s/v Serendipity: More miles in the marathon

Marathon is WAY more than trips to Key West and the Dockside bar. WAY more. We also fish. New best friends Jill and Richard won a fishing trip at a silent auction (held by the community to benefit a local who had a stroke and was unable to work – this community rallies around those who need help). They invited us to accompany them (maybe they got to the Ws in the phone book) and we had a BALL! The fishing guide is a pro on the Chesapeake who winters in Marathon and can’t stop fishing. He could pinpoint a sweet spot from miles away and tell you exactly where to land your bait. Jill is by far the most enthusiastic fisherperson we’ve ever seen, and she was in heaven. The four of us caught about 40 fish (grouper wasn’t in season so we had to send them back) and had a great fish fry for all our new and old friends on the dock (our guide kindly cleaned and filleted them for us).

this guy didn't stand a chance against Jill!

can you say dinner?

Rich is very patient

oh yeah!

lunch at Burdine's after the fish rodeo

you REALLY had to be there

Steve and Bill prep the fish for cooking

mayonnaise? it worked!


Rich and Jay were first in line

The guys formed a golf league (which the girls totally encouraged since it meant they'd be off the boats for a couple of hours a week). They played in the afternoon then the girls met them for happy hour and apps (another reason we encouraged the golfing). It was a good chance to listen to the huge lies golfers tell while knowing there would be no cooking or dishes. Oh yes, and of course there was the exercise for the guys….

Patty is NOT buying that story!

but Jill believes everything

The Annual Marathon Seafood Festival is a reason to spend the afternoon listening to great local musicians and chowing down. There are also a lot of vendors (crafts, marine supplies, etc.) and businesses handing out samples (so of course there’s a race to see who gets a tote bag full first and with the greatest stuff….like that strawberry-cheesecake-flavored…..)

good music all day

thousands of people attend every year

We attended two concerts featuring Howard Livingston, after hearing him at Boondocks. He sponsors Kids Camp, which is a camp for terminally ill children and their siblings. To raise funds, he auctions a blender full of margaritas. The blender is mounted on a Johnson outboard, which of course makes quite a racket (and apparently quite a margarita). He donates all the money raised to the camp (it costs ~$500/wk/child). The first night (at Boondocks), the blender raised $5000 and the second time (at a concert) it raised $14,000. That’s a pretty expensive blender full of margaritas, but it’s for a very good cause. And he’s an excellent musician.