Day 303-309 - A Third Week in Marathon, FL
Day 303-309 Thursday-Wednesday, February 23-March 1st: Thursday and Friday, February 23 and 24 (Days 303, 304) were routine days. We read a lot and "vegged out."
Saturday, February 25th (Day 305) We did something a little different. Today marked the annual Marine Flea Market up on Islamorada, one of the larger keys. We rode with Dixie (Puff IV) to the flea market and had a lot of fun exploring the thousands of things in the various tent booths. They had everything from used Porta-Potties to tournament fishing reels and rods. There were clothes, paintings, jewelry, boats, motors, hats, and everything nautical you could imagine.
Ruth fell in love with this hanging chair. She said it was the most comfortable thing she had ever sat in:
Fortunately, she realized we didn't have a place to hang it easily, and didn't buy it. Whew!
While walking the booths, we bumped into our good Looper friends Connie and Rick (Cori) and Stef and Roy (Dream Catcher V). They were staying a marina little east of us in the Keys. We enjoyed catching up with their whereabouts and happenings.
On the way back to the boat, we stopped at Keys Fisheries for lunch (again). It was yummy.
Sunday, February 26th (Day 306) A cold front moved through Marathon last night, so today was cooler and quite windy. We stayed sort of hunkered down. We had borrowed "The Greatest Show on Earth" on DVD from the local library, so we watched it tonight.
Monday, February 27th (Day 307) This morning the marina was visited by a very large manatee. It was having breakfast by eating the sea grass and weeds from the pilings and boats:
Manatees come up for air every couple of minutes:
One of the boats set a fresh water hose over their rail and turned the water on. Manatees love to drink the fresh water. Of course this is perfectly illegal:
The manatee is so ugly in the face that it is lovable. They are very gentle animals:
The slip we were moored in belonged to a boat that had leased the space for the summer. They had gone to Key West for the month, but were returning early; so we had to move today. They put us at the "North Marina," which is what they call the slums at Lighthouse Cay Club. So, with help from the dockmaster, neighbor Steve and John and Kathy (Rosetta), we move to our new digs about ¼ mile further up the channel.
Here we are, all set to go:
We got moved without a problem with all that help. The winds were still blowing fairly strongly. We had to "Med moor" the boat (stern to the seawall without any finger piers) so we had taken the dinghy off; we went back to get it. Here is our view from the dinghy as we approached our new moorage. Integrity is in the center:
The one redeeming factor of "the slums" is Publix is directly behind us. That white building is the store:
Shortly after we got settled Ruth noticed this rather large blue crab paddling around the boat:
She decided to make lunch of the grass beard Integrity had begun to grow:
Part way between "the slums" and the main marina is a kayak rental place. It was so colorful that when we went back to get the bikes we got this picture of it:
So here is Integrity in the "north marina." It isn't bad, and the neighbors are very friendly. Most have been spending winter here for many years:
And, as a bonus, this little pink octopus was camped on the coral under the dock. Look closely:
We tied the dinghy next to us:
..because the only way on or off the boat was via the walk board (some call it a gangplank):
We settled in nicely for the next couple of days.
Position tonight: N 24 42.865 W081 04614
Tuesday, February 28, 2006 (Day 308) Today we borrowed Steve's car (Mystery) and drove about ten miles up to Grassy Key to the Dolphin Research Center that lots of people had recommended visiting. The outside sign was impressive:
And here is their "commercial" about their reason for being:
But their real reason is for tourists like us to have fun and take pictures. Like this:
But in spite of the tricks, the Center does a lot of research. They also let people in the water to do tricks with the dolphins. Here are some people setting up to stroke the animals:
The dolphins give a "kiss":
Push you around the basin:
They even painted T-shirts for people!:
All in all, it was a fun visit. And these folks are serious about their research. Do you know the difference between a dolphin and a porpoise? They do!
After we left the Research Center, we drove back to Vaca Key (Marathon) and stopped to take a picture of this very colorful motel in town:
Then we went over and parked near the Boot Key Bridge. We walked out to take this picture. There were 292 boats anchored in the harbor today. Paradise is very popular:
By the way, we have now taken well over 7000 pictures on our Loop. WOW!
Wednesday, March 1, 2006 (Day 309) Today we moved back over to the main marina section, and again had the help of friends John and Kathy (Rosetta). It was MUCH easier this time because there was very little wind. It all went well.
Since we had the dinghy in the water, we decided to go on an "explore" in it. Kathy and John joined us in their dinghy. We were a little nervous when we noticed the writing on their life jackets. It says "US COAST GUARD AUXILLIARY." These are the folks that can make your life happy or miserable. At least they are good friends!
Going south in Sisters Creek toward the Atlantic Ocean, we met this dive boat on the way in with their tourists:
This is a mangrove lined creek:
We cleared the Creek and headed out into the Atlantic. It was pretty calm:
Before it got to be real seas, we turned around. Bill was enjoying the day:
We decided to explore some of the lovely homes in the area, and as we turned into a side channel, we spotted a couple of iguanas:
We couldn't decide which picture was best, so here is a series. First, a couple of the green guy:
Then, this brownish fellow:
As we moved among the megabuck homes, we noticed this little fishing boat. It has 875 horsepower in those engines. Really necessary?
While this is not the best angle for a picture, the home (?) was perfectly gorgeous, huge and overlooking the water:
Later, we spotted this fellow in his favorite fishing hole while, in the background, a cherry-picker-assisted roofer was checking the house behind him:
Ruth snapped this home, and then the camera said, "Memory Full!" Bummer!
Position tonight: N24 42.651 W081 04.912
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