KEY WEST TO MARATHON

Feb 20- We have decided that this will be a work day of sorts. Dave has a hose to change and I have laundry and the fenders need to be cleaned. I was about to start the fenders when Dave informed me the hose was not the right length, so we had to go back to West Marine to exchange it. We took Koby with us for the walk and I must say he is doing much better with the noise and people. We got the new hose and Dave set about replacing it and I started the fenders. We finished our little jobs and then headed over to Charlie and Bonnie. Charlie had been down under his boat trying to cut off some crab pots that he apparently hit and have rapped themselves around his props. He was able to get them off one side but he decided to have a diver do the other side as it was a much tougher job. It took the diver about 15-20 minutes and he had the final crab pot off. Charlie was chilled to the bone and was going to have a long hot shower so Dave and I went back to our boat until after dinner. We went back to Sonata at 7:00 pm to play cards for awhile.

An artfully decorated car

One of the 107 churches on the island

This sign says it all!

Charlie riding to the restaurant

Feb 21- This is our last day in Key West as we are leaving in the morning. It is a warm sunny day and a lazy kind of day. We got in the dingy and cleaned along the water line which took us a good part of the morning. We walked over to Sonata and we chatted for awhile and made plans to have an early dinner and try to catch the sunset at Mallory Square tonight. We just hung out at the boat until 4:00 pm when we were supposed to meet up with Bonnie and Charlie for dinner. We went to a restaurant called Two Friends and we had a wonderful dinner there. It was getting cooler and I had only worn shorts and I was getting cold so Bonnie and I went back to Manana so that I could change. We met the guys back at the restaurant and headed for Mallory Square. Every night there are performers in the square entertaining for tips. We stood watching one performer on a unicycle for sometime until it was time for the sunset shot. The streets had seemed to come alive as we walked back to our boats and we said goodnight.

Statue of salvagers of Key West

One of the act at Mallory Square

Snorkel the pig was another act

A little boat out to watch the sunset

Not a great sunset (was very cloudy)

Key West's smallest bar

Feb 22- Dave and I were up early as we want to put on fuel before we leave and the fuel dock does not open until 8:00 am. We fueled and we were on our way. As soon as we left the harbour the wind was up and I had a bad feeling about this. We are traveling on the Atlantic side of the Keys and are heading 50 miles to Marathon to a marina called Faro Blanco. The sky is dark and threatening but I think it is passing us by. I went down inside the boat and put everything down that might break or fall over. It was like being in a washing machine, there was no comfortable way of taking the waves. After almost 7 hours of the worst seas I have ever been in we finally made it to our destination. I could have kissed the ground. There are several of our Loopers here and it is so great to see them all again. There is a restaurant and a pool on the premises which is great but the grocery store is about 2 miles away on a very busy highway. We were invited to docktails by one of the other boaters here but we are exhausted from our ordeal today and we still have to get the salt off the boat so we passed and it was an early evening for us.

Leaving Key West

Not a good day to be out here

Coming up to Faro Blanco Marina

Our entrance to our slip on the right

View of Florida Bay from our dock

Sonata second boat on the left

Manana enjoying her rest after yesterday

A large grassy spot for Koby to run

Feb 23- We were supposed to be leaving today but it is such a lovely marina and we are still feeling the effects of yesterdays trip so we have asked for another day here. I was needing some milk so Bonnie, Dave, Koby and I walked to a variety store up Highway 1 and the scary part was we had to cross the highway to get to the store and there are no lights to cross at. We did manage to get there and back safely. We decided we would try the restaurant for lunch and it was quite good. After lunch Charlie went back to the boat and rested as he was not feeling well and Bonnie, Dave and I went to the pool and relaxed a little. The pool temperature was perfect and the day had gotten quite warm so we really enjoyed ourselves. I sat talking with one of the Loopers for sometime as Dave had gone back to the boat to let Koby out. We went back to our boats to prepare something to take to docktails at 5:00 pm. Bonnie was supposed to come but was not feeling well either. Dave and I sat with Jim and Moe from Gemini who we had not seen since The Wharf back on the Panhandle and also Allan and Lola from Blue Haven whom we had not seen since Chatanooga. It was a great time and we hope we run into them all again soon.

SHARK RIVER TO KEY WEST

Feb 16- We were up early and left Shark River at 6:45 am as we have another 8 hours to run today. We headed out of Shark River with a slight chop and a very threatening sky. We were out about one hour when the rain from a very dark sky hit us but the waves were not that bad (not like the day before). The black sky passed over us quite quickly thank God and then the sky began to get brighter over us and we continued our trip with sunshine and calm waves to Key West. We arrived at the marina at about 4 pm, we are on E dock and Sonata is on A dock. There is a lot of walking being done between the two boats. There is very little green space for Koby so we have to walk him down the side streets to get him some grass to pee on. I got the hose out and started washing the salt from the boat and by the time we had finished it was almost dark. It was an early night for us.

We are almost to Key West

We can see Key West off in the distance

A cruise ship in at the port

Sonata heading into Key West Bight Marina

View from front deck looking out of marina

Sonata three docks over 

Looking into shore

Big guy on the other side of dock

Feb 17- We are up early as we want to see all the area we can while we are here. We walked down to the downtown area and checked out a lot of the little shops then had lunch at the pier. At times there's just a few people and then the cruise ships come in the place is over run with people. We have been fortunate the sun has been shining every day and it is warm until we get a north wind. We have some interesting characters in sail boats on either side of us. They are friendly enough but they always seem to be here so I not sure if they work or not. The one lady just sits in the cockpit of her boat all day every day ( I would go absolutely stark raving mad). Their dog likes to bark at us when we go by with Koby. We are eating aboard tonight as we are tired from our hours of walking we have done today.

No big crowds as yet

This is a Hard Rock Cafe

Feb 18- We have decided to take the Conch Train tour today and get the lowdown on some of the history of the island.We got on the train at about 1:00 pm and it was a 90 minute tour. Our tour guide was quite entertaining and enlightening but unfortunately we had four chatty people behind us that kept us from hearing all the tour guide had to say. When we returned to the depot Charlie told them that they had been rude by talking through the tour. We had passed the Hemingway and Truman homes and went down past the 0 mile marker and the beaches. We were hungry after the tour so Bonnie and Charlie talked us into trying some Thai food for lunch. We tried Pad Tai noodles (mild) and they were quite good and we had tried something new. We had to take our time heading back towards our boats as the streets were swollen with people from the two cruise boats in the harbour.
We had dinner and Bonnie and Charlie came over around 7:00 pm and we played cards. We have introduced them to euchre and some times Charlie has trouble grasping the workings of the game. Bonnie has gotten onto it quite well and helps Charlie where she can.

Dave and I with Bonnie and Charlie trying Thai food

A beautiful home on the island

End of Highway 1 (mile 0 ) 

A couple of large homes on the island

I just love the homes here

Cute shutters on this home

Feb 19- We are getting our bikes out and doing our own little tour around some of the streets. We are heading down to the 0 mile marker first to take some pictures next to it. When we arrived there was an actual line waiting to go up and take pictures. We left there and peddled around some of the back neighborhoods for awhile. We saw the lighthouse but you have to walk up 86 steps to the top and none of us are willing to do that right now. Dave and Charlie need something at West Marine so we are now headed in that direction. While the guys are in West Marine, Bonnie and I are planning to bike to the Publix that is 2 miles away to get a few things. It turned out to be a very windy ride for us there but wasn't that bad coming back although one loaf of bread went bouncing out of the carrier on Bonnie's bike. It survived the fall and because our carriers were both full I ended up carrying the bread on my handlebars of my bike. We got back without any other incidents and made a plan to go out tonight at a good restaurant, but it turned out that the one we chose was a disappointment I'm afraid - expensive but the food was not that good. It was a cool walk back to our boat where we played Sequence again - the bad guys won!

Down by the beaches

This hotel was built by Rockerfeller

At point zero southernmost point of North America

NAPLES TO SHARK RIVER

Feb 15- We have a long trip today so were up and out of Naples marina at 6:30 am. We are travelling to a place called Shark River to anchor for the night. The wind is starting to get up but is not too bad as yet. As we passed the last land we will see for awhile the wind is up and the waves are getting larger and it now an uncomfortable ride. I have gone down and put down everything that will break or fall off in a secure place. We traveled like this for about 6 hours. It was a toss up as to who was more stressed, me or Koby. We entered into Shark River and finally got some relief from the waves and wind. We immediately tried to find a place to take Koby to shore but there was no where, it is all mangroves with no solid land, so poor Koby held on. I placed his puppy pads down but he would not use them. By the morning he was whinning so I knew he was in distress. He ended up peeing on the side deck which was fine as long as he was OK.

The sun just coming up

Leaving Naples early

A new home under construction in Naples

Heading into Shark River

Charlie getting ready to anchor

Mangroves everywhere

FORT MYERS TO NAPLES

Feb 12- We left Edison Ford Marina at 9:30 am as we had to wait for the dockmaster to  get in so we could settle up. We have a nice day for our trip to Naples today, calm waters and low wind. We were enjoying our trip until a Sea Ray about 50 feet came up beside us and put up such a wake that the sofa in the main salon shifted and my table between two chairs went upside down along with my lamp. The top from my lighthouse in the forward cabin fell off and broken into a million pieces and all the books on the table up on the bridge flew off the table. I just had to say something to this fine individual about his passing abilities and all he said was he called us, we didn't respond and back off our speed so he had to speed up to pass us. I have something to say to all you Sea Ray people out there, you must know the kind of wake you put out, it only takes a few minutes out of your busy schedules to slow down and be courteous to other boaters and not cause unnecessary damage to someone else's boat. We got to Naples at about 4 pm and got into our slips fairly well because we had no wind this time. We made it an early night as we had been up so early.

Leaving Edison Ford Marina

A place to stop for a sandwich

Heading down the ICW

Passing Fort Myers Beach

Heading to Naples

The beginning of the opulence

Entrance to Naples (our greeting party)

A couple of the tour boats on their way out

A lot of very large homes

The speed limit is 30 mph for any size of boat (crazy)

View from our bridge

Naples Municipal Marina

Fisherman cleaning his catch - pelicans quite interested

This little boat is for sale

Feb 13- The sun is shining brightly but the air is still cool today. Charlie is moving over to another slip this afternoon and after he does we are going for a dingy ride. There is a car and art show downtown today. We took the dingy down the river and then back into some of the canals. There is some serious coin here when you see these homes and the yachts parked at their docks. When we got back Bonnie and I went for a bike ride to the local grocery store to pick up a few things for dinner tonight. We were invited aboard Sonata tonight for dinner and then we played Sequence for awhile. The girls won again!

Feb 14- We are up early as we are not sure we have the slip for another day or not. We were just having breakfast when the dockmaster called us to say we were able to stay another day. Today is a special day as it is my grandson Hunters 15th birthday. Best Wishes for a great day Hunter, we love and miss you so much. I hope you have a wonderful day. We were contacted by friends Trevor and Diane who are from Hindson's Marina in Penetang saying they are down here in Cape Coral and they are coming over to visit us. They arrived (all eight of them) at about 2 pm and we welcomed them aboard and sat talking up on the bridge for some time. Trevor offered to drive Dave over to West Mar
ine to pick up a new VHF antennae as our decided to just fall off into the water taking our new MTOA flag with it.The rest of us stayed and chatted about our trip and we watched the rental boats trying to get to the gas dock in the wind. When Dave and Trevor returned the group decided it was time to leave so we walked them to the parking lot and said our goodbyes. They are wonderful people and we were very touched that they would want to visit us here. Thank you guys very much you made our day! We again were invited to dinner aboard Sonata and as usual Bonnie out did herself.

Friends from our marina in Penetang came to visit

Trevor and Dave back from West Marine

Our great friends from Canada - thanks guys it was great to see you !

Manana in Naples Marina