2022: Coco Plum Beach in Marathon

 22 January 2022 -- Saturday

After visiting the farmer's market and food shopping in the morning, I got busy doing laundry after lunch. Just after 1:00, I got an unexpected phone call from my boating friend, Sandy, who invited us to join them for an outing to the ice cream shop in Marathon. Knowing Clark wanted to do more boat polishing, I asked him, and not surprisingly, he jumped at the chance for ice cream. Polishing could wait!

Sandy and Bill picked us up at 2:00 at the entrance to Marlin Bay Marina

and drove us to Sweet Savannah's. It is the only real good place in Marathon to get ice cream.

After finishing our ice cream treats, Sandy told Clark and Bill to stay put while she and I walked to the other end of the plaza to do some browsing in the gift shop located there. Neither of us bought anything but it is always fun to look. It gave Bill and Clark a bit of time to chat as well.

When we go out with Sandy, she often holds us prisoner and takes us to unexpected places. Today was no exception. She will never say, until we get there, where we are going. It is always an interesting surprise. Today she took us to Coco Plum Beach. It is beyond our normal biking range and therefore a brand new experience for us.

Coco Plum Beach has a small-sized beach area with a parking lot and a restroom. It would be a great place to take kids to play in the sand on a less-than-crowded day.

Clark and Sandy on Coco Plum Beach

Views of the beach ...

At the parking lot ...

"Turtle Tracks" Instructional Picture

Parking lot picture including restrooms
and covered picnic tables

View from Coco Plum Beach

When we got back from out short tour of the unexpected, Clark got busy with his polishing yet again, and I worked on my latest Blog update.

No sunset picture for today, but Clark did get a sky picture he refers to as the "Vortex".

23 January 2022

Today was a busy day for walking. Friends of ours, whom we met while doing the Great Loop, were in town to have their boat dropped in the water. While retrieving their boat, they took a room at Blackfin and invited us to come visit. Blackfin is reasonably close to us, so we decided to walk.

Cute sign at the office door

Looking for John and Susan's motel room

Some very talented person had painted the picnic tables at Blackfin. 

Picnic Table Art: Sailboat

Picnic Table Art: Lion Fish

Walking around the marina, we saw other pieces of art as well. 

Ornate bird bath

We picked one very cold and windy day to go to Blackfin. The wind was the main reason I did not want to go by bicycle.

Waves kicking up in the wind

The marina has this ridiculously large chair by the beach.  I felt like Lily Tomlin's "Edith Ann" sitting in it. After I slid backwards into the seat, I wondered if I would be able to climb out again. Every wiggle forward had me sliding back into the chair once more! A helping hand from John got me out.

John and Susan - "Nuclear Fishin"

Not easy to get in or out of this chair

Just call me "Edith Ann"!

Views at Blackfin Marina and Resort ...

Strong wind blowing the palm trees

Banana Bay Resort just west of Blackfin

No idea what was so interesting in the water!

We stood and talked to John and Susan in the parking lot for a long while before heading back to Marlin Bay. As we stood there, we seemed to collect more and more people. We met a few other folks that were also staying in either rooms or an apartment at the resort. Blackfin definitely feels more like a community than a motel. Everyone seemed well acquainted with the other residents. 

As we stood having what I referred to as a "parking lot party", a woman walked by with a fishing pole wearing shorts and a thin shirt. On her way by, she mentioned that it was a "bit nippy". I told her "... it only gets worse!" The closer to the water, the less wind protection. About 5 minutes later she walked back the other way, "Too cold for me!" she said.

The Hurricane Restaurant has been closed for a couple of years, but the owner of the resort has the back, outdoor area set up for use by folks staying at the resort. Susan and John told us that a group of them went there to watch football playoffs to make it a community event.

We arrived at Blackfin at 1:00 and arrived back at Marlin Bay at 3:00. Other than my brief stint in the "Edith Ann" chair, I had been either walking or, mostly, standing for those two hours. I should have brought water with me. By the time I got back to the boat, I felt washed out. A couple of glasses of water and a short lie down and I was fine. 

Clark was a bit confused and thought the Chili cookoff was occurring at Faro Blanco today. He was disappointed that I "collapsed" after our Blackfin visit. Since I had not seen any news about a Chili Cookoff, he pulled out his phone to show me the Facebook post. "Look", he said, "it says 4:00 to 6:00." "Look", I said, "It also says January 30th!" 

By 4:30 I felt fine, and so we decided to walk to Faro Blanco anyway just to see who was around for docktails. A few folks were there at docktails when we arrived at 5:15. We learned that one couple we saw has sold their boat and are returning to Chattanooga and won't be back for at least another year or so. It was very fortuitous that we decided to make the walk.

When we returned to the boat just around sunset, the winds had picked up and were reportedly around 21 mph. All told we walked about 5 miles today. Blackfin was just under a mile away and Faro Blanco is about 1.5 miles away. It might have been faster to bike to Faro Blanco, but I was not willing to deal with the wind.

25 January 2022 - Tuesday; Happy Birthday to me!

I have been whining for weeks that we only ever eat on the boat. Since I do all the cooking, it gets very tedious. I remember a few days back saying I wanted to eat out, and Clark reminded me that we planned to eat out on my birthday. "But that's 10 days away!" I moaned. 

Today, being Tuesday, Sandy came and picked me up for what has become our weekly trip to Duck Key to check out the farmer's market there. The first couple of times we went, we found a bread vendor that we liked. I liked the multi-grain bread, and Sandy liked the pastries. The last two times we went, that vendor was not there. Another vendor that sold smoked fish has not appeared recently either. Even so there are a lot of vendors with good offerings.

Anyway, on our outing to the market, I mentioned to Sandy that today was my birthday, and Clark and I planned to go out to eat. I asked if she and Bill would like to join us. She replied with a very enthusiastic yes. Clark and I planned to go to Key's Fisheries since it is close by.

Keys Fisheries Billboard - a different name every year

However, Sandy had other ideas. Since she has a car, she is not constrained by distance. She suggested we go to Boondocks Grille and Draft House for lunch. It is located almost 30 miles away at Ramrod Key and not some place we are likely to bike to. Clark had the grouper platter, and I had the lightly-blackened yellowtail fish dinner. The food was heavenly! 

Watchout ....
"Unattended Children will be used as 
Shark Bait"

After lunch, Sandy drove us around the area a little to show us places we could get to if we came here by dinghy. As we turned down one street, we found a flock of birds standing in protest. They refused to give way until Sandy practically drove over them. We did not hear any crunches or splats, so apparently they eventually must have moved out of the way.

These Ibis were too stubborn to move!

Once we headed back to Marathon, we saw something that Sandy and Bill had told us about previously. A man was standing on the outside of a helicopter working on the electrical wires. 

Helicopter repair work for the power lines

Looking closely at the helicopter, one can see a man standing on the landing gear while working on the pole. No amount of money would get me to take this job!

Look close ... See the man leaning over the pole!

We got back to the boat just before 3:00 when my son said he would be available to video chat for my birthday. Usually the kids monopolize the call. This afternoon, since they were in school, I got a nice long talk with my son for a change.

After the call, Clark and I decided to go for a walk around the marina. Truth be told, we did not do too much walking. We got to the other side of the marina and found folks to talk to - Mike and Mary on "Manitou". These are the folks who started out on our dinghy trip with us and then bailed out due to rocky seas. We did not really meet them at that time as we were socially distanced by our dinghies. 

As we sat and talked with them, the sun went down. Clark was paying enough attention to grab a sunset picture for tonight.

As part of the birthday "package", I no only got to eat out for lunch, but Clark made pancakes for dinner. Well, I did mix up the pancake mix and I did make the blueberry syrup he likes, but he did actually do the cooking of the pancakes! 

Later that evening, my Idaho grandchildren called me for a video chat. We had a lovely time on the call.

All told it was a wonderful day.

26 January 2022

After several days of sweaters and jeans, it was a great surprise to wake up this morning and need shorts and a t-shirt. Clark saw our boat neighbor, Trisha, from "Journey" swimming laps in the pool and decided to join her. That gave me a whole hour on the boat alone to do whatever I wanted. 

I decided that what I wanted was a cleaner boat, so I pulled out the vacuum cleaner first and then a bucket of water second. I noticed the last time we went out that the steering wheel for the upper helm was speckled with rust spots. A bit of Barkeeper's Friend and a little elbow grease do wonders to remove the spots and bring a nice shine to the metal. 

After cleaning the steering wheel, I moved on to the handrail behind the upper helm. This area is normally blocked by the kayak that we store here. Clark has the kayak on the swim platform for quick access right now, so I had clear access to get busy scrubbing.  I was happy with the results when I finished. Just as I was ready to put my cleaning items away, Clark appeared having swum 16 laps in the pool.

Having done my chores, I spent the rest of the day reading or doing word puzzles. AARP has several games I like. Codewords is great. The Daily Crossword Puzzle is very easy, so I do that based on seeing how fast I can solve it. I find the Daily American Crossword puzzle challenging and have not yet been able to solve any puzzle completely. Some days are worse than others! Also, along with lots of other folks, I recently discovered Wordle and have been doing that on a daily basis as well. I justify my addictions saying that it keeps my mind sharp!

Clark did yet more polishing on the boat. Will he ever finish? Around 6:00 I heard him say there was a nice sunset, but he says that all the time. Too bad I did not get up to look as I learned later it was a spectacular sunset. I wish he would pick his words more carefully.

27 January 2022

Today has been an interesting weather day. This morning when we woke and walked up to the head, we had fog. 

View from boat at 9:00

With temps in the 70s and the heavy mist, Clark had a tough decision - to swim or not to swim. He decided to take his swim bag with him and decide when he got up there. Since Trisha was just getting into the pool that helped sway his decision, and he dove in. 

After lunch, Clark pulled out the polisher and went to work on the hull yet again. As we worked on the boat, the sun eventually came out in full force. 

Same picture as above around 2:00

The polishing has not been going as well as he would like. When he quit today, he was dissatisfied with the results and said he may have to do a section again. All I can do is shake my head. It is so much work!

Around 3:00 Clark looked out the window and said, "Hey look at the fog!" Yep, it came back again. 

3:00: Fog returned - thicker this time!

Our friends on "Bagus" invited us to join them for pizza from "Upper Crust Pizza" for dinner tonight. The restaurant does not have outside dining, so Clark wants to do takeout. We have not tried their pizza before, and we thought it would be nice to know a place where we can do takeout if desired.

The plan ...

Anette said we would get together at 5:30 to check out the menu and call in an order then walk down the street to pick it up and bring it back to the boat. 

Since that will be later today, at the time of publishing this blog entry, I do not know how we fared!

Stay tuned ...

2022: Pigeon Key via 7 Mile Bridge Bike Trail

 20 January 2022

Walking through the pilot house today, Clark noticed that the bilge pump light was on continuously. He pulled up the hatch cover to the bilge to check it out and found no water in the bilge, but the pump was still running. He wiggled it and got it to stop running and then decided he better check for a leak. He found a drip of fresh water coming from the water pressure meter located at bottom of the expansion tank. 

Since he did not have a replacement gauge, he removed the gauge and replaced it with a plug to stop the leak and ordered a new gauge from NAPA Auto Parts. 

Old part

After the "excitement" of the water pressure gauge, Clark went back to polishing the boat. It appears to be a never-ending task.

Yet more polishing of the boat

Busy with the polisher, Clark yelled for me to come with a camera to grab tonight's sunset pictures.

21 January 2022

Since it is very hot work, the sunny weather with a lack of wind did not suit Clark's purposes for polishing the boat. He asked me what I planned for today, and I said I wanted to bike the newly-opened 7 Mile Bridge bike trail to Pigeon Key. Admission is free to Pigeon Key via the trail until the 1st of February. 

The round trip excursion, according to Google Maps, equals 9 miles of distance. We decided to go in the morning to avoid the hotter part of the day. As we biked the new trail, both Clark and I were busy with the cameras on our phones!

The parking lot was full with cars waiting for spots to become available when we arrived at the park. Although not clear from the photos below, there were quite a few folks walking or biking the bridge. The weather proved to be perfect for the outing.

View of entrance from edge of parking lot

Speed limit 15 mph
No Fishing from Bridge

Mile markers are painted to show distance covered
along the way

The lanes are clearly marked for bicycles. However, pedestrians were inconsistent in their use of the trail. Some kept to the right. Others weaved in and out of the bike lane as they strolled along. Couples sometimes walked with one to the right and the other half in the bike lane. I saw one pedestrian walking along the yellow line playing a game on his phone. I guess it was easier to make sure he stayed going straight if he followed the yellow line! Another one walked along reading a book. All I could do was shake my head in wonder.

Pigeon Key in the distance

View from bike trail of the Pigeon Key Ferry at dock

Ferry and boaters' dock

End of the finished trail

View of bridge section beyond the
scope of the new bike trail
(Included as a "Before" picture)

Distance on bridge itself is
2 miles from start to finish

Entry to Pigeon Key
Large sign: No Pets Whatsoever Allowed
Smaller sign: Free admittance until 1st Feb 2022

View from bottom of ramp into 
Pigeon Key

Welcoming Bench

Insignia: 
Florida East Coast Railroad 
Flagler System

Normal admission fee: $12 each

View of bridge old and new where new = blue

We walked our bikes around with us as we explored the grounds. The only people we saw besides visitors were workers working on fixing buildings damaged by the last hurricane or two.

"Paint Forman's House 1912"

"Bridge Tenders House 1912"

"Assistant Bridge Tenders House 1912"

The Assistant Bridge Tender's House now serves as the Pigeon Key Museum.

A few years back a group of us from Faro Blanco decided to come by ferry to see Pigeon Key. Even so, Clark and I decided to pop into the museum to refresh our memories on what was inside. As soon as I stepped into the building, I remembered the exhibits.

Before leaving I wanted to use the restroom. After going inside, I remembered this building as well.

Under construction - man painting the outside of
this building.

Off to one side, we saw a large group of school-aged children listening to a lecture. We stayed away so as not to disturb their session.

We got to see the refurbished bridge from lots of different angles and perspectives. 

Having seen everything there was to see, we left Pigeon Key around 11:30 for the ride back to the marina. As we passed Faro Blanco at 12:15, Clark said, "Do you want to stop by to say hello?" I adamantly declined saying, "We need to eat lunch, and if we stop, you'll be there 2 hours, and I'll faint from hunger. No thank you." We kept going!

When we got back to the boat, Clark called NAPA to find out if the part he ordered arrived. They said the part was in. I told him that I could pick it up on Saturday when I was out shopping, but he seemed excited to go get it. As an incentive to get me to go with him to NAPA, he offered to stop at Sweet Savannah's for ice cream. 

Not even that could persuade me to ride to the store. After biking the 9 miles on the Pigeon Key outing, I did not feel like biking another 9 miles to go pick up a pressure gauge. When I checked on distances, it turned our that NAPA is as far east of us and Pigeon Key is west of us! I passed on the trip; he went. I enjoyed time for myself on the boat. 

Clark returned from the store excited to tell me about the helicopter that kept circling the Marathon airport. It flew low to the ground and turned sharply. Clark kept thinking about the mess it would make if it crashed.

Plane taxiing at airport while the helicopter is 
flying in circles nearby.

He did manage to collect the new pressure gauge from NAPA. However, busy with  other activities, Clark has yet to install the new gauge.

New Part

Clark told me that as he biked to NAPA the wind picked up in intensity. The bike to NAPA turned out to be more strenuous than the trip back to the marina from Pigeon Key even though both trips were in the easterly direction. Hearing that, I was even happier I had declined the invite to join him on the ride.

A boat in this marina has the name "Sweet Caroline" with musical notes surrounding the name. Clark discovered that the owner plays guitar. After talking for a while, they agreed to meet by the marina's lookout tower with guitars in hand at 5:30 to play some songs together. Clark came back to the boat after dark. It must have been a good session.