Monday. February 28, 2011

Burdine's Fried Key Lime Pie. Yum Yum.

I've added pictures to yesterday's blog, compliments of Sue. My new camera should be here tomorrow. I can't wait. It seems like there are so many more things that I want to take pictures of, but can't. That ends tomorrow though (if the email from UPS is right).

Today we celebrated Norm's birthday. His real birthday is the 29th, but since there isn't one of those this year, we celebrated today. We went to Burdine's for lunch and had the fried key lime pie instead of birthday cake for dessert. When we leave Marathon, I think it will be the fried key lime pie that I will miss the most. My waistline won't miss it, but my taste buds certainly will.

After lunch, the girls all went shopping and the guys hung out on the boats. Then we all just sat around talking, laughing, eating, drinking, and playing farkle. It was the perfect ending to another perfect day.

WE LOVE COMPANY

People on Inflatable Pigs Racing

Piggy Race

Patty's Pride


Yesterday (Saturday), Charlie and Joan arrived. We had lunch with them and Norm and Sue at Banana Cabana. After lunch, we headed back to our boat where we sat out on the back deck and enjoyed each other's company. It was just like the old days at Catalina Harbor in Cincinnati. We grilled dinner and had a nice long Happy Hour. It was a blast!

Today was even better. It started out with the Piggy Races at the Stuffed Pig. Each couple bet on the first race, 3 heats. I can't remember one of our pig's name, but the other two were Hamma Montana and Patty's Pride. There was one winner among us out of nine tries. My camera has not arrived yet. Sue took pictures and she told me she'd share them with me. So, when I get them, I'll add them to the blog. In between the pig races, they had people races. For $3 a person, you could bounce on an inflatable pig from the start line to the finish line. Sue got a couple pictures of that too.

We walked down to the Turtle Hospital and took their tour. First there was a slide show and then we toured the hospital. We saw the operating room and the emergency room. Then we saw the tanks with the recuperating turtles. It was amazing. Our guide Crystal was extremely animated and knowledgeable. It was well worth the time and money. The thing I liked the best about the turtles is that they eat jelly fish. They could eat them all as far as I am concerned. You should see some of the trash they have removed from the inside of turtles: fishing line, hooks, pens, shells, and all kinds of other trash. It's just amazing.

We visited for awhile on Norm and Sue's boat this afternoon and then went to the Fish Market for dinner. It's been a wonderful day! All of this eating reminds me about the thing they said at the AGLCA Rendezvous: "The first two phone calls after finishing the loop are to AA and Weight Watcher's." Tomorrow we are going to celebrate Norm's birthday. His real birthday is February 29th, but we don't have one of those this year.

Friday, February 25, 2011

After the Cruisers' Net this morning, John and I headed for the park for a few rip-roaring games of Bocce Ball. There were approximately 25 people present and 6 of us needed to learn how to play. We used to play when the kids were little, but that's been some time ago. It was fun and we met some more really nice folks. Afterwards, we crossed the street and had lunch at the Stuffed Pig.

When we got back to our boat, we went to Marathon Marina for fuel and water. There was a coupon in a magazine for $ .10 off a gallon there. So, fuel was $3.59 plus tax a gallon and to fill our water tank was $5.00. So, we should be good on fuel and water until after we leave here (which I believe will be at least March 11th). We got back to our mooring ball before Norm and Sue could get there to help us in their dinghy. So, we caught the ball and tied up by ourselves. It wasn't as hard as I made it seem in my mind.

WORK BEFORE PLAY

The day was spent doing chores with still more to be done tomorrow. John worked all morning on collecting all things taxes and then mailing the stuff to our accountant. I did housework, or should I say "boatwork"? We are trying to get caught up so we can play while our company is visiting.

Tonight we went to a "Sunset Celebration" with other AGLCA members. It was held at Banana Bay Harbor. The sunset was gorgeous and there were over 80 people in attendance. Everyone brought an appetizer and their own drinks. We really had a good time. We met up with people we met at Joe Wheeler State Park in the fall. We have been here since February 1st and we have had no rain. I hope that doesn't jinx us while our guests are here.

THINGS ARE LOOKING UP

Today has been a much better day than the previous two days. First thing this morning, John climbed back in the engine room and had another look at the generator. After a few minutes, and after trying to start the generator a time or two, it occurred to him what the problem was. It turned out to be a solenoid. I suppose that's better than a fuel pump. At that point, John was on a roll. He got on the Internet, and programmed a phone that Norm gave us (one he was not using). So, the phone issue didn't cost a thing. Then, John found a newer version of the same camera I had for 30% less than I paid for it last winter. It will be delivered in 3 to 5 days. Hip Hip Hooray! John's my hero! The rest of the day was spent working on chores because Saturday we are having company from Cincinnati. We want all of our work to be finished, so we can relax and enjoy. I'm sorry I have no pictures, but once that new camera gets here, I'll be posting pictures like crazy.

THINGS HAPPEN IN THREES

You know how they say that things happen in threes? Well, I hope that's true and not four or five or... After letting my phone and camera dry out for two days, we tried them and neither one works. That's Number 1 and Number 2. This morning we got up and started the generator. It ran for a minute and then quit. This happened several times. John changed the fuel filters, but it won't even start, much less run longer than a minute. Someone on the Cruiser's Net this morning was selling a used portable Honda generator. So, John and Norm went to look at it and John bought it. At least we can run the refrigerator and keep the batteries charged. Tomorrow they will look at the generator again. That will be Number 3. I'm hoping it doesn't cost too terribly much to fix. I also hope they are able to fix it themselves without having to take it somewhere. That's always expensive. We are ready for some good luck.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

It happened again. We were going to go to the Piggy Races and Sue checked online to see what times they were running today. It turns out that we had the wrong weekend. Apparently, it's next weekend. The moral of the story is: Don't go talking about things that haven't happened yet. So, I guess I'll tell you about today. The four of us walked to Banana Cabana for lunch. Then we went to Home Depot again. I'm starting to feel like we spend more time there than on the boat. After that, we went back to our respective boats until Happy Hour. John and I were boarding our dinghy to go to Norm and Sue's boat for Happy Hour when I fell in the water. That's the first time since we were at Catalina back around 1999. The water was surprisingly warm and the good news is, I didn't get stung by a jelly fish. I felt pretty clumsy because the people on the boat nearest us hollered over to see if I was alright. Then they stopped by in their dinghy to see if we needed something from the store. That was really nice of them. However, I was embarrassed. The bad part was that I had my phone, wallet, and camera in my belly bag. So, everything got soaked in saltwater. We'll see what happens after it all dries out. Needless to say, there will be no pictures today. Maybe not for sometime until I can replace my camera.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Well, I have a confession to make. Yesterday I wrote that we were going to the Piggy Races today and that I would take pictures and post them tonight. It seems I fibbed on both counts. Sue, John, and I walked down to Kmart. We stopped in a lot of the stores along the way and we had lunch at a Chinese Buffet. The Stuffed Pig is in the opposite direction from the harbor. By the time we got back, we were ready to go to our boats and didn't give another thought to the Piggy Races. Oops! I had my camera with me all day, but didn't take any pictures. Sorry. Our revised plan is to got to the Piggy Races tomorrow and have lunch at the Stuffed Pig. The Piggy Fest goes all weekend. That's one of the things that are nice about being retired. You can afford to be more flexible in your time schedule. Hopefully, tomorrow there will piggy pictures for you to ogle. Til then.....

Another Day In Paradise

I thought you all at home in the cold would get a kick out of this sign.

Aren't they cute?

This morning, we had a meeting via a webinar online with our investment counselor. That was really cool! It was like sitting in his office and meeting with him. It's the next best thing to actually being there in person. After our meeting, John and I went out for lunch with Norm and Sue. We went to the Stuffed Pig. It's a little restaurant across the street from the marina. They are open for breakfast and lunch. The food was good and I took a couple of pictures while there (please see above). This weekend they are having "Piggy Days" with food and live piggy races. We intend to attend the piggy races and probably partake in the food as well. I hope to get pictures of the festivities. We still feel like we're still on vacation instead of actually retired.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

The moon taken during the sunset,

Tonight's sunset!

Our boat on the mooring ball in Marathon.

Today John finished putting the last coats of polyurethane on the table top and the door frame. They both turned out really nice. Then we did some paper work (yuck!), and then the fun began. We took a dinghy ride and investigated the canals and creeks nearby. The houses are beautiful and we saw a few for sale. Sue and Norm came by for Happy Hour and we witnessed another gorgeous sunset. It was weird that we could see the sunset and the full moon at the same time. I still feel like I have to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming. We are thoroughly enjoying our retirement. It still feels weird to not have to go to work or worry about having the hours covered at the store.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Some dinghy, huh?

Pretty self explanatory.

The dinghy dock.

Today was a day spent working. John and I walked to Home Depot to get supplies for our projects. We bought a new sander (the old one died), a toilet paper holder for the front head that broke, a tack cloth, and a light bulb for the oven. Norm and Sue had asked us to pick up a light bulb for their oven. I didn't even know there was a light bulb in my oven. It's been burned out since we got the boat. We came back and started working right away. John started sanding the door frame and the table top on the back deck. I put the new light bulb in the stove and then proceeded to clean the oven. I could see the mess so much better. After that, I cleaned inside of the boat and John put 2 coats of polyurethane on, allowing it to dry for 4 hours in between. He also installed the new toilet paper holder. So, that's all good.


I am adding a few pictures today. One is of the dinghy dock where we have to put our dinghy "car" every time we go somewhere. It gets quite crowded at times, but you just scoot one over and squeeze in. Another picture is of a door on a bar Sue and I saw yesterday while we were walking. It says "Hippies use back door". The other picture is of a pretty fancy dinghy that is tied to a boat very near us on the mooring ball.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Jeff, the name of this boat is "Babycakes".

Airport in Everglade City.

Life doesn't get better than this.

Today Sue and I walked to the library, hoping to do some genealogy research. The library didn't have anything we were interested in. So, we walked some more and investigated what was around. We had lunch at Banana Bay. Their special was a cheeseburger and fries for $3.99. It tasted delicious. We walked farther and saw lots of other places we'd like to visit in the future, like a museum, lots of restaurants, a movie house, a live theatre place, a package liquor store that sells Boar's Head luncheon meats for a reasonable amount, a KMart, and some gift shops. We went to Home Depot for our husbands. They had called and given us their list for the hardware store. We then had Happy Hour on "Runaround Sue". Supposedly, we can see the space shuttle tonight around 7:20 P.M. All in all, we had a really good day.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Yesterday was cold and windy. Therefore, we stayed on the boat all day. It was too rough to go anywhere on the dinghy. I gave John a haircut (my second one). It turned out even better than the last one. The first time, I left it a little too long because you can always take more off, but you can't put it back on. It does grow back though and that's how I talk myself into doing it at all. Also, I sewed while the generator was running. That was fun.

Today, we wanted to go out for lunch with Norm and Sue. We tried about 4 restaurants before we found one that was open. We ended up back at Burdine's. This morning I baked John a sugar free carrot cake for Valentine's Day tomorrow. I've never tried this recipe before. I hope it tastes good. Don't forget your Sweethearts tomorrow! Til then......

Friday, February 11, 2011

Yesterday somehow got skipped, so let me begin with Thursday. John had ordered a new solenoid for the starboard engine and it came in the mail on Wednesday. So, Thursday morning he installed the solenoid and it worked just fine. (I just learned how to spell solenoid. I used to think it was spelled cellanoid. Oops!) Afterwards, we went to Burdine's for lunch by dinghy. The last time we went, John stayed with the boats and didn't get to go. So, this time he was with us. We just had to eat more Fried Key Lime Pie. We did share it though. We had Happy Hour on our boat and we played Quiddler. It was a good, fun day.

Today, Fred took the bus to Key West and then the jet boat back to Fort Myers. It's been nice having him around. All four of us will miss him.

John and I went by dinghy to Sombrero Marina and visited Carl and Ricki. It was nice to visit, but we felt kind of bad because we were keeping them from doing some work on their boat. They are a lot closer to us than I originally thought. Hopefully, we will see lots more of them before we leave here and go to the Bahamas. Today was cool and overcast. There was a 30 to 40 % chance of rain. However, it's 6:10 P.M. and it hasn't rained yet. Tonight the windows need to be closed because of the temperature. That's a first since we've been in the Keys.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

We had a pretty full day today. John and I walked to Home Depot and bought stuff to do a few projects on the boat. We took our little milk tin cart with us to carry our purchases back to the dinghy and then to the boat. We bought roll up shades for the aft deck to block sun during Happy Hour. The blinds wanted to fall out of the cart, so we tied them to the handle. We looked pretty strange walking down the road. Once we were on the boat, we managed to hang them and it turned out quite well.

Late this afternoon, there was a Meet and Greet / Pot Luck Dinner. There were about 60 people present. It was nice to meet people and hear what's going on. After dinner, a few musicians played at the Tiki Hut. Pretty nice!

One more thing, John taught me how to run the dinghy today. I started it and ran it by myself. I docked it too, but that wasn't real pretty and a husband and wife on the dock helped me by moving a dinghy over and catching our line. The tight quarters at the dinghy dock made me a bit nervous. I do think I'd like to do it again though.

Tuesday, February 8. 2011

We had a fair amount of wind last night. The dinghy and flag banged around until we brought the flag in and tied the dinghy tighter. The temperature has dropped into the low 70s. We were visited by Ricki and Carl this afternoon. We met them at the Rendezvous and ran into them again in Mobile. It was nice to get caught up with them again.

We walked to dinner tonight to the Fish Market. We were told that the sunset is really pretty there. The food was good and they brought everyone a shot to celebrate the sunset. However, we really couldn't see it. It seemed to us that the restaurant is facing the wrong way to see the sunset. Besides the restaurant, they have a fish market there where you can buy fresh fish, lobster, snapper, shrimp, clams, crabs, etc. Tomorrow there is supposed to be a pot luck at the tiki hut. We are looking forward to meeting even more boaters. Every day is a new adventure/

Monday, February 7, 2011

Congratulations to all of the Green Bay fans. We watched the game in the boaters' lounge here at the marina. It's a lot more fun to be in a large group of people for an event like that. We brought our folding / bag chairs and a folding table along with our drinks and snacks. We wanted to be sure to have a comfortable place to watch the game. They had some chairs in the room, but we were glad we brought our own. You should have seen us trying to get all of that stuff out of the dinghy and up the aft ladder in the dark when the game was over. I'm certain it was comical.

Yesterday John, Sue, and I walked to "Daffy Doug's Discount Dollar" store. They sell a little bit of everything. We went after fresh fruits and vegetables. The selection was meager, but they have touristy things, fishing tackle, hardware, office supplies, and assorted stuff. It was interesting. It reminded me of shopping at "Shop-o-rama" this past summer. Sue stayed with us for the afternoon and we played "Quiddler". All in all, we had an enjoyable day.

SUPER BOWL SUNDAY

Yesterday morning we walked to a Yard Sale at a storage facility. We thought is would be stuff people left in storage that would be sold, but it was just one man's stuff he wanted to get rid of. We didn't find anything that interested us. We went back to our boats and waited for the marina to call Norm and say they had a ball for him. His call came at 1:30 P.M. They are not very close to us, but no matter where they would be, it would be a dinghy ride to get there. So, it doesn't really matter.

After they got situated, we walked to West Marine. The man working there gave us a lot of information about things to do and places to go, and how to get there. We bought a light for our dinghy so that we can stay out past dark. We also bought a handle extender so John's shoulder doesn't hurt since we are using the dinghy a lot. Later, we visited the Parrents. They were our dock neighbors at Joe Wheeler. They are doing the loop with their three children. It was fun to see the kids get excited about things they'd seen or things they'd found. They are a nice, friendly family.

Gina has sent our mail. I never used to look forward to mail when we lived in Cincinnati. It was usually just bills. These days, the bills get sent to our computer and paid online. So, that means the mail is mostly fun stuff, like magazines, cards, letters, and pictures the grandchildren have drawn. I've been in contact with a man in Missouri whose last name is Sagel. He is also doing genealogy research and sent me the information he has on the Sagel line. Supposedly, there are even pictures in the packet he sent. I have sent him what I have as well. It will be interesting to see if he and John are related.

There is a Super Bowl party in the boater's lounge at the marina. This will be a good opportunity to mingle with the other boaters. I really don't care which team wins. In fact, I really don't care about the Super Bowl. It's the meeting other boaters that I find appealing. So, I hope your team wins!

Friday, February 4, 2011

John stayed with the boats, and I went to lunch with Norm, Sue, and Fred. We went to Burdine's and had a lovely lunch. Nancy and Bob told us to have the Fried Key Lime Pie. They said it's to die for. They are right. It is delicious. While we were at lunch, John and I got the call that Boot Key City Harbor had a mooring ball for us. So, after lunch, we took our boat over and filled up with water and got a pump out before tying to our mooring ball. Now that the boat is on the ball, John says he feels more comfortable about leaving it and going into town. Norm and Sue's name was right after ours on the waiting list. We heard a boat call the harbor and say they are leaving. The harbor told them they would hold their mooring ball until tomorrow morning in case they had boat trouble. So, we are thinking that tomorrow morning, Norm and Sue will be on a ball. We hope they are close to us.

We listened to the Cruisers Net this morning and really found it helpful. People get on the radio and make announcements about anything that interests them. They sell things, trade things, and / or give things away they no longer use. We heard about bocce ball, a yard sale, and a pirate's treasure hunt. This is going to be way fun.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Another day at anchor. There was a most wonderful breeze all day that made the day so comfortable. We took our dinghy to a nice white sand beach and saw a tiny island with one house on it. They better keep their dinghy in good shape or they are going nowhere. It made me think of that song "No Man is an Island". Each day we are hopeful that a mooring ball will be open and we can move to the mooring field. Today I believe we are #4 on the list.

During Happy Hour, we were visited by 7 people whom we had met along the way. It's so awesome! The Keys seem to be the place to be at this time of the year. It's so much warmer than North Fort Myers and we get to see friends we've made en route.

The man-o-war (Is the plural men-o-war or man-o-wars?) population here seems to be significantly more than I previously thought. We have probably seen 2 dozen of them so far. Yuck!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Man-o war

Well, Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow. So that means an early spring. I'm certain that makes a lot of people very happy because of all the snow this winter so far. Not to rub it in or anything, but it was 80 degrees today in the Keys.

We went for a dinghy ride and put our names on the list for a mooring ball. There were 5 boats ahead of us. The counter person said that we may even get one today, but, alas, we did not. Oh well, maybe tomorrow. We had Happy Hour on the back of our boat this afternoon with Norm and Sue, and Vaughn and Jim, whom we just met. Their boat is anchored behind ours. We had a really good time. ( It's amazing how many boaters they know that we know.) Once the sun started going down and the no-seeums starting biting, we all went inside our boats.

It's kind of cool to scoot around in the dinghy. It truly does become your "car" here in the Keys. There is inexpensive bus service here as well. It is, however, still hard for John to leave the boat unattended. If we don't, we won't get to see very many of the sights. Once we get on a ball and there are lots of people around, he should be more comfortable with it.

One more thing. Today we saw this transparent silvery fin looking thing in the water, with black strings hanging down. I had no idea what is was. It turned out to be a man-o-war. I understand that they are poisonous. There are lots of scary things in the water: alligators, sharks, jelly fish. I may chicken out of getting into the water.

ANOTHER GLORIOUS DAY!

Just let me start with last night. Around 11:00 P.M., John and I were headed for bed when we heard this crackling sound. It was so quiet back in our cozy anchorage that you could hear this very plainly. It sounded like a fire crackling or maybe water running. We tore this boat apart trying to find out where we had a leak. We took the bed apart and looked at the water tank. John got down in the engine room and looked for any sign of water on the walls or the floor. He lifted all of the access panels in the floor trying to see what the problem could be. He ran the bilge, but there was very little water pumped put. We were afraid that we would have to have the boat pulled and that there might be a split in the hull. I went on the swim platform to look at the outside shower, but no leak there. However, the sound was louder outside. John stepped out the side door and he noticed that it was louder outside as well. We finally decided that it was the current running past our boat and the thru-hull openings. Today, however, we discovered from talking to other boaters that it was shrimp. They make that crackling sound, apparently. What a relief!

So, we left this morning at 7:00 A.M. (first light) and headed for Marathon in the Keys. We had another perfect cruising day. We came across the Gulf and after 91 miles and 10 hours 20 minutes, we reached our destination. We were hoping to get a mooring ball at Boot Key Harbor, but they were all taken. Tomorrow we are going to put our name on a waiting list. For now, we are anchored out. It's nice and warm here, but the weather is supposed to become bad for cruising for the next 4 or 5 days. The winds are going to pick up and we are supposed to get scattered thunderstorms. That's why we pushed to get here today.