Marathon Florida for a Month January 19 to February 15, 2011

I am going to start a little bit ahead of the last post on our fishing adventures, and pick up where I left off! The journey that would be made from Little Shark River down to Marathon, Florida where we would stay for a month was a little over 7 hours away. The arrival into Marathon Marina and Boat Yard was great! The Dock Master "Judy," and Charlies friend Bob Ryals from Orange Beach, Alabama, were at our spot on the wall eager to help get us all secure. You always appreciate the help of others when it comes time for docking in a new place. Now, its time to meet friends, friends of friends, and the new neighbors that we would have for the next 30 days. Just ahead of us would be Peter and Anna Gulick on MV "Blue Yonder," can't forget there cat Moby either! They are also friends of the MV "Crawdad," that we had been traveling with. Later that evening we would go to MV "Dahlin," that is owned by Bob and Susie Ryals for a cocktail. Just down the dock from MV "Dahlin" would be another boat from Alabama, MV "Shell Cracker," that is owned by another one of Charlies good friends, Robert Paulk!

The first entire day in Marathon, would be spent exploring the place. Boot Key Harbor is known for its mooring facility! This is an awesome sight to see 260 boats all on mooring balls. We would take our adventure by dingy around the harbour and into Sisters Creek then back to the marina where we would watch the sunset with Jim and Gloria on the "Crawdad."

Spending a month at the marina almost got back to life as usual! The occasional trip to K-Mart and the Grocery store. Going out to dinner or lunch from time to time. Remember! I did say almost!

There is never a dull moment! There is always invitations coming and going! You could be invited for just about anything. It may be with just one other person or a whole group! We had the pleasures of being invited to a happy hour get-together at Sunset Grill. Sunset Grill has a pool that is located right on the water at the foot of the Seven Mile Bridge! We were able sit in the pool and watch the sunset! Another great place that we would be invited to go to is Burdines. This is a restaurant on top of a marina. Burdines is known for its french fries! Believe me, they are awesome, food is great too. The "Loopers," in the marina also had a great pot-luck gathering at Dockside Marina.

A trip to Key West, was also in the plans during our stay! We decided one Friday morning to catch the bus and go to the Southern Most City In The U.S., Key West. Another reason for us to go there was to make a stop at the West Marine, on Stock Island to pick up a chart book that we needed to have in order to get to the Bahamas! We would get to Key West, and hook up with our friends on the MV "Stella Maris," at one of the local bars just off of Duval St. We would spend a lot of the day with them and their friend Anita. Near the time of sunset, everyone walks down to Mallory Square. Here is where the sunset is celebrated everyday! You will find mimes, street performers, and people selling arts and crafts. The view watching the sun go down is amazing! Of course, now that the sun has set, it is now time to find the bus and go back to Marathon!

Other days would be spent going for walks, bike rides, or even rides in the dingy! We took our bikes on a little over a 2 mile ride down the old section of the "Seven Mile Bridge," to Pigeon Key. On the way down the bridge, the water was so clear, it was like looking through glass! We were able to see the turtles, devil rays, shark, Permit, and the Tarpon. We had spoken to people that have been going out on this bridge for years and have never seen the water this clear!  We went down onto Pigeon Key and took a tour of this small island and went through the museums. This would be the island that the workers stayed on while they were building this huge seven mile long bridge. Another day we took the dink over to Banana Bay Marina and found our "Looper" friends Steven and Linda from "Yesterdays Dream." We had a great visit with them and a fabulous $4.99 hamburger and fries at the marina restaurant.

As the time was getting closer and closer to depart from our remarkable stay in Marathon, the time had come to keep a close eye on the weather. In order to cross the Atlantic Ocean over to the Bahamas, the weather has to be just right! This means that there can be no "N" factors in the winds. No part of the wind can be coming from any bearing that would have north in it, such as:  NNE, NW, ENE and so forth! Watching the weather from nine days out, we may have a window in sight.

Keeping an eye on the weather we are now seven days out from our possibility of making the crossing. Everything still looks like a go. We have now made the decision to leave Marathon a few days early.

It was time to say "Good-Bye," again to our many new friends that quickly turned into family! We are very fortunate to have met all of these great people! We are hoping to meet you all again somewhere along the "Loop".

Bob and Susy Ryals   MV "Dahlin"
Robert Paulk    MV "Shell Cracker"
Peter and Anna Gulick   MV "Blue Yonder"
Bill and Mary Russell    MV "Harbour Reach"
Paul and Cindy    MV "Bulldog Sally"
Craig and Danielle Parrent    MV "Negotiator"
Jim and Karen   MV "Lilac"   (Karen, Thank you so much for the going away breakfast!!)
Carol and Bill Yancey   MV "Tennessee Rover"
David and Brenda Bell   SV "Wind Spirit"
Darrel and Susan    MV "Present Moment" and to the many many other great people in Marathon that we have met!

Departure date was set for February 15, 2011, and travel 35 miles to Shell Key to tie up at a mooring ball for the night!