Marathon, Fl. Feb. 8-15, 2015: Week 4

 

The stars shine bright in the night sky.  It is amazing how many stars appear in the sky here in the keys.  The Big Dipper is not always as visible as it is up north but we can always see Orion’s belt and thousands of other stars.  Some are bright, some twinkle and others are just really bright.  Soon we will be looking for the Southern Cross which will appear here for about 10 days.  Star gazing in Marathon – a wonderful pastime.

This week we did some new things.  We attended an Art fair which is a fund raiser for Pigeon Key which is a state park.  It used to be one of Flaglers work camps for the railroad.  Tom got a haircut at a local place called Easy Does It barber shop.  It was windy that day and the barber was busy because the men could not fish and did not want to complete their “Honey Do List” so instead they got a haircut.  Colletta did yoga on the pool deck of the resort at Hawks Cay.  It was a peaceful setting with the water close by and very relaxing while staring up at the beautiful blue sky – Namaste. We also used the dingy often this week.  One day Tom and I went for a ride and went around Key Colony Beach – which is an island, which included a ride on the ocean.  We stayed close to shore and out of other boats paths and enjoyed looking at the island from another angle.  We also took the dingy out with John and Craig (another friend visiting from the frigid cold around Chicago).  That ride consisted of going up and down the canals and inspecting all the houses and boats – until our beer ran out.  We also enjoyed lunch at Burdines which is right on the water at Boot Key harbor.  We also drove to Pine Key and Springers. Once a week, on the deck at Springers about 10-12 musicians gather and have an informal “jam” session.  Songs are randomly chosen and everyone just plays, improvises, and sings along – and we get to listen.  This week there were 3 banjos, a mandolin, a keyboard, a bass, a harmonica, and 4-5 guitars.  It was wonderful listening to these people play.  It made Tom want to buy a guitar.

The group at Springer's on Big Pine Key

more of the Tuesday nite group

 

Tom continues to cook dinners with his assistant, Jim.  This week they prepared a steak dinner, a scallop, shrimp and pasta dinner and a fish dinner with rice, black beans and pineapple salsa.  Tom enjoys the cooking and sharing prep tips with Jim and Jim enjoys experimenting and trying something new. We all enjoy the eating!!

this is from Island Grill Restaurant

This is Chef James interpretation at Bistro 570

 

Boats also continue to be in the weeks adventures.  The transducer for the depth finder broke on Jim’s boat.  The boat was pulled out of the water and the guys worked on fixing the bracket and rewiring the transducer.  A new one was found on Ebay and should be delivered and installed in the next week.  On our boat, Tom changed salon light bulbs to LED bulbs to reduce heat and conserve electricity. 

The coldest weather in the Keys arrived on Saturday.  In the morning it was in the 50s and never got higher than mid-60s.  Socks on our feet and soup for dinner kept us warm and comfy.

Happy Valentine’s Day.  Hope you shared it with your loved ones.­­­

 

The end to another day in paradise from Sunset Beach, Key Colony Beach

 

This is the dinghy dock south of us in Boot Key harbor at the mooring field. There is another set of dinghy docks just as large as this for all 220 mooring balls.

February 1-7, 2015 – Week 3 in Marathon

 

As we begin our third week in Marathon, we started the week like many other football fans and watched the Super Bowl.  The Childs hosted an 11^th Street Super Bowl party and Thomas’ on Ridge catering assisted with food prep, organizing the food and chef Tom cooking the burgers.  The food was delicious and the conversation lively, however there was some tension and silence during the final quarter of play.  At the end, there were cheers in triumphant and moans of the agony of defeat – fun times for all!!

We often ride our bikes home from 11^th street on Key Colony Beach, often in the dark.  We are prepared in that we have reflectors, white head lights and flashing red rear lights also.  We often pass a parked police car and the officers remind us to be cautious and safe on our ride home.  The bikes are a great way to travel and in the evening we are often the only ones on the path.

Key West was on Colletta’s destination list this week.  The girls left middle of the day and enjoyed browsing the shops, lunch at Willie TEEEs, purchasing some artwork for the house or boat, and enjoying a cocktail while watching the boats, the people and the sunset.  They also went up in the Lighthouse and looked at the view of the water, town and cruise ships in port. 

Fishing was also on the agenda this week.  The boys  fished at a few close stops on Monday and Tuesday Jim took us fishing at the 7 mile bridge. Tom was fishing off the back right past the chum bag and had great luck catching mangrove snapper which we kept for dinner.  Colletta was off the port side up front.  Her line was in the water for about 30 seconds when she too had a bite.  She caught 2 large groupers, however they were not in season so she had to throw them back.   It was great and we had good luck until – Jim got stung by a scorpion fish.  It cut him in the index finger and within a short time period, his hand began to swell so we headed home to seek medical help.  Jim lived thru the experience, which we are thankful for, and also had to take an antibiotic, a steroid and another medication.  No fishing for him for a while – Doctor’s orders.

the out of season grouper that had to go back

Capt. Jim before the scorpion fish attack

Fish on at seven Mile Bridge in Marathon

Fishing by the pilings

 

Thursday was the first day, since we arrived, that it rained all day.  Since the weather was gloomy, Tom decided to do one of his gloomy jobs of rebuilding the aft head.  The motor rebuilt kit went together fairly easy, but the hoses didn’t ………………………….Finally after a little more tweaking on Friday, the head is in good working order and does not leak.  A necessary job completed. 

Tom and I also rode the bicycles a lot this week.  One day we rode to the 7 mile bridge and on the way home stopped at marinas and resale shops and of course a Wendy’s for a frosty.  (a 14 mile bike ride)  We also joined John for Happy hour at Porky’s. Beers were cheap and the local color was priceless. Met and chatted with people from the trailer court across the street.  Porky’s is their happy hour hangout.  Some walk over; some drive over and some arrive by golf cart – convenient.   Since we were on bikes, we thought we should stop a few additional places on the way home.  We stopped at Fara Blanco, which is a new, upscale marina, hotel, and bar.  Nice but too rich for us.  Stopped at Hurricanes, which had pool tables, and a late night band.  Stopped at Lulus which was an outdoor bar on the other side of the street.  It was a challenge for Colletta to cross the street with her bike, but Tom was there to lend a helping hand.  We also had to stop at Walgreens for some nourishment of Snaps candy and ice cream which were both devoured at the condo.  That bike ride was about 12 miles.  No more bike riding for this week.

February 2^nd was Groundhogs day.  Here in the keys, they use a palm tree.  Well, the palm tree saw its shadow which means 6 more weeks of sunshine.   We like it here!!

January 25- 31 Marathon, Florida Week 2

January 25-31 - Marathon Florida – Week 2

 

The week started out like it should with church attendance at Martin Luther Chapel church followed by a nice little breakfast.  Lutheran churches are the same in that they all try to feed you.  Upon returning to the boat, we had a lazy and relaxing day. 

We have been spending time with the Childs.  We often do grocery shopping together as we go to the grocery store at least twice a week depending what is on the dinner menu and what is on sale.  Sunday was windy and cool here so we made chili for dinner and enjoyed staying in the house and watching a double episode of Downton Abby, much to Jim’s dismay.   Or we have to stop at the Home Depot or the hardware stores, depending upon which projects need parts.  Tom’s projects this week included changing a valve on the water heater, changing the oil in the transmissions, caulking a window, installing rain gutters, and working on fishing rod storage.  We also continued our exploring by driving north of the airport and driving thru those neighborhoods.  Some very beautiful homes on the Gulf.

We continue to explore and experiment with culinary choices.  Besides making chili, we also made our own pizzas to enjoy after bocce ball.  Tom and I invited Jim and Pat over for dinner on Greeks Folly to experience cocktails on the back deck and eating in our small galley.  Tom made a new recipe of chicken picante and the evening was a complete success. Colletta also baked some banana bread and will experiment with our little oven on board.   We discovered that Wendy’s serves 49 cent cheeseburgers on Tuesdays and Sundays, so we ate lunch for $2.55 which included 2 senior drinks which are free.  I don’t know how they can make any money but we will probably take advantage of that again.  Found a new Happy hour at Nowhere bar.  It was OK – but not with the homey feeling of Nowhere bar in Indiana. Saturday night the new restaurant was Porky’s.  We missed Happy hour but enjoyed the pulled pork and fish tacos for dinner – and of course some beer and music.

New experiences for the week include getting into the Marathon Yacht club for cocktails to listen to Donnie (a musician from the marina) playing there with his band, and attending the sunset celebration at the park on Key Colony.  The celebration happens every night with music and song as the sun sets.  Tom also attended his first fishing seminar.  It is a popular event, over 100 men were there.  Tom’s favorite part was the free water and popcorn.    Saturday we attended a flea market on Pine Key.  Interesting but nothing out of the ordinary, expect for the heavy weekend traffic heading south to Key West. 

Tom and I also enjoyed catching up with another friend from Illinois.  John V. is down here in Marathon for a month and we enjoyed beers and conversation on his deck for an evening.  He also stocks chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, which is delicious after a long bike ride for him and a short walk across the street for us.  Being a fellow boater and water lover, we anticipate more fun times with him.