Will wonders never cease! I actually had enough skin exposed yesterday and today to wear shorts and need sunscreen.The sun saves the day. The north wind continues to blow, and only the sun breaking through the clouds makes it shorts and t-shirt weather. When the sun goes in, the fleece and long pants come out. I spoke with someone tonight who is a regular visitor to Florida in winter. He said he has never seen it this cold for this long ever before. Great! Just because we came!
Yesterday was a day of using the bikes to take care of miscellaneous shopping stops. Clark had two letters to mail, so we stopped there first. Office Depot is in the same plaza, so I popped in to pick up some mounting tape to hold my cooler cushion in place. Then we jumped back on the bikes and pedaled over to the Publix grocery store for a couple of items.
Since we were passing by the end of Blackfin Marina, we stopped in briefly to see Ralph on Mazel Tug. Interestingly, he was just climbing into his dinghy to go visit the marina where we are docked. Since he was leaving and we had more errands to run, we talked only briefly before moving on. While there we saw a huge cactus growing on the marina grounds, and Clark needed to capture it in a picture.
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| Cactus at Blackfin Marina |
For our next stop we hit the Farmer's Market for some fresh fruits and vegetables (the owner is getting to know us now). Finally we stopped at the fresh fish market and bought Stone Crab Claws and Red Snapper for supper. We were feeling the weight of the backpacks by the time we got back to the boat.
We ate our fish dinner on board last night and then watched the sequel to the RED movie that we watched earlier in the week - RED 2. Although we found it entertaining, we did not enjoy it as much as the original. It was cheap entertainment though since both movies were given to us for free by another looper who was done with them.
The weather yesterday was less windy than today (Saturday). As we made our way from store to store, Clark grumbled that it would have been a perfect day for the kayak ride he has been planning. Several days ago we went on a bike scouting mission to see where we might be able to launch the kayaks. Finally he went into the marine supply store where we bought our new battery for our generator and asked if we could use the floating dock behind the store. They said yes.
Although it was colder and windier than yesterday, Clark decided that today would do just fine for our kayaking trip. He said it would take several hours, and so I made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and packed chips and cookies for a picnic lunch to take with us.
The most physical part of the kayak outing was the portage of the kayaks from the boat to the launch dock. We had to carry both of them together plus our miscellaneous items like paddles, life jackets, water bottles, jackets, sunscreen, lunch, ... Our boat is at the back of the marina, so we had to cover the distance from there to the front of the marina - non-trivial. Then we walked the length of their driveway which goes up along the side of the hotel on premise - again a non-trivial distance. Next we crossed the infamous Route 1 to get to the south side of the island. Lastly we had to walk around to the back of the marine supply store to get to their floating dock.
When we got up to Route 1, a steady stream of traffic whizzed by. We could get a break in one direction but not both at the same time. I usually carry the front of the two kayaks. Clark takes the rear, but to cross Route 1 I told him to take the lead and decide when we should cross. A flagman working on some road repair saw our dilemma and said he would try to help. When a break appeared on the far side, he stepped out and stopped traffic on our near side of the highway to help us get across. Nice guy!!
We finally got to the floating dock and right after we dropped the kayaks in the water a guy pulled up in his car and said, "Can I help you?" Roughly translated - "What the heck are you doing here on private property?" Clark responded, "Oh no, we're fine thanks." I could not tell if he was just being dense or not because I knew from the tone of voice that the guy had no interest in "helping" us. Eventually Clark explained that we had permission from the store owner and dropped the guy's name in conversation, and then the guy in the car was all friendly and said, "I was only doing my job in challenging you, you understand." Good thing Clark got the owner's name when he asked permission.
I still don't have the balancing act down required to mount a kayak gracefully. My biggest fear is that I will flip the kayak as I try to get in or out. Well, once again, my biggest fear was realized. Just before I settled into the seat - whoosh - upside down it went and then I went swimming. Of course I was fully clothed and wearing sneakers for the long walk to the dock.
This docking area definitely does not encourage or anticipate anyone swimming in or around the area. Nowhere could we find any ladder to assist a poor unfortunate soul, such as myself, out of the water. So, here I am fully clothed and in my sneakers and no way out of the water. As I bobbed there trying to get my breath, I thought, "Hmmm. The water's not as cold as I would have expected it to be." Thank goodness!!
God must have been watching out for me. Just at the time when I went for my unplanned swim, several people appeared on the what-I-expect-would-normally-be-empty dock area. I received several suggestions from my audience on how to extricate myself from the water. Finally with Clark's help and that of another man, I got out. I placed my feet on the side of the dock on a couple of ropes hanging there, and they used brute force to pull me out of the water. As magically as they had all appeared, my audience disappeared.
Standing on the floating dock, I saw both my water bottle and my hat floating downstream away from the dock. "My hat", I whined. "My water bottle too!" Clark jumped in his kayak and went and retrieved both for me. I put the soggy hat on my head and wiped the salt off the mouth of the water bottle as best I could with salty hands and took a nice long drink.
As I stood there looking and feeling like a drowned rat, Clark said, "So, what's next?" Several thoughts ran through my mind with that question. First, it was a long way to carry the kayaks back to the boat. Second, since everyone was now gone, if I went for another swim, it might be even more difficult to get out a second time. Finally, we're here, so I might as well make use of the kayak. On the second attempt I was successful and managed to get into the kayak for our outing.
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| Finally on our way towards Boot Key Harbor |
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| Looking back at the area where we got into our kayaks |
Having been in the water for several minutes while we figured out how to get me out, I was soaked through. The sun was hot, but the wind was cold. I fluctuated between chilly and cold depending on the strength of the wind. For a while I was fine, but after a while I felt quite cold. Clark found a place near a person's private residence where the house cut the wind. We pulled over there to warm up in the full sun. Sine we were sitting there in the warmth with nothing better to do at around 12:30 p.m., we decided to eat the lunch we brought.
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| Wet and bedraggled - eating lunch |
One good thing about pulling over to the side to warm up, we got to see a family of lizards going for a walk in the sun. Two little guys led the way, and the one I assume was their mommy followed along behind.
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| Island Lizard Out for a Walk |
After lunch I had a chance to survey the situation of my clothing and realized that the green shirt I had on under my Columbia shirt would never dry. Clark suggested that I take it off. I said, "I can't I have nothing on underneath." Whereby he said, "Can't you use the 'maneuver'?" meaning take the shirt off without removing the outer shirt. I decided to try to do just that, but since the sleeves were not made of elastic like a bra strap, I could hear the stitches ripping as I struggled to pull my arm out on each side. Quite honestly I didn't care if I ripped it to shreds as long as it came off of me!
Having successfully removed my sopping wet shirt, we headed back out into the water to continue our trip. I did not get very far before I was cold again. Thankfully Clark had my jacket in his backpack. Since I had disposed of my wettest garment, I could now put the jacket on over my Columbia shirt - finally something dry to make me feel better!
As we kayaked through Boot Key we saw all sorts of boats many of which appeared to have been moored there for years. Many were rather disreputable. We saw one that was a square box structure on a floating platform with a sign on their door that read "Harbor Hillbillies". How apropos! Most of his neighbors needed the same signage. I saw several sailboats with one or more dinghies. One person clearly used his dinghy as his garage storage space as it was filled with a variety of items. Clearly he did not use it as a dinghy. The boat itself was a junkyard.
Clark spotted this one that I missed. Apparently the houseboat needed an addition.
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| Houseboat Home in Marathon with an upstairs Addition |
As we wove our way through the mooring field, I looked and looked for "Looper" boats, but all I found was one derelict boat after another. They all showed signs of current use however.
As we kayaked along I saw of parts of Route 1 I recognized from our many bike rides to the grocery store. Given that I could get an idea of how far we had gone. First I recognized the Marathon Municipal marina with its huge dinghy dock setup. Then I glimpsed the top of The Home Depot building. From that I gathered that we had traveled about a mile and a half. We continued on as far as the Sombrero Resort and Marina before deciding to turn around for the return trip.
Due to my dunk in the water earlier, followed by the chilly windy ride, in combination with the water I drank along the way, I needed a restroom desperately. Signs all over Sombrero said that everything they had to offer including restroom facilities were strictly for tenants. I suggested that we could stop at the Marathon Municipal dock and make use of the restroom there, but Clark said no because they charge a huge dinghy dock fee for the privilege of docking there for even a short stay.
As we paddled on we came to the Dockside Tropical Cafe, and I thought, "This is where drinking beer or soda would come in handy." Clark jumped out of his kayak and went to ask if they sold ice cream. I told him that I would buy a soda and pour it down the drain if it meant I could use their toilet!
I had to face the nightmare of getting out of and getting back into the kayak, but my need for the facilities outweighed my desire to stay in the kayak. I managed to crawl out onto the dock and get myself into the cafe. It wasn't until I stood up that I realized just how soaking wet my shorts were. Although the top of me had wind and sun to dry me, the lower half had no such help. I assessed the situation and decided that no one but me would be able to tell my pants were dark green because they were soaking wet. I headed straight for the restroom.
When I came out, I found Clark had ordered himself an orange juice to drink. I saw all that ice in his glass and shuddered. Just what I did not need -- an ice-cold drink!! He wandered off and left me guarding his drink. I thought he went to the restroom. It wasn't until I saw him strolling around on the other side of the bar that I realized he was checking the place out. He found a display of guitars to explore!
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| Sample Guitar at the Dockside Tropical Cafe in Marathon, FL |
With some good luck and a bit of wobbling, I managed to get into the kayak a second time to continue our journey. It felt like we bucked the wind the whole day, but the worst was the return trip. I battled the wind as I tried to make headway. There was no way I could keep up with Clark. I just kept going one stroke at a time.
I didn't dare stop for a drink of my water bottle because I would lose ground, so I just kept going. All the while I was paddling along I looked at as many boat names as I could to see if I recognized any. Voila! I found One Bay at a Time from Canada. We met them on the loop back at DuSable Marina in Chicago, IL. I called out to Clark and we paddled over to say hello. Before we even got there, we heard, "Hey Steve! It's Sea Moss come to visit!"
We hung out and chatted about Florida weather, anchoring and mooring balls versus marinas, and the Bahamas. Clark and I held onto the back of their boat to keep ourselves from floating away while we talked. Since it was getting to be somewhere around 3:00, we said we had to get going and said our farewells. Once again Clark got way out in front as I struggled against the wind.
Earlier in the day we saw almost no boats making way through the harbor. At 3:00, however, we saw a steady flow of boat traffic. I was wondering how we would pass through the "parade" to the place where we would disembark when all of a sudden Clark stopped to chat with a young man on a sailboat. Talk, talk, talk! Unlike the earlier boat where I could hold on to stay put, I had no such opportunity at this sailboat. The conversation started by Clark asking the owner if he came to Florida via the Panama Canal from Washington state. The answer was yes!
I had to keep paddling constantly just to 'station keep'. My arms were aching before we got to the sailboat. After far too many minutes of 'station keeping' I finally had to say something to get Clark moving again. My shoulders were killing me, and all I could think was that I still had to carry the kayak back to the boat when the ride was over.
I managed to get out of the kayak without incident. Folks who are good at getting in and out of a kayak, like Clark, could not possibly understand the trauma I suffer every time I have to get in or out. I really do not like going for unplanned swims fully clothed!
As we walked through the boatyard, I thought for a minute that we were locked in with no exit. The gates we came through earlier would not open. We thought they were on a motion sensor, but they must have required a key card. We were not exiting that way. Clark found a gate to one side which fortunately allowed us to exit - one kayak at a time!
By this time I had to use a restroom again rather desperately. Clark did too. I suggested that West Marine next door had a restroom. We took turns alternating one person guarding the kayaks and the other "shopping" in West Marine. All too soon our kayak-carrying break was over and we had to cross Route 1. This time we had no help as the flagman had gone home for the day.
I can carry one kayak just fine, but carrying two together is rough. I wore gloves to protect my hands, but for some reason, my left hand rebelled at carrying a kayak such a long way. I think I might have been near to getting blisters on that hand from the kayaking. At one point, when I stopped to rest, I took off my glove and looked at my fingers and they were a strange shade of purple. I told Clark I needed to wait a bit before continuing.
After crossing Route 1 we did a bunch of short hops - carry the kayaks to a spot, put them down to rest, pick up and go again, repeat. Finally as we got to the docks of the marina, I told Clark I could not manage to carry both together, so we decided to carry one at a time and play leapfrog with one then the other. We went back and forth multiple times to make progress with first one then the other until we finally got them both back to the boat. Whew!
My priorities after ditching the kayaks were ditching the salty wet clothes and getting into a shower. I left Clark washing bird droppings off the boat while I ran up to the building to get my shower. It felt wonderful to be free of salt! I noticed when I exited the restroom / laundry room area that the washers were not busy, so when I got back to the boat, I grabbed my wet garments and the rest of my dirty laundry and went back up to get that done as well.
After so much kayaking (just about 3.5 to 4 miles) and carrying, my neck and shoulders are complaining. I had some ibuprofen when I got back to the boat. Now it's time for another dose, a trip to the head, and to hit the sack. I am done for the day!
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