New Scooter and Thanksgiving here in Marathon

This boat is actually going to tow
the other one to Honduras!

Cleaning the Whaler - always something

I really did help - just taking a break in my beach chair!

Another beautiful sunset!

Here's our new scooter!  Zoom! Zoom!

Beautiful sky tonight - over the Country Club

Having turkey dinner at Sunset Grill

Happy Thanksgiving! 
We have so much to be thankful for!

Thanksgiving Day sunset

Saturday morning (Nov 17) Mike picked up the rented mini-van at the airport and we were on our way to Lake Placid FL at about 10:00 a.m.  Yes, there’s a Lake Placid in Florida.  Who knew?  I thought it was in New York.  Learning a lot about geography, it seems.  I know more about Florida now than I ever thought I would.  Anyway, we were headed to Lake Placid about 260 miles away – through Alligator Alley – still didn’t see any alligators!  The objective here was to pick up our new “used” Yamaha Zuma Scooter – 49cc.  As I mentioned in my last blog – Mike sold our “Tank” – and found this little scooter for a bargain.  He’s also looking for another one so I don’t have to rely on him all the time…..  Look out!  I can be dangerous on a scooter – just ask that taxi driver in Key West – but now, that was a long time ago and no one was hurt- long story – ask me about it sometime.  LOL!  J

Anyway, we finally made it there about 4:00 – a little longer road trip than we anticipated – they were a very nice couple – Bobbie and John.  While Mike and John loaded up the scooter in the van – Bobbie took me out on their property where there is a swamp area – they have a resident alligator named ‘Zilla there.  Yea!  Or at least I thought.  Not one alligator showed its face.  They must be frightened of me!  LOL!  They hide in fear – yeah, that must be it!  I can still say “I have not seen one alligator on this entire boat trip”.  We did see some Sand Hill Cranes though.  There are two that live on their property.  What neat birds!  I’m told that they mate for life.  They didn’t seem to mind we were around.  They just walked right on by.  They were huge!

We decided not to drive back in one day  - it would put us back really late and we really didn’t have any real reason to be in a hurry.  We stopped in Clewiston FL for dinner at Beef O ‘Brady’s Sports Bar – not bad – and then we found a pretty nice Best Western nearby.  The motel wasn’t so bad but the walls were paper thin.  I mean we could hear the couple next door all night – if you know what I mean.  Eeewhh!  The complimentary breakfast turned out to be a disappointment too.  It sounded so good!  BUT – wasn’t…. They had scrambled eggs and sausage, etc.  BUT no salt.  Nope!  They were OUT!  You mean to tell me there was no salt in the kitchen?  The shakers were completely out on the counter.  Now there was a Wal-Mart Supercenter right across the street but no one would put out the effort to go get salt!  Sheeh!  Not really a big deal but – scrambled eggs need salt – at least Hot Sauce!  They didn’t have that either.  HA!

We did a little sightseeing along the way home.  Not really a whole lot to see.  We stopped at D-Hookers in Key Largo for a break and to watch some of the NASCAR race.  This is a really cool place.  I highly recommend this place for anyone that is cruising through Key Largo.  We had stone crabs and peel ‘n eat shrimp.  Yum!

We saw this nautical consignment shop along the road and had to stop. “Mother Earth” it was called.  Mike bought a cast net – and even got a lesson on how to throw it.  Now he’s going to get in to “live bait” fishing.  We’ll see…  We also bought a ladder for the Whaler.  Now when we go snorkeling – we can get back in to the boat!  Ha! 

We finally made it home and unloaded the bike from the van.  I went to the local Publix taking advantage of having a vehicle.   After that we just rested from our big weekend road trip.

Then Monday morning Mike took the van back (before 7:00 a.m.) and spent pretty much the rest of the day working on the scooter.  Hmmm.  Wouldn’t start.  He finally decided to have someone else look at it.  The problem is there is not one shop here in Marathon that works on scooters.  The closest one is in Key West.  He did find someone that would transport it to the Key West shop for $25. The guy does this quite often I’m told.  Anyway the shop said that we should have it back in a few days.  There is also a couple of bikes in Key West he wants to check out.  Sounds like another bus trip coming up.

In the meantime we are working on refinishing the teak furniture on our sundeck and the bright work – sanding – staining.  It’s really looking good!   There is always something to do on NautiNell.  Good thing – keeps us out of trouble! 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

This is the second Thanksgiving that we have been away from our family and friends.   We are having a great time aboard NautiNell but we do miss being home this time of year.  We are truly blessed though and wish everyone a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Several restaurants here had special Thanksgiving meals.  We spent our day at Sunset Grill with a couple we have met here at the marina.  The food was great and we all ate entirely too much!  OF COURSE!  Mike and Linda keep their boat here and live in Naples.  The name of their boat is “Calypso Poet”.   It used to be named “Life’s 2 Short” and was owned by a couple from Springfield MO.  What a small world!

We have a week to finish up the teak refinishing and to get NautiNell all spiffed up.  Next Friday we have two couples from back home coming for a visit.  Can’t wait to see them and catch up on everything!  I see another trip to Key West in our future!

Till next time!

Admiral “C”

Hanging out in Marathon - trip to Key West

And they're off!

completely airborne! 

one of the leaders - at least for now

making a lap - fast!!

another "out of the water" adventure!

about to get lapped!

Qatar - the big winner of all
driven by a shiek from Dubai

seen this guy race before - very fast!!

A beautiful day for a race!

Veteran's Day Parade in Key West
Love the bagpipes!

Just one of the many entries in the parade

A great parade - lots of scout troops

Inside Hogs Breath Saloon

One of the infamous roosters in Key West

We’ve been here in Marathon for two weeks now.  Wow, time is flying here.  I can’t believe next week is Thanksgiving.  This is the second Thanksgiving now that we’ve spent on NautiNell.  While we are having a great time here in Florida – I do miss my family and friends.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

We seem to be on a mission here checking out all the restaurants.  By the time all the other boaters get here we should be quite the experts on where to and where not to eat.   So far, we haven’t been to any of the “where not” to eat places.  All is good!

Saturday Marathon held its Veteran’s Day parade.  It wasn’t really very big – but it was nice.  Afterwards there were festivities at the American Legion.  We hung out there for a while – people watching. 

Sunday we had a full day.  The International Powerboat Races were being held this week in Key West.  The finals were Sunday.  There is a bus that goes to Key West from Marathon.  You can even take your bikes.  AND – for seniors – it only costs $1.50 each way.  How’s that for a bargain!  It’s about 1 ½ hours to Key West on the bus.   We met a couple (Gary and Sheryl) at the bus stop from Vera Beach that had also come down to the races.  Also, a girl named JJ that works at the local liquor store.   After a few more stops the bus was pretty much full.  The ride didn’t seem nearly as long as I had anticipated. 

We made it to the races just in time to see the start.  Wow!  We had a great view at Mallory Square.   It turned out to be really cool.  Watching the boats, the people, eating hotdogs and pretzels, drinking beer and enjoying the sunshine – all in Key West.  No complaints here!

After the races we had a few beers at Sloppy Joes.  That’s when we heard all the commotion outside.  Cool!  Here comes the Veteran’s Day Parade – down Duvall Street.   Now this Veteran’s Day parade was pretty cool.  It lasted quite a long time.  I guess I didn’t realize how many people actually live in Key West.  It was quite impressive.  They threw out some good candy too!  HA!

After that we went to Hogs Breath for dinner.  Always a good time to be had there.  We decided after dinner we should probably head to the bus stop.  That’s really the only problem riding the bus to Key West.  You have to remember you are on their schedule and not yours.  In other words you have to be pretty flexible.  No problem for us though.  We made it to the bus stop in plenty of time.  When we got there – there was Gary and Sheryl waiting for the bus too.  However, they had had quite a time.  They had been trying to catch the bus for a couple of hours.  The one that was supposed to come by earlier had been re-routed due to the parade – they had no way of knowing that nor did the others that were at the bus stop.  Glad we had spent our time at Hogs Breath.  Sometimes things do work out….  HA!  Anyway, this bus showed up on time and we were on our way.  It was funny because about half of the bus was the same people that had ridden down there with us.  Most were rather tired and maybe somewhat “tipsy”.  LOL!  What a fun day!

Now today we’re working on refinishing the teak furniture and the bright work on NautiNell.  It’s looking pretty good so far!  Oh and we’re renting a car this weekend – Mike has found another scooter a couple of hundred miles away.  This one is a Yamaha “Zuma”.  We’ve also sold the “Tank”.  Are you keeping up?  Mike wasn’t really happy with the Chinese “Tank”.  The Zuma is a 49cc.  I should be able to ride it (all by myself - lookout!!) – no license needed.  Also, he’s looking into another one.  Two would be nice – hope they both fit on the boat!

Oh and yesterday, when I was getting off the boat there was a HUGE iguana – over 6 feet long -  just sunning himself on the finger next to our boat.  He stayed there quite a while watching me before he just dove into the water.  Pretty cool!  Wish I could have taken a picture.  I love the Keys!

Till Next time!

Admiral “C”

 

 

Our Stay in Marathon (Sombrero Marina)

Okay - maybe I'm taking this "laid back"
way of life a little too far.......

One beautiful sunset

every night - another sunset

Pulling the whaler behind NautiNell
I know I said we'd never do that again but
it turned out okay this time

Can you just feel the Keys?

Sombrero Beach - plan to spend some time here!

Sombrero Beach - on a beautiful day

On the morning of November 1 at about 10:30 we were finally on our way to Marathon.  It was a short day and the water was like glass.  We did go by way of the ICW, but we could have easily gone outside.  We kind of wish we had because of all the crab traps!  Luckily we made it through the “mine field” without any incidents.  We made it to Sombrero Marina about 3:30.  We settled in our slip  – had cocktails -  and welcomed ourselves to our new home for the next three months or so.

The next morning we unloaded our bikes and the scooter.  We’ve definitely moved in now.  We took the scooter for a ride and did some sightseeing.  Sombrero Beach is only about 2 miles away from us.  The local Publix is just down the block.  We had dinner at the Dockside Lounge here at the Marina. i just love the atmosphere here in the Keys - so laid back - it's easy to catch the "Keys Disease"!

We’ve spent the last few days getting settled in – cleaning the boat, etc – after all, this will be our home for the winter.  We are enjoying the sunsets here and getting to know the locals.  In a few weeks some of our boating buddies, aka “Loopers” should be arriving.  It will be really good to hang out with them this winter.

Definitely more to come…..

Till next time!

Admiral “C”