Spending the Winter in Marathon

Beautiful Christmas lights at the Catholic Church

The lights here are always so beautiful -
the pictures don't do justice

Christmas gathering on the dock

Christmas sunset in the harbor

New Year's Eve bounty

Mr. Manatee paying us a visit

This is a strange little "boat" out in
the harbor - not sure where it came from

This boat showed up on the beach one morning.
The story is that there were 13 Cubans on board
who made it to land

Mikey doing a little dinkin'
Life is good!

A couple here took a ride in a by-plane
they snapped this picture over the marina.
Can you see NautiNell?

Boys going fishing!

Captain Dan and Captain Mike at the helm

This was just one of the fish Elise caught

One of the holiday gatherings on the dock!

Girls day out at No Name Pub

Night at Dockside listening to Bil Kraus

Great evening to launch a lantern

These are always so cool!

Ukulele jammin'

Beautiful day to go to the Reef

Sombrero Lighthouse

Crystal clear water

Stopped at the beach on our way back in from the Reef

What a great way to spend your birthday!

Lots of snorkelers

Wish I was young again!!

Poker Run at the newly opened marina
You can see by the sky it wasn't the best weather

Newly opened marina and hotel
Faro Blanco

Another go fast poker run boat

Out with the old fridge

In with the new!

Jim and Judith's visit - lunch at Sunset Grille

This boat washed up with 17 Cubans in April 2013
Can't imagine crossing in this

Here they come!
Wounded Warriors on their bikes

Very cool that they can do this

Really liked being a part of this and showing
our support

Scott and Julie came for a visit!

Having a fun time at Keys Fisheries!

Beautiful evening in the harbor

Never gets old

Is that the Polar Vortex?

Another beautiful evening sky!

The last time I posted it was almost Christmas!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and are enjoying the New Year!  Hard to believe that it’s already 2015!  Time does fly! 

We’ve been having a time here in Marathon.  There is so much going on!  I will try just to hit the high spots but that will be hard because there are a lot of them!  Be sure to check out the pictures.

There were several of us still here at Christmas so we had a huge potluck dinner on the dock.  It turned out to be a great day.  We also had a white elephant gift exchange which was a lot of fun.  We had a cookout again on New Year’s Eve and again on New Year’s Day!  We do like to eat!  Oh and again that Sunday we had a brunch!  I’ll be lucky if I don’t gain fifty pounds!

Mike has been fishing several times – sometimes in the dinghy and other times in a little larger boat with some of the other boaters here.  We both went out with Dan and Elise (they have a home here in Marathon) in their boat which is a 30+ foot fishing boat.  It was a beautiful day and we caught quite a bit of fish - some mangrove snapper, yellowtail, and hogfish!  Yum!

We went up to Dockside to hear Myles Marcuso one weekend.  He’s a great blues musician and is only 19 years old.  He is definitely an old soul.  He was so good we went both nights!  Then another night they held a Ukulele Jam.  It was sponsored by the Florida Keys Ukulele Society.  Didn’t even know that there was a FKUS!  Anyway, they would show the chords on the big screen and the audience that had brought their own ukuleles would play along!  Funny!

The Wounded Warriors came through here again this year.  We all were sure to be there to cheer them on and show our support.  It does your heart good to be able to tell them "thank you". They seem to be so young these days.

Last weekend was the annual Nautical Flea Market in Big Pine.  Most of us had to go see what they had!  Mike bought more fishing gear – big surprise!  Several of us had lunch at Kiki’s Sandbar.  It was the first time we had been to Kiki’s and we really enjoyed it!
 

I had a birthday this month and Mike made sure it was a good one.  He took me to breakfast at the Sunset Grille and bought me flowers!  We decided that it was a perfect day to go to the reef (lighthouse) in the dinghy.  It’s about 4 miles out and we have tried it before but it always been to rough.  This time it was perfect!  The water is so clear we could see the bottom in 22 feet!  We saw a shark, barracuda, several turtles, lots of different reef fish of all colors and some huge yellowtail!  Too bad you can’t fish in this area!  We stopped at the beach on the way back.  It was definitely a bluebird day – clear and calm.  Hopefully we can make it back there in a week or two and snorkel.  Oh and then at Happy Hour I was treated to a Key Lime Pie!  The day just kept getting better!

Some of us girls went to the Marathon Theatre to see the play “Harvey” It was okay.  Not Jimmy Stewart worthy but it was entertaining.  Enjoyed dinner and drinks at the Cracked Conch Café and at the theatre.  They serve wine, beer and the best brownies there!
 

An old school chum of Mike’s stopped by for a visit.  Jim Christensen and his wife Judith were touring Florida and came to Marathon to visit.  It’s always good to see someone from home.  We went to lunch at Sunset Grille so they could see the 7 Mile Bridge.  We did a little more sightseeing including the Turtle Hospital.  It was a nice visit – wish they could have stayed longer. 

We were surprised by another couple from home yesterday too!  Scott and Julie Beckwith dropped in for a visit on their way to meet friends in Key West.  We HAD to go to Keys Fisheries where we could fill up on stone crabs, fresh oysters and shrimp!  It was good to see them even if it was just for a few hours. Hopefully they will stop by again on there way back to Miami on Sunday.
 

I’ve left out several daily activities that have been going on.  It’s been a busy season.  Fishing, golf (for some), boat projects, happy hours daily and beautiful sunsets, Zumba and line dancing!  Just to name a few……!
 

We’re gearing up for a big time for Super Bowl Sunday.  Planning a big day featuring homemade Jambalaya (from Conched Out Too) and oysters (from Last Call) and lots of appetizers and desserts.  Oh and there’s a game being played too.  :-)
 

First though we’re having a dinghy poker run on Saturday.  This ought to be fun!  We had one last year and everyone that participated seemed to enjoy it.   More details on that when I post again….
 

Till next time!
 

Admiral “C”