In this blog edition, we spend two weeks in Marathon in the Florida Keys. While there, we take a side trip to Key West for an overnight stay. We visit the Turtle Hospital, a craft fair, and the Marathon Seafood Festival and catch up with many old friends.
Day 280 – Thursday, 02/29 – In Marathon, FL
Thursday was sunny and warm. We’ve been having an issue with one of the pumps that provides water to the guest toilet. I had a spare that I had rebuilt, and spent the morning pulling out the cabinet so that I could get to it, and replacing the pump. I also found that the strainer was clogged with bits of seaweed. The pump replacement took a couple of hours.
In the afternoon, we went up to the pool bar for an afternoon drink with some of the other boaters. While we were sitting there looking toward the boat, we saw a large iguana stroll up the dock toward the boat. We’d been warned that they like to go aboard boats and can make a mess pooping. I walked down to the boat to shoo him off the dock. First, he just jumped on the piling and crawled toward the boat. I shooed him from the other side, and he just jumped off into the water, then swam over to the floating grass and climbed up onto a floating grass island. I kept an eye on him for a while, and he was struggling to get out of the water (the marina basin walls are steel), so I grabbed a net that was hanging on a fence and scooped him out. As soon as he hit the ground, he ran to the closest tree and climbed up. I hope he doesn’t drop on someone’s head!
We took the bikes to the Overseas Pub & Grill and Grill for dinner that evening. On our last Loop, the Overseas was a favorite stop. The food is good and very reasonably priced. They have a very good selection of local beers on draft. The live music is in the outside bar area (as well as the smokers), so it’s not smelly or too loud inside. Everyone there is very friendly, and it’s a relaxing place to go. It is very popular with boaters from the marinas on either side of the island and the locals!
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Day 281 – Friday, 03/01 – In Marathon, FL
On Friday, we did some route planning and decided where we were going to stay when we left Marathon. The marinas in the Keys and the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area fill up quickly, so it’s wise to make reservations early. We put in some reservation requests and hoped we could get into our first choices.
We were waiting for UPS to arrive with our forwarded mail, so we didn’t want to go too far. We took the bikes to the local Publix and Walgreens to do a bit of shopping. On the way back, we stopped at Irie Island Eats for lunch. Irie Island is two Taco Trucks parked in, well, a jungle! It’s very popular with the boaters staying at the marina. It’s only a short walk away, and the food is all fresh. One truck specializes in more breakfast and vegan options. While the other is your standard taco choice. We ordered some breakfast sandwiches as it was still early and took them back to the boat to eat. They were very tasty! They were also huge, and we both left half for later.
We just hung around the boat until early afternoon when UPS and Amazon made their deliveries. The rear bilge pump had been acting up. Sometimes, it did not turn on, and when it did, sometimes, it did not turn off. I was never quite happy with the installation I did when I rebuilt the rear bilge area two years ago. I had ordered a new pump as well as a proper bilge switch from Amazon so that I could re-do the installation. That will be tomorrow’s project!
The dinner that evening was the leftover sandwiches from lunch.
Day 282 – Saturday, 03/02 – In Marathon, FL
My plan for Saturday was to redo the rear bilge pump. I had scoped out how I wanted to do the installation, and I needed some 4-conductor marine wire. I rode the bike to Home Depot just down the street; however, they didn’t have what I needed. I called West Marine about a mile and a half down the road in the other direction, and they had the wire in stock. So I rode there and picked it up.
It was 10:00 by the time I got back to the boat and started the project. I had not pulled up the floor in the bilge for quite a while, and it was pretty nasty and slimy under there, so the first task was to clean it up. Just like any house project, boat projects never go as quickly as you think they will. I wanted the installation to last this time, so I took my time and reworked pretty much the entire electrical system for the back pumps (there are two). Ultimately, I was very happy with the result, and it should last for years. Also, in the old installation, the only way to control the pump was by pulling a fuse located in the engine room. I installed switches for both pumps inside the lazzarette, which are easily accessible from where the pumps are. By the time I was finished, it was almost 4:30.
I was hot, sweaty, and covered in bilge goo. I took a shower, and Brenda fixed dinner on the boat.
Day 283 – Sunday, 03/03 – In Marathon, FL
When we were at Publix on Friday, the lady at the checkout told us about an Arts & Crafts festival on Sunday at Key Colony Beach. She said she lived there and that it was just up the road. We like to go to Arts & Crafts festivals, so we decided to go. It was a sunny, hot (mid-80s) day. We looked online and didn’t find a lot of information about it. We saw a sign at a local bank near the marina advertising it, so we were confident it was real. I searched Google Maps for the address we found online. It showed that it was about 2 miles north. We took off on the bikes and headed in that direction. When we got to the address, it appeared to be an office. We searched online again and found the actual location at the Key Colony Beach community, another 4 miles away. Off we go! Fortunately, we have electric bikes, and aside from two bridges over waterways, there are no hills in the keys.
Key Colony sits on an island at the end of a causeway. The Festival is an annual event celebrating the community’s incorporation as a city in 1957. They have arts and crafts vendors, food vendors, live music, a dog dress-up competition (which some take quite literally), and the local favorite Barracuda Races! Where you bet on small fish racing up a waterfilled racetrack. It’s a great fundraiser! The event is topped off with a parade. For a city with 1,400 homes and 800 year-round, 4,000 mid-winter residents (according to their website). It’s quite an event!
When we arrived, we parked the bikes and started walking around. I can tell when the heat is getting to Brenda because her face turns bright red. So, first on the agenda was getting something cool to drink. We went to the food vendor area and got a couple of ice-cold lemonades. We sat in the shade briefly to cool down before walking around and checking out the artists’ and crafters’ booths.
There is only one street leading to the area where the fair is, and when they started making announcements that it was closing for the parade, we decided to leave before we got stuck. We just made it off of the parade route before the first firetruck turned the corner.
We took our time going back. We stopped on the way to find a Geocache. It was cleverly hidden inside an old gas pump decorating the parking lot of a drive-up coffee shop. It had several travel bugs in it, so we grabbed two to move along.
When we got back to the marina, we stopped up at the pool bar for something cool to drink and to chat with some of the other Loopers. All of a sudden, someone called, “Manatee in the marina!” We ran down the stairs to the boats, and there (s)he was. Quite a large one! It was just slowly cruising around the boats, munching on the sea grass that collects in the marina. Every now and then, it would poke its nose just above the water and take a breath, then go back to eating. It hung around for about 20 minutes then swam off.
We were pretty beat from our 12-mile ride, so we just had snacks on the boat for dinner.
Day 284 – Monday, 03/04 – In Marathon, FL
When we stayed in Marathon during our last Loop, one of the highlights was visiting the Turtle Hospital. The Hospital rescues, treats, and attempts to rehabilitate sick or injured sea turtles. Most injuries are from propeller strikes or because the turtles get caught in nets or other man-made objects like soda/beer can holders. The sickness is also mostly due to human activity as well. The turtles mistake plastic shopping bags floating in the ocean for jellyfish, and when they eat them, they get lodged in their stomachs. Also, there is a syndrome where turtles develop large growths on the exposed skin due to fertilizer and other pollutants that wash into the water. We were told that a surprisingly small percentage is due to natural causes like losing a fin to sharks.
We saw about 30 turtles there. Many are permanent residents who are not able to be released back into the wild. To qualify for release, a turtle must have one good eye, three flippers, and be able to dive independently. Many of the turtles that suffer propeller strikes to their shells develop what is called “Bubble Butt,” where an air pocket develops under the shell creating extra buoyancy and preventing them from diving or making them off balance so that they swim sideways. The hospital treats them by attaching weights to their shells with epoxy to balance them and counteract the extra buoyancy. Unfortunately, while this allows the turtle to swim somewhat normally, they can not be released into the wild because as their shell grows, the weights fall off and must be replaced. These turtles are kept at the Hospital as permanent residents or re-homed to aquariums around the country to live out their lives in a protected environment.
While taking the tour, the guide tells you each turtle’s name and background. You can feed the turtles in the permanent resident tank. They are fun to watch, and each has its own personality. We saw “Snap” and “Crackle,” who were almost ready for release. “Pop” had been released just a few days before. If you find an injured turtle and report it, you are allowed to name it!
After visiting the Turtle Hospital, we rode to Castaway Bar & Grill to meet some other Loopers for lunch. On our first loop, we met Pierre and Rene from Shoreline Traveler. They are from Sabe Vois, Quebec. This spring, as we were going up the Champlain Canal, we went by their home marina. As we passed their marina, we saw their boat, and when we docked just up the canal, they reached out to us. They were having lunch at the marina restaurant and had seen us go past! We had dinner with them and said we would look them up when we got to Marathon, where they spend the winters.
Some other Looper friends on Concession (formerly of the boat Nameste) told us they were meeting them at Castaways for lunch and invited us along. We said we would be there but asked them not to tell Pierre and Rene we were coming. We arrived at the restaurant early and sat at the courtyard bar. When they arrived, they said, “Hey, we know you!”. We had a nice lunch and caught up with them. There were eight of us for lunch. Pierre and Rene from Shoreline Traveler, Jim & Joanne from Concession(Namaste), Tony & Shirley from Puffin, and us.
The food at Castaways was excellent! Brenda had sushi, one of their specialties, and I had a burger, which I could only eat half of! After a nice lunch, we rode back to the boat and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon.
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Day 285 – Tuesday, 03/05 – In Marathon, FL
On Tuesday, our friends Tim and Katie on Pangur Ban returned to their boat from a trip home. We met them on our first Loop and have caught up with them from time to time since. Most recently, they met us in Petoskey, MI, near where they live.
After their trip, they needed to do a supply run to reprovision, so Brenda and I went with Tim to Publix and Walgreens to do some shopping. We only needed a few things, so while we were waiting for Tim to finish, we watched the roosters strutting around the parking lot. The wild roosters and chickens started in Key West when they escaped after a storm and have been a landmark there for years. They have slowly been migrating north up the Keys. The chickens are protected. You can’t keep them as pets or eat them.
Iguanas are another story. Those are an invasive species, and there is a bounty on them. There are iguana teams that go out with air rifles and thin them down. They get paid by the tail.
At sunset, we went to the west side of the marina for sunset docktails with Susie & Ron on Stay Golden, Bev & Chad on Blue Odyssey, John & Donna on Paradise Bound, and John & Sandra on Wanderlust. As usual, it was a beautiful sunset!
After the sun went down, we walked to the Overseas Bar & Grill for dinner. When we got there, a large group was at the bar, all in the same t-shirts. We thought it was some sort of birthday party or a sports team. It turns out that every Tuesday, they all come to the Overseas for the bartender “Cheddar.” The t-shirts are for the Cheddar Appreciation Club!
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Day 286 – Wednesday, 03/06 – In Key West, FL
Originally, we had planned to stay in Marathon for a week, then take the boat to Stock Island on the north end of Key West. The Stock Island Marina has a shuttle bus that goes downtown several times a day. Stock Island used to be inexpensive. The rates now are $8.00 per foot, plus power, and are almost the same as those for the downtown Key West marinas. For us that would have been just under $400 a day! We decided to just leave the boat in Marathon at Marlin Bay and take the bus to Key West for an overnight visit. That would also let us get off the boat and into a different bed for a night! Also by staying an extra week at Marlin Bay, our average daily dockage went down to around $200 with power and tax! Half of what Stock Island would have cost.
The Key West Bus Service runs buses from Key West to Islamorada once per hour. The idea is to transport workers and tourists to Key West and help alleviate the parking and traffic congestion issues on Route 1. The bus is $4.00 per ride if you are under 60 and $1 per ride if you are a “Senior.” Marathon to Key West is about 50 miles, so that’s the best deal going!
When we had lunch with Rene and Pierre, we mentioned that we were going to Key West on Wednesday. They said they were driving down to pick up their grandson, who was flying in and offered to give us a ride down. We gladly accepted!
We left at 9:30 and were in Keywest by 10:30. We went to our hotel, the Heron House Court, a quaint two-story building with wrap-around porches. Check-in time wasn’t until 3:00, so Roman, the manager, put our bags behind the desk and said he would text us when our room was ready. He gave us a quick rundown of the amenities in the area and a recommendation for a restaurant in the neighborhood called Azur. He suggested reservations for dinner, so we made a 6:00 reservation.
We walked toward downtown, and our first stop was the Old Town Bakery, which was just around the corner from the hotel. We skipped breakfast, and the pastries looked good! From there, we wandered toward the waterfront to see who might be in the marinas we knew. We didn’t see anyone, so we walked toward Duval Street. Duval Street is the main “chaos district” in Key West, which has lots of bars, restaurants, shops, bars, and more bars. We stopped at Sloppy Joe’s, probably the most famous bar in Key West, thanks to Ernest Hemingway. It was just after noon, so we decided to have lunch there.
From there, we walked to Mallory Square to see if there was a cruise ship in port. There was none, but we made the circle around the cruise terminal and then started back toward the hotel. When we arrived, Roman said that our room was ready and that he would take us to it in just a minute.
Our room was very nice. It had big French doors that overlooked the pool, with a living room area on the first floor and the bedroom and bathroom on the second floor. The room was very clean and well-appointed, and it was conveniently located next to the “clothing-optional” sun deck. Roman advised us that if we went to remember, “There are some things that can’t be unseen!” We gave it a pass and didn’t see any of the other guests partaking either. Phew!
We relaxed and cooled down in the room for a while. The temperature had reached 90°, and we were hot from walking around. At 5:30 we walked around the corner to Azure and had a very good dinner. The recommendation was spot on!
After dinner, we wanted to pick up some bottles of water for the room. There was a convenience store a couple of blocks up the street. We walked there, got a couple of bottles, and walked back. Each time we passed under a street light, we were swarmed by little flying bugs. We wanted warm weather, and I guess we have to take the bad with the good.
The area of Key West we were staying in is part of the Old Seaport Neighborhood and is mostly small bed-and-breakfast hotels like ours. Key West is very liberal and LGBTQ-friendly. As we walked, we noticed hotels that were “Men Only” and “Women Only.”
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Day 287 – Thursday, 03/07 – In Key West, FL
We are early risers and are typically up and going by 7:00. Key West is not a morning kind of town. Most places don’t open until 10 or 11:00. The hotel has a continental breakfast. Toast, cereal, yogurt, fresh fruit, deli meats and cheese, etc. We were looking for a more substantial breakfast, so we walked to Harpoon Harry’s, one of the landmark breakfast places in Key West. Brenda had the waffles, which were a huge stack with fruit and whipped cream. I had the eggs benedict with home fries and bacon. When we were finished, we were both stuffed!
After breakfast, we walked across the street to the old train station. Key West has hop-on-hop-off trains and trolleys. The trains stick to the main downtown area area and stop at all of the attractions. The trolley circles the outside of the entire island with stops near the attractions. If you want to see a lot of the major attractions, the train is the best option. If you want to see more of the island, like the airport, the Martello Towers, and the area called “New Town”, the the trolley is for you.
We have been to Key West several times and have seen most of the regular attractions, so we bought tickets for the trolley to get a little farther afield. We started by just riding around the entire circuit. We listened to the driver/tour guide as he told us about the history and some of the things to see and do around the island. It gave us a great overview.
We passed the “Southernmost Point” marker and saw all of the people waiting to take their picture in front of the Key West Landmark. The driver said the line was about an hour long and would get worse later in the day.
When we got back to Mallory Square (their main terminal), everyone had to get off (it was our drivers’ break time) and take another trolley. We wanted to go back to a few places. One was an area with a Cuban market, and the other was the Key West Garden Club’s garden at the Martello Tower.
We got off at the Cuban market and walked around. There was nothing really special. More of the same souviners that they sell everywhere in Key West. We went back to the trolley stop to wait for the next bus. While we were waiting, we heard clucking and scratching next to us behind a fence. It was a chicken with some baby chicks. We saw several new families as we traveled around the island.
From there, we went to the Key West Garden Club garden. We visited it on our last Loop trip in 2020. It was nice, but they were still cleaning up from a storm, so many of the plants were not at their best. The trolley stop closest to the gardens is about three blocks away at the famous Casa Marina Hotel. The hotel was built in the 1920s by Henry Flagler for customers of his Overseas Railroad. It’s a stunning building, both inside and out!
We walked to the West Martello Tower, home of the Key West Garden Club. The Tower is an old brick fort that was left to crumble for years until the Garden Club took it over and converted it into their display garden. This time, we were not disappointed. Everything was in bloom, and their orchid collection was stunning. Some of the blooms were bigger than your hand.
We especially liked the cactus garden. Brenda has several cacti on our little front patio. Here, there were many different varieties that we had never seen, like Brain Cactus and Ghost Cactus. Who knew? Like the orchids, many of the cactus were blooming. Even though it’s just the beginning of March, spring is almost over in the Keys!
We spent about an hour walking around the gardens and talking to the staff about the plants. Brenda was fascinated by the Ghost Cactus, and they offered to let her take a cutting of it. Given that we still had a month on the boat, she didn’t think it would survive, so she declined.
When we finished at the gardens, we walked back to the Casa Marina Hotel to catch the trolley. We had about 20 minutes to wait and we were quite hot, so we went inside the lobby to sit and cool down. The lobby was amazing—right out of the 1920s with one major update: air conditioning!
From the hotel, the trolley went back past the Southernmost Point; as predicted, the line for photos was around the block! Right across the street, there is an artist who does stunning sand sculptures. The sculpture in front of their gallery was about 15 feet across and 5 feet tall. It was the faces of Toby Keith, Jimmy Buffett, and Paul McCartney. It was stunning (see the photos below). If you are interested, the driver said that they give sand sculpting classes there.
We got off the trolley at the train station, where we picked it up in the morning. Next door, there is a brewery called the Waterfront Brewery. We went there for some refreshments and a snack, then headed back to the hotel to relax.
Our Trolley driver had pointed out a restaurant called “Martins” on Duval Street. “Martin’s,” he said, “is famous for its martini happy hour and its German food.” Well! That sounded excellent! We called and made dinner reservations while we were riding around. Our reservation wasn’t until 7:00, so after cooling down a bit, we walked to the B&B next door that had an outdoor bar open to the public. We had a drink there and then called an Uber to take us to Martins. It was still over 90°, and it was about a mile to the restaurant. We didn’t want to get there all sweaty.
Martins was excellent. I had a Gibson Martini (when in Rome and all that) to start. For dinner I went German with Wiener Schnitzel and Spätzle. Brenda had a hard time deciding between the Beef Wellington and the Lamb Osso Bucco. The waiter recommended the lamb, and Brenda loved it.
After dinner we took an Uber back to the hotel and crashed for the night.
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Day 288 – Friday, 03/08 – In Marathon, FL
Checkout time at the B&B was 11:00. We looked online to check the bus schedule and stop location, but it was very unclear. While searching online, I found 3 different schedules and maps. Very confusing. One of the schedules referred to a phone app, which I downloaded. It was a little better but it didn’t make us confident. We knew that if we walked to Mallory Square (about a mile), the main bus stop was there. However, it appeared that there was a stop just down the street from the B&B. The bus schedule said it was expected at 10:30, so we walked to the bus stop.
The phone app shows the bus’s current location, and if you select your stop, it tells you how long until the bus arrives. It showed the bus in the “New Town” section at the city offices, with an expected arrival time of 12 minutes. 12 minutes later, the bus had not moved, and it still said 12 minutes. Another 12 minutes went by, and the bus still had not moved, and it still said 12 minutes. A local bus that goes to Mallory Square had gone past twice, and we decided that the next time it came past, we would take it to the main bus stop.
While we were waiting, the bus we were waiting for started to move on the phone app and the expected arrival went from 12 minutes to 10 minutes. We followed its progress, and yes, it rounded the corner just as it showed on the app. We flagged it down, confirmed with the driver that it was the right bus, paid our $2, and took a seat!
The ride back up to Marathon was pretty quick. There were frequent stops in Key West, but once we crossed over to Stock Island, there were only 3 or 4 more along the way. The only surprise was that we had to switch buses at the south end of the 7-mile bridge. The other bus was waiting when we arrived, so there was no delay.
The entire 50-mile trip took about 2 hours. The bus is a great value and is pretty convenient in the end. My only suggestion is for them to improve the scheduling system and make it easier to find the arrival times and stops.
The bus dropped us close to the marina. It was just a two-block walk back to Marlin Bay Resort. When we got back, we caught up with a few Loopers and put our stuff away.
We wanted something different than the Overseas for dinner, so we took the bikes to a little pizza shop and had salad and a pizza.
Day 289 – Saturday, 03/09 – In Marathon, FL
Each year in March, Marathon hosts a large Seafood Festival in the park across the street from the marina. There is a lot of local hype for the festival, and we made plans with Katie and Tim on Pangur Ban to check it out.
The festival was very busy. All of the side streets around the marina were packed with cars, and there was a constant stream of people entering the festival grounds. We paid our $5 entry fee and went in. The festival has a bunch of seafood vendors selling everything from Shrimp to Conch Fritters. There is a boat show, mostly smaller fishing boats, and over 200 arts, crafts, souvenirs, and home improvement vendors.
It was another hot day, so after walking around the vendor area a bit, we went to the food area to get something to drink. We looked at the seafood on offer, but the lines were long, and the prices were high. It was hot, and none of us fancied a hot meal, so we skipped the food. We talked to a few other boaters who went, and no one was thrilled with the seafood. It was very “industrial,” given that they were feeding so many people.
After sitting in the shade with our drinks to cool off, we went back and finished walking around the vendor tents. Brenda found some cute necklaces for our Grandnieces. When we had seen enough, we walked back to the marina and hung out by the pool for the rest of the day.
That evening, we had the leftover pizza for dinner.
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Day 290 – Sunday, 03/10 – In Marathon, FL
Sunday was sunny and in the 80s again. We took it easy for the morning. Then, in the afternoon, Brenda wanted to do some cleaning on the boat and wanted me out of the way, so I decided to go for a walk to the 7-mile Bridge on the south end of Marathon.
The 7-mile Bridge is part of the Route-1 Overseas Highway. There are actually two bridges here. The older one was part of Henry Flaglers Overseas Railway, which was converted into a road bridge after the railroad was closed. This bridge is low and has sections removed to allow boat traffic between the Gulf of Mexico and the ocean. It is mostly used for fishing on the places where it is still accessible.
The second bridge is the current highway bridge, which has much taller spans that boats can fit under. At 7 miles, it pretty much stretches to the horizon. There is a small “Key” (island) about 2 miles south of Marathon called Pigeon Key, with a small hotel, restaurant, and museum. They run a Tour Train (a converted jeep pulling a trailer) from Marathon to the island on the old bridge.
There are pretty good sidewalks along Route 1, which make walking safe, but the traffic is loud. I had my earphones in to listen to a book, so that cut the noise down some. As you approach the bridge, the last half-mile is in a park a bit away from the road. Here, the only hazard is the multitude of iguanas sunning themselves on the path. It took me about 45 minutes to walk the 2.5 miles to the bridge. I hung out there for a little bit, taking pictures, then turned around and walked back.
I use a tracking app called GPS Tracks to track my walks. I had forgotten to turn it on when I headed out, but I turned it on for the walk back. It showed 2.5 miles, with an average speed of 2.5 mph and a max speed of 3.2 mph, with an elapsed time of 48 minutes. I stopped to get something to drink on the way back, which impacted the average a bit.
When I got back, Brenda had finished her housework—er boatwork. We went to the pool area to relax for a while.
For dinner, we got together with Katie and Tim and went to the Overseas again.
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Day 291 – Monday, 03/11 – In Marathon, FL
Monday was another nice day. In the morning, I went to Home Depot and got replacement filters for our air conditioners. From the factory, they only have plastic screens like a dehumidifier would, and they get clogged quickly. I have retrofitted the intake vents to take standard furnace filters. We swap them every month, and it’s amazing how much dust they catch. We keep the boat pretty clean, but the doors are open a lot of the time, and the fans are always running, so lots of dust and pollen get in.
While I was at Home Depot, I picked up a plastic panel to make a shield for under our bathroom sink. Our faucet is a shower handle with a hose that we pull out to shower with. Sometimes, when we pull it out, it gets tangled on the drain lever. I’ve been meaning to make a shield to separate the hose from the rest of the plumbing since we got the boat but never got around to it. Today was the day! It took me about twice as long as I thought it would, which is typical, but it works great!
While I was working on my projects, Brenda and Tim went to the local laundromat to do a couple of loads of laundry. Most larger marinas have laundry facilities, especially those catering to longer-term stays. Marlin Bay does not. They say they are working on a new boater lounge with extra showers and laundry for next season.
In the afternoon, we were invited to Dockside at Boot Key Harbor for docktails. Boot Key is another popular marina and mooring field in Marathon. It is on the Atlantic side in a large protected bay. We rode the bikes past the Publix and down the point to Dockside. There was quite a crowd!
We had the crews from Puffin, Concession, Paradise Bound, Kris Sea, Stay Golden, and Kissed Some Frogs. A few others also stopped by to chat. While we were there, we saw Charlie and Robin from The Lower Place go past in their Dinghy. We called out to them and waved, and they waved back. Later, we learned that they had no idea who was yelling at them and didn’t realize until later that it was us.
Also, while we were there, Brenda spotted an odd sea creature swimming around. We learned that it is an “Upside-down Jelly.” Some call it a jellyfish, but according to a marine biology site, it is officially a Jelly. The “head” is the part with the star. It sits upside down on its head on the bottom with the tentacles pointing up and shoots “grenades” of stinging cells. You learn something new every day!
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Day 292 – Tuesday, 03/12 – In Marathon, FL
Tuesday was our last day in Marathon. In the morning I went for a long overdue haircut. A little later, Charlie and Robin from The Lower Place stopped by for a visit. A little later, Tim was going up to Publix so Brenda tagged along. We have a spotlight on the front of the boat for traveling or docking at night. The original light that I installed was more of a floodlight designed for an off-road vehicle. A spotlight is a better choice as it’s main purpose is to light up channel markers in the distance. I had ordered a replacement that came in while we were in Key West and took time to swap it out. For once it was a project that didn’t take longer that I expected! (Maybe I’m learning to temper my expectations!) We put the bikes back on the boat and got things ready to go for the morning.
In the evening, we walked to the Overseas for one last dinner. Pangur Ban, Selah Way, Karla B, and Shoreline Traveler, with their grandson, joined us.
During our trips to the Overseas, I’d noticed a tree along the way with bees flying around a knothole in it. I hadn’t paid much attention to it. As we were walking back to the boat, the bees were extra active and I noticed that there was a nest in the knot hole. There were 1000s of bees! I’ll bet that there is honey in there, but I’m not sticking my hand in to find out!
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Thanks for visiting! –Tom & Brenda
