marathon City Park. We expected a crowd and decided we did not want to deal with our bicycles. When we arrived and I saw an almost empty parking lot, I knew something was amiss. Several booths were set up, but overall the event was a big disappointment. I have seen many garage sales with more interesting merchandise.

The first item that caught my eye was an old piece of painted picket fence on sale for $50. Someone had painted the posts in a rainbow of colors and put a sign on it saying it was a twin-sized headboard. No, really, it was an old painted picket fence! I would be shocked if someone bought that for half that price!

As we walked around I saw lots of junk for sale like very used life jackets, old cutlery, and such. A couple of craft booths showed their wares including one with lots of stained glass (expensive) and another with jewelry (nothing I haven't seen before). When we arrived, we saw a stream of people leaving carrying away their treasures, so some folks found worthwhile items at the sale.

We did not stay very long at all. The band "4 Sheets to the Wind" that had played at our looper Sunset Celebration performed while folks browsed the booths. We listened for a few minutes, recognized that we had heard them before, and decided that we had seen and heard enough. We followed a path out of the park that ended at a locked gate, so we had to backtrack to exit the way we entered. In doing so, Denise and Mark from Island Office spotted us leaving and caught up to us so we walked out together and chatted along the way.

They invited us back to the marina / yacht club where they are staying. We walked out to the point and looking north we could see Banana Bay where we had the looper Sunset Celebration party. To the south we could see the Faro Blanco lighthouse. Clark of course had his camera out and shooting. Note in the pictures how the surf is up due to the continuous high winds.

Faro Blanco in the distance to the South

Faro Blanco Lighthouse

Looking North

Looking North zoomed in

After viewing the scene from the point, including the free boat launch located right there, Denise and Mark invited us back to their boat. Actually we were all getting very cold with the wind blowing through us, so we needed a warmer spot to talk. Since Denise and Mark have been to the Bahamas in the past and plan to go again, they pulled out their charts and showed us some of their favorite spots to visit.

Time just flew by on their boat and suddenly my watch showed 2:00. Neither Clark nor I had eaten lunch yet since we left to go to the flea market somewhere around 11:00. At that time we figured we would  be back in plenty of time for lunch. Since we had not eaten, we reluctantly said farewell hoping to see them on the water sometime in the near future -- perhaps even in the Bahamas!

Right as I was about to step onto Liquid Assets my son, Chris, had called to say hello. As we walked back to Faro Blanco to get our lunch, I called him back. Not only did I get to talk to Chris, but I could hear Heather (his wife) in the background with the new baby, Lillian! For a bit she (Lillian) was unhappy and exercised her lungs quite nicely, but Heather managed to get her settled and brought her near the phone. I was so thrilled to be able to hear her "gurgle" and "coo" into the phone!

We ate our very late lunch somewhere around 3:00. Given our late lunch, we did not eat dinner until 7:30 which I prepared on the boat. After dinner we watched some CBS television shows on my laptop including Scorpion and NCIS until it was time to call it a night and "hit the sack".

Sunday 2/28/2016

Many of the boats here at the marina have been here for several weeks. Many of them plan to leave in the next few days. Folks we have seen practically every day for the past month will be moving on starting tomorrow. A lot of boat provisioning has been occurring over the past few days in preparation for the mass exodus. It will be very strange here after so many of our new boater friends leave to continue on their way. Many of them are doing the Great Loop. Because of the differences in our travel plans versus theirs, we will probably not see most of these boaters again. It is rather sad to see them go!

The folks on Sadie II are leaving Tuesday, so they went to Publix today to buy the heavy items they need because they still had a rental car. They invited Clark and me to go with them. I jumped at the opportunity to be able to buy groceries that I would not have to squeeze into a backpack! We planned on going at 2:00.

Since I had the time and an almost empty fridge, I spent part of the morning defrosting the refrigerator. While the ice (frost) was melting, I made lunch and took it up to the upper helm for Clark. He got involved in a project yesterday which continued this morning and through the afternoon. Mel from Morning Star needed assistance getting his AIS system up and running on his boat. He also wanted to try out digital selective calling (DSC) on his VHF radio, and so he pulled Clark in to help him. That was the last I saw of Clark for most of the day except when I took his lunch up to him.

I guess it was a day for chores because besides the defrosting job, I also got my laundry caught up. I had to buy a new set of sheets since my favorite set on the boat finally gave out on us. The fabric became so thin that it finally just fell apart in one spot. I decided to buy some online and have them shipped. I found a Valentine's Day Sale set of queen sheets for only $36 - normally $99. They arrived yesterday so when I did my laundry I threw them in as well. They feel luxuriously soft! I hope they fit well.

Normally Clark goes grocery shopping with me, but he was so involved in the AIS project that he bowed out of the trip to the store. Before I left he told me that a group of folks were heading to the Steak and Lobster House restaurant for Happy Hour and dinner. We decided to join them. We were told that folks were going at 4:00. I think most folks managed to get a ride there by car except Clark and me. We walked.

Clark was busy so we did not leave the boat until 4:15. Then we stopped by the restroom before walking down. The trip to the restaurant on foot took another 15 minutes or so. By the time we got there, it was 4:45. The restaurant has a room on the side and the gathering was in that room. When we got there, however, every seat in the room was taken and I saw no room to add more chairs. Even so two more chairs were added to a table at the far corner of the room. Since two sets of folks planned to leave after drinks, they gave up their seats at a table so we could have a spot. They positioned their chairs between two tables and conversed with both.

After the two couples left, we only had four people at our table (ourselves included). The remaining couple just arrived at Faro Blanco today. We met them at dinner. Their boat is somewhat named after them - FREEStyle. Their last name is Frees. Clark and Randy hit it off and talked about the Great Loop for the entire evening. They are not loopers, but given Randy's level of interest perhaps some day they will be.

I am used to eating a late dinner around 7:00 or even 8:00 depending on whether we attend docktails or not, go out to a restaurant, etc. Since we went to dinner for the early bird specials, we were done and back on our boat by 7:15. Shocking! Clark and Randy  continued to talk as Randy drove us back to the marina. When we got to the boat, Trudy went back to her boat but Randy climbed on our boat to check out some of the things Clark had told him about during dinner .

I decided I wanted a walk so I headed for the restroom and to see who else was about. On my way I came across a crowd of folks and one very wet dog gathered on the docks. Benji, the dog on Liquid Assets, fell off the dock and into the water trying to jump on Morning Star to get his doggy treat. Multiple people got into the act to pull Benji out. If I had walked by five minutes earlier, I would have seen the action. I had only just missed it! The dog can swim quite well so he just paddled around to the swim platform.

Last night Clark and I watched television, but tonight Benji's owners, Tim and Carol, told me that a few folks planned to gather on Knot Sew Easy to play games. That sounded like a lot more fun than more TV, so we decided to join them. Actually they said we would play Farkle, but when I got there, I saw cards on the table. Farkle is a game played with dice, so I knew we were not playing Farkle. We played "Sevens" instead. Neither Farkle nor Sevens requires much brain power, so they are not stressful and allow for chit-chat as we play. Perfect!

Florida: Marathon - Sweet Savannah's

Day 229
Thursday 2/25/2016

What a difference in the weather today from yesterday! We woke to 20+ mph winds and 68 degrees with the temperature still dropping. Even though we are at the southernmost end of the state of Florida, that arctic wind can still be felt. We canceled our travel plans for a day in Key West. We did not see the point of being blown all over the place as we tried to tour the area. We will try for a day next week instead.

With the canceled plans the day turned into a lazy day of reading and talking to our boater acquaintances. Being in the right place at the right time is critical to getting pulled into activities that come along unexpectedly. Today, we just happened to be next to Jammin Jane when folks were making plans for dinner at the Steak and Lobster House restaurant. We were invited to come along, and so we went. The group included ourselves from Sea Moss as well as Jammin Jane, Knot Sew Easty, Liquid Assets, and Haley's Comet. 

With five boats represented at dinner, it took two car trips to get us all to the restaurant. The plan was one car and one six-person taxi. The taxi showed up 40 minutes ahead of requested time, and Tim from Liquid Assets sent them away with a request to come back closer to the requested time of 6:45.  They did not come back as requested, and when he called them at 6:55 to check on status, they said it would be 20 minutes for them to get to the marina to pick us up. Instead, Deb from Haley's Comet made two trips to transport us all to dinner in time for our 7:00 reservation.

The specials menu showed Prime Rib cuts of either 16 or 32 ounces. So many folks at our table ordered the prime rib that Justin, our waiter, went to check in the kitchen to be sure they could accommodate the order. Brent and Ben each ordered the 32 ounce cuts. When Brent ordered his, he said he wanted it "Cut off  the horns and smack its ass" rare. Clark ordered the Hogfish special, and I ordered the small rack of BBQ ribs which actually fell off the bone as I tried to eat them. Everyone was well-pleased with their meals.

Clark and I opened up an invitation to our dinner party to come back to Sea Moss for dessert. Initially it was to share Strawberry Rhubarb pie that Bob had made for us. Once I realized that we would have 10 people, I added some Applesauce Cake and chocolate chip cookies to the dessert menu. Clark insisted we needed to serve "mode" with our pie, so we had vanilla ice cream as well.

Haley's Comet (Brent & Deb)
Jammin Jane (Jane & Ben)
Sea Moss (Clark & Ev)

Knot Sew Easy (Bob & Liz)
Liquid Assets (Tim & Carol)
Sea Moss (Ev)

My being seated in the Captain's chair in the middle of the upper helm resulted in me appearing in both the port and the starboard photos.  Besides having dessert, we used the opportunity to show off our newly installed, upper-helm light to our boating friends.

After everyone left our boat Clark and I opened up my laptop and watched recent episodes of some of our favorite TV shows that we cannot watch when aired since we do not have any means of tuning them in. I still cannot believe that this marina provides no cable TV!

Day 230
Friday 2/26/2016

Since we stayed up extra late watching TV shows last night, we slept in way late today. We skipped our normal cereal breakfast, and I made a cheese omelet and blueberry pancakes for brunch instead. For the afternoon we planned a bicycle ride east past the Marathon airport just to see what was on the other side. Even though the weather reports indicated a temperature of 63 with a chilly wind from the north, we dressed in shorts and t-shirts and took jackets with us in case we needed them. We both found that a long-sleeved shirt over the t-shirt provided sufficient warmth while biking.

We have biked to Publix multiple times. That is a distance of about two miles, and other than dodging utility construction that seems to always be blocking multiple sections of the bike path, we find the ride to be "no big deal". We have never before today biked more than a couple of hundred feet beyond the Publix, so today's trip provided new territory to explore.

As we passed the entrance to Crane Point, a big fat iguana ran across the bike path right in front of Clark and shot up a tree. Clark got off his bike with his camera in hot pursuit. He took several pictures aiming up into the branches and managed to get one pretty good one of the iguana.

Iguana in Tree

We continued on down the bike path towards the Marathon airport. When we arrived at the airport, Clark stopped to watch the runway as he thought a plane was about to take off. We did not see the plane but did see the Bi-plane and helicopter giving rides to tourists.

Bike Path approaching Marathon Airport

Bi-plane in the Clear Blue Sky!
A ride costs $59 for 10 minutes and $110 for 20 mins.

Helicopter Rides are $59 a person - taking off!
(Just observing - neither Clark nor I signed on for this trip)

As we stood waiting for the plane that Clark thought might take off shortly, he received a phone call that abruptly changed our plans for the rest of the afternoon. He has been wanting a Cost Guard Vessel Safety Check since we arrived here in Marathon. Ben called to say that someone had called him about a safety check, and he passed the contact information on to Clark.

Clark immediately called the Coast Guard representative. Wouldn't you know that the representative could come today at 3:30 when we were at the other end of the island!? That meant we had to cut short our exploration plans. We still managed to hit the highlights of our planned excursion albeit in an abbreviated fashion.

Clark stepped into a hardware store for a quick peak and stopped in to check on the cost and get information on Aquarium Encounters.  I visited a store called "Marooned in Marathon". While I was in "Marooned in Marathon" checking out their inventory, Clark biked over the nearby bridge to check out the sites. The store did not offer anything I wanted to buy, so I very quickly followed him over the bridge.

The views from the bridge of Vaca Cut were pretty and tranquil. After all the biking, the breeze on the bridge felt wonderfully cool - not cold! I stood there for a while at the top of the bridge enjoying the scene and surveying the area in search of Clark who was nowhere to be found. Just as I started to call him to ask where he was, I saw him coming my way. He had visited the Visitor's Center to pick up some literature and coupons.

Vaca Cut - Marathon, FL

We went down one side of Route 1, crossed over at a traffic light, and came back over the bridge on the other side. The main reason for this route was the ice cream store we wanted to visit was on the other side of the road.

We stopped at Sweet Savannah's for ice cream. I believe we have become ice cream snobs. I found their selection as disappointing as the ice cream store located closer to us down the road. I settled for a plain vanilla. Clark got a rainbow sherbet which he thought looked like a colorful flower in his cone.

Clark's Rainbow Sherbet "Flower" Cone
at Sweet Savannah's in Marathon, FL

Having stopped at a variety of places including the ice cream store, we were rapidly running out of time to get to the boat at the designated time. Google Maps said 23 minutes to cover the almost five miles back to the boat. With the number of side streets we had to cross plus all the utility work blocking the bike path, we knew it would take longer. We just did not know how much longer. My guess was 45 minutes. Either way we had to hustle as we only had about 35 minutes to get back. Where the ride northeast had been leisurely, the ride southwest was anything but!

Although I was putting my all into the bike, I could not get the speed I would have liked due to wind resistance. I had to buck the wind the whole way back. Clark just kept going and going, and just I kept chasing him. I was very surprised when he stopped to snap a picture of an old car along the side of the bike path.

Car by Bike Path

 I was even more surprised that he stopped to take a picture of the Blue Waters Resort. This resort has taken shape while we have been staying in Marathon for the past three weeks. In other words, we have had to listen to the construction noise the entire time we have been here. I heard that the place is to open in March, and the workers seem to be working overtime including weekends to make their date.

Blue Waters Resort in Marathon 

When we pulled into the Faro Blanco marina, I fully expected Clark to head directly to our boat to meet the inspector. However, he was sidetracked by the activity on Jammin Jane. Ben, Bob, Tim, and Brent took Jammin Jane out for a test run to check out Ben's newly repaired engine. The "boys" were just pulling up to the dock as we arrived.

I shooed Clark along as quickly as possible. Actually he left when he decided that there were enough hands available to catch lines such that he was not needed. I saw no need for me to rush back to the boat with him, so I stayed and talked to folks for a while before heading "home" to the boat. Because Clark likes to talk and the inspector was laid back, the inspection took a full two hours. We passed and now have a decal on the big boat. While he was there, the inspector also inspected, passed, and provided us with a decal for kayak safety.

The inspector came at 3:30 an left at 5:30. Normally around 5:30 I look to see who is at docktails. Due to the cold, high-speed winds we saw no one attending docktails tonight. We walked up towards the pool to see who was around and found a mini docktails going on in front of Jammin Jane. We sat there and talked for a while, but even wearing my coat, I became too cold to hang out pretty quickly. I went back to the boat and added a sweatshirt so I could try to stay warmer then went back to join the folks one more time.

Tonight seemed to be a cook-on-board night. No one seemed to be going out that I talked to. I too cooked on board and prepared stir-fry for tonight's dinner, which we ate on our boat. Plans for after my blog updates included watching more TV via the internet at cbs.com

Florida: Marathon - Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Day 228
2/24/2016

Once again I had an agenda for the day. We are always busy with some activity or some project or other. Today I had a list. First on the list was water aerobics. I convinced Clark to go with me. For once, the weather was already hot and humid at 9:00 in the morning, so it turned out not to need a "hard sell" to get him to go.

Unfortunately, we did not have the full details on the water aerobics class. I thought the yoga at 9:45 was optional, but in fact the yoga is the warm up session for the aerobics. Clark was busy with his email, and I had trouble moving him off the boat. We got up to the pool at just a minute or so after 10:00, but the aerobics had clearly been going on for a while when we got there. I was more than annoyed since I had tried really hard to move Clark along, but he managed to make me late anyway.

The water was on the cool side, but I strode right in to get going on the aerobics as quickly as possible. When there was a break in the instruction, I asked, "What time did you start today?" The instructor said they started when they had a sufficient mass to get going. I said as I pointed at Clark, "I would have been here earlier, but he [Clark] made me late." Then she asked me if I wanted to introduce myself and my husband, and I said, "No! I don't." which made everyone burst out laughing.

I did introduce myself and then after a brief pause I said, "and this is my husband Clark." I laughed out loud a while later in the session when we were doing "Tin Soldier" kicks. Clark was behind me and with each kick, he kicked me in the butt. Of course I had to tell everyone why I was laughing. Nancy from California Lady told Clark to behave or he would have to go stand in the middle of the group for misbehaving. I heard Clark say softly to me, "That is for earlier!" I do love that man - he always makes me laugh!

The water felt so wonderful that we stayed in the pool to savor the moment for a while before getting out to take care of more items on our to-do list. We got back to the boat around 11:30, so it made sense to eat lunch before going shopping at Publix - our next task. Since we had some time before the noon hour, Clark ran up top to continue working on his upper-helm light project. It has taken three days to install this light!

Yesterday he had only measured where to put the light on the steel rod. Today he had to drill the holes and mount the light on the pipe. While he worked on that job, I read my latest historical novel and eventually made lunch. Thank goodness I did not need to work on the light project with him!

After he finished the light mounting work and had eaten, we got out our bikes and headed off to Publix to buy strawberries and rhubarb. Bob from Knot Sew Easy agreed to make us a strawberry-rhubarb pie if we bought the filling ingredients. We could not refuse such a wonderful offer, and we wanted to buy the ingredients so he could make the pie today. While we were at Publix, we bought ice cream as well, so we could have pie a la mode.

Unlike the weather for the most of this month, today was a warm and humid 80-something degrees. Although biking generates its own breeze, it was still a hot, four-mile ride (two miles each way). By the time we got back from the store, I decided I needed another dip in that pool. Clark thought that sounded good, so we both suited up and went for a swim. We knew that Bob was swimming, so delivering the pie making ingredients would have to wait at least for a bit.

After swimming Clark brought the pie ingredients over to Bob's boat and then headed off on foot to get our gas tank for the outboard filled at a nearby gas station. While he was doing that I decided to attend "Yappy Hour" up by the marina building. The marina staff put out tables and chairs, water bowls, and dog-biscuit treats for all the canines currently staying at the marina.

The event was not well advertised but had a reasonable turn out just the same. Seems like no one went to docktails tonight - they were all at Yappy Hour instead.

Folks gathered for Yappy Hour with a
table setup with dog-related items for sale

Dogs played and played until they were exhausted

Benji from Liquid Asseststaking a much-needed rest from his play

Crockett from Jammin Jane 
with his owners Ben and Jane

Sadie from Sadie II
with her owners Marv and Connie

We had an invitation to join some folks at the Sunset Grill for dinner tonight, but having eaten out last night and having potential plans to eat out tomorrow, we decided to pass. We had leftover spaghetti on the boat with grilled zucchini on the side. I wonder if Clark tells the owner of the farmer's market how much we enjoyed that zucchini if we will get another free grapefruit.

After dinner Clark disappeared onto Sadie II to talk with Marv about New Jersey waters. He was gone for hours. While he was gone, a cold front with lots of rain came through. The temperature dropped rapidly from today's high of 81 to a chilly 68. In between bursts of rain, I retrieved Clark's pie for him from Bob. The pie was hot when I got it, but it had lots of time to cool while he was gone.

Florida: Marathon - Taco Tuesday

Day 227
Tuesday 2/23/2016

I decided that I could not stand it one more minute - my bushy hair needed to be cut and cut NOW! The picture I had to include in Monday's blog entry was the very last straw! I needed a makeover fast.

I told Clark that whatever else happened I needed to complete my priority agenda item for the day - my haircut! He of course had his own agenda - working on the light installation in the upper helm. He needed to drill screw holes in the stainless steel pipe to suspend it from the Bimini top. We had this discussion around 11:00 a.m. I suggested that he get his screw holes drilled and then we could head out for my haircut. After all, how long could it possibly take to drill 4 holes in a pipe.

I should know better. Working steady with almost no break except for a quick trip to West Marine for screws and later a bite to eat, we finally finished the hole-drilling project at 3:00. It is extremely difficult to drill into stainless steel pipe, and even harder to get the screws to go into the pipe after making the holes. After drilling the basic hole (x 4) and fighting with regular screws, Clark used his tap and die set to thread the newly drilled holes so that he could screw in bolts instead of self-tapping screws. It worked like a charm but took hours.

I had hoped to get the haircut earlier in the day, hit the pool, do some reading, ... Instead my only accomplishment for the day was holding the far end of a stainless steel pole in sticky, humid heat. Will I never learn???

We did go for that haircut eventually. By the time I got to the barber shop where I had decided to get my hair chopped, the clock showed 3:40. I had a recommendation from Jeanne on Daybreak that, although the owner was a lady barber cutting mostly men's hair, she also cut women's hair. She did a nice job with Jeanne's hair and the price of $14 was definitely right!

When I got to the barber shop, Clark waited outside while I poked my head in to find out how long it would take. Two men were ahead of me - one in the chair and one waiting. She told me she could get me done by 4:00. To say I was skeptical was an understatement, but I told Clark the message. He left to go shopping at West Marine instead of waiting for me.

We had traveled there by bicycle since the shop is almost two miles from the boat. West Marine is across from the marina, so he had a two-mile each way trip to go back to the store to go shopping and come back. He did not care. Four miles is nothing to him! One of the screws he purchased for the light project was the wrong thread, so he went for a replacement.

At 3:55 I texted Clark to say he could forget 4:00 because she had not even started on me yet. I love the fact that I can now text Clark. That capability is new for the loop trip with his Android phone. He never allowed texts on his flip phone that he used up until this trip. He got my message and decided since he had time he would visit a music shop on the route between West Marine and the barber shop.

The barber finished cutting my hair just after Clark walked into the shop, so his timing was good and he did not have to wait long. As we walked out of the shop, he told me that we needed to go to the farmer's market next door because the owner told Clark he could take a free grapefruit with him. It seems that the owner likes compliments on his produce, and Clark stopped in and made a point of telling him how delicious his yellow squash was from the day before.

While Clark was selecting his free grapefruit, I bought another yellow squash. The owner recognizes us since we go there all the time. When I went there the day before, he said, "I know you; you are the one with a hundred bags! Where is your husband?" (I had a bundle of reusable vegetable bags in my hands at the time.) I told him Clark would be right along since he had a quick stop to make before joining me. The owner was pleased when Clark came pedaling in and said "Oh, there he is!"

When we got back to the marina, I barely had time to grab a much-needed shower before our planned outing to the Hurricane Restaurant. Ralph from Mazel Tug rounded up 18 loopers to have dinner together for Taco Tuesday. On Tuesdays tacos are $1.50 each, so if a persons eats only tacos, the bill at the end of the night is real cheap.

The restaurant has an amazing Lego display that is a "work in progress". One wonders with the size of the display where they can expand. The section where I sat had a Star Wars display including a small army of Darth Vader warriors.

Lego Scenes Display Case

Lego Traffic Jam

Lego Motorcycle Gang

 Attendees at the looper dinner included Sea Moss, Liquid Assets, Friar Tuck, Knot Sew Easy, Jammin Jane, Dream Catcher, Sadie II, Lydia, Mazel Tug, John from Nuclear Fishin', and LeeLoo.

We planned on using our bikes to go to the restaurant even though it would be dark for the return trip. However, at the last minute we got an invitation from Marv and Connie on Sadie II  to ride in the van they rented. We accepted, which as it turned out later, was fortuitous. Ken and Josephine from Friar Tuck had ridden their bikes to the gathering, but Ken thought it better if Josephine took the car ride back. Clark took Josephine's bike and rode it back to the marina for her. He had fun, and she got a ride.

When we got back to the boat, Clark and I went back up to the upper helm to do one more step on the light installation before calling it a night. We had to mark the position for the light on the stainless steel rod in the dark, so we could get the proper effect. I sure hope we get a lot of use out of this blessed light since it has taken so much time to install it.

Although it was almost 9:30, I decided that my hair makeover day was not complete. I mixed up my own special hair color recipe and headed up to the restroom to color my hair. Too much gray was showing! I got back to the boat at 11:30 a new woman!

New Haircut

Florida: Marathon - Manatee and Farkle

Day 226

John on Nuclear Fishin' asked Clark and Ken from Friar Tuck to help him move his boat from the marina to "the hard". He is putting his boat on land for storage for a few months. As Clark headed up to meet up with John and Ken, he saw a manatee that was hanging around on our side of the Faro Blanco marina. The manatee moved through the marina from boat to boat seeing where s/he could find a drink.

Manatee on the move

Stopping for a quick drink

Several boats had water flowing out the side from running air conditioners and such, The manatee made a point of taking a drink wherever possible. They particularly like fresh water. I have been told it is bad for their kidneys, but I guess they don't know that since they seek it out and drink it whenever possible. (Water coming from running air conditioners is salt water.)

Since it was around 10:00 when Clark walked up to find John, he passed by water aerobics in full swing. They had a good crowd today as, for once, the weather was inviting for a dip in the pool. Note, however, that I am not in the pool. I did not attend water aerobics today.

Aerobics Class at Faro Blanco Marina
Moe, Trish, Liz, Jane, Ben and a few more of our friends in the pool

I decided that since Clark would be away with John for several hours that I should take advantage of his absence to get some much-needed cleaning done on the boat. I started with the dinghy cover which was just as filthy from diesel exhaust soot as the dinghy had been before I cleaned it a few days ago.

Besides the dinghy cover, I had a mountain of dishes to wash - some how they way got out of hand. I also needed to sweep the floor in the salon and clean the bathroom big time. Water aerobics would have been a lot more fun, but I definitely got my exercise today. I kept busy right up until around 1:30 or 2:00 when I finally stopped to make and eat lunch because Clark had come back.

Clark took a few pictures of his boat-moving activity.

John Gunnning at the helm of Nuclear Fishin'

With first mates Ken Roddenberry from Friar Tuck

And Clark Woodworth from Sea Moss

To get to the marina where John will keep his boat for a few months, they took the ICW towards Key West bypassed Knights Channel and then took the Moser Channel to head back east to Boot Key Harbor Inlet. Taking this route, they got a bit of a longer, but choppier, ride.

Some scenery along the way to the marina

Nuclear Fishin' on the slings ready to be lifted

and she's out of the water! So sad!

 Clark called me when the boat was out of the water to let me know they had reached their destination. He texted me periodically along the way, so I knew their progress to some limited extent. When he called, I told him I had waited to have lunch with him, so he walked back to our boat from the marina instead of stopping out somewhere to have lunch along the way.

I was just starting to make lunch when he appeared. I had been busy right up until that time with my odd jobs. Besides the boat move, the other agenda item for today was a much-needed trip to the farmer's market food stand. After finishing our lunch, we grabbed our bikes to head down to the post office, Publix, and then the farmer's market. I convinced Clark to stop for an ice cream cone since the store is in the same plaza as the post office.

Since we had a late start going to the stores, we didn't get back until after 5:00, so docktails had already started. Before we could head over there, however, I had to unpack my groceries and put away the perishables. We got over there in time to have some good conversation and some pretty fantastic views of clouds, rainbows, and the sunset.

Clouds, Pelicans, and Palm Trees

One of two rainbows that appeared simultaneously during docktails

The other rainbow that was visible at the same time as the first.

When we got to docktails, several people were already there. One person was dressed in a rather unusual manner however. Nancy was wearing a headband with two pink flowers sticking out from it. Besides the headdress, she had a magic pink wand. I asked her what the occasion was and she said that she had just been named the "Docktails Queen" (the wand was her scepter) by Anne from Morning Star. Apparently we can thank her for the fact that we even have docktails every night at 5:00 as it was her idea to make it happen. Now it is a tradition!

Deep in conversation with
Nancy from California Lady and
Jeanne from Daybreak

Clark has been doing some miscellaneous improvements to our boat. The last project that he just completed was the installation of a macerator pump for emptying the holding tank on the boat. We used to have one, but he removed it years ago. He connected the new pump to the old wiring in the boat, and it's ready for use when we need it.

The other project that he has started is the installation of an overhead light over the table in the upper helm. He purchased a steel rod that fundamentally matches the Bimini top frame. The new LED light will be attached to this stainless steel rod that will hang down from the Bimini top assembly. On occasion, in the past, we have tried to eat up there when the sun was setting. Afterwards, when it gets dark, we can hardly find the food on our plates to eat it! This new light should help and expand our nighttime living space.

After docktails and before making dinner I helped Clark measure the space for the steel bar. We decided that he needed to cut one foot of length off the 8-foot long rod before installing it. While I cooked dinner, Clark cut the metal bar down to size.

I made a grilled steak with potatoes, sauteed onions and yellow squash for dinner. As we were enjoying our meal, Bob from Knot Sew Easy stopped by to deliver us a piece of the strawberry rhubarb pie he made today. We had that for dessert. It was delicious - the perfect ending to a great meal!

After dinner and dessert, we walked over to find Bob to tell him thank you for the treat and found him on Ben and Jane's boat (Jammin Jane) with Carol and Tim from Liquid Assets playing the dice game Farkle. We did not have trouble finding him as the noise coming from Ben's boat was a dead giveaway that the action could be found right there on Jammin Jane! Next thing we knew, Clark and I were deeply embedded in the game, trying to play catch up, since the others had a big lead on playing time.

The game was loud and rowdy and lots of fun since a player could rack up a large number of points only to have the points stolen if the next player decided to try for a steal and got a lucky roll of the dice.  Maybe Ben thought we were not rowdy enough as, during the game, he pulled out the ingredients to make chocolate martinis. Clark was not interested in sampling the drink. I not only sampled but came back for seconds. Ben's chocolate martinis are served chilled in shot glass sized cups. Even so, I felt warm all over since I am not used to drinking any alcohol. They were a special treat!

The party ended at 9:50 so that Liz and Bob could walk their dog and get back to their boat in time to watch Castle. They have satellite TV. We do not. Mostly I do not miss television, but I do have a few shows I like. Castle is one of them. We have not been able to watch any television since we left Everglades Isle resort back in late January, so I am way behind on my favorite shows! Big sigh!

When we left to go back to our boat, we took a second pieced of that yummy pie with us. This one was for me!

Florida: Marathon - Looper Sunset Celebration

Day 225
2/21/2016

The long-awaited 7th Annual Looper's "Sunset Celebration" at Banana Bay Marina happened today! Some folks walked, some drove, and some even came by dinghy to the well-attended event. Clark and I walked the almost two miles carrying our appetizer to share and our two chairs plus jackets for the cool evening we anticipated after the sun went down.

We have biked past Banana Bay multiple times, but walking there today made it seem much further than when we bike the distance. One advantage to walking, however, was that I convinced Clark to capture photos of some murals I have been admiring as we whizzed by on bike. It was never convenient to stop for a photo shoot as we pedaled by. Clark tells me that the building with the murals is an abandoned Irish liquor store. Besides the murals we saw lots of leprechaun's and Irish flags on the sides of the building.

Mural showing the Overseas Railroad

Mural on building
- street performers

Another building mural
- poker game with a very nervous octopus, a card-sharp shark, and
a pelican server wearing a bow tie in the background

The walk to the picnic took us just under a half hour. Since some folks arrived as early as 3:00 to listen to a couple of boat-broker presentations, the party was in "full swing" when we arrived.

Banana Bay 7th Annual Looper's "Sunset Celebration"

Live Keys Band "4 Sheets to the Wind"

Beautiful Sunset for the "Sunset Celebration"

Even the moon decided to join the fun

and put on a great show for our viewing pleasure!

We took turns with Denise and Mark from Island Office taking photos with the sunset as the backdrop.

Island Office - Denise and Mark

Ev and Clark at the "Sunset Celebration" at Sunset

The party was scheduled from 4:00 to 7:00; however, a number of folks left around 6:30 - ourselves included. The appetizers were plentiful but did not quite make a meal for a few of us. Some folks headed out for pizza. Clark and I went back to our boat for a spaghetti dinner.

Jammin Jane and Knot Sew Easy

making their getaway after the party ended

Luckily we caught Phyllis and Sonny (Corkscrew) just as they were leaving. They had a van that could hold six and had room to give us, and our lawn chairs, a ride back to the marina. Yay!! We appreciated that ride very much and even more so about 15 minutes after we got back to our boat when we had a brief rain storm that we surely would have been caught in had we not gotten that ride!

Video of Keys Band: