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.