Cruising Laundry 1/27/2013

Laundry is always an issue when you are cruising, even here in Boot Key Harbor. It's $3.00 a load to wash and $3.00 to dry at the marina and the wash water is always set on COLD! We now do all of our laundry on board with hot water from our solar shower and our Wonder Wash which is hand cranked for 2 minutes. This week I ordered the mini counter spin dryer which is small and plugs into the generator. In just two minutes the clothes are spun and come out almost dry. Hang them in the sun in the cockpit and presto----laundry done! The Wonder Wash can do sheets and towels and costs $45.00. I paid $69.00 for the spin dryer and it's worth every penny. Now we can go anywhere and do all our laundry on the boat, even at anchor! Yes, I can only do small loads at a time but at 2 minutes each...to wash and then to spin...I can do 2-3 loads in just 15 minutes.

Key West Seafood Festival 1/19/2013

The gang, all ten of us, went to the Key West Seafood Festival and then to Duval Street and Mallory Square. We tried taking the Keys Transit Bus which now goes all the way from Marathon to downtown Key West but for some reason it was 20 minutes late and nowhere in sight so we stuffed everyone into two cars for the trip....which is way harder than taking the bus! Now we had traffic and parking to contend with! But we all made it down and back in one piece. The seafood, music, and vendor booths were great. I snapped a photo of the old harbor with Mr. Pelican keeping watch. As we were driving back we could see a stunning Key West sunset in the rear view mirror. What a day!

7-Mile Bridge Bike Ride 1/12/2013

It's been windy all week but that hasn't stopped the gang from outdoor activities since it's also been sunny and hot. Since Roy doesn't have to work on the week-ends we decided to all bike to the 7-Mile Bridge for a look at the channel. It was a great ride going south, but the 22 knot winds from the north-east made it a tough ride back to the marina! The view as usual was breath-taking! We are so blessed to be in the Keys!

Burdine's for fried Key Lime Pie! 1/8/2013

We are back in Marathon and we have been reunited with Bonnie and Sid on FIU, Roy and Yasmine on Yasmine Ann, and Anna and Rich on Snowgoose....so we celebrated tonight at Burdine's with fried Key Lime Pie! It was delicious and unique. Yesterday FIU hosted all of us for happy hour and tomorrow the gals are all kayaking to Sombrero Beach for the afternoon.....after tennis of coarse! It's hard keeping up with all of these activities....but that's

what we love about Marathon!

Cape Coral 1/5-1/6/2012

Larry and Kitty, sailing friends from Marathon - winter 2010, invited us to visit them on our way back to the Florida Keys from Texas. We stopped in yesterday to spend the night in their new villa on the canal in Cape Coral, near Ft. Myers and couldn't pry ourselves away from the area. We spent all day today enjoying their beautiful home with screened in back living area and dock complete with

a boat lift and their dinghy from Saildreamer. Cape Coral is beautiful.....and Kitty and Larry very gracious hosts!

Houston Christmas 2012

We spent Christmas week with Steve and Juliann at their home in Houston. We were surprised at how chilly Texas can be when the cold fronts come through but we had no snow and no ice....yeah! I did try out Steve's new BMW motorcycle but the weather wasn't nice enough to take a long ride. We loved the Catholic Church in Sugar Land that Steve and Juliann attend.....the music ministry alone was top notch with drums, guitars and a grand piano....the priest is alive and funny and the church is packed with teenagers.....just awesome! Ranger liked being a reindeer this year.....

Sombrero Reef 12/18/2012

Today we took the boat outside the harbor to Sombrero Reef because 1. there was no wind and 2. Walt had to put two zincs on the shaft under the boat. We have tried to snorkel at the reef other winters but it's always been too windy. We anchored just in front of the lighthouse but the water was cloudy and there was just sand and sea grass. We saw lots of fishing boats to the ocean side of the reef so we hoisted our anchor and went to see what was going on........

there were no boats fishing, they were all snorkeling! There were 13 mooring balls close to the 4' reef with lots of fish and coral to see. The water was crystal clear and aqua-marine. The sun came out just after I snapped this shot of our diver down flag and Sombrero Light.

Sunset Tiki Hut-7 Mile Bridge

We are enjoying all of the wonderful sites that make Marathon special to us here in the Keys. We are playing tennis again with Bill coaching us as he has done in years past. We biked with Sid to happy hour at the Sunset Grill near the 7 Mile Bridge complete with pool, beach, and band. Yesterday Roy and Yasmine came in on their new 41' catamaran and took ball M-8 next to us. Their new cat is roomy and beautiful! We have a NYS section out here in the mooring field-three NY boats in a row! Not many folks made the trip down here all the way from NY!

Marathon 12/8/2012

We had a great sail today in 15 knot winds on Hawk Channel from Rodriquez Key to Marathon and we arrived just in time! Although it's only early December the mooring field is quite full and we took a ball on M-9 near Sister's Creek. Once we checked in we discovered that the bathrooms have been updated and the marina has several lit designs in their garden...very spiffy! Tonight was the Christmas boat parade and the boats were awesome! A snowy egret visited our dinghy after hours, very content to welcome us back to Boot Key. Did I mention that the band is still playing in the community park? So glad to be here again in the Florida Keys!

Miami 12/6/2012

We had a great ocean run today from Lake Worth to Miami in 17 knot winds and anchored just south of the Rickenbacher Bridge in Key Biscayne. We motored past the working docks and container ships of Miami and then through some high rise condos. The sight of the city from the anchorage was awesome at night. Just north of Ft. Lauderdale I took a photo of this unique light house.