As we approached time to leave Marathon for the long trip back to New Jersey, we kept a very busy schedule. It seems like the time here has flown by, and it hardly seems possible that we will leave this week.
While I spent my time scribbling on a piece of paper, Clark worked on our anchor windlass. When we took our boat out a while ago to anchor, Clark noticed a problem that needed to be addressed. It is much easier for him to fix when I am nearby to help with step-by-step instructions and making sure the instructions don't blow away. Somehow today he managed to take it apart and put it back together all on his own.
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| Faro Blanco Heavy Hors d'oeuvres |
3 March 2023
Sadly, today turned out to be my last photography workshop session. The instructor will be away next week, so classes are cancelled. Today's session, we talked about landscape pictures and color versus black and white photography. We were supposed to take black and white landscape photos during our shoot session, but almost all of my pictures were classified as portraits by the instructor as they had a centrally-focused object in the picture. I guess I did not understand the meaning of "landscape".
The pictures I took were ones where I could look at the color versus black and white results with some interest.
4 March 2023
5 March 2023
Knowing that we would be leaving soon, our friends on "L'Attitude Adjustment", Sandy and Bill, arranged what has become a yearly event whereby they drive us some place for lunch that we have never been to before. We have been as far southwest for one of these events as Key West and as far northeast as Key Largo. Sandy takes us hostage, refuses to tell us where we are going, and returns us to our marina at the end of the adventure when she is good and ready. Such fun!
Today she drove us to Sugarloaf Key to a restaurant called "Mangrove Mama's".
The restaurant has served the Keys for more than 30 years. The history of this site dates back to the construction of the railroad through the Keys.
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| Mangrove Mama's Background |
As we left the restaurant, Clark found some interesting pictures related to a devastating train wreck in the area.
As we made our way back towards Marathon, Clark suddenly asked if anyone wanted ice cream, so instead of going back to the marina, we went to Sweet Savannah's for a code treat! We left at 11:00 for our outing and got back to the boat sometime around 4:00. What a lovely day we had!
6 March 2023
They say "Practice makes perfect", so I decided to try more drawing today. I found another bobcat picture in the Everglades book and pulled out my graphite pencils. This one turned out better than the last one.
7 March 2023
On Tuesday's, Sandy picks me up in her car and we go food shopping. We first head to Duck Key to check out their farmer's market and then hit either Publix or Winn Dixie depending on where Sandy chooses to go. When Allie visited recently, she brought us a gift made by her friends, Linda and Doug, that have a booth at Duck Key on Tuesday's.
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| Handmade Sailboat Trivet |
I introduced myself to Doug at the market and told him how much I liked his work, but Linda was not there at the time.
A few days ago, Clark, Wendy, and I set up a play date for us to get together at Marlin Bay on our boat. We had a long list of options for activities, but the Wilson's only had 2 and 1/2 hours to spend with us. Wendy and I thought sure that Ellie would choose to drive our dinghy, but instead she came wanting to do art.
First she showed me her recent work ...
8 March 2023
I thought I had one more art day before the instructor disappeared for a family issue in Canada. Unfortunately, she sent email saying class today was cancelled. I realized that I was now free but so too should the Wilson girls since they had planned to attend the session.
To have visitors at Marlin Bay, we need to sign them up in advance. I asked Wendy if the girls were available to get together for an art session at the library. Fortunately, Ella and Anna May said they would love to come. I got there a little early to get one of the study rooms there, so we could talk and not bother other folks at the library. Rooms there can be reserved for two hours maximum, so I knew we had to be done by 12:45.
We had a great time. I brought a coloring book with pictures of gnomes, and we used that as a starting off place to make St. Patrick's Day greeting cards. I supplied the tools - card stock, envelopes, colored pencils and gel pens. The results of the session are shown below.
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| Ella's Card |
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| Anna May's Card |
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| My card |
Clark spent time today studying the wiring on "Glory Days" because they said they had a ground fault issue. It was particularly bad when they stayed at Fort Pierce City Marina. After much tracing of wires and checking for shorts, Clark said he could find "no smoking gun" as all looked like it should be in good working order. His only caveat related to how some switches were adjusted as this could produce an error.
Clark has been saying since we got here that we needed to get together for dinner with the North Carolina folks on Avalon and Voyage. With time running out until we leave, he finally made it happen. We gathered at 5:30 and rode our bicycles to Overseas Pub and Grill.
Trisha showed us a back way to the restaurant. She took us down a side street with private residences that said quite clearly "No Trespassing; Violators will be Prosecuted" and then through a gate that dropped us right behind Overseas. Interesting route - faster and safer than traveling through the parking lot of Steak and Lobster House with a touch of adrenaline thrown in as we potentially broke the law. Clark had some doubt that the sign would actually be enforced.
I find the art work on the walls at Overseas interesting. I sat facing one that made me stop and think a minute. I used Google to alleviate my confusion while looking at the hands on the clock.
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| Overseas Art - "Past, Future, and Presant" |
The hands on the clock say "Presant" instead of "Present" - a spelling error preserved for all to see. I wonder how many people notice.
9 March 2023
When Clark was looking at "Glory Days", Bill on "Jean Marie" said that he too had a ground fault issue. Unfortunately, his issues are numerous and access to wires very poor. What Clark found left him shaking his head several times wondering what wire went where and why. Today Clark was gone almost the whole day to look into Jean Marie's wiring. He came back at 5:00 to get more tools just as DeAnna walked by with Whatley.
When I learned that Clark planned to go back to "Jean Marie", I jumped off the boat to walk with DeAnna. I found her up by the marina building. Whatley came charging my direction as fast as he could pull the leash to reach me. Then we walked back to our boats together. Apparently, her husband, Adam, was MIA as well, so she invited me on her boat to play some cribbage. I finally left at 7:00 - still no Adam and still no Clark to be found.
At 7:20 I called Clark and told him dinner would be on the table in 10 minutes with or without him. He said that worked well because he was on his way back to the boat.
10 March 2023
Jean of "Jean Marie" wanted to take Clark and me out to lunch to thank us for his work on "Jean Marie" yesterday. Clark had other ideas. He wanted to continue his exploration into the questionable wiring on their boat. He spent another 5 or so hours following wires again today.
As I sat on my back deck / cockpit, Adam, DeAnna, and Whatley stopped by to say hello. I learned that DeAnna's brother was coming to visit, and she and Adam were soon to leave for Key West to meet him at the airport. I immediately offered to keep Whatley with me while they were gone. After his walk, they brought me Whatley, his dinner, and a favorite toy. I would have Whatley all to myself for the next 5 hours until they got back. Whatley and I both enjoyed the time together.
Whatley!
Clark returned from "Jean Marie" just as Whatley and I got off the boat for our sunset stroll.
After dinner, Clark pulled out graph paper and produced a circuit diagram for "Jean Marie". Given what he had discovered over the last two days of work, he filled up 3 sheets of 8.5 x 11 graph paper with the knowledge contained in his head.
10 March 2023
As we prepare to leave, we must think in terms of provisioning. For me that generally means food. For Clark that means fuel. With our various activities scheduled this week, we agreed that we would go for fuel today. I asked JoAnn if she wanted to come along, so she came over at 9:00 to go for the ride.
In the past when we went to Keys Fisheries for fuel, we had to turn the boat around halfway through because the hose was too short to reach tank fills located on both sides of the boat. Since we last got fuel here, they installed longer hoses, so this is no longer an issue for us. We added 217 gallons of diesel fuel at $4.17 per gallon.
We did not go for much of a ride after and returned relatively quickly to our marina although the fill seemed to be a slow fill and took what felt like a long time.
Frequently, we see sand sharks and parrot fish swimming near our dock. Pictures usually do not turn out well with the lighting and such.
11 March 2023
Today, Saturday, was another busy day. I went to the farmer's market and food shopping with Sandy to start the day. She needed to get back to Faro Blanco early today for an EST-to-DST brunch, and I needed to get back to go with Clark to the Seafood Festival here in Marathon.
Our main interest in attending the festival was to hear AdrienneZ and John Bartus perform together. They were the first performers of the show and started at 11:00. Marlin Bay is well situated in Marathon as many things are nearby. For example, the venue for the festival is located directly across the street on Route 1. No need to use bikes or pay $10 / $20 to park a car.
We were excited to get good seats in the shade for the performance.
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| AdrienneZ and John Bartus |
Unfortunately, we were disappointed as the sound quality was very poor. We could hear the guitars well enough but not the vocals. With both of these performers, the vocals are extremely important as their songs tell stories. Less than halfway through the show we left to walk around the vendor booths to see what they had to offer.
By 12:30 I was hot, hungry, and tired. We left the festival to go back to the boat for lunch. As we walked past the pool, we saw several of our friends in the water. After a quick bite to eat, I threw on my suit and went for a dip in the pool. Clark said he would be staying on the boat to read a 114-page manual for Jean Marie's boat. Shaking my head, I left him to it.
At the pool, I found Adam, DeAnna, and DeAnna's brother Vincent. They had a Pina Colada that the bartender had given them for free. Somehow I became the owner of this free drink. As we chatted in the pool, Jim and JoAnn (The Concession) and Debbie and David (Winds of Time) joined us.
As per usual, about 4:00 / 4:30 when I was ready to depart, here comes Clark with his swim bag! Fortunately, our boat neighbors (Guy and Barbara) arrived then also, so I left Clark with company to talk to.
While we were at the pool, I talked with DeAnna and JoAnn about the boat art I have done in the past. I told DeAnna if she had a good picture of her boat that I would try to do a picture for her. She jokingly told me that I should use my newly-acquired photography skills and take the picture.
I like a challenge, so when I saw her leave later to go on a motorized-skooter ride with her brother, I went to her boat and took some pictures. Then I spent the rest of the night drawing!
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| "Saltaire" at dock |
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| Internet picture of Carver 440 to help with detail |
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| My rendition |
My version of the boat is not as sleek as the real thing. I have to work on my proportions.
12 March 2023
I did nothing today but Blog. We stayed up late last night watching television. We saw "Short Circuit" - an all-time favorite - followed by "Short Circuit II". By the time both were done and we changed the clocks, it was after 2:00 a.m. until we went to bed and 3:00 before we slept.
Three times in the past week a water main has broken / ruptured near Islamorada (north of us on Route 1). The water for the Keys comes from the mainland, so a water main break in Islamorada impacts Marathon as well as Key West. Schools have closed and businesses as well due to the low water pressure.
The current advisory says to boil water until Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. Up until now, the breaks have not had much of an impact on us as we get our water from our tanks onboard. However, before we leave on Wednesday, we should add water to our tanks. (We drink the water from our tanks.) The question is will we add water before we go or not!
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