Hanging in the Keys!

Happy Hour at Lora Lei's!

Floating Pink Cadillac! 

Yeah, it's a Cadillac mounted on a skiff hull with an outboard
motor underneath a Continental kit. 

Looks like NautiNell captured two more crew members
Only all they wanted to do was drink rum
so we had to fire them before we got back to the boat!

Waiting in the beer line.........................again.  Almost there!

Sunset at Islamorada

I was looking through some of my old blogs today and realized it was exactly one year today (March 11) that I saw NautiNell for the first time! Mike and I had driven out to Reedville MD where she was waiting for us. I climbed aboard to see a great boat but in dire need of some TLC. How far we've come in a year! Here we are now in the Florida Keys with over 4000 miles under our belts along with a year of calling NautiNell our home. Our excitement level may sound a little lower now when you read the blogs but trust me - we are having a ball! AND NautiNell looks grreeaatttt!

Yes, we're still in the Keys. When our guests left us in Marathon we didn't know what to do with ourselves! Poncho's Fuel Dock Marina lacks a lot – they're good people here but there's not much to look at when you're sitting in a slip – just lobster traps, etc. We laid low a couple of days riding our bikes all over – up and down US 1. We went to the Turtle Rescue Hospital and ate lunch at the Stuffed Pig one day – not the best choice but it was okay.

On March 1 we decided it was time to move on. We headed to Islamorada to spend about a month. We went on the outside around rather than to go the ICW. It was a little bumpy outside and there were lots of crab traps - but we were told not as many as on the ICW. Once we cleared the bridge (Channel 5) the water became like glass. We found Coral Bay Marina in Islamorada without a problem. This marina had been recommended to us by the owners of the marina in Carrabelle. Glad we listened. It's not fancy – but it's convenient to about everything – it's cheaper – and there are several live-aboards. It didn't take long for Mike to meet most of them.

We did see Loop Dreams and Gemini along the way but they both were staying at different marinas. Hopefully we'll run into them again. Since we've been here we've ridden our bikes all over this island. We had dinner at Lora Lei Restaurant where there was a really good band and an even better magic show! This guy was good! There was a beautiful sunset and we toasted our good times. The weather has been really nice but windy. Just what you would expect in March. This has kept us on land more than we would be normally – riding bikes instead of the dinghy. Hopefully the wind will die down soon.

We've gotten to know the locals here at the marina. One evening we were invited to join them for dinner. They served out Ahi Tuna – seared to perfection! Yum! Of course everyone brought a snack or side dish – it was really good!! This group reminds us of our lake friends at home. There is a party area that has picnic table and grill – with all the works. There is a tree right in the middle that everyone calls the "Learning Tree". Hanging from this tree is quite a menagerie of things. There is a sign that says "It's Five O'clock Somewhere" only it's been a little edited and it now says "It's Always Five O'clock Here"! Perfect! There is a coconut shell hanging from the tree that a dove has built her nest in. She doesn't seem to mind all of us hanging around. Oh and Mike's favorite – a sign that says – "Start Slow then Taper Off" That doesn't really need an explanation – huh! LOL!  We usually end the evening sitting on the back of the boat listening to the music coming from Lora Lei's. It's always good music thank goodness!

We found a great place named Whistle Stop – an old bar/grill that serves great pizza – the sad thing is that they are closing the end of the month – the good thing is that's a few weeks away! We'll definitely be back there. We heard they are having a wild St Patrick's Day party – Hmmmm! May try it!

Once a month - on the full moon - there is a spot on the beach that has a big "Full Moon Party". Well, we can enjoy it without going to the party itself. They have a huge fireworks display that we can see from NautiNell! We sat out there last Friday drinking out own cocktails and enjoying the celebration.

Another Happy Hour was spent going to Wahoos at Whale Harbor. We went with Jan and Steve who have an 18 foot skiff - several of these guys go there every weekend. It was fun! Whale Harbor is where most of the Charter Fishing Boats are. There were lots of fish tales being told around the bar! Of course, it was dark on the trip back - the stars were so bright with the moon shining – it was gorgeous! It reminded me of a lot of the nights Mike and I have spent on Table Rock Lake. Miss that sometimes – well, I said sometimes – ha!

Yesterday we decided that we needed an adventure off the boat. It seems all along this trip we are either a week early or a week late and find that we've missed some type of festival. Well, this weekend there is the 38^th Annual Seafood Festival in Marathon. Marathon is only about 28 miles away by car. We learned that you can take a bus there for only two bucks. Sounds simple – huh? Well the schedule said that the bus would pick us up around The Trading Post (local grocery store) sometime around 10:00 a.m. See it's not a real bus stop there – you have to wave them down….. Well anyway when we did – the driver told us that it wasn't the right bus and that THAT bus would be here around noon. SO we walked back to the boat to wait about an hour or so. No big deal… However, we then waited for the bus to show up at our so-called spot. It did finally – only 45 minutes late! We did make it to Marathon finally. The bus, however, will only stop at the Publix in Marathon where it turns around and heads back to Homestead. The problem was the festival was at the park about 2 more miles from Publix. No problem – we'll just walk…………… Did I mention it was hot!!  And we didn't have a cooler!

We finally made it to the festival grounds – wow, were there a lot of people! And they all were in the beer line! We did finally get a beer – and then we stood in line for lunch. Mike got lobster – I was really adventurous – I got a hamburger! It was just too hot to eat much. We drank more beer and watched the people. There were some pretty good bands playing. There were lots of vendors - selling lots of stuff! We finally decided we needed to head back to the bus stop. You never know if the bus might be early! HA! We stopped at the American Legion on our long trek back.

We did make it to the bus stop in plenty of time – unlike Chicago! Such colorful people ride busses! There was Aretha that was sitting on the bench – who decided to go on a rampage about some car accident she was in (four years ago!) – telling us that she wanted to kill that black bitch! Hmm! Moving on - there was this young couple from Virginia that had been camping at Key West and were heading back home. They were really doing it "economically" - they only spent money on weed and beer. I'm not sure why they told us that or how they got by that way. How did they eat?? I'm getting old, I guess. LOL! Of course, that bus was also about 30 minutes late – but we did make it back to NautiNell safe and sound.

Now we're spending a lazy day on Sunday just hanging out. In fact, Mike just caught a fish! Better go check it out. It might be my dinner!

Till Next Time!

Admiral "C"