No boat travel.
4 miles by bike
I set the alarm last night to be sure to get up in time to get to the farmer's market before all the good stuff had been sold. Even though the wind made the idea of a bike trip less attractive, I had to go as I did not want to miss out on fresh vegetables. I also needed to stop at Publix and the post office, so we hurried through breakfast to be out as soon as possible.
Today's wind proved to be gustier than yesterday. When the wind took a short break, I could bump the bike up a gear, but when a gust hit, I practically came to a standstill and had to drop down to the easiest gear and pedal hard. On occasion I put my head down like a person would on a race bike to cut down on the wind resistance. It only moderately helped. What a workout! It made the two miles to Publix feel more like six!
Clark stopped briefly in front of the Hurricane Restaurant / Blackfin Marina to capture a picture of the flags flying over their building complex. Prior to 1989, the National Weather Service had a nationwide network using flags and pennants to warn mariners of dangerous weather conditions. One red flag with a black square indicated a storm warning. Two (one above the other) denoted a hurricane warning.
 |
| Hurricane Restaurant with their hurricane-warning flags waving madly in the wind! |
While Clark stopped to grab the picture, I stopped to grab a desperately needed drink of water. Working hard in the wind dried me out. Before I could get my drink, however, he was back on his bike and pedaling away. I watched him go as I savored my cool drink of water.
Our first objective of the morning was the farmer's market. As we approached our destination, we passed a bustling outdoor market of some sort that piqued my curiosity. After picking up an assortment of produce at the market, we backtracked to explore the other venue before continuing on to Publix.
The event turned out to be the Marathon Garden Club "January Jamboree" including a plant sale, rummage sale, and a variety of vendors of arts and crafts.
The booths were set up in the Garden Club parking lot, so cars drove down and parked all along the bike path along Route 1. It made it treacherous for those of us on bicycles. I squawked when it looked like Clark would be hit by a car backing out of a "parking space" onto the bike path. I did not believe he had seen the car, and they certainly hadn't seen him. I think they heard my squawk, however, as they had their windows open and stopped right after I yelled.
For a small space they had a good mix of vendors. They had a very interesting assortment of items for sale including clothing, honey, plants, and jewelry.
 |
 |
| I liked the artwork on wood at this table - especially the lighthouse painting. |
 |
| Free Range Eggs for sale |
 |
| "John's Jungle - African Market Baskets" |
Pigeon Key tours also had a display there including shellfish and shells to attract visitors to their island. Since the storm, the ferry to Pigeon Key leaves from Faro Blanco Resort and Yacht Club. It could not be more convenient, so hopefully we will make the trip this year.
 |
 |
Although we found it interesting to look, we did not find anything to buy. We left empty-handed and headed to the post office and Publix before making the trek back to the boat.
Contrary to the trip to Publix, the bike ride back to the boat was quite literally a breeze! With the wind at our backs, we extended little effort to fly home. I felt a little guilty coasting part of the way but figured with the energy I expended going to the store, I deserved a "free" ride going back.
Later, while sitting on the boat, Clark said that Jim needed some help with the electrical system on his boat, so after lunch, he disappeared with a backpack full of "stuff" that he might need for this job. I hung out on our boat doing some art and reading. Eventually I decided I should step outside to enjoy the sunny day. When I did I saw Jim walk by, so I asked him if Clark was with him.
"No", he said, "I haven't seen him." I must have looked perplexed because he said, "Clark is with the Jim on Third Degree." We have several boats in the marina with an owner named Jim. Until Jim told me Clark was with Jim, I hadn't really thought about the fact that Clark could be on any one of at least four boats owned by a Jim. What a good way for Clark to hide himself away for the afternoon! I might never have discovered where he was hanging out.
I decided to walk around the marina to see what interesting things might be happening and check out the splashing waves caused by the wind.
 |
| New sign at Faro Blanco installed this year in front of all the charter fishing boats. |
I found a net-tossing class underway on the grounds by the hotel.
 |
| Net tossing class for fishermen - some got it. (This one spread his net out nicely across the lawn.) |
 |
| and some didn't! (This guy ended up with a "puddle" of netting at his feet.) |
After watching the net-throwing for a while, I decided to see what was happening on the far side of the marina. The strong winds had died down some resulting in a pleasantly cool day with bright sun. My stroll took me past multiple "Jim" boats, but when I passed the last one, I heard Clark call out, "Looking for me?"
"No", I said, "Just walking." Since he started talking to me, I walked over to peek in the boat. I heard the disembodied voice of Faith ask if I wanted to come on board, so I joined them. Clark and Jim proudly announced that other than putting away tools, the electrical job was done! With the work completed, I showed up at a good time to hang out with them.
Time passed quickly. I had no watch and no phone with me, so I had no idea what time it was. It wasn't until Clark mentioned something about a sunset picture that I realized how late it was getting to be.
 |
| Sun setting behind the Faro Blanco Lighthouse |
Clark noted that we had probably missed docktails if indeed people had gathered in the wind. We returned to our boat around 6:00 and saw some folks with empty glasses in hand obviously just returning from docktails. When we asked, they said that more folks were still out there, but the food was all gone. We walked out to see who was around. Ultimately we spent about a half hour or more out there before returning to the boat to figure out what we would be eating for dinner.
Afterwards we spent a pleasant night on the boat listening to the local radio station playing very enjoyable music.
No comments:
Post a Comment