Marathon

Once again I will not do a day by day account for the month we were in Marathon.

It was a lazy and very restful month. The weather was mostly sunny and mild.

We did do all of the things we wanted to do and see. Jay and Joan had their truck here and either went lots of places with them or they loaned us the truck.

The Owls

Burrowing Owl

Annie got a daily walk around the back nine of the golf course. There is a 1 1/2 mile road around the course and we walked it daily. Not much traffic and there were lots of interesting houses, plants and other people and dogs walking, jogging and biking also. The daily highlight was the Owl count. Alongside one of the holes there were a pair of Burrowing Owls. Almost every morning there were two Owls standing beside the burrow. Sometimes only one, most days two and then one day one flew off and another one popped up out of the ground so there were three that day.

Snorkeling

Our snorkeling trip was not very successful. We went out on Windsong to Sombrero Reef. There was a short chop and Carole had a hard time with both the chop and the gear, so we came back to the boat after about 15 minutes. Joan got seasick so they only made about a 45 minute snorkel trip. We headed in early and beat the nasty chop that followed. We did see a few nice fish in the short time we were out.

The Docks

Green Heron

There were also a lot Little Green Herons at the docks. They liked to sit on the power cables about 6” above the water and look for fish. Other birds that we saw were Red Bellied Woodpeckers, Cattle Egrets, White Ibis, Little Blue Herons and of course Brown Pelicans.

Next door neighbor on one side was a 90 year old that was a recent widower. He did great, but was at the point where he was going to sell his boat. We did go out to dinner with him one night. Carole helped take some pictures of the interior and I found a few web sites for him to list the boat. Another neighbor posted the listing for him. When we left he had one person looking and was hopeful.

We also watched a woman bring four large dogs to shore on a Kayak every day. I thought I was really cooking with only Annie on a Kayak.

The marina dockside grill (Sombrero Dockside) finally opened and they do Prime Rib every Wednesday and Saturday. They do it on an outside smoker grill. We had to try it. WOW, it was excellent. Even though we ordered at 7:30 and did not get dinner until 9:15 we still enjoyed it. They are having some real startup problems. People did not show up for work and both the kitchen and waitstaff were very short. Only one waiter, one bartender and one cook for a twenty five table deck plus bar.

You might have to click on the sign to read it.

There was a group of loopers from a previous year that met every year in Marathon. The sign behind their gathering area say it all.

Sombrero Beach and the Bed Race

Sombrero Beach is a “Dogs Allowed” beach. So we took Annie there several times. She had a ball! It was her first exposure to small waves and salt water. Until now she appeared not to like salt water. She would go up to the edge, get her feet wet and get out. Here when she saw people in the water, she jumped in and swam out. Ran up to the kids in the water and then promptly swam to the beach and rolled in the sand. Put on a show for the other beach goers who seemed to enjoy it. She was quite a sight – nose, eyes, back - sand everywhere. She was one happy dog.

The Bed Baron

On Marathon, for Marathon Week they had the First Annual Bed Race. About 10 teams racing the clock two at a time over a about a 500 yard course, with two traffic humps in it. The beds were really ingenious. It was fun to watch.

Dolphin Research Center

We met with some friends from that I knew from Bayshore Discovery Project. Gil and Vivian volunteer at the Dolphin Research Center and took us for a tour. Really interesting that there were several groups of dolphins doing different things for their trainers and although the whistles all sound the same the dolphins only respond to the trainer they are working with. We also watched them put a long tube down the dolphin's mouth and pour 4 liters of fresh water into it's stomach. Part of the health program. If you look at the video you will see that it does not bother the dolphins at all.

Dolphin Drinking top - Dolphins Jumping Bottom

We had Stone Crabs at the Keys Fishery that night and finally learned what all of the fuss was about. They were wonderful. MSC – They were only $1.25 each which is a great price.

No Name Key

Canals on No Name Key

We visited Tony and Liz (from Two Turtles) on No Name Key where they have a house. They took us on a boat tour of the canals. No Name Key currently has no power on the island. All of the homes are off the grid using solar panels and battery storage for power, and cisterns and roof collection for water. There are a few realtors who apparently speculated that are pushing for power. They have gone so far as to order poles and pay a $700,000 deposit to push it through. Tony is in the thick of the fight to keep it out.

Dollar Bills in No Name Bar

We also went to No Name Bar which is really on Big Pine Key. The walls inside are covered with Dollar Bills that people staple to the walls. Two years ago the candles were removed from the tables (for obvious reasons). While touring Big Pine Key we saw lots (20-30) of Key Deer and paid a visit to several of the area preserves where we saw turtles and an alligator.

Key Deer

The Sea Turtle Hospital

One afternoon we went on a tour of the Sea Turtle Hospital. They recover and nurse back to health sea turtles or if they can not be rehabilitated give them a home either here or at an aquarium facility. An interesting view of a really dumb animal. Perhaps not quite as bad as Manatees, but pretty slow on the uptake.

We bought fresh Mahi-Mahi at the Keys Fishery that night and cooked it on the grill. What a difference fresh caught makes.

Anniversary Dinner

Jay and Joan and Brenda and David took us to dinner at Keys Fishery to celebrate our anniversary. First we had to have the Stone Crab Claws at the bar and toast the sunset, then we stood in line downstairs to order and sit at picnic tables for dinner. Key Lime Scallops for Carole and Sushi for me. I almost ordered the Lobster Reuben Sandwich, but Reuben and Lobster doesn't seem right to me. It is however their signature dish – I met a number of those who had tried it and found no one that thought it was anything great. Dinner was great without the Lobster.

Key West

Before we left we took a trip to Key West with Tony and Liz. Took the bus to Big Pine Key and then they drove to Key West. Stopped for lunch at Hog Fish Bar. It is on Duck Key and the special is Hog Fish Sandwich. The real treat however was a walk around the dock. It is located in an old commercial dock and the work buildings are now living quarters. The occupants are artists and the decorations and art were really cool. Unfortunately we left the camera in the car.

Key West Wildlife

Key West Tame Life

In Key West we walked Duvall street from end to end. At sunset we joined the crowd at Mallory Square. We watched several of the street performers, an acrobat and fortune teller among them and enjoyed the shows. I learned that the cat trainer I saw 20 years ago was still there. He has become really weird. After at least 21 years training cats what can I expect! He did so much shouting and hollering we could not stay for the whole show. We did watch the cats jump over several kids and one jumped through a flaming hoop. We had a great day. Key West willo be a stop next year.

Cat through a flaming hoop - look quick

Sunset - Mallory Square

Wings

Found a happy hour with 25 cent wings and shrimp and $1.00 beers at Sparky's on Key Colony . Wing Rating: Meaty – 4, Heat – 2, Crispy – 3, Taste -4, Total = 13

The wings were way better than the 25 cent wings at the Hurricane on Wing Night. Those were so small that I don't think the chickens had hatched yet.

 

Miscellaneous

Some of the work we did during the month will make some things easier. I picked up the new radio that I bought at the Miami Boat Show from West Marine and installed it. I also connected it with the Chart Plotter so that the radio shows all of the information that the chart plotter does (without the map) and it sends the AIS signal to the chart. AIS is a signal sent out by all commercial vessels (and some pleasure vessels) that tells those who can receive it information about the vessels course, speed, name, and size, as well as their radio call number. The AIS can then use that information combined with information from our GPS and tell us if we are on a collision course, how close we will come to each other and how long it will take. It also lets us call them directly so that we can arrange for safe passage.

Carole made several pockets for the flybridge to hold charts and books and also sewed new velcro tabs on the flybridge windows.

I also did a definitive dinghy repair. The repair I made earlier was leaking. It turns out the dinghy is vinyl and not hypalon as I thought. I had been using the wrong glue. After a glue change all is well.

Carole took on an art project. They were selling (for a charity benefit) directional arrows to be painted with a boat name and graphic and they would be posted on a pole at the Marathon Marina. She also helped out Joan on Windsong design hers. Joan's won the award for the best sign.

Serendipity third from the top

Joan at the sign post

Windsong sign

Before we left I dove on the bottom and cleaned Barnacles off the prop.

Then we had one last Prime Rib Dinner before we left Marathon.

This was a really good layover. We met really nice folks – who invited us to come back next year. Had some good times with our friends and did some fun stuff. All without fuss. It was really relaxing.