We've Got Friends in Fun Places

We had a surprise visit Friday from Dick Jones (s/v M&M Packet) from our home marina in Tennessee. Dick is a sailor extraordinaire, having logged more miles than Jack Sparrow (without all the repairs, gold teeth and wooden extremities). He traveled south from Tennessee in early autumn (single-handing most of the trip), and he's now in Marathon for a few days. We saw him briefly before Christmas, and it was great to see him again.

Our friends Bill and Charlotte from Omega (Papa Smurf and his bride from our days on the hard at Lee Spry Marina when we all sanded and painted) live in Summerland Key. Friday they picked us up for a visit in their beautiful home (designed and built entirely by Bill with hand-picked materials) with a view of both the ocean and the canal (and Omega tied up dockside). We talked a lot, met their neighbors, walked and biked, and ate far too much far too often. One of their kind neighbors gave us tickets to a Habitat for Humanity cookout and concert on Sugarloaf Key, where we had great food and heard great music with a backdrop of the blue-green water and deep blue sky. Bill took us for a dinghy ride through the canals (so we could covet his neighbors' homes and views). We had delicious pizza at the No Name Pub (notice the dollar bills all over the ceiling and walls and every available surface), and visited their church on Sunday to see more of Bill's handiwork (he contributed his skills and work there as well). It was such a good visit, and it's always fun to catch up with new best friends you've made in your travels. We loved their B&B and hope we can find it again (unless they know we're coming and move before we get there).

Floaty Boats and Changes in Plans

Our dinghy has been a workhorse; we've used it as a car, laundry cart, garbage scow, dive boat, and motor scooter for almost 7 years now. It's traveled almost 12,000 miles with us, and has never let us down. Jay bought it on e-Bay, and we've been so happy with its size and performance -- it's large enough to keep us from getting drenched even when crossing a bumpy and busy bay, but small enough that we can lift it and drag it on shore or the boat when we need to and can also deflate and fold it to carry on deck. Sadly, glue eventually succumbs to sun and salt water, and it has become a full time job to keep it inflated. Sooooooooooo, the Captain started dinghy shopping. The requirements are fairly simple: inflatable floor so we can store and fold it on deck when necessary (we can't use dinghy davits since we're a double-ender), 18" tubes to keep us dry, ~11-12' in length so we have enough room for us and company, and light enough so the two of us can lift it. We planned to go to the Dania flea market to shop for another one, but West Marine had one on the display floor (men bypassing West when out biking is like a dog bypassing a fire hydrant) that caught the Captain's eye. After several trips to fondle and murmur to the display, a new dinghy was ordered. With help from Jim Freund and William Mayberry, the new baby arrived last Thursday. The virgin voyage was wonderful, and we're thrilled with the new Dip. It doesn't fit into the v-berth, so the Admiral still lives on Serendipity...but when deflated....

Our plans when we left Tennessee in October were to head south to Marathon, then go to the Bahamas for a few months and possibly up the East coast for a third visit to our beloved Chesapeake. As time has passed, we've realized that we'll be making a few trips back to TN in the next few months. Since it's hard to predict where we'll be at any time (given our total dependence on winds and weather) to plan a trip to TN, we've decided to postpone the Bahamas and Chesapeake trips for now and head back to Bradenton for the summer. We love Twin Dolphin marina; we have good friends in the area (hi Paul and Gail, Pat and Kat, John and Susan, Pat and Dan); it's easy to fly back and forth to TN; we'll still be in the good company of William and Poor Old Judy; we'll be close to Freundship Marine for all our boating projects and needs; and we have lots of work to do on the boat that can be done there. Best of all, our daughter and her husband and our two grandbabies will be spending a week in St. Pete in May so we can squeeze Madison and Micah! Plans may change again, of course, which is part of the beauty of being retired and having a home that floats.

It's a Wonderful Life

Life drags on in the Keys -- sunny weather, biking and walking, finding the best restaurants and happy hours, meeting new people, attending local functions -- well, someone has to do it! We attended the Marathon 34th Annual Seafood Festival, which was a huge event. There were tents with local crafts, vendors with everything from boat lifts to scuba gear, and huge tents with crab, lobster, shrimp, conch, and fish dishes. There were also many local bands playing all day Saturday and Sunday. The Captain was deliriously happy (no, not because there was shopping available) because you could purchase an event mug and have it refilled from the tapper. Notice his smiley face in the photo.