Blogs from Marathon, Keys, Florida, United States, North America
Last Days in the Keys (for now)
Published: January 31st 2012North America » United States » Florida » Keys » Marathon
January 30th 2012
Friday was another lazy Keys day. We slept late then dawdled over breakfast before going to the old railroad bridge at Bahia Honda. The water was beautiful and from the bridge you could see most of the island and parts of the Seven Mile Bridge in the distance. We went down to Loggerhead beach, where the water was calmer than the last few days, but the sea grass was 2’ deep on the beach, making it a bit ugly. We went to the snack bar and cooled off with popsicles before driving down to Sandspur Beach at the northern end of Bahia Honda Key. It, too, was covered in sea grass, but the breeze was nice coming off the water. We sat in the shade of a picnic pavilion and enjoyed the fresh air, the gorgeous ... read more
Curry Hammock, Dear Friends and Softball
Published: January 24th 2012North America » United States » Florida » Keys » Marathon
January 23rd 2012
We drove down the Keys on Saturday morning, arriving at Curry Hammock State Park north of Marathon around lunch time. The weather is glorious, sunny and warm, with a nice breeze. We set up our camper and walked down to the beach. The tide was out and the water looked beautiful. We sat in the shade and enjoyed our view of the Atlantic Ocean. Our friends, Laurie and John, from Washington state, who we met on the Tennessee River several years ago, were in town and came by the campground to visit. We sat at the beach and enjoyed some cool and tasty beverages before heading to Keys Fisheries for supper. Good food there and good company, too, as we caught up on each others' lives. After eating, we went to Boot Key Harbor to show ... read more
October 16th 2011
Last two days went by so quickly. Dinner with the officers was very nice and the wine flowed! Defended our title on the last sea day for progressive and we had to turn the trophy over to another team! We lost by one point but did win a free drink from Julie for winning 3 out of 6 days. The behind the scenes tour was fascinating- can't imagine the size of the main galley and they way they do laundry. there is a machine that dries and folds the sheets! Backstage was also fun to see all the costumes, feathers and beads- we got some beads from the wardrobe master for our trophy. Spent the last day getting pics with the staff - they were all so nice - i will really miss my home away ... read more
May 22nd 2011
May 22, 2011, 2011 Hello again, Looks like they changed the blog. You have to scroll down to see all the picutures. There are 9 pictures attached to this Blog :). We are sitting again in Boot Key Harbor. Florida Keys. We had crossed over to Sandy Point in the Abacos and then tried to cross abound “Hole in the Wall” at the south end of the Abacos and ran into big waves coming off the Atlantic ocean. We went from 2’ seas to 10’-12’ chop (Carol’s version is growing to 15’-20’). As they say, the boat can take it be we humans cannot. So we turned and ran back to the Berry islands. We spent about a week there gathering conch, snorkeling and preparing to make our next passage. There are two islands there that ... read more
Soggy Rides, Goodbyes and Seafood
Published: March 16th 2011North America » United States » Florida » Keys » Marathon
March 16th 2011
Thursday morning, after posting our blog about the little yellow bi-plane, I headed to the ball field for another softball game. The weather was glorious for the game, with some clouds and soft breezes. After the game, Kerry and I took showers. While I was sitting on a bench outside the marina community room, I realized the storm clouds were moving in quickly. A cold front was forecast to come through around 4 or 5, but it was only a little after 1. When Kerry walked up it was just starting to sprinkle. We headed for the dinghy dock, hoping to beat the rain to the boat as we had left windows and doors open. By the time we loaded ourselves and our stuff into the dink, the rain was coming down steadily. Soon it was ... read more
The Little Yellow Bi-Plane
Published: March 10th 2011North America » United States » Florida » Keys » Marathon
March 10th 2011
We’ve been watching the little yellow bi-plane flying overhead since we arrived in Boot Key Harbor. We’ve discussed going up for a ride, yes, we’re going to do that. But, we just didn’t do it. Suddenly, we realized, we’re running out of time. Let’s fly! Monday morning I called and was told the plane was down for maintenance Monday and Tuesday, call back Tuesday afternoon. Tuesday afternoon I called and was told maintenance was almost finished, call Wednesday morning. Wednesday morning I called, “When do you want to go up?” I was asked. We agreed on two o’clock that very afternoon. We’re finally going to do it! Around one we called Dave’s Island Taxi to take us to the airport. We were there by 1:45 and the plane wasn’t. We looked up and there it was, ... read more
Musings in Marathon
Published: March 7th 2011North America » United States » Florida » Keys » Marathon
March 7th 2011
What’s been happening since our last blog? Let me think… There have been softball games, sunrises and sunsets, beautiful weather, strong winds, warm temperatures. Sara and Trevor got their boat name sticker made and put it on their boat. It looks really good and now they are easier to identify. Trevor’s parents came for the weekend to see the kids before they leave for the Bahamas and to celebrate Trevor’s birthday, which is the 10th of this month. We had a nice time with them and were glad to finally meet them. Trevor was really tickled that they came. They even got to see Trevor, Sara and Kerry play softball yesterday afternoon. We finished our boat signs and they were installed on the post for posterity. I think they look pretty good. Diver Mike came by ... read more
February 22nd 2011
Oops! Nine days since I last blogged. Sorry. Besides sunrises, sunsets and softball, here’s what’s been happening in Boot Key with the Magees. Sara and Trevor bought their own dinghy, a used inflatable with a 5 hp outboard. Now they are independent and so are we. Sara and Kerry went fishing the other day and caught 30 or more fish. So they say. We saw no evidence of fish, just the smell of stinky bait in the dinghy. The fish were all small, and they threw them all back, but they had a great time fishing near the 7 mile bridge. It’s a little cramped fishing from the dinghy, and they were both a bit stiff afterwards. In softball, Kerry managed to hit one over the fence. While that made him feel powerful, it counted as ... read more
Valentine's Day Eve in Boot Key
Published: February 13th 2011North America » United States » Florida » Keys » Marathon
February 13th 2011
I’m happy to be back at beautiful Boot Key again. It’s windy and last night was a little chilly, but today is sunny and winds are supposed to calm down. Pam’s surgery went well on Thursday, though it turned out to be a very long day. We had to be at the hospital at 6 am, then wait. She was scheduled to go into surgery at 10:30, which turned out to be 11:00. The surgery was supposed to take up to 45 minutes, but took an hour and a half. We didn’t leave the hospital until close to 6 pm. They had to scrape the ends of the bone that wasn’t fusing, then inserted a bridge of cadaver bone for the bone to grow over. She was pretty sore from all the activity in there, but ... read more
Amelia & Lucky Lindy Fly Again
Published: February 10th 2011North America » United States » Florida » Keys » Marathon
February 9th 2011
Since we didn't get to fly in the seaplane, Jan wanted to do a bi-plane ride from the Marathon Airport. We've seen the sign several times in our travels. We booked a 45 minute flight that would show us several keys, the 7 Mile Bridge and the reef about 5 miles off shore. The airplane is a Waco with tandem seats in the front and a pilot's seat in the rear. It was pretty cool flying in an open cockpit airplane. These Wacos are aerobatic capable and were built in the 1930's in Battle Creek, MI. The weather was really nice for flying. Our pilot, Mark has about 3,000 hours flying time and is in a 2 year process of doing a rebuild on an old Waco he found. The Waco cruised along at about 110mph ... read more
