Florida: Marathon - poolside

Day 219

Miscellaneous chores took up the bulk of the morning and into early afternoon. I did laundry, for example, while Clark tried to chase down a plumber to address a frozen water pipe in our South Jersey rental property. The laundry was easy compared to getting a plumber to return a phone call. Clark  started trying to find a plumber yesterday after the tenant notified him that she had no water, but since it was Sunday, no one answered the phone.

After a rather late lunch, we decided to head up to the pool to check out the water temperature. Clark said it was warm, but his definition of warm and mine are not quite in sync. I dressed in my swimsuit in case I decided it was warm enough to venture into the water. We sat by the side of the pool for a while as Clark opened a package of parts he ordered for the boat.

Although the sun had made an appearance earlier in the day, I saw only clouds by the time I got out to the pool. Nevertheless, I decided that I would go in. I knew deep down Clark wanted to go for a swim, and only moments after I went in the pool, he followed. We were the only two in there although I heard that the water aerobics class started again this morning at 10:00, so we knew folks had been in earlier in the day. Oh well, I missed that one.

While Clark swam some odd-shaped laps in the unusually-shaped pool, I did my own water aerobics. Today I focused on activities that I thought might help strengthen my stomach muscles. After that we played for a while. It was actually quite nice to have the pool to ourselves. I relaxed in the pool doing a back float. Clark could not resist pushing and pulling me around the pool as I did so.

Deeply Relaxed in the Marina Pool

Being Towed in the Pool

Several boating friends sat poolside watching our antics. The photos are compliments of Jane from Jammin Jane who had her phone camera on the ready. She also captured a shot of the group sitting poolside while we were swimming.

Boaters from Sum Escape, Liquid Assets, and Jammin Jane

As long as I was in the water, I was warm enough. As soon as I got any skin exposed to the wind, I immediately felt quite cold. I took a nice hot shower after my swim, and while I was doing that, I later found out that Clark made dinner plans with our Jammin Jane friends.

All the time we were at the pool, Clark kept hoping he would get a a return call from one of the plumbers where he had left messages. Finally just before we were to leave for the restaurant, his phone started ringing. The back-and-forth discussions between Clark, plumbers, and the tenant as he tried to make arrangements for someone to look at and resolve the issue continued right up until after he had placed his food order at the restaurant.

Of course when it rains, it pours. He went from having no plumber returning phone calls to having one there at 6:00, one coming an hour later, and one scheduled for tomorrow morning. Needless to say, two of the three appointments had to be canceled. Once a plumber finally got there, the problem was resolved rather quickly. We know of another house a couple of blocks over from ours where the same plumber took two hours to get the water flowing. Perhaps he learned from that experience and knew just what he had to do to fix ours?

I do believe there are a number of restaurants on the island of Marathon. We have been here for more than two weeks, and besides dinner here at the marina one night, I have only been to one other restaurant (unless subs made at Publix counts as a restaurant - we did that once). I guess Clark liked that particular restaurant because that was where he wanted to go tonight - the Marathon Steak & Lobster House. I thought we would walk like we did the last time, but I was very pleasantly surprised to learn that Ben had called for a taxi to take the six of us there for dinner. I felt like I was being treated like royalty with such service!

Although the restaurant has a delicious dessert menu to go with a large selection of main course meals, we passed on dessert. At dinner last night on Knot Sew Easy everyone cajoled Bob into agreeing to make an apple pie from scratch. He made the pie today, so when we got back to the marina, we all went to Bob's boat to beg for pie. He said he had pie crust lessons from another boater who bakes every day on her boat - When I'm 64. He did a good job. The pie was very tasty!

Clark and I begged off early after having the pie treat. The laundry I did this morning was the sheets for our bed. The bed remained unmade all day long. If I wanted to sleep in it, I needed to make it! Gee life is rough living on a boat!

Florida: Marathon - Valentine's Day Dinner

Day 218

The north wind is still howling bringing a distinct chill to the air. Even so I decided that shorts and a lightweight, long-sleeved shirt made the best attire for our planned bike trip today.

A few days ago when we saw that Valentine's Day was approaching, Clark asked me what I wanted to do to celebrate the event. We talked about going out to dinner, but I hate to dine out on days when everyone feels obligated to do so such as Valentine's Day and Mother's Day. The restaurants are unpleasantly crowded. Since Valentine's Day fell on a Sunday this year that meant that we could expect crowded restaurants every night this weekend. While trying to decide what we should do, I happened to ask Jane from Jammin Jane their plans for Valentine's Day, and as a result we got an invitation to dine with them on their boat.

Since today was St. Valentine's Day and our planned boater's dinner was a BYO Steak and side dishes menu, we needed to make a trip to the food store. First, however, Clark listened to the Marathon Boater's Network at 9:00 on the VHF Radio channel 68. While he was doing that, I got wrapped up in my latest novel. Next thing I knew it was lunch time.

Right after lunch, we pulled the bikes out and pedaled our way down to Walgreen's and Publix and then crossed over and hit the farmer's market. Our backpacks were full and heavy as we made our way back to the boat. While at the farmer's market, Clark decided that we should buy a pineapple for tonight's dinner.

We bought it and then realized there was no way it was going to fit in either backpack. I ended up putting it in a separate bag and somewhat balancing it on the back of my bike (tied on of course). I only had to stop once to make an adjustment when it fell off of its perch and was banging my foot on the pedal as I biked along the pathway. Otherwise, it worked out fine but I biked back to the boat a bit slower than usual especially over the bumps in the pavement.

Since we had so much stuff filling our bags, we biked back to the boat, dumped our load, and went back out towards the stores one more time. Clark had heard on the boater's network discussion that we could get a "Welcome to Marathon" package for boaters at the Marathon Municipal Marina, so we went to see what they were giving away. I got a nice thermal-lined and zippered reusable shopping bag to add to my already abundant collection. I just cannot seem to get enough reusable bags! I truly love them for shopping and hate the plastic nonsense they give out in stores.

Biking today, even though the terrain is basically flat, was not easy. That wind!! I had to fight it every step of the way to get to the stores. Going back to the boat was a lot easier with the wind pushing.

By the time we completed our errands and put away the food purchases, it was approaching 4:00. Since our friend who had been hit by the truck was out of hospital and staying at the hotel associated with our marina, we wanted to visit her. While we were there, Ken and Jo from Friar Tuck came by to visit her as well.

Visiting Susan Gunning from Nuclear Fishin' in her hotel room

Susan was doing amazingly well. We were all pleasantly surprised by how normal she acted. I still cannot help but think that I would be an emotional wreck feeling sorry for myself. She is one strong person for sure.

I had set a goal of leaving around 5:00 to have time to prepare our food for tonight's joint dinner. We ended up leaving at 5:30. When I got back to the boat, I had to hustle to get my potatoes, veggies, and pineapple prepared for 6:00. I asked Clark not to go to docktails tonight so I could solicit his assistance when it came time to walk over with the food. As I finished my side dishes, I sent him over to the other boat with our steaks to be cooked there.

Dinner was a great success. The venue changed to Not Sew Easy to accommodate seating eight people for dinner. For the joint meal, I contributed potatoes and broccoli, Jane from Jammin Jane made baked sweet potatoes that were heavenly as well as asparagus, and Bob and Liz from Not Sew Easy made rice and deviled eggs that were addicting. Bob grilled his, Liz's, and our steaks on his boat, and Ben grilled steaks on his boat for Jane and him as well as his friends that are visiting. Everything was delicious and I ended up feeling quite stuffed. I definitely ate more than I should have.

After dinner conversation with
Ben, Jane, Casey, Josh, Clark, and Bob

One more picture
this time adding Liz and Brandy the dog to the photo

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Florida: Marathon - kayaking Boot Key Harbor

Day 216 - 217

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.

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.

Finally on our way towards Boot Key Harbor

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.

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.

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.

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!

Sample Guitar at the Dockside Tropical Cafe in
Marathon, FL

Clark inquired into the guitar collection and found that the owner, Eric Stone, had his own band - the Eric Stone Band. He displays his guitars as well as one ukulele. He got tired of traveling all the time and bought the bar so he could have a place to play where he didn't have to be on the move to do so.

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!

Florida: Marathon - sunsets

Day 215

I was not going to admit that we bought an electric blanket for the boat, but right after I ordered it, Clark told some folks. It arrived yesterday, and as I carried the box back to the boat from the marina office, I thought "Well, this should keep the cold weather away." The weather was reasonably warm, and I hoped it would stay that way. I hoped it would be like taking an umbrella to insure it will not rain.

However, by the time I was ready to climb into bed last night, I realized that the state room was cold enough that I should pull out my new electric blanket and make use of it. While I changed into my bedtime attire, I cranked up the electric blanket, and by the time I climbed into bed, it was all toasty warm and cozy. Before I fell asleep, I turned it off so it would not get too hot during the night Then sometime around 4:00 a.m. I reached over and flipped it on again for a half hour or so to chase the chill away once more. When Clark woke up this morning, he said that he had slept well because he was nice and warm all night long, so instead of taking up space as I feared, it appears to have been a worthwhile purchase.

At the time Clark told folks we ordered an electric blanket, I (not Clark) got the sensible question, "Why not just run the heat on your boat?" The answer is 1) running the heat does not warm the sheets - they are still like ice even though the room may be warm, 2) the heater takes the moisture, what there is of it, out of the air and dries me out, 3) the heater is noisier than an electric blanket, and 4) since we are paying by the kilowatt hour for electric at this marina, the electric blanket saves us money.

The temperature when we got up this morning was 55 degrees with 20+ mph winds blowing. When I leave the boat, I am wearing my winter hat, a heavy long-sleeved shirt, a heavy fleece, and my raincoat to stay warm. When the wind stops blowing, the sun is hot enough to make it comfortable. When the wind blows, it is C-O-L-D cold!! I keep waiting for that hot weather I was told I would have to deal with when I arrived in the Florida Keys!

Since the weather was uninviting, I decided that I would tackle re-organizing the boat galley today. The boat always looks a mess no matter what I do, but I thought I would try to find places to stow some things that seem to make the situation appear worse than usual. Since I did not throw things away in the cleanup process and there is definitely limited space, I am not sure how much it helped, but at least I tried.

I worked on my boat re-org project most of the day. I even went well past the time for docktails, but eventually I decided enough was enough and went over to the lighthouse to see who was still around. I got to talk to a few folks, but the big deal today was the sunset. The weather has been too nasty / cloudy to provide sunsets earlier this week. Tonight's light show actually took me by surprise.

Clark was busy on the boat and did not make it over to docktails at all. I called him to alert him about the sunset, so while I took pictures from the lighthouse, he took pictures from our boat.

Clark Sunset - nearby our boat

Clark Sunset - distance shot of lighthouse

Ev Sunset - zoomed out

Ev Sunset - zoomed in

The sunset seemed to last a rather long time tonight and ranged in color from yellow to orange to orange-red. I had the pleasure of enjoying the view with Kenny and Jeanne from Daybreak.

Florida: Marathon - "for the birds"?

Day 214

Sometimes I get a tune in my head and no matter what I do I cannot get it out of my head. Well this morning, instead of a tune, I had the instant replay of last night's traumatic event playing over and over and over again in my head. I woke at 6:30, and no matter what I did I could not think of anything other than the events of the previous evening. Consequently I could not get back to sleep. Needless to say that when I finally decided enough was enough and dragged myself out of bed, I was groggy and had a headache.

We got a call from Ken on Friar Tuck around 7:30 to give us a status update. The person who got hit by the truck on Route 1 lost a lot of blood and suffered three broken ribs. Because of potential complications from the accident, the local hospital decided to transport the injured person via helicopter to a hospital in Miami. After their assessment, we heard that the recovery time is expected to be six to eight weeks. Thank goodness the end result was not far worse.

Getting out and about helped us to focus on something other than the accident. We did leave the marina grounds today, but we did get the chance to talk with a number of other boaters / loopers staying here at the marina. It seems like talking may be the only thing I accomplished today as I cannot think of anything else particularly noteworthy.

At 5:00 we headed up to the lighthouse for docktails, but we never got that far. As we walked past the pool we saw Ben and Jane from Jammin Jane waving to us, so we walked over to say hello. We never got any further than that. We sat there by the pool getting colder and colder and by sundown I was quite miserably cold.

I am sure that folks living in the northern states have little to no sympathy, but I thought I would have much warmer weather here in Florida. The high today was 63 degrees. I understand the normal average temperature is 78. I would be thrilled with 68 at this point! I have not been able to use the pool since we first got here. Someone tried today and said that he could not get any more than his big toe in the water because it was "too darn cold"!

I guess since the human guests are not using the pool, this pelican thought it was fair game to go for a swim.

Pelican in the Faro Blanco Marina Pool

We were sitting around the pool having our own docktails with Knot Sew Easy and Jammin Jane when he decided to fly in for a swim. Two of the three dogs at docktails with us took exception to the pelican's company though and chased him off.

I guess the marina is "for the birds" because as we looked to see where the pelican went, we saw that another feathered visitor had arrived and perched on our friend's boat.

Egret on top of Nuclear Fishin'

As Clark was busy taking the egret's picture, he (the egret) decided to move to the dock and pose right next to where Clark was standing.

After docktails, we saw Jim and JoAnn from Namaste. They planned on eating dinner here at the marina with Ken and Jo from Friar Tuck. We decided to join them. We had advance warning that the menu was "gourmet" with "gourmet prices". That assessment was right on the mark. The pricing was exorbitant and a la carte. I had hoped that I might find an option for a hamburger as a low-cost meal, but no such luck!

Clark and I finally did what the other two couples did - we ordered an appetizer and split it as our main meal. Lobster macaroni and cheese seemed a popular choice, so we went for that. I ordered Brussels sprouts as a side and Clark got asparagus. In fact, when all was said and done, it was a filling and yummy dinner. After we had already settled the bill, Clark remembered that he had a 10% off coupon in his pocket. He mentioned something to the assistant manager and received a 15% off coupon for our next visit. Sad thing is I am not convinced I will be able to get Clark to come back another time.

Florida: Marathon - the unexpected

Day 212 - Monday 1/8

Finally the wind settled down and the weather was nearly pefect today. Unfortunately, all day long I suffered from allergies with watery eyes and a problematic nose. It basically sucked the energy out of me. Nevertheless I managed to get my laundry done. As the clothes made their way through the wash and dry cycles, I made progress on the Mary Balogh novel I was reading about coal miners in Wales in the early 1800s. I love novels based on historical fact, and she is a favorite author of mine.

While I enjoyed my novel, Clark spent the afternoon on the boat strumming his guitar. During the day several boats came into the marina, so we had some new folks to meet and some old friends to catch up with. Among those who came in yesterday were Nuclear Fishin', Jammin Jane, and Friar Tuck. At the point in time that Jammin Jane came into port, we had a number of folks who knew they were arriving, so as they tied up to the dock, they had a whole welcoming committee to greet them.

Having wiled away the day between our hobbies and chatting with other boaters, we headed over to "dock"tails at 5:00. The last time we walked over to the lighthouse for 'dock'tails, no one was there. On Monday, however, with all the new additions, we found a large crowd.

"Dock"tails Crowd at Faro Blanco Lighthouse

Earlier in the day, John and Susan from Nuclear Fishin' invited us to join them and Ken and Jo from Friar Tuck for dinner at the Sunset Grill, so that was the plan until John heard about docktails. He wanted to go. Susan said she could not see any point in going to the Sunset Grill if we arrived after sunset, so we put off going to dinner until Tuesday night.


Day 213 - Tuesday 1/9

Today the high winds were predicted to come back again. Although we noticed some wind, it was nothing compared to this past weekend. Clark asked me what I wanted to do today, and I immediately said that I needed to go to the food store. With that in mind, he suggested that we go visit Mazel Tug (Ralph and Linda) at Black Fin Marina first because it was on the way.

Before heading out to see Ralph and Linda, we stopped by to chat with Ben and Jane on Jammin Jane. They told us all about the problem they are currently having with their forward head. We had quite a few laughs about head jokes including a discussion on them serving up chocolate pudding later if we stopped by. We declined the offer, said goodbye and took off on our bikes.

We spent about an hour visiting Ralph, Linda, and their dog "Chewy". Finally I told Clark we had to get moving because we had shopping to do before we could eat lunch. Before leaving we took a spin around the marina to see the sights.

A "house in the keys"

Black fin Marina

Black fin Marina 

We bought enough items at Publix that we filled our two backpacks. I planned on stopping at the Farmer's Market on the way back, but we had no room in the backpacks for more.  Clark suggested that we ride back to the boat, unpack, eat lunch, and then head back out to go to the Farmer's Market to get our produce.

When we got back to the boat, we found that Clark had a missed call on his cellphone, so we followed up and found out that Susan from Nuclear Fishin' had called to arrange dinner for tonight. We decided to make a pit stop at the marina restrooms before heading off on our bikes. As we pulled up to the bike rack, we found John and Susan there. Susan was waiting for a taxi to go to the food store, but John was on his bike.

We invited John to go with us to the farmer's market, and he readily agreed to join us. We went to West Marine first, then the farmer's market, then The Home Depot, and then the Discount Sandal store. Between the three of us, we bought something at every place we visited. Very quickly my watch showed the time approaching 5:00 "dock"tails, so we pedaled back to the boat to get ready for docktails and dinner.

Suggested time for dinner was 6:30 which meant leaving the marina around 6:15 for the walk to the restaurant. We were a little late leaving docktails and therefore late leaving the marina, so it was getting dark by the time we started walking down the path that follows along Route 1. The marinas are all on the north side of the highway and the restaurants and stores are almost all on the south side, There are almost no crosswalks to help pedestrians cross the road. The road is extremely busy, but with patience, breaks do appear in the traffic.

The six of us got down to where we needed to cross the street and looked for an opening. Of the six of us, three decided that the traffic had thinned enough to cross. Three of us decided not to attempt the crossing. As the three of us that had decided to hold back stood there, one of our party who had decided  to make the crossing was knocked to the ground by a passing truck right there in front of us.

I think I am fortunate that I was looking down at the time. I missed seeing the accident. Clark saw it. I heard the hit. I froze as I saw my friend lying there in the middle of the highway. I am not the best person to have around when an accident occurs. I behave like the proverbial deer in headlights. Two young twenty-somethings ran past me and out onto Route 1 waving their arms and yelling stop to the traffic coming at them.

They were from Iowa and were really helpful. After they got the traffic stopped, the young lady immediately got on the phone to call 911. I was still in shock watching this surreal event going on around me not believing that this was actually happening as I watched. The young man from Iowa said he saw the accident and was afraid he would be hit next as he tried to stop the oncoming traffic and thought they would not stop.

Somehow a bunch of people managed to get the injured person to our side of the highway. The person who was hit had a head wound, and as I have always heard with head wounds, there was a lot of blood. Once again the young lady from Iowa stepped up to help. She told a person from a store across the street that we needed towels for the bleeding, and he went back and got some. How he managed to cross Route 1 multiple times so quickly is beyond me, but he did it.

It felt like forever, but eventually the police arrived. As the police car came racing down Route 1, we started waving our arms. Initially we thought they would fly right by. In fact the man standing next to me said, "Where are the going"?  At the last minute they stopped. After a much longer wait, the ambulance finally arrived, and after a much longer time still, the medics put the injured person in the ambulance for the trip to the hospital.

Since Clark had seen the accident, he and other members of our party, who had also seen what happened, gave written statements for the police. When the police finally finished with us, Clark and I headed back to the boat to see what I could cook up on board. I had no appetite but knew I should eat. We ended up with hot dogs for dinner. Earlier in the day when we were visiting the folks on Mazel Tug, they gave us two DVDs to bring back to the boat to watch. It seemed like a good time to watch a DVD to take our minds off the accident. We watched the movie RED with Bruce Willis.

We received a phone call during the movie that our friend was being well taken care of at the hospital and was doing well - a blessing really as the whole scene, although awful, could have been a lot worse.

Florida: Marathon - Super Bowl Sunday

Day 211

We were naughty and stayed up late last night catching up on episodes of some television shows that we like to watch. Consequently we were late to rise this morning. When we did wake up today, we found the weather to be cold, overcast, and windy with wind gusts consistently measuring in the high-twenty mph range once again.

Sometime in the last couple of windy days, Clark added a line to the boat because the dinghy was hitting the dock to our stern. The additional line does its job to hold the boat off the dock, but now the gap we have to cross to exit the boat is significantly wider. The lines are tied such that we cannot pull the boat all the way over to the dock to step off without taking a very long step. Every time I get off the boat I am very glad I have long legs.

Waves and splash
Note the waving flag showing the force of the wind

By the time we had walked up to the restrooms and taken our showers, we returned to the boat late morning. I decided that it was a perfect opportunity to have a Sunday brunch, so I made eggs and pancakes. Once again the weather made me feel lethargic. Clark and I both sat and read after brunch, but eventually we decided to head out on our bikes to explore a bit.

First we headed down to the Turtle Hospital to find out their hours and times. At $22 per person admission fee I seriously have to think about how interested I am in sick or injured turtles. We left there with a brochure so that if we decide to come back we can reserve a time slot for our visit.

After leaving there Clark went looking for a place on the other side of the highway where we could potentially launch kayaks. I followed him up and down and all around the various side streets as he scoped out possible options. We really did not find any very good options. We did find some very bad ones though.

As we wandered around looking for a place to launch a kayak, we followed one street that ended at an area with a number of fixed, cement docks. These docks were totally unacceptable for even attempting to get into and out of our kayaks (for me at least). While we were there, however, Clark managed to snap a picture of the Boot Key Harbor bridge.

This bridge is out of commission as the bascule is missing. The bascule part of a bridge is the movable section of road that allows tall boats to pass through.

Boot Key Harbor and
Boot Key Harbor Bridge

After scoping out the kayak situation, Clark wanted to do more exploring, but my heart was not in bike riding today. I did not have the energy to fight the 20-something mph winds. Puddles flooded the side of the main road where we needed to bike, and where we could find dry spots, we were forced to bike on rocks. My fold-able bike with very small diameter and width tires is not made for riding on rocks.

I told him he could continue to explore if he wanted, but I was going to go back to the boat and hopefully get myself back on board. Thankfully he abandoned today's mission and came back with me. I seriously doubt that I would have even attempted to get on the boat without him.

We decided to watch the Super Bowl in the marina restaurant tonight. As I mentioned in prior posts, we get two Spanish-speaking stations on the TV and none other. We certainly could not watch the game on our boat. We spoke to lots of other boaters today - many with satellite TV on board, but we did not get any offers to come party. Knowing that we needed to get to the restaurant, specifically the Captain's Lounge, early to get a seat, I decided to make an early dinner to get it over with.

At 5:30 we headed up to see who was at the bar and claim seats before the game. Fortunately, shortly after we arrived, Kenny and Jeanne from Daybreak walked in. They grabbed a table, and we joined them. The game is always better when shared with others. This is the first time in more years than I can remember that we have not gone to a Super Bowl party at my friends', Janet and Rich's, house.

The Captain's Lounge has a large flat-screen television. Thinking that we would have nice weather for game day, the marina brought in a huge TV screen with the plan to put it up for folks to watch the game outdoors. With the high winds and the low temperatures, the TV had to be put up indoors instead. It took up a very large portion of the lounge as it covered most of the length of one whole wall. In the picture below both screens are visible. The one to the right looked large until the other one was set up next to it.

Talking to Jeanne from Daybreak during the big game

As we were talking to various boaters today who are more familiar with Florida's climate than we are, we learned that these cold temperatures and high winds are far from normal. Everyone says it is due to el nino. Before getting here, I was worried that I would find Florida too hot and instead I find it too chilly. Go figure! 

As I was leaving the game to go back to the boat, I saw the person who volunteered to lead us in water aerobics class. So far we have had one session out of three as two were canceled last week due to lousy weather. She asked me if I would be attending aerobics tomorrow. I said, "That is entirely weather dependent. I am not one to go swimming when the temperatures are in the 60s". When Clark and I got back to the boat, he checked the weather. The high tomorrow is 68, but I am sure that we will not see the high at 10 o'clock. I can guarantee that I will not be participating in the water aerobics class tomorrow morning.

For those of you with the right device and browser, here is a video of today's windy weather ...