FRIDAY FEBRUARY 18TH

Cloudy and cool. So what else is new??? We are headed for Miami today. The water is a bit deeper. Three feet under the boat now!!!!

There must be some type of boat rally going on further down in the Keys this weekend. We could see boat spray way off in the distance. The first group that came past, we didn’t even have time to get the cameras before the boats arrived and roared past us. Ross and Mark guessed a couple of them were going 80 to 90 miles per hour.



They look like they are just skimming along the surface of the water and would flip if they hit a wave. Boat after boat whizzed past. They went so fast that it was hard to get a photo. I am glad we are not putting the fuel in these things!!!









This one had all sorts of Batman
graphics all over it. And of
course the Batmobile fins
on the back.









It was an easy trip to Miami. We decided to anchor in Sunset Lake, which is at the end of a canal. There are other boats anchored here as well. Very quiet and scenic with beautiful homes and palm trees every direction you look. Oh, and it's free! The marinas in the Miami area are very expensive. $3.50 to $9 per foot a night. Our boat is 44 feet long, even longer if you include the dinghy and bow pulpit. Some marinas will include those things in the length also. You do the math……..it’s a no brainer to anchor.

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 18TH

Today it is time to leave Marathon. Each morning I bring my coffee up on the flybridge and this is the view I enjoy while waking up. The seagulls perch on the pilings and squawk to one another. If I’m lucky I may spot a manatee swimming near the mangroves. Folks out in the mooring field are coming ashore to go to work or take a pet in for it’s walk. I will miss it.

The day started out windy but calmed down by mid afternoon. Because of the early day winds, we had made the decision to take the ICW rather than run outside. We regretted the decision. Much of the day the depth finder was reading only 18 inches under the boat! We never hit the bottom but it was a pins and needles day.

We passed many mangroves today. I would imagine they are referred to as groves, but mangrove groves just doesn’t sound right. Anyway, for my gardening friends and anyone else who may find this interesting I'll fill you in on what I know about mangroves. They are referred to as “walking trees” because the roots are above the water and it appears as if they are on top of the water. You can see how tangled the roots get which is why these plant groves are great protective areas for young fish species, and even shrimp and oysters. What amazes me is the plant is capable of living in salt water and making it's own fresh water to survive. Depending on the variety it can remove the salt from the water and secrete the excess salt out through it’s leaves or some varieties can block absorption of the salt completely at the roots. Pretty neat trick! Most of these groves are surrounded by water making them protected from predators. So an excellent spot to roost for the night or build a nest. Some groves are full of pelicans, egrets or rosette spoonbills about dusk.

Ross got us all through safely and we anchored in Tarpon Basin near Key Largo for the night.

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 17TH

Our last full day in Marathon before continuing on our way. The guys took the bikes and ran errands while Tami and I did some laundry and chores around the boat.

It was a pleasant day so we ended it by taking a dinghy ride around some of the backwaters of Marathon.

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 16TH

We hoofed it down to the bus stop about ½ mile away from the marina and caught the 8:11 a.m. bus to Key West. $3 one way.





























Once in Key West we rented bikes and cruised around Old Town.


















Stopped at Margaritaville for a cold one.


























Just outside of Margaritaville was a street vendor selling her jewelry. It was made with antique keys and very unique. Tami bought a necklace from her.















The sun came out and for the most part it was a
nice day. We didn’t need jackets until later on.



















It was a fun day wandering around. Shopping, people watching, snacking and bar
hopping.
















One of our last stops was the Schooner Wharf Bar for oysters. This band member on the left looked vaguely familiar. Things are still a bit fuzzy from Valentine’s evening, but we think the guy on the left was the singer from the band that night at The Dockside. Now you really know who to blame.





























There was a guy who sold hand rolled cigars in the bar area. There were many different flavors. The cigars we displayed in the front of an old wooden cart. The back part of it had a flat area where he could roll the cigars while he sat. Mark bought a few from him but hasn’t smoked them yet.














Makes you kind of wonder??











We returned the rental bikes late in the day and then headed towards the pier for sunset. The pier at sunset is full of activity. There are many street entertainers performing all sorts of things. There was even a guy with house cats that he had trained, as much as one could train a house cat, to walk on a tightrope and jump through a fire hoop.



































Caught this guy tuning his guitar. Remember the 60's group Question Mark and the Mysterions? Think he could be the guy?










With a bucket this size, I think his expectations far exceed his talents and the audiences appreciation.
























We stopped at Sloppy Joe's for something to eat and listen to their band. Sloppy Joe's is supposedly where Ernest Hemingway hung out back in the day. The band was more of a comedy routine put to music than anything and got pretty raunchy at times. We felt somewhat embarrassed because of the number of children whose parents had brought them in there.




















It was then time to start our journey home. It was a long bus ride back to Marathon and then the half mile walk back to the marina. Our tails were dragging but we had a fun day.

MONDAY FEBRUARY 15TH

Yep, sore heads. But not sore enough to stop Tami and I from going shopping at the stores we saw yesterday. They were chuck full of fun stuff and we stimulated the economy a bit before peddling back to the boat.


The guys had finished washing the boat and were waiting for us. We had plans to dinghy to Burdine’s Chiki Tiki for lunch.






























We all piled in to the dinghy but just as Ross was starting the motor, we noticed there was a young manatee under the dinghy. Even a baby is large. This one was maybe 5 feet or more, total. It swam back and forth under the dinghy and we could feel it’s back scrape along the bottom under our feet. It finally swam off and we were on our way.







Half way to Chiki Tiki we had more excitement as the plug popped out of the bottom of the dinghy and we were taking on water! Ross jammed the plug back in and did some frantic baling. Guess it’s time to replace the plug.

We continued on our way, enjoying the sun and semi-warm weather. We could actually get by wearing shorts and t-shirts as long as you stayed in the sunshine.







We spent the remainder of the day relaxing, napping and reading. We fixed our belated Valentine’s dinner and ate by candle light on the back deck. Tomorrow morning we are taking the bus to Key West for the day. So no dancing tonight. We learned our lesson last night!

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 14TH

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!!

We had the rental car till mid-afternoon so did some power shopping. The guys headed to West Marine to purchase more rope. Some of the lines on the boat are showing wear and may not be as trustworthy as we’d like them to be. Tami and I filled a grocery cart with provisions, including wine. They sell it in the grocery stores in Florida! On Sundays!! What a state!!! We had to wait for the guys so did some window-shopping in the adjoining strip mall and formulated our plan for coming back, without a cart load of food.

Once the guys arrived we drove to a fish market and picked up some fresh Florida Pink shrimp. We cooked them up when we got back to the boat and chilled them to have as a Valentine’s treat later.

Tom Lanham from Noah Agenda stopped by to say hello. It was good to see him again. Diann returned home for a visit so we didn’t get to see her.

We decided to take a dinghy ride around the harbor and mooring field. Our trip took us to the Municipal Marina where we recognized the boat Misstickle. It’s captain, Ruby, was onboard and came out to visit. Ruby is from Minnesota too. It was good to hear what all his travels have been since we last saw him way back up on the TennTom just north of Mobile.

From there we stopped out in the mooring field to greet Cindy and Alex of Tug Hill Tug. They took this photo of us. Yes, once again we are bundled up at one of the most southern points of the U.S.









We enjoyed our shrimp on returning to the boat. There is an outdoor restaurant here at the marina so we decided to walk up and have a sunset cocktail and listen to the music for a while. Well the band turned out to be a blast and everyone was dancing.






Our kids would refer to it as “oldies music”. The place was packed with us old timers dancing away to Mustang Sally and the likes. We ended up having a burger at the bar and just kept on a dancing. Our Valentine’s dinner on the boat would have to wait till another night.











We’ll probably have some sore feet tomorrow. And heads.

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 13TH

We returned to the Oddysea close to midnight. Our connecting flight was delayed in St. Louis, so we didn’t arrive in Miami until after 9 p.m. Friends, Mark and Tami Heimer, are joining us for the next two weeks. Their flight arrived earlier in the day so they rented a car and cruised South Beach. They saw many interesting places they would have liked to stop and check out but quickly figured out that South Beach on a Saturday means you’ve got a snowball’s chance in Miami of finding a place to park. They picked us up at the airport and we made the 2 ½ hour drive to Marathon. During the daylight hours it is an incredibly beautiful drive. At night, it’s just a very narrow road with no shoulders, in the dark. Mark did a good job of getting us here safely. We were all pretty pooped and glad to hit the sack.

WHILE WE WERE HOME

We have been back home in Minnesota for three weeks and are starting to prepare for our return to the boat. Stopping the mail & newspaper, arranging for snow removal, taking Shadow to stay with her niece, Chewie, and a list of other things.




We’ve had a snowy, cold 3 weeks. Here’s Ross blowing the snow off the deck. The snowdrifts were so high that we worried the weight of it would collapse the deck. Don’t need that to happen!

While home we made a trip to Red Wing to visit fellow J-Dockers Lori and Larry Lindboe. Lori provided us with these photos of J-Dock in the wintertime. This time of year our dock is overtaken with ice fishing houses of every shape and form. That’s the main channel of the Mississippi in the background.










Each year the staff at the dental clinic gets together for an after Christmas party. Since we left right after Christmas for the boat, they waited until we returned from this past leg. (thanks!!!) Two of the staff are in charge of planning the party and keep it a closely guarded secret. Which of course, drives the rest of us at the office crazy trying to figure it out. The theme of the party was “To Hell with Work, Let’s Go to Vegas”. We all dressed up for a night in Vegas, hopped on the party bus and away we went. Our final destination was a private dining room at the Hard Rock Café in downtown Minneapolis. Where none other than Elvis showed up to perform for us. It was a blast, to say the least. Staff members Mary and Angie outdid themselves planning this one. They’ll have the party planning job for life now. Who would volunteer to come up with something better than Elvis?????





The "King" and I.



















Ross, me and his sister, Beth, who is a dental hygienist at the clinic.