No Boat Travel
4 miles by bike
After breakfast today we pulled the bicycles out for a series of errands that needed to be done. We mapped out the logical route to visit businesses based on their location and set off on our way.
Our first stop was at a business called SALTE that sells and installs solar panels. Clark went in to request someone visit the boat to give us an estimate. I waited outside with the bicycles because he said it would not take long. Hah! I should know better!
He finally came out and we set off again - this time to stop in at the Keys Fisheries Marina to inquire about their fuel prices. Clark went into the office located there and came away with a phone number to call to get current prices. Being about one block off Route 1, we decided to bike the few blocks available to us on the side street to have a look around.
I had never been on Gulfview Street before as I did not even know it existed. We found the sights interesting.
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| Marine Bay Yacht Club |
Beautifully landscaped yacht club with a lovely fountain on one side of the road and
Hundreds of traps on the other. What a lovely view the yacht club has out their front door! (Not!)
Of course, in addition to lots of traps, we saw lots of those pesky balls that mark their presence out on the open water.
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| Traps and float markers for traps |
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| Lots and lots of float markers |
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| Even some strung together that looked like a centipede |
Although Google Maps shows this street as Gulfview, the street itself had signs saying "Louisa Street" and one mailbox had the street number with the word Louisa written on it. Whatever its name, it is only three blocks long, so we had a very short reprieve from Route 1.
I needed one item from Publix, so we stopped there next followed by Walgreen's across the street. After very quick stops at each, where Clark waited outside with the bikes, we continued on to the post office to mail some items and finally on to Home Depot to buy some supplies required for our next "home" project.
The bike ride to all these places was rather pleasant. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for the ride back. Just south / west of Home Depot and onward for several blocks, the sidewalk is closed for repairs from the hurricane. For a portion of this stretch, the highway is only one lane, so it is very busy through there. Our dilemma: how to get back to the other side of the road to get back to the marina.
Instead of looking to see if we could wiggle our way back via some back streets and parking lots, Clark decided on the head-on approach and took us through the construction site. I ended up walking my bike most of the way because we went over construction debris, ditches, and all sorts of obstacles trying to get to a place on the highway where we could cross.
The objective of reaching 33rd Street with the crosswalk was met only to find out that the signal was set to yellow flashing and the walk / don't walk sign was not functional. A friendly truck driver saw us trying to cross and stopped for us.
If Clark decides to take that same route again, he will have a rebellion on his hands. As a result of our trip around Marathon, we did not get back to the boat until after 2:00 when I finally got to make lunch. I have learned with Clark to carry peanut butter crackers with me wherever I go!
After lunch, Clark spent the afternoon with the representative from SALTE climbing all over the boat, pulling out panels for running wires, and taking measurements to be used to compute an estimate for us on the solar panel installation. After the salesperson left, it took Clark a while to put the boat back together. In the process, he misplaced a couple of items including his hat and a screwdriver. He later found them "hiding" on the flybridge where he had left them during the estimation process.
The wind continues to blow in Marathon, and the temperatures are far from ideal for sitting outside, so when 5:00 rolled around, I passed on going out to the lighthouse for docktails. I did see some die-hards pass by on the dock carrying their food offerings for the gathering. Even though I did not go to docktails, I did manage to get a sunset picture today. As one can see from the photo, the rumor that all the palms in the Keys were denuded by the hurricane is false.
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| Sunset at Faro Blanco Resort and Marina |
Since we do not have satellite TV, we have no real-time television here. Monday night we watched Madam Secretary and 60 Minutes from the night before via the internet . Tonight, we watched his and hers movies. Clark wanted to see The Battle of the Sexes about Billy Jean King and Bobby Riggs, and I wanted to watch Victoria and Abdul about Queen Victoria. We watched and enjoyed both and finally went to bed shortly after midnight.
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