We continue to enjoy our "waiting for a weather window" here in Marathon. This is what our neighborhood looks like as the sun sets. There are 230 mooring balls in Boot Key Harbor--this picture is just of the north end of the harbor. It's a pretty nice neighborhood.
The other day we were walking around town---er, ah, walking up and down Highway #1-- making our usual stops at Hurricanes for lunch, West Marine for boat supplies, Daffy Dougs Dollar Store for food when we discovered a beautiful little marina on the gulf side of Marathon. I think you are supposed to be renting one of their upscale beach cottages, but the tiki bar and beach seemed to need some customers. So, we helped them out and ordered some tropical drinks and shared a delicious dessert. This little gulf-side marina certainly is different from our crowded ocean-side marina.
And finally, here's a picture of John and our buddy Rob scarfing down something yummy. Life is good.
Life aboard Caribbean Soul here in Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, FL is lovely. Although we thought we'd be in the Bahamas by now, we're having a good time in the Keys and continue to wait for a clear weather window for passage to the Bahamas. Maybe we'll just spend the winter in the Keys--life here is pretty nice. The marine weather forecasts have been very squirrelly lately: predictions will show nice weather coming up and then squalls start cropping up right where we want to be sailing. Yikes! So we're just "chillin'" and enjoying Marathon.
There is a large group of sailors here in the harbor and lots to do. Pot luck gatherings happen each Wednesday evening. Here are some pictures of this event.
One Sunday we walked down to the American Legion for a yummy brunch. While there we got to hang out with John's sailing buddy from 12 years ago--Allen Lavoie. These two met in Marsh Harbor, Abacos and decided to sail together to Cuba in 1999. John has told me lots of stories about the trip to Cuba and interestingly enough Allen's stories match John's! Here are those two adventuresome sailors together after so many years:
There is a lovely beach here--Sombrero Beach. We dinghied down Sister Creek and spent the day on the beach swimming, sunning, snacking, reading and knitting--aah, such a life. The folks in these pictures are friends Rob and Laurie aboard Moonshadow.
Last night we watched the superbowl from the Dockside Lounge here in the harbor. This is the pregame regae band--
Here's the rather elaborate large screen projection setup for the superbowl game.
I managed to get a little knitting in during the pregame.
Oh yes, and we wander around a lot looking for marine supply stores, cheap books, groceries and good bar & grill places. Along the way we saw this turtle hospital. Here's the picture for all you guys who love sea turtles.
So, for now, we are studying the weather and enjoying Marathon.
