Synopsis of trip from Marathon to Bohemia River:  (Note: did not keep stats on trip south and this does not include the cost of being in Marathon)

Total miles traveled: 1535

Average miles traveled per day:  45.1

Travel days:  34

Paid Marina Days: 19

Anchorage Days:  19

Nights at a Free Dock: 7

Average marina cost per night:  $62.97 or $1.53/ ft.

Total fuel purchased: 1,049.9

Average Gallons per hour: 4.9

Average Miles per Gallon:  1.46

Total cost of fuel:  $3,936.89

Average Price Paid:  $3.749/ gallon

Main Engine Hours:   213.3

Generator Hours:  61.2

Food and entertainment expenses:  $2,080.59

Total Cost:   $8,233.64

Average Daily Cost:  $175.18

Repair Cost:  $767.85

Average Speed:  7.2 knots

Average Main Engine Hours per day: 6.26

Virginia to home

4/30/14 – We docked at Top Rack Marina in Norfolk.  You can stay there for free if you eat at the restaurant.  We met another one of John’s friends, Doug Chesworth, at the restaurant for drinks and a meal.  The food there is excellent and the drinks are made with a heavy pour.  It’s a little pricey, but getting a free dock and free electric makes it worth the price.  We stayed there for two nights due to weather.

5/2/14 – Anchored in Onancock Harbor at 6:10 p.m.  We took the dinghy to town and had one drink at Mallards.  We totally fell in love with this little Eastern Shore town and would definitely come back.  The Corner Bakery has donuts that are to die for and there is a farmer’s market in the town square every Saturday.  It was a little early in the season but we bought asparagus, mint, and pork BBQ.  There is also a really neat kitchen store that has unique things that I have never seen anywhere else.  They have dozens of types of oil that you can taste, as well as many different kinds of salts that are also available to taste.  We bought some Smoked Applewood Salt that is absolutely delicious.  I have used it many times in different dishes.

We happened to stumble upon a bar/restaurant called the Blarney Stone and they were having a Kentucky Derby party.  The place was packed.  It is a great bar and is right across from the Kitchen Store, so I could leave John at the bar and I could go shopping.  It’s a win-win situation.  There had a derby contest before the race went off.  The winner was based on who got the loudest applause from the crowd.  Several very pretty big hats and men in straw type hats.  A very, very cute... and very, very old... couple won the contest.  It just so happened that he was the mayor.  Do you think that was rigged?  Actually, it wasn't.  They really did have the best costumes.  They also had other contests going on and I won a flashlight for picking one of the top three horses.  We had a fun time.

On Sunday, 5/4/14, we went to the Market Street United Methodist church that was very pretty.  After all, we needed to repent after all the drinking we did the day before.  We talked to the minister for a long time about the town and its history.  It seems the church was built during and after the Civil War, oops, War of Northern Aggression, (sorry John) by Southern sympathizers when they withdrew from the older Methodist church named Cokesbury.  Apparently the Northern supporters continued to attend Cokesbury and the two churches functioned independently for over 150 years.  Eventually, Cokesbury's membership dwindled to the point that services were discontinued there is 1996.  The church still stands but is only used for special occasions.  It was a very interesting history as told by the minister.  The people in the church and town are the friendliest you will ever meet.  I would recommend everyone stop there if they get a chance. 

We left Onancock about 2:15 pm that day and headed to Crisfield.  Unfortunately, I cannot say the same nice things about Crisfield.  Such a shame to see small town America like this.  We only spent one night in Crisfield as there wasn’t anything to do there.

5/5/14 – We were on our way to the South River, which is just south of Annapolis, to anchor for the night when we came upon a man and two dogs in a small bass boat that was broken down. 

Us being Good Samaritans

We towed him as close as we could to his shore and then continued on our way.  We thought “he has no business in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay in such a small boat.”  And, he only had one oar!  What an idiot!!

We will arrive home at Bohemia Bay Yacht Harbor tomorrow.

It has been a heck of a trip.

4/23/14 - 4/25/14 - North Carolina

4/23/14 – We docked at Town Creek Marina in Beaufort, NC.  They are working on the marina and it was not in the best shape when we were there.  The town, however, is very cute and I would go there again.  We found a small bar/restaurant that had pool tables, so we played two games.  John 1, Miss Deb 1.

4/25/14 – We docked at New Bern Grand Marina at 10:20 a.m.  It is a very nice marina with free pumpout.  We met an old friend of John’s, Billy Sawyer, for lunch at Morgan’s.  John hadn’t seen him in 15 years but they acted like it had only been 15 months.  I liked him a lot.  Very down to earth.  His son is the sheriff of this county.

The next day John’s sister, Martha, and her husband, Reed, came to New Bern.  We sat on the boat and talked for three hours over Bloody Marys.  We walked to Persimmons Restaurant on the water, but it was a little disappointing.  Afterward we walked downtown New Bern and out to Tryon Palace.  We saw a total of four brides.  It’s always so uplifting to see a new bride.  We even witnessed one outside wedding.  We went back to the marina and sat on their deck listening to the music and having another drink before going back to the boat and talking some more over more drinks.  It was a very nice evening.

The next day we went to breakfast at the Kitchen Bakery.  What a great breakfast.  And… we didn’t have any drinks.  Imagine that.  Martha and Reed left for home after breakfast and John and I walked around town again.  We decided to tour Tryon Palace.

Tryon Palace was built in 1767 by Royal Governor William Tryon, the first governor of North Carolina, who actually represented the British Crown.  New Bern became North Carolina’s first official capitol at that time.  The home and gardens are beautiful but I was a little disappointed when they told us that the original house burned in 1798 and the home we were touring was reconstructed from the original architect’s drawings and documentation from the mid 1770’s.  It appeared to be the original house.  It is furnished with beautiful 18^th century English and American objects, some of which were originally owned by the Tryons.  Sadly, no pictures were allowed to be taken inside the home.

Included in our tour was the John Wright Stanly house that was built around 1780.  John Stanly was a businessman whose merchant ships raided British vessels to aid the American cause during the Revolutionary War.  I enjoyed the tour of this house much better than Tryon Palace because it was the original house.  It was passed down for several generations before it transferred out of the family.

Did I also mention that New Bern was the birthplace of Pepsi Cola?  It was developed by a pharmacist in the 1800’s.  There is a store in the original pharmacy building that sells all sorts of Pepsi paraphernalia.  

South Carolina - 4/12/14-4/22/14

Seagulls following in our wake

The seagulls followed us for a very long time.  I thought they were looking for us to kick up some food, but I never saw them dive, so maybe they were just playinginI the wind we created, kind of like the dolphins play in the wake you create.  Anyway, they were fun to watch.

We crossed over into South Carolina on Saturday, 4/12/14, and traveled 77 miles to an anchorage in Tom Point Creek..  Very nice anchorage with only one other boat.  We traveled two very long days and I was looking forward to a short day.  77 miles may not sound like much, but it was a ten and half hour day.  As much as we love being on the boat and moving, it is very, very tiring.  On Sunday we only went 22 miles.  YIPPEE!  We stayed at St. John's Marina on John's Island, just outside of Charleston.  It was one of the nicest marinas we've been to.  Very clean, friendly staff, and a fairly new courtesy car.  Not to mention a free pump out. 

John's Aunt Gloria and cousin Lolo picked us up at the marina and we went to dinner at The Crab Shack.  The food and company were excellent.  Unfortunately we only got to spend a short time with them.  His aunt is 87 years old and the only living aunt he has left.  Maybe next time we can spend more time together.

Lo lo and Aunt Gloria

The next day we traveled to Leland Oil Company in McClellanville, John's paternal family home.  We put a load of laundry on and then walked town.  The laundry facilities at this marina are free but it takes a good 1.5 to 2 hours just to wash a load.  The water runs slower than a turtle going uphill.  The dryer works well, though.

On Tuesday, we met John's cousin Ellen at TW Graham's for lunch.  After lunch, she took us to the John Graham House.  It looks great!  Better than we have ever seen it.  Sara Nell Scott has done a wonderful job of cleaning, painting and decorating.  When we got back to the marina, John's cousin, Gerilyn, and her husband, Alston, drove up and we all went to the Bonnie Blue for a drink.  Alston brought a couple dozen oysters for us.  Good 'ol Alston.  He's a sweetheart.

Alston

Cousin Ellen
 

Sara Nell's husband, George, came by to take John to the liquor store "out on the highway".  Unfortunately, they were closed.  After John got back, Little Rutledge (harbormaster), Chandler, and a friend of theirs also came on board.  Needless to say, we had a boat load, but it was fun.

After everyone left, we steamed the oysters that Alston brought and John ate what he could.  I made oyster stew with the remainder of them the next day.

John enjoying Alston's oysters

It was not a good travel day on Wednesday, so we stayed another day in the Village.  We walked to town but most places were closed by the time we got there.  John wanted to walk to the liquor store "out on the highway" but I said no, it was too far.  So we sat down and he said, "somebody will come along and ask us if we need a ride somewhere."  He was right.  After five minutes, Alston pulled up and said "I thought y'all might still need a ride to Larry's."  LOL!  You gotta love Small Town America.

We left McClellanville of 4/17/14 headed for Osprey Marina where John's best friend since 8th grade, Kenny, was going to pick us up and take us to his house to spend a couple of nights.  We didn't realize we were so far from Kenny's house - about an hour and a half.  I promise, Kenny, that we will stay someplace closer next time.  We spent that night at Kenny's and next morning the three of us played golf.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Kenny is a very patient person and gave me a few good tips.  You gotta love that guy!  After golf we went back to Kenny and Mishelle's (his wife) and had a potluck dinner.  They had invited quite a number of people to come over.  The plan was to play corn hole and ladder ball, but it rained cats and dogs that afternoon and all night, so we sat in the garage and talked and drank.  Another one of John's friends from junior high school, Jerry MacKnight, and his wife were there, as well as, Kenny's two sisters, Kenny and Mishelle's sons, Kyle and Kaleb, and several other couples.  It was a great night.  Thank you Kenny and Mishelle for being great hosts and letting us spend a couple of nights on land.

l. to r. Jerry MacKnight, Kenny Caddell, and John.  The Fat Knight Boys, as they were called in 8th grade.  Everyone kept calling John, "The Pretty One".

Kenny took us back to the boat on Saturday, 4/19/14, the day before Easter.  We spent Easter at the marina doing laundry.  I had a crying jag because I was missing my grandchildren at Easter.  I swore I would never miss another Easter "at home". 

We left Osprey Marina on Monday and traveled 56 miles to Beaufort, SC.  We got a free dock at the Provision Company where we met other Loopers that we had met at Osprey.  We went to dinner with them at a pretty pricey restaurant that wasn't that good (Fishy, Fishy).  Good thing the dock was free or I'd be a little perturbed at spending that much money.

We will cross over into North Carolina tomorrow.  

Georgia April 7 - April 11, 2014



Alligator on the St. John's River.  I forgot to post it when I typed about the St. John's, so it's getting posted here.


We left Florida on 4/7/14.  It was overcast and in the mid 70's.  We anchored off Cumberland Island.  If you read my earlier post from the Fall, you'll remember JFK, Jr. got married on Cumberland Island.  It was too rolly to get off the boat in the Fall and tour Cumberland, but this day was gorgeous.  What a beautiful, beautiful island.  I can see why somebody would want to get married there.  We probably walked five miles or more touring.

Live oak forest.  Camping is allowed in this area of the island.


The ferry brings campers to probably the most beautiful camp sites you will ever see.  There is no electricity and no hot water in the bath houses.  But they do have large bags filled with water that are laying around being warmed by the sun and you can take a "sailboaters" shower with them.  It is very peaceful and serene.

We walked to the historic district of the island where Thomas Carnegie built a house in 1884. It was originally 37,000 sq. ft. in size.  That's not a typo friends.  All that remains today are the ruins, but it was so huge that I could not get it all in one picture.  The brochure says there are rattlesnakes living in the ruins.  Thank goodness I didn't read the brochure until we were back on the boat.  I don't think I would have gone there if I had.

The ruins of Dungeness (Carnegie mansion) 

Front gate to the Carnegie mansion
 

We saw wild horses, wild turkeys, and deer.  One of the original owners of the island stated in her will that her horses were to freely roam the island after her death, and they have been doing so for over a hundred years.  A park ranger explained to us that if you see one or two horses by themselves, then they are males that have been outcast by the stronger males.  The strongest males keep a "harem" for themselves and the younger and weaker males have to hang out with no mares, at least until they get older and can fight back.  John walked right up to the horses, even though they tell you not to.  They claim that they are dangerous and will kick and/or bite you.

John with wild horses on Cumberland Island

John made me put this next picture on here because all "stallions" think alike.  I got to tell you, this stallion was not at all loving.  He was all business.  Slam Bam, Thank You Ma'am - - and right in front of the young 'un. 

You'll have to zoom in fellas if you want to really see what's going on.

We also saw Henry Lee's tombstone.  For all you Yankees out there, he was Robert E. Lee's father.  He was on his way home to VA when he took sick and died on Cumberland Island.  His body remained interred there for a very long time until the family had his remains removed and re-interred at the family graveyard in VA in 1913.

We left Cumberland the next morning, 4/8/14, and headed to Jekyll Island.  Anyone looking for a very nice vacation should consider Jekyll Island, GA.  There are a number of places to stay that are all very beautiful.  This is also a very historic island.  This island was once the private winter retreat of America's wealthiest families, including the J. P. Morgans, the Rockefellers, the Pulitzers, and the Vanderbilts.  They each had a "cottage" on the island, but their idea of a cottage is very different than most people's idea of a cottage.  Their cottages have bedrooms that number in the double digits, as well as bathrooms in the double digits.  And... none of them have kitchens.  Their servants would fix their meals at the club hotel and everyone would gather there at mealtime to socialize and eat. 

There are nine miles of beach, numerous golf courses, horseback riding, a water park in the summer, plus lots of other things to do at this place.  We visited here by car a couple of years ago and fell in love with it, so we had to stop by boat on our way north. 

One of the "cottages" where you can rent a room.

The chapel on Jekyll Island.  It is no longer used for regular service but many weddings take place there.

Our first day was spent doing laundry and other boat chores, but the second day we rented a "red bug", which was the main means of transportation in the early 1900's.  Today's red bug is quite different than the ones used back then.  The red bugs are a great way to get around the island, not to mention a lot of fun.

Original Red Bug; only one known to exist today.

Today's Red Bug

While at Jekyll, I decided I wanted to try my hand at golf.  Why should John have all the fun?  We played Indian Mound, which is very pretty.  We saw white-tailed deer standing right next to the tee box and when we tee'd off, they never even moved.  I guess they're pretty used to people.  On the 13th hole, I hit my tee shot within 50 feet of an alligator.  John wanted me to "take a drop" but there was no way I was going to lose a stroke because of a silly eight-foot alligator.  I figured I could outrun him to the golf cart and then take off.  Dumb, huh?  Anyway, I should have taken the drop because I only hit the ball about 30 feet.  I guess I was a little more intimated by that gator than I thought.

Now don't pay any attention to that fat ass and zoom in on the gator.

We left Jekyll Island on April 11th, heading for South Kackalackey.




Finally leaving Florida

We left Marathon early on the morning of March 19, 2014, after six weeks.  As much as I loved Marathon and the warm weather, I was ready to go.  I needed a change of scenery.  We anchored the first two nights and then got a slip in Ft. Lauderdale at Las Olas Marina.  I liked Ft. Lauderdale but don't think I would go out of my way to stay there again.  At least not at Las Olas.  I would try a different marina next time.  Don't get me wrong, the marina was nice, I just didn't like the downtown area of Ft. Lauderdale at that location.  The beach was beautiful but we're not beachy people.  We spent four days in Ft. Lauderdale before moving on.

Dolphin swimming in our bow wake

We anchored three of the next four nights and got a mooring ball one night.  We also experienced our first "grounding" on March 26th.  We were coming out of Manatee Pocket and didn't pay attention to the red nuns at the entrance.  They were placed fairly close together and were warning us not to go between them.  Well.... we went right between them.  Immediately, the boat came to a halt and we knew we had run aground.  It was easy to back right off, though.  The bottom in that area is all soft mud or sand.  All the anchorages were great and we would stay there again.  They were Manatee Pocket, off St. Lucie Inlet; Causeway Island at Ft. Pierce; and Matanzas Inlet.  We picked up a mooring ball in Titusville.  We're trying to do the return trip as cheaply as possible.  The trip south was "no holds barred", but the trip north is going to have to be done "on the cheap".

Sunset at Manatee Pocket

After four days of no dock water and/or electricity, we decided to go to Palm Cove Marina, which is close to John's sister's in Atlantic Beach, and stayed two nights.  Gay and her son, Lawson, brought us one of her cars to use while we were there and we greatly appreciated it.  We were able to re-provision at Wally World without renting a car.  Life is good!

We fueled up at Palm Cove on Monday morning (3/31/14) before heading to the St. John's River.  We decided to take a 200 mile detour and do the St. John's because we had heard so much about it.  The first night was spent at Jacksonville Landing, which is a free dock with water.  Can't beat that.
 

Jacksonville Landing free dock

Gay met us for lunch before we headed up river (or down river).  The St. John's River is only one of two rivers in the world that flow south to north.  The other is the Nile.  How about that for a piece of trivia?  This river is quite beautiful.  The water is the color of iced tea - brown, but clear - just like iced tea.  Back home the water is also brown, but it's a murky brown.  The brown water of the St. John's is caused from all the tannins coming from the cypress trees and it is very clean.  It's also the bass capital of the world.  You never saw so many fish camps and bass boats.

This picture doesn't do the water justice.  It's actually very pretty.
 

St. John's River

We anchored the first night on the Black River off the St. John's and that night I had one of the most unusual experiences of my life.  In 62 years, I have never, not ever, seen stars reflected off the water.  The Black River is so black and it is so still with no outside light, that the constellation Orion was as clear on the water as it was in the sky.  The river is also so deep that the constellation appeared to be at the bottom of the river.  It was like looking at the sky but you were actually looking down.  When I looked down the stars naturally appeared to be very far away, even though the reflection was quite close.  I know it was some sort of optical illusion, but the boat seemed to be floating 20 feet off the water.  I can't explain it very well, but it was a really cool feeling.  John wanted to know if the drug cartel had dropped off some "good stuff" while he was asleep.  LOL!  I told him yes, and I wasn't sharing.

After cruising by ourselves for four days, we met Gay and Lawson at a restaurant on the water.  They spent the night with us on Friday and Gay left on Saturday morning.  Lawson spent two days with us on the boat.  I think the highlight of his time, though, was shooting the .22 pistol that we have on board.  We had a sort of competition and he won. I was glad that he won and not John.  John and I tied. 

Captain Lawson

We dropped Lawson off back at Jacksonville Landing where his mom picked him up on Sunday.  The next morning we were headed for Georgia.

Boot Key Harbor - 3/1/14-3/18/14

On Saturday, March 1st, we met Pat and Jack at Keys Fisheries for drinks and to watch the sunset.  On the way back to the boat, we stopped off at the Brass Monkey to play some pool, but the tables were being used, so we had one drink and left.  John was trying to be "Joe Cool" on his bike by playing Dale Earnhart and Lance Armstrong.  He tried to give me the Earnhart bump, but it backfired and he crashed, landing on a bed of coral.  He was skinned up pretty good and there was blood everywhere.  I cleaned it the best I could, but he was a hurting pup.  Needless to say, we missed church the  next morning because of his injuries.  After showering, though, they looked better than they had the night before.

We went to the golf course and participated in a chipping contest to benefit Relay for Life.  We lost, of course.  We then rode our bikes to the Stuffed Pig to watch the annual pig races.  They had pari-mutuel betting, and guess what!?!   You guessed it, I lost.  Well, I picked three winners out of six, but I still lost $7.  My brothers and nephews met us at the races, but apparently they didn't think it was as much fun as I did, so we left and went to Keys Fisheries for appetizers and drinks.

On March 3rd, Pat and Jack came to Dockside for a final happy hour together.  They're leaving in the morning and we're not sure we'll ever see them again.  I hope so, though.  We really enjoy their company. 

The next day we went to Key West with the brothers and nephews.  This is only the second time I've ever been to Key West and I wasn't impressed.  I remember liking it better five or six years ago.  Maybe because it was my first visit there.  Unfortunately, we didn't get to Mallory Square in time for the sunset or the street performers.

On the 8th, we rode our bikes to the Marathon Seafood Festival, which was very enjoyable.  Most of the same vendors that were at the Art Festival a couple of weeks ago were there, too.  Next year, we'll just do the Seafood Festival and save ourselves some money. 

On Sunday, the 9th, we went to church with Flint and Leslie and then they took us to No Name Key to see the Blue Hole and some Key deer.  Such nice people.  Thanks Flint and Leslie.

Ashley and Chris arrived on March 11th.  We rented a 22-foot boat for two days so we could take them around Boot Key by boat rather than car.  The first day they were here, they drove us to a hypnotist that promised he could get us to stop smoking.  John lit up as soon as he walked out the door.  I wanted to but I held off for a day and a half.  What a waste of $250!  On their second day here, we took them snorkeling at the Sombrero Light reef.  I think they really enjoyed themselves, especially Ash.  Ashley just couldn't get enough of swimming in the ocean.  They went to the beach every day so she could swim. 

Sombrero Light

On Friday, March 14th, we took Ash and Chris to Key West.  On the way, we stopped at No Name Key to see Key deer and then ate lunch at No Name Pub. 

Ash and Chris at No Name Pub.  Those are dollars

stapled on the walls and ceiling, at least 7 deep.

Gay and her family met us at Mallory Square just before sunset.  This time we got to see the street performers, which I think are thoroughly enjoyable.  We did the Duval Crawl and Gay tried to get Ashley drunk, but it didn't work.

Ash and Chris left on Saturday, March 15th.  John was very depressed after they left.  Gay and family picked us up that afternoon and we went to Sunset Grille for dinner.  We played corn hole - Gay and I were partners, against John and Terry.  The girls won.  Then John and Lawson were partners against us and the girls won again.  Ha!  I finally beat John at something, even if I did have a partner.  Gay is leaving early in the morning.

We were supposed to leave Marathon on Sunday, the 16th, but the weather wasn't conducive, so we won't be leaving until Wednesday, the 19th.

Boot Key Harbor (Marathon) - February 2014

 

We've been in Marathon for a month now.  Sorry I haven't been updating the blog like I wanted, but we always seem to be going somewhere.

The first day in town our friends from Phoenix, Pat and Jack, came over for drinks at Dockside Café, which is a tiki bar that's only nine slips from our boat.  That could be bad!!!  On our 12th anniversary (the second day in town), we watched the Super Bowl with them at the Dockside Café.  I knew this place was going to break the bank.

We've been riding our bikes all over the place, the grocery store, the pharmacy, the doctor, the post office, etc.  We're getting a lot of exercise.  There are excellent walking/biking paths everywhere we go.  That's a good thing because riding a bike after sunset and with a few drinks, you need all three feet of the bike path, and sometimes more. 

There is a covered dish dock party every Monday, which has had an excellent turn out of both people and food.  We went to the first one on the 3rd and there were about 15-20 people.  The second one on the 10th had 20-25 people.  It seems that each week we pick up more people (and more food).

Monday night covered dish on the dock

John started golf lessons with the pro at the country club directly across from the marina.  He played golf with Pat and Jack at Key Colony on the 4th and claims that he stunk up the course.  Hopefully these lessons will help him with his game.  After playing the game in Key Colony he, Pat and Jack went to Sparky's for happy hour and he ran into Jim and Sue Shilling from Two Rivers Marina back home.  What a small world.  He called me and I took a cab over to meet them.  We had appetizers and drinks at Sparky's and then came back to Dockside Café with everyone.  It was a great day and so good to see somebody from home.

Jim and Sue Shilling from the Bohemia River

On the 5th, John had an appointment with the urologist and they have scheduled surgery in Key West for the 18th.  For those of you that didn't know, he was diagnosed with a polyp in his bladder on our last day in Delaware.  The doctor there couldn't get him on his surgery schedule for six weeks, so he opted to find a doctor down here to remove it.  The doctor here explained that it is a cancerous tumor, not a polyp, as we had believed.  Unbelievable!  The poor man.  This is his third type of cancer in 12 years.  It was a long bike ride to and from the doctor's office and a very rough day for both of us.  But we have faith that it will be okay.

On Thursday, the 6th, we took the dinghy to Sombrero Beach.  What a beautiful ride over and lovely beach, too.  It's the first time we've been in the ocean on this trip.  It felt great!!

Sisters Creek on the way to Sombrero Beach

John's new friend at Sombrero Beach

 

On Sunday, the 9th, we rode our bikes to the Municipal Park for the Pigeon Key Art Festival.  The art was disappointing as there wasn't much there and what was there was very, very expensive.  The live music was excellent, though.  We left there and went by Banana Bay Resort to check it out since we were going to be attending an MTOA event there on Wednesday.  When we got back to the boat, I fell getting off of my bike... and I wasn't even drinking.  It hurt like hell, though.  I have bruises on both legs and on my ego.  Some of our dock neighbors witnessed the event.  How humiliating.

 

We had a great time at the MTOA event on the 12th.  There were about 75 people there.  It was BYOB and an appetizer.  They had one MTOA member play the guitar and sing and by the time it was over they had six people playing guitars, a bass, and  a harmonica.  Apparently Banana Bay Resort and Marina has some very talented guests. 

Jamming at the MTOA event.

 

My brother Walter came by the boat on Thursday, the 13th, on his way to his home on Ramrod Key.  We had lunch and drinks with him at Dockside Café.  The food there sucks, which is probably a good thing.  If it were good, we'd probably eat out a lot more, and we can't afford that.  Later in the day Jim and Sue picked us up and took us to Cabana Breeze in Key Colony for drinks.  We really liked that place.  Much better than Dockside Café.  ...and the drinks at happy hour are REALLY good.

 

On Valentine's Day, we took a cab to Sunset Grille for drinks and appetizers.  The place was packed with people.  We like this place the best of any that we've been to.  There were four drunk guys playing corn hole, and they were more entertaining than the band.  John and I laughed until our sides hurt.  John bought me a rose made out of palm fronds.  Happy Valentine's Day!

 

 

We planned to go bar hopping by dinghy with Pat and Jack on Sunday, the 16th.  We started out at Dockside Café, which does have good Bloody Mary's.

Bloody Mary from Dockside Café.  Yes, that's a slider.

 

We left Dockside and went to Burdine's.  We had one drink there and then went to Sunset Grille.  We played two games of corn hole, Pat and I as partners, and Jack and John as partners.  Needless to say, the boys won both games, and very handily I might add.  Can I not beat this man at anything???  We got back to the boat just before dark.

 

Corn hole at Sunset Grille

Bar hopping by dinghy



 

 

On Tuesday, the 18th, we left the boat early to go to Key West for John's surgery.  It went well and the doctor told us at the follow-up visit that he wouldn't recommend any treatment at this time.  However, there is a 50/50 chance that it will come back, and if it does, he would recommend treatment at that time.  He has to be checked every three months.  That means he has to be checked now for bladder cancer every three months, and for melanoma every three months.  The man is sick of doctors and I can understand why.

 

On the 19th, since we had a rental car, we went to the Dolphin Research Center, which is about 15 miles north of Marathon.  If you are ever in that area, you should definitely check it out.  It was like being at Sea World, only better.  You are up close to the dolphins.  When you talk to them, they actually act like they hear you.  According to the trainers, they do.  They are amazing creatures... so intelligent... and so darn cute.  The place is guaranteed to make you smile from the time you arrive until the time you leave.  We loved it.

 

 

Dolphin jumping out of the water.  Some even do flips

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Dolphin playing with a hula hoop

Sea lions at Dolphin Research Center

 

Friday, the 20th, Walter picked us up and we went to Cabana Breeze for happy hour drinks and then to Key Colony Inn for dinner.  Walter's friend, Ennio and his wife, Terry, met us there.  Walter loves the place, but I wasn't all that impressed.  Maybe I had the wrong thing for my entrée.  It's supposed to have great Italian food, so I ordered manicotti.  It was so salty I could hardly eat it.  John and everyone else had their special and they all said it was delicious.  Guess I'll have to try it again before I form an opinion.

 

On Saturday, we went to the annual nautical flea market in Islamorada with John and Cindy Etsch and Margie and Larry Ross.  There were over 200 vendors there, but we only bought a shirt for John and a doo-dah for my hair.  When we got back, John had his last golf lesson and then we rode our bikes to Keys Fisheries to watch the sunset over the gulf.  One of the best places to watch the sunset that we've been to.

Sunset over the Gulf, at Keys Fisheries.

 

Sunday, February 23rd, we went to church with Flint and Leslie Firestone.  Very casual, but the most uplifting service I've been to in years.  When you first walk in, you go through a breakfast buffet line, complete with eggs, sausage, home fries, toast, bagels, waffles, etc., etc.  After eating, you take a seat in a very comfortable chair, not a pew.  There was a five or six piece band and two vocals playing Christian rock on stage.  They played for about 20 minutes.  Then they have a children's message after which there is a five minute break.  During the break,  you can go to the bathroom, get a cup of coffee, or whatever.  Then the minister speaks for 20-25 minutes.  You never once look at your watch to see how much longer you have to sit there.  You WANT it to go on.  We thoroughly enjoyed it and will be going back every Sunday we are here as long as Flint and Leslie will pick us up and take us.  It's a half hour by car, so not something we can do on our bikes.

 

Later that afternoon, we went to Marathon Yacht Club for an AGLCA get together.  They provided hot dogs and happy hour drink prices and everyone brought an appetizer.  There was live music and it was very enjoyable.  Afterward we stopped at the Brass Monkey on the way home and shot a game of pool.  I WON!!!!!  Finally.  The score is now 7 to 3, favor John.  My enthusiasm after my victory was short lived, however, because two days later we were back at the Brass Monkey and John won two games and I won none.  9 to 3, favor John.  Damn it!!

 

We finally got our fishing licenses after being here for three and a half weeks.  We went fishing on Wednesday, the 26th, at the 7-mile bridge.  We caught a few fish but nothing of much size.  We only kept two and after fileting them, I realized that we probably should have thrown them back.  They aren't even enough for one appetizer.  Next time if they're not 15 inches or bigger, they're going back.  The ones we kept were 12 inches. 

 

On Thursday, Jim and Sue met us at Dockside Café.  They are leaving in the morning so we wanted to see them before they left.  It happened to be karaoke night, and Jim just happens to love to sing karaoke.  He sang three songs and he's pretty darn good.  Everyone who sang were quite good.  We thoroughly enjoyed the evening and stayed until it was over at 10 o'clock.

Jim singing karaoke

 

My brothers (Curtis, Roger, Kevin), and two nephews (Kevin, Jr. and Kevin Curtis) got into town Thursday night.  They stopped by the boat on Friday, had a couple of drinks, and then we all went to Sunset Grille for happy hour drinks and appetizers.  John played corn hole with Kevin, Kevin, and Kevin.  You could tell those Kevins have played this game before.  LOL!  At least some Garbers can beat John at something.  Better than this Garber can do.

 

That's pretty much it for the month of February.  Way too much drinking and too much eating.  Thank goodness we're leaving here in two weeks.  Drinking and eating out is going to kill our budget, if it doesn't kill us first.  Overall, we have thoroughly enjoyed our time in the Keys.  My brothers will be leaving on the 6th and then John's daughter, Ashley, will get in on the 10th.  So we'll be busy for the next two weeks.  Til then...

 

Still 1328 miles south of the Bohemia River.



 

Cocoa Village to Marathon - 1/25/14-2/1/14

 

This picture is mostly for my brother, Kevin.  These fish were right in the marina in Cocoa.

Schools and schools of fish in the marina

We left Cocoa Village on December 18th to go home for the holidays.  It was nice to be home, but it felt a little strange.  Almost like I had left my home in Cocoa and was going to Delaware for a visit.  Just nine short weeks on the boat and it already felt like it was home now.  It snowed twice while we were home and let me tell you, shoveling snow is not fun.  It's cold, it's wet, and it's hard work.  Neither one of us care if we ever see snow again.  We sent the picture below to our friends who were in Florida on their boat and they said "John looks better behind the helm than he does the snow blower."  John very much agrees.

John - at home in Delaware.  Hopefully this will be the last time he will ever have to use this machine.

It was great to see family and friends again but we can't wait to get to warm weather.  John officially retired on January 23rd and we left for Florida at 7:30 a.m. on the 24th.  We arrived back in Cocoa on the 25th (temperature a cool 68 degrees).  We did the grocery store thing to re-provision the boat, turned the rental car in, and prepared for departure on the 27th. 


Our first day back in Cocoa Village.

Our last night in Cocoa, we went to the village for dinner and to shoot some pool.  John won one and I won one.  The record is now 8 for John and 2 for Miss Deb, but I think I'm on a roll. 

We said good-bye to Cocoa Village at 8:50 in the morning, heading south for as long as we felt like going.  We ended up traveling 66 miles that day, anchoring in Faber Cove, which is just north of Fort Pierce.  It was a beautiful anchorage just off the ICW.  In the morning we woke to a dense fog and couldn't get underway until almost ten o'clock.  We only travelled 44 miles on Thursday, some of which was due to slow wake zones because of manatees and some of which was due to waiting for bridges to open.  We anchored in the north end of Lake Fort Worth, which is just north of Palm Beach.  I wouldn't anchor there again.  Way too much wake from the ICW.  Next time we'll find a calmer spot to drop the hook.

Our view from our anchorage in Lake Fort Worth

Florida has miles and miles of waterway that are manatee zones, but we only ever saw one, and then we're not even sure that it was a manatee.  We travel slow anyway (approx. 8k) but 5 or 6 knots???  What a pain in the ass! 

This was also the start of many low bridges that we had to wait for an opening.  One bridge had a piece of construction equipment on it and said they wouldn't open at all until the end of the day.  Really?!?!  The bridge tender said we should be able to make it without an opening, but it wasn't his boat with $17,000 worth of new equipment on top of it.  So, I went up on the hard top and stood on my tippy toes in front of all that equipment and told John to go very, very slow and if I yelled, he was to immediately stop and back up.  The bridge tender was correct, though.  We cleared the bottom of the bridge with about six inches to spare.  Another bridge was supposed to open on the quarter past and quarter til the hour.  We motored at a slow speed so we would get there at quarter til and not have to wait too long for an opening.  Not to be.  The bridge tender told us that due to construction, they only open on the quarter past now.  When you drive on the highway, they post signs indicating that there is a road closed ahead, or there is construction ahead.  So, you prepare for that.  Why can't the ICW do the same?  It's more or less a highway for boats.  I think we had to wait on a total of 19 bridges to open over two days time.  These bridges, too, are a pain in the ass!  I thought John was going to lose his mind!!!

A lot of the bridges are pretty, though.

 

On Wednesday, the 29th, we got underway at 7:45, going through "Concrete Canyon".  It's called this because both sides of the ICW are lined with a concrete bulkhead for 66 miles.  There was little boat traffic when we went through, so the wave action wasn't bad.  They say that on weekends, the water just bounces off the concrete bulkheads and there is continuous wave action.  We anchored that night in Sunrise Bay, Ft. Lauderdale.

   

 

 

 

Concrete Canyon

 

Downtown Miami

 

On Thursday, January 30, we got a slip in Key Biscayne.  That was a total waste of money.  There was nothing to do there.  The Cruiser's Guide said they had a restaurant but all the restaurants were miles away and we didn't feel like taking a cab.  Plus it was raining.  So, we stayed on the boat, went to bed early and left the next morning at 7:20.  Our whole trip from Cocoa to Marathon was pretty uneventful.  The water is now a turquoise color.  Friday night we anchored in a beautiful cove off Windley Key, Islamorada.  On the way into the cove, three dolphin swam in our bow wake but before I could get a picture, they stopped.  We've heard of dolphin doing this but this is the first time we've ever experienced it.  We took the dinghy ashore and had dinner and drinks at Ocean View.  Really cool place.  They have a heated/cooled pool that the restaurant patrons can use.  I wish I had known that.  I would have worn my suit. 

 

Saturday, February 1st -- Happy birthday to my brother Walter. 

 

The water in this area is very shallow and has a lot of lobster and stone crab pots, so we couldn't go too fast.  That morning, we left the ICW and headed into the Atlantic Ocean in order to cut about 45 minutes off the trip.  I'm not sure that was wise because it was a pretty rough ride.

 





Going into the ocean at Channel Five

 

YIPPEE!!!  We finally arrived in Marathon.  We're very excited!  We got into Boot Key Harbor at 1:00 p.m.  WOW!  There are a thousand boats here if there's one.  A number of MTOA (Marine Trawler Owners Association) members greeted us at the dock and helped tie the boat up.  Everyone is very, very friendly.  Why not?  They're in paradise.

 

1328 miles from the Bohemia River.