Kicking Back at Boot Key

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On Saturday morning we kissed the family goodbye and watched them drive north. It was a wonderful few days and we were sad to see them go. We filled our water tanks and waited for the tide to come in. We managed the tricky shallow channel back to the main channel without incident and headed for the Atlantic Ocean. We bounced and rocked for about a mile before turning around and heading back in. Three to five foot beam seas are just not our cup of tea. Once back in the channel, we looked for a possible anchorage, but since it was a dredged channel, there was none. We ended up at Key Colony Beach Marina, where we tied up next to the restaurant down a ways from the fuel dock. It was a beautiful place and we were entertained by the pelicans fighting over the fish parts thrown by the charter fishing boats. The dock fee was $2.00/foot, which is fairly cheap for the Keys. And the restaurant/bar had a happy hour from 4 to 6 with 25 cent shrimp and wings. Four dozen shrimp and 30 wings, along with an order of onion rings made a terrific dinner. There was a lot of chatter outside our windows as the patrons watched football games and ate and drank. We were so tired, though, that once we went to bed, we never heard them.

Sunday morning we again headed for the Atlantic. The wind seemed a bit softer and the waves were ONLY 3-4’. No fun! But it smoothed out a bit as we neared Boot Key Harbor at the south end of Marathon. We tied up at mooring balls in the city marina to wait for Monday morning when we could get hold of a mechanic for Sara and Trevor’s boat and a boat yard for ours. It is a really nice, sheltered place, with 238 mooring balls, nice bathrooms, laundry and a great dinghy dock. It’s really pretty at night with the boats’ anchor lights and the lights surrounding the area. It’s not real quiet, with dinghies on the move all day and the marathon airport nearby, but not intolerable.

So here it is Monday, Sara and Trevor’s mechanic came and looked at their boat and said the exhaust something-or-other is clogged badly and he’d have to find a part before running the engine some more to figure out their problems. We have an appointment tomorrow morning to have a couple of leaks repaired. In the meantime, the weather is gorgeous. We slept with our windows open last night and enjoyed the tropical breezes. Sure beats the hell out of cold and snow.

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Photos

Breakfast
Jenna, Jenna and Sean on Saturday morning

Fighting Pelicans
at Key Colony Beach

Boot Key
boats on mooring balls

Bird Boat
I guess this little boat is for the birds

Comments

[Barbara]

Enjoy the gorgeous weather....it was in the 20's last night here, and will be about the same all week. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Florida!!!!