Merry Christmas from Marathon

Merry Christmas

to one and all.

Linda and I went all out this year; 2 Christmas trees fully decorated.  Well more or less.  The trees were donated by Candy and Phred and the lights were given to us by Terese and Rick. 

Today 12 boaters are getting together for a turkey feast here on the dock.  Weather will not be a problem, 81 F and sun.  It is the only way to celebrate.

Just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and the very best for the New Year.  Thank you all for your e-cards and emails this Holiday Season.

The Keys Way of Life

(Dec 8 to Dec 16)

It has been hot down here and very humid for most of the week so "dingh'n and drink'n" was on the menu.  Six dinghies and 14 people made it out on this run to Sombrero Beach on the ocean and when the beer ran out we ended up at Castaways for a few more.  Since nobody had time to prepare any food a bunch of us ended up at the Keys Fishery for dinner.  'Twas a tough day, especially after the day before.

I ordered a bunch of stuff early in the week and it was all delivered by Friday.  Can't beat online shopping.  Even my 2013 decal from the US government arrived on time.

We even got a round of golf in at the par 3 course.  Bob, who had not golfed since last winter was the first to get a birdie; Linda won the wet t-shirt contest (I did say it was humid) and I, of course, got low score.  Sparky's was as good as ever: a couple of pitchers of beer and some wings got us home in time and in shape for Happy Hour.  Linda had three, (3), dark and stormy drinks after the round; it must have been hot and humid.

We have been knocking off some of the projects that we had put off until Marathon.  Trying at least to get 1 or 2 done each day.  I am getting some bicycle riding in but not as far or as fast as I would like.  It takes some time to build up some stamina... and callouses on my butt.

Yesterday a bunch of us went to Key West to view the festival boat parade.  There were other things to see as well, especially since everyone is in the Christmas spirit.

It was a long, tiring, very fun day.  We got back just after midnight this morning and now we are ready to send Terese home for the holidays and celebrate Bob and Stephanie's Anniversary.  There is always something.

Home at Last

(Saturday Dec 8 - Dist: 118.3 mi; Avg Speed: 17 mph; TTT: 7:50 hrs)

We have arrived at our home for the winter.  Slip B 34 as seen above.  The Dockside Bar and Grill is in the bottom left hand corner and the Sombrero Golf and Country Club is across the street.  The trip was good although Linda was quite stressed when it started to rain and we had some difficulty in seeing the hundreds and hundreds of crab pots.  We did not fool around on this crossing, we stayed on plane as much as possible and arrived in good time.

No photos yet, but we had an excellent start to our vacation.  There were about a dozen friends waiting at the dock for us and then the party began.  It was almost Happy Hours anyway but the parade of lights was scheduled for later that night so we had a good excuse for an extended dock party.  There were not many boats but they were decorated quite well. 

It was so great to see the Marathon gang once again.

Tonight, we visit the Keys Fishery for fresh crab claws and oysters.  We are already in the Keys groove.  I try to keep in touch once and awhile but for now just know that the forecast calls for a high of 82 F and a low of 73 F for the next five days.  Darn that is nice.

Venice then Naples FL

(Wednesday Dec 5 - Dist: 58.2 mi; TTT: 7:05 hrs)

Because of the delay in crossing the Gulf we decided to pick up the pace so that we would not miss our reservation in Marathon too badly.  When planning the trip we figured on spending a whole month on the Gulf coast of Florida but since we did not arrive until the 22 nd, we were far off schedule.

Our welcoming committee in Venice.

The MarineMax Marina was nothing much but the fuel was reasonable, relatively speaking, and the dockage rate was good so we stayed for the night and left early in the morning for Naples.

Pelicans roosting in the mangroves.

(Wednesday Dec 6 - Dist: 88.6 mi; TTT: 8 hrs)

You know when you are in Naples when:

Yes there is lots of money everywhere in this town.  We met with our friends Roger and Judy from Windsor and had a great time seeing the sights and catching up on the happenings in Windsor.  They have a very nice condo ans seem to really enjoy the snowbird life style.

Two nights was too short a visit but there was a good travelling window for the south east gulf and Florida Bay so we headed out early Saturday morning.

Treasure Island, FL

(Saturday Nov 24 - Dist: 18.5 mi; Temp: 78 F; TTT: 2:20 hrs)

Time for a mini vacation and the Treasure Island Tennis and Yacht Club is the perfect place.  The Olympic size swimming pool was heated to 84 degrees and had lounges and chairs that were super comfy, first class all the way.  The Tiki bar at the pool was open daily til 9 PM and served food from the restaurant which in itself was first class.  It too was open daily for lunch and dinner.

Besides enjoying our surroundings we had a great time with our friends from Windsor who have a condo nearby.  Jim and I got out golfing 4 times and Linda and Sandi went shopping.  How they could do it 5 days straight is beyond me but Linda was happy.  The only down side was trying to get my engines services from Cummins.  In the end they were serviced but we discovered a leaking seawater pump on the starboard engine.  That repair required a second visit and an additional $2,000.  Damn.

In short we stayed 11 wonderful days before heading off.

The Club at Treasure Island

The golf course across the harbor.

Jim and Sandi's place as seen from the GICW.

Linda a little more relaxed on this trip.