Swing Set: Cruising Full Time
01/01/13A Perfect New Years Eve, AlmostDuring another restless night on the hook, just west of Fleming Key, Rosie and I slept in the salon: I on the couch and Rosie on the dinette. Holly bunked with Rosie, but during the night, she snuck away and climbed up with me. I was oblivious to her climbing up with me on the couch, so any "anchor watch" I was engaged in was of no value. It didn't matter. Our auxiliary anchor (which is a Danforth) kept us in place, mainly because the wind blew at a constant rate from the north and east. The fact that I dove down on the anchor and shoved it in past the grass and into the sand was the only reason that this anchor held. Yes, James, these anchors do have their use, as long as your boat doesn't change direction over them. On New Years Eve morning, I called The... |
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12/30/12A Hostile EnvironmentOn Friday morning, we called a taxi and made the trip up the Overseas Highway to the Marathon Veterinary Hospital to see Dr. Molly. She gave Holly the "all clear" on her ear infection. Holly's next vet visit will be for her next rabies shot on March 1st, so whatever we do, we will have that fact governing our travels. We called the taxi for the trip back and had to wait for about 20 minutes. When the taxi arrived, we jumped in the back and away we went. A $5 taxi ride in the Keys does not always take you directly where you want to go; there may be other stops for other passengers, so we weren't surprised to take a detour to pick up another fare in a neighborhood just off the highway, where a young girl jumped in the front passenger seat. Holly took all of... |
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12/26/12Barefoot ChristmasLast Saturday, Marathon was not spared the foul weather that affected most of the northern states. It was blustery and cold, the closest we've been to needing coats or jackets since Halloween in Cape Coral. Had we needed a "coat," we would be SOL. We no longer even own what would be called a coat. In the photo above, Rosie is posing with Holly at the tiki hut at the City Marina. We took the dinghy over to listen to some live music provided by one of the harbor residents. The chill took hold as the sun went down, and we braved the frigid mid-60 temperatures for about an hour and then headed for the barn before we could be inflicted with yet another Christmas song. The weather turned better on Sunday, and we dressed in our Sunday finest and rode over to... |
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12/22/12More Notes From MarathonWe are into our second week here in Boot Key Harbor, which is in Marathon, as most of you know. We have some relatively chilly weather occurring currently. The photo above was taken yesterday when the wind kicked up and our low was 66 degrees. This morning, it was 55 degrees and the wind blew hard all night. We should get up to the mid-70s today, and the wind should die down about midday. We were going to take the dinghy over to Dockside last night, a bar/restaurant here in the harbor, but it was too windy to suit us, so we stayed in and used up some data transfer space and watched a movie on our Roku player. The harbor keeps filling up, mostly with sailboats. We've made some inquiries to two Key West marinas that manage dinghy docks and mooring fields.... |
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12/20/12A Few Days In "The Black Hole"Marathon is called "The Black Hole" because so many boaters go there, never to leave again. We are determined to avoid being one of those, but I can see where it would be difficult to leave. The harbor is sheltered, and the water quality is not as good as on the "outside," but it's not bad. I could almost make water from it, but don't need to. Stores, both for grocery and hardware shopping, are within walking distance, albeit a long walk, but taxi service is cheap, too. There are places to go in the dinghy as far as a beach or places to eat. There is a large laundry room, a good library, a place to recycle waste liquids like oil and diesel, if you are doing any maintenance. We'll be here at least until the 28th of December, when Holly has her... |
