Sombrero Dockside in the Florida Keys

(Dec. 17 2010 to at least February 17, 2011)

I have decided to summarize our month here in Marathon since I am so far behind and since this is not the day to day 'twitter' of Tom and Linda's activities. 

It was easy to fall into a Florida Keys type routine:
-  quiet coffees in the morning,
-  a nice walk or bike ride before lunch,
-  the activity of the day (for example: dinghy exploring, fishing, trip to some attraction or swimming), then
-  a happy hour either at the marina or one of the numerous happy hours around town, and then
-  some more quiet time, usually some TV and a cocktail before bed.

We have had to make some adjustments to accommodate this lifestyle.  We have started to eat our main meal for lunch although it is generally around 2 PM.  We have discovered that our morning activities usually take us past noon and that happy hours interfere with BBQ'g or eating a big meal in the evening.  If we do go out, we tend to take advantage of the half price appetizers or we split an interesting looking entree.  In the mid of the afternoon, during the heat of the day and the start of happy hour at the tiki bar, we have been going to the pool for a quick, refreshing dip/sip.  This allows us to cool off and wind down before showering and getting ready for happy hour.  Morning showers are a waste of time.

Dinghying (is that a word??) in the area is quite interesting.  There are hundreds and hundreds of boats to check out; there are numerous canals to explore with interesting houses and boats alongside; there is a mangrove area that makes you think that you are in the middle of nowhere at times; there is the beach on the ocean; and of course there are the other marinas with bars that you can dock at.  There are also a number of reachable places where fishing is supposed to be fairly decent.

We have gone twice to Key West once by bus (at a cost of $3 each) and once with other friends from the marina here.  It is an interesting place: lots of bars and restaurants and lots of people.  It is a great place to people watch.  Both times that we have gone the weather has not been the best so I can only imagine what it would be like if it was sunny and hot.  Most places have live entertainment throughout the day so it does not seem to matter what time of day that you go.  Bars in other cities do not usually getting hopping like this until after 9 PM.