This is how we spend our time in the Keys!

Mike lost his shoe from the dock
He was determined to find it......
And no, he hasn't

Super Bowl Sunday!
Shucking Oysters

Lots left to shuck!

Bill preparing the Jambalaya

See I told you Mike lost his shoe!
He even put up a reward!
 

And the Super Bowl feast begins!

Dorothy about to be released

This lady, Dorothy's namesake, is the one that
rescued her

It took several to carry her to the water

I bet she can smell the water!
 

And off she goes!  Healthy and Happy!
Thanks to the Marathon Turtle Hospital!

This guy crowded in line at the Ice Cream Store!

Gathering for another cook-out!

Rick out did himself this time!

This is pretty much how we spend our days!

Gathering for the Dinghy Poker Run!
I had no idea that there would be such a crowd!

And off they go!
Best count was there were 24 dinghies in all!

Gathering up to draw a card

Second stop was the beach!
I think we overwhelmed the beach goers!

Yes, Mikey - you are the "Dinghy Captain"!

R L and Karen really need to learn how to have fun......

Earnest Hemingway's bedroom
(Thanks, Mikey)

Beautiful grounds at the Hemingway House

One of the cats' watering holes

The picture doesn't do this justice
It was a beautiful African Tulip tree

Yeah, right after this - he bit me!!

You really see the strangest things in Key West

MTOA Gathering at Banana Bay

Beautiful view of  Florida Bay

What could Mike and Larry be discussing?
Who knows!

Sunset at Banana Bay

It just kept getting prettier!

View of the Bay from Crane Point

Inside the oldest house in the Keys
outside of Key West

What a view!

Can't remember the name of the plant
Not an aloe, but it's very old

Another view of the Bay

Isn't he cute!
Burrowing Owl

Adderley House - the oldest house in the Keys
outside of Key West - built in the early 1990s

Doesn't look all that comfortable!

Pretty sparse!

more foliage

Sunset in the harbor

Beautiful sky at night

As I mentioned in my last post it’s been a very busy season. The first weekend of February was no exception.  We had planned a Dinghy Poker Run on January 31 but had to cancel it due to really windy conditions.  So we went on with the hotdog cookout!  Mike cooked hotdogs on Ricky’s grill and of course we all ate too much.  As the day went on the winds seemed to calm down a bit so we decided to take a short dinghy ride over to the beach.  It turned out to be a beautiful day! 

One good thing about canceling the Poker Run was that we were able to attend a Turtle Release at the beach.  The Turtle Hospital was releasing Dorothy – named after the lady that rescued her.    Dorothy, the turtle was found just outside Sisters Creek here near the Harbor and was in quite a mess.  After spending a few weeks at the hospital she was tagged and returned to the waters.  Dorothy is a Loggerhead turtle weighing about 110 lbs. and about 15-18 years old.  They said she could easily live to be over 100 years old.  We had always wanted to attend one of the “turtle releases” but had never been at the right place at the right time.  We finally made it!  It was very cool to see her take off into the water.  She went about 200 yards and popped her head up as if to say “goodbye”! 

February brought on the Super Bowl.  Of course it was again cookout time on the dock!  This time Karen and R.L. (Last Call) supplied oysters – raw, steamed and grilled.  Wow!  Patty and Bill fixed up some mighty fine Jambalaya and the rest of us kicked in appetizers, sides and desserts.  Again we ate too much but definitely enjoyed ourselves.  Oh yeah, there was a football game to watch too!  Turned out to be a good one too!  But neither Mike nor I won the pot.  Oh well, there’s always next year!

Finally we were able to have our Dock Dynasty Dinghy Poker Run!  We started off the day with a Dock Dynasty Sunday Brunch on the dock.  Yummy!  Yes, we ate again!  :-)   Then everyone started showing up for the registration.  Turns out the word had gotten out through the grapevine so we had lots of boaters showing up for the Poker Run.  Way more than I had anticipated!  No problem!  We just made more copies of the score sheets and collected their money.  The more the merrier and the bigger the pot!  Turns out we had over 24 dinghies – hard to get a definite count – they kept moving! We had 65 hands playing – with $325 in the pot!  75% went to the high hand and 25% went the lowest hand.  That’s a pretty good prize!  Everyone had a fun time – the weather cooperated this time and we were able to spend quite a bit of time at the beach and dinkin’ around.  Finally about Happy Hour time everyone made it back to the dock for the drawing of the last card.  The big winner was a lady that was a guest on RickShaw who is out in the mooring field.  R.L. who is on Last Call here on the dock was the “biggest loser”!   What a great time!

February also brought on a week of cool and very windy weather.  I’m glad we were able to get the Poker Run done before this front moved in.  It’s only supposed to be in the 60s with lows in the 40s and 20-30 mph winds!  That’s pretty cool for here plus the wind makes it rather unpleasant on the dock.  We’ll have to come up with some other activities!  I see a trip to Key West in our near future.

Mike and I did go to Key West one day.  We even managed to do a little more sightseeing than usual.  We toured the Hemingway House.  It was pretty interesting but not near as fancy as I expected.  Pretty drab actually.  I guess he was a writer not an interior decorator.  Ha!  There are over 50 Hemingway cats on the premises.  Most of them have 6 toes.  And wouldn’t you know it -  the one I managed to pet – scratched and bit me!  The nerve! 

Ray had brought a boat down to Key West from Islamorada that day so we met him at Rick’s and gave him a ride back to Marathon.  Of course, that was after a little more people watching and Happy Hour at Looe Key.  Fun-filled day!

The Gigantic Nautical Flea Market was held in Islamorada and, of course, we had to go check it out.  It wasn’t nearly as crowded as it had been in the past.  I think it was mostly because of the weather – a little cloudy and somewhat cool.  It turned out to be a good day though.  Mike was able to pick up a stereo for the dinghy for a good price.  Of course, always the bargain hunter. 

Some of us girls decided we would go to Crane Point.  It’s just a block or so away from the marina and most of us haven’t been there!  Crane Point is a 63 acres nature preserve. It preserves one of the world’s last remaining thatch palm hammocks that contains endangered species.  It is also the home of the oldest house in the Keys outside of Key West – the Adderley House.  George Adderley was a Bahamian immigrant and built his home in 1900s out of “tabby” – which is burnt seashells.  There are several nature trails and we took the Golf Cart tour.  The view of Florida Bay was beautiful as was the flora and foliage along the way.  I really enjoyed it! 

The first of March has seen many of our fellow cruisers heading out.  It’s been a good weather window so a couple of boats left for Ft Myers Beach.  Others will be heading to the Bahamas soon.  I guess we had better figure out where we’re going so we can figure out when we need to leave!  Decisions, decisions!

Till next time!

Admiral “C”