Day 289-295 - A week in Marathon, FL
Day 289-295 Thursday-Wednesday, February 9-15th: Since we will be in Marathon for about a month, we decided to post a summary of our activity one week at a time until we are underway again; this will be the first week's posting.
Thursday the 9th we got the bikes down and oiled them up. It had been a while since we used them, but they were OK. We took a ride through a nearby residential neighborhood to check out the homes. They are more modest than what we saw in Naples, but still nice. This is one of the nicer ones with delightful landscaping:
Later in the day, we had a call from our friends Roy and Steph on Dream Catcher V. They had just arrived in Marathon for a short stay and we made plans to have lunch together tomorrow.
Friday the 10th found us back on the bikes and shopping. Our marina is about a mile from Publix, K-Mart, CVS, Boaters World, etc; that's convenience! Then we rode down to the Chicki-Tiki Bar and Grill for lunch (again - nice spot). It was fun to catch up on happenings.
Friday night we watched a DVD movie loaned to us by Larry and Lola (Lola Marie).
On Saturday the 11th the light was finally right to get a good picture of the marine life and barnacles on the piling next to the boat. They were a rich, bright color, but hard to photograph:
We rode the bikes for miles doing errands. This is the main drag (US 1) in Marathon with the sign pointing to where our marina is:
We rode all the way east to the end of Vaca Key (the key Marathon is on). This café with a giant shrimp painting caught Ruth's eye:
We stopped in at Office Depot and this customer was there with a very colorful Macaw:
She had the parrot trained to interact with people; this is him being excited to see us:
The road actually rises over "Vaca Cut," a narrow passage between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Just beyond the rise is Key Colony, officially part of Marathon:
Returning from Key Colony the Florida DOT is kind enough to announce where you are:
There was a strong cold front coming, so we put the bike bags on the bikes and battened down the hatches. We watched "Sweet Home Alabama." Late Saturday night the front roared through bringing much rain and dropping the temperature about 20 degrees to 56 degrees.
On Sunday the 12th it was too cold to do much, so we lounged around reading, doing laundry and general odds and ends. We watched another DVD "Catch Me If You Can" that night. We now have the TV hooked up to cable -- our concession to modern technology.
Monday the 13th was very breezy, so we didn't roam from the marina. We did some dock walking, meeting neighbors and admiring boats. There are a lot of boats in the marina. This is our dock:
Many of the boats here are seasonal live-aboards. Many of the boats have been here a long time. This one has grown a beard nearly a foot long!
We had made plans to have a sunset supper with our land-traveling friends, John and Barbara Lyon at - you guessed it - Burdine's Chicki-Tiki Bar and Grill. The sunset could have been better:
John and Barbara looked good, but sadly, have to leave Marathon tomorrow:
Instead of a movie we watched the Winter Olympics that night:
Tuesday the 14th we felt a touch of cabin fever, so we got the bikes back out and rode over to Sombrero Beach. There's a very pleasant park here. The land was donated by The Switlik's, who own a large rescue equipment company (they make everything from parachutes to life rafts) donated the property:
Apparently, this area is frequented by many kinds of sea turtles:
We were fascinated by the inlaid figures in the benches:
It is a very peaceful setting. Classic picture…
There was a gentleman feeding bread to the gulls. They would fly up and take the bread out of his fingers:
Or, he would toss it and the birds would catch it in mid-air:
It was one of those perfect afternoons. The Atlantic was like a mill pond:
This is a good example of the coral that forms these islands:
Close up, you can see how sharp and rugged it is:
Sections under the water support sea urchins and tiny fish; look closely:
We left the beach after a while and rode through some more nearby neighborhoods. We loved this fellow:
And this flower garden got Ruth's attention:
Here's another unusual mailbox:
Near sunset, we noticed this owl under the bikes. Bill tried to get a close picture, but it was hard to hold steady in the dim light while the camera took the picture. We are still debating whether it is a screech owl or a burrowing owl:
Wednesday the 15th (Day 295): We did some more exploring today and Ruth got some better pictures of the place we are staying, Lighthouse Cay Marina. Here is the main complex:
Across the street is the golf course. The practice tee is in the foreground:
Overall, today was quiet and the weather was perfectly beautiful!
It was a good week!
Position tonight: N24 42.676 W081 04.915
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