2020: Day trip to Islamorada by car

4 January 2020
no boat travel.

Our neighbors, Sandy and Bill, on "L'Attitude Adjustment" have a car at the marina and invited us to go with them out to lunch. Sandy has a knack of turning what sounds like a simple get together into a splendid outing. Today was no different.

Surrendering ourselves to Sandy, Clark and I left the marina at 11:15 in the back seat of her and Bill's car with no idea where we were going or when we would get there! The ability to not have a schedule or worry about work not getting done is a true joy and reward of retirement. When Sandy and Bill started talking about driving to Florida City for an oil change, we did start to wonder what we had signed up for!

Sandy started driving north / east and took us all the way to Islamorada - a place we have been through on our way to somewhere else but never stopped to explore. Having lived and boated in Florida for many years, they know a lot of great places. They took us to a restaurant called Lor-e-lei Restaurant and Cabana Bar. 

Sitting at outdoor seating by the beach, it felt like we had been transported to the Caribbean! At 82 degrees and a bright sun, we worried about the sun and huddled under the umbrella. The wonderful waiter brought over a bottle of sunscreen which we gladly slathered over our arms and legs for protection from burning. The fish sandwiches and fish tacos were delightful. After lunch we walked around the attached marina before getting back in the car.

With no need to hurry back to our boats, Sandy continued to drive and take us to more places in Islamorada. We stopped at a couple of home-goods type stores where Sandy and Ev shopped while Clark and Bill talked in the car. When we stopped at West Marina, however, we all went in for a look see.

As we went from place to place, Sandy asked if there was any place we wished to go, and Clark spelled out, "I wouldn't mind some i-c-e-c-r-e-a-m". Sandy and bill knew of a place called Mrs. G's Gourmet Ice Cream, so we went in search to see if it was still in business (after Hurricane Irma). Fortunately, it was open! Unfortunately, it is very popular and several flavors showed only empty containers. Even so, we all got ice cream and enjoyed the treat very much.

One of the stops we made today was at a store affiliated with Brass Pro Shops called "World Wide Sportsman". As we walked towards the store, Bill told me to look for the full-sized boat inside the store. I have a hard time telling when he is joking! He wasn't joking!

In among all the clothes and goods for sale sat a full-sized boat - "Pilar" - a sister ship to a boat owned by Ernest Hemingway.

M/V Pilar,
Key West, FL

Story of the half-sister ship

View inside boat

Settee and Booth for eating

View of "Pilar" from second floor of building

Besides the boat, the store had other items of interest including architecture and statues.

Inside aquarium / huge fish tank

Outside Store

Tarpon Fish

Roosters on the grounds!

Sandy did finally drive us back to our boat. We got back to the marina about 5 hours after we left - a nice long lunch and a wonderful outing!

Weather predictions during the preceding days have forewarned of a cold front heading our way. As we sat at docktails at 5:00, we could see the clouds forming in the sky. Boating friends we haven't seen since last year showed up at docktails. Marianne and Steve, "Remember When", are staying at a nearby marina but decided to walk here to say hello. With the clouds rolling in and what looked like it could be a torrential downpour, they left at the end of docktails in a taxi. It never rained here!

With Faro Blanco's pricing policies, several friends that stayed here in the past are choosing to try Marlin Bay Marina instead. Besides "Remember When", Kenny and Jeanne on "Daybreak" did the same thing recently - stayed at the other marina and came for docktails to visit.

Sunset at Faro Blanco Marina

Here comes the front!

Early evening the winds came howling. Clark and I were sitting in our salon watching the news when Sandy called to Clark through our window. She told him a boat was trying to dock at night in the high winds and struggling to come in. This boat was about 75 to 80 feet long. When Clark got out to the dock, he found his friend Captain Mike already out there helping with lines. With some effort they got the vessel secured.


5 January 2020
no boat travel.

The weather forecasters told us we would wake up to temperatures in the 60s and they did not lie. The air temperature dropped a full 20 degrees overnight from 82 to 62, from shorts to long pants and a jacket! My bear was feeling the chill, so he is wearing a wooly hat today!

Ev did nothing today but work on the blog update! Clark helped a boating friend with some battery problems.

I learned from marina staff that the boat that struggled to dock last night refused to come into the marina during the day when the staff was there to help. They thought they would be better anchored outside rather than trying to navigate the jetty. Well, I guess that plan did not work out so well for them since they ended up entering the marina in the dark instead of in daylight when they would be able to see the jetty. According to Capt. Mike, they almost hit the jetty. Apparently when they finally did see the rocks, they reversed at high speed to get the heck out of there. Life in a marina can get exciting!