Our Last Few Days in Marathon - Countdown to the Bahamas!

Frequent visitor - very cool!

Someone looking for a handout....

Another frequent visitor

Sunset at Lorelei in Islamorada
 

Can't get enough of the sunsets in Marathon
Just sitting on our deck.......

Really, does it get any prettier?

One of the last last last hurrahs on the dock

Having fun with Cheri and Ray

Quite a threesome!
Mike, Phred and Mike

Pizzas are here!!

Saw this coming down the harbor the other morning!
Got pretty close!

Got her name on the Whaler finally!

Gathering for pizza night!

Car show in Islamorada - beautiful day

gotta love this one!

Very very cool!

Purple flames - yeah!

Sand castle on the beach at Islamorada

I want this one, please.....

Another last last last hurrah at
Keys Fisheries

Always love this view at Keys Fisheries

Rose and Steve heading out

Casting their lines for September Song

Conched Out Too - on their way

Heading to another adventure

We’ve been really busy these last few days here in Marathon.  There is always lots to do to get ready to go to the Bahamas.  Since some things are so expensive over there we need to stock up the boat. Other things are really hard to find so we want to be sure the boat is in tiptop shape and ready to make the voyage.  If you can avoid it, you really don’t want to have work done on your boat in the Bahamas. Our plan is to leave here in the next week or so and spend about 2-3 months there.  That takes planning!  Not always our best suit……  Ha!  Mike has been working on the generator problem.  He finally has decided that it is fixed “good enough”.  Just so we didn’t really have to worry too much more about it – we bought a small portable one that can work as a backup.  Hopefully we won’t need it but it helps to know we have one.  So now Mike has been changing oil, filters, belts and everything else that needs to be done before our journey.  I’ve been busy stocking up on everything – beer, Diet Pepsi, food and everything else I can think of.  I’m still trying to figure out where to put everything!

We did make it to Key West where we were able to acquire our Local Boaters Option (LBO) cards.  This allows us to simply call in when we return stateside rather than to actually have to go through customs.  They run a background check – fingerprints and all.  But Mike and I passed with flying colors.  Was there any doubt?  Ha!  It’s been known to be rather a fiasco to get it done but it was pretty simple this time.

Dock Dynasty held a last last hurrah “again” – with a pizza party.  It was great to visit with everyone and find out where they were all headed.  Several boats left within the next day or so.  First Optimystique left heading up the west coast for Bradenton.  Finally left next and headed up the west coast of Florida and eventually home to Jekyll Island - September Song and Happy headed over to the Bahamas making a 29 hour crossing from here to Nassau - Gypsy Rose and Conched Out Too headed out together up the west coast to Ft Myers Beach and beyond.  Rambler left for the Bahamas and traveled with Pura Vida -  and Floating Stone headed north then hopefully on to the Bahamas as well.  Everyone is starting another adventure and most will return to Marathon this next winter season.  Hopefully we’ll be back here again this next November too.  It will be great to see everyone again and hear about their adventures.  This group here at Sombrero Dockside Marina is made up of a great bunch of people.  We have had a great time being a part of “Dock Dynasty”.  We’ve made a lot of good friendships in such a short amount of time.

Our next adventure will take us to the Bahamas along with Jeff and Linda of Jeremiah.  They haven’t been before so we will try to play tour guides for them somewhat.  We plan to head up to Key Biscayne (just south of Miami) and then stage to cross to Bimini (Bahamas) when the next weather window opens.  From there we’ll go to Lucaya (Bahamas) and then on to the Abacos.  At least that’s our plan now.  It could change tomorrow.  Hopefully we’ll get to stay two to three months. 

I think our plan is to be back stateside in July and travel up to Ortega Landing which is near Jacksonville where we’ll stay the summer.  It’s a good hurricane hole.  So for those of you wanting to visit – that’s the plan for now.  Come see us in the Bahamas or if you can’t do that – come see us in Jacksonville!

It hasn’t been all work.  We did go to the “Taste of Islamorada” festival last weekend.  We had been there the last couple of years.  It’s weird saying that we’ve done any of this the “last couple of years”!  Anyway, it’s a great festival right on the beach, a great car show, sand castles and with lots of good food! 

We got together for a Cincinnati Chili Dinner the other night on the dock.  It was Karen and RL’s idea on Last Call. They wanted one more hurrah before they headed back to Virginia.  Cincinnati chili is a sweet type of chili with cinnamon and nutmeg – I’m told.  It’s really good though.  Not quite like our chili back home but its good!  They served it with spaghetti.  Back home that’s called “spaghetti red”.  They haven’t heard of that here!  J

We also had a gathering at Key Fisheries.  We had to have our stone crab claws one more time! 

We met up with Marc and Shelley of Rock Chalk the other night in Islamorada.  They are on their boat at Coral Bay Marina where we stayed a few times.  They contacted us to see if we were still in Marathon.  Since we had a car – we drove up there with Jeff and Linda to see them.  We had a few drinks and dinner at Lorelei which is next to the Marina. It was so good to see them.  We met them when we were on the Loop.  It is so nice to meet up with couples we’ve met along the way.  That is one really great thing about the boating community.  You make a lot of friends along the way and several stay in touch as the years go by.

Yesterday, Ricky and Terese decided it was time to use their smoker one last time before we all leave.  They smoked a huge amount of ribs and we all brought sides.  There aren’t near as many of us now but we still know how to have a good time.  However, Rick must have forgot our number had dwindled because we had a bunch of ribs left over!  Leftovers are usually unheard of around here!  Anyway, we’ll do it all over again tonight!  Leftover style! 

At the time of this post it looks like we’ll be leaving Tuesday for the Miami area (April 15^th).  My posts will be rather few and far between due to the fact that Wi-Fi connections are hard to come by once we leave stateside.  I’ll do my best to keep you posted of our fun times.

Till next time!

Admiral “C”