St. Paddy’s Day

A small portion of Boot Key Harbor, 266 moorings

Nice sunny day in the middle 80’s with higher humidity than usual, 30% chance of rain so we saw a few clouds from time to time. This evening is overcast with a 60% chance of rain this evening. Ft. Myers and Tampa had a good rain based on our radar observation and some showers just on the edge of our radar observation now at 7:30 PM. This morning I rode bike down to the City Marina, a small marina that also manages the mooring field of 266 mooring balls, two dinghy docks, a raft of showers and bathrooms, a warehouse with picnic tables and TV sets, a palapa for outdoor dining and docktails a really big deal.

Navy Color Guard

Key Colony Beach is a small municipality just south of the marina. We went to their festival days a couple of weeks ago and tonight they had a St. Paddy’s Day Parade. I called the City Hall since they have a dock directly behind their building and asked if we could dinghy over to watch the parade. After the clerk checked with the Police Department they granted us permission to use the dock. Talking with the locals they suggested we keep a close eye on the parade route or we might miss it. However if we did miss it, the parade could be viewed on line at MarathonFlorida.com.

Nice parade, similar to our 4^th Parade in Racine, we saw one Harley Davidson, one old hook and ladder truck, 4  vintage army vehicles, the mayors car, the guy that lost the mayoral election, the Priest from the local {Irish} Catholic church and various other individuals in convertibles.  Also saw the Pickle Ball club and a local drinking establishment that had its waiters handing out jello shots to parade watchers.  After more than 15 minutes in the sun the parade was over, we were parched and had to return to the marina to enjoy a cool beverage.

The Mayor rides a Green Mercedes

Police Chief in a Red Cobra, Nice!

A dalmatian claiming to be 5% Irish setter, hum!!

The mayoral runner up!! Looser!!!

The Catholic Father

An Accordian Player

Classic Triumph TR-8

Bagpieper

Antique Army Trucks

And of course Green Jello Shots

Sunday in Marathon

Kind of a lazy Sunday here in the Keys, Sunny and in the 80’s with a bit more wind than usual 10-15 out of the East. Did Church on the MPLC podcast and enjoyed the feeling of being at our home Church, always a treat. Did a little boat work in the morning, I am refinishing the teak rails as time and weather permit. Sanded down the first layer of epoxy and if the wind dies a bit, I hope to put two additional coats on tomorrow before the layers of varnish. Spent some time this afternoon with Bob and Martha doing cruise planning for next week. If all goes well, we plan to leave Friday or Saturday and head up the Keys to Ft. Lauderdale by Wednesday so Carol can fly to Kansas City. Carol went grocery shopping this afternoon, we have enjoyed the $5 cab rides to just about any place on Marathon Key. They allow shared rides so Carol rode to Publix with two young men and on the way back they picked up a young woman going to work.

The moon rises over Colony Key

Tonight we had decktails with Bob, Martha, Kurt and Marilyn on our sundeck. We watched the sun set over the port rail and the moon rise to starboard, as we enjoyed their company and shared in some hors d'oeuvres. Just a bit of dinner after the get together, time to blog, catch up on email and Facebook and a bit of TV. Another perfect day in paradise. 

A dock visitor

Fun with Al and Charli

Our good friends from the loop (and Seminole Florida) Al and Charli came to visit us.  They completed the loop when they arrived back in their home port of Clearwater around Christmas.  They can’t seem to stay away from boats – and parties – so they drove down to join us for a few days.  We had a potluck dinner the first night and invited others from nearby marinas, so new Loopers and old could all meet.  There is never a shortage of conversation as everyone compares notes on everything from grandchildren to propellers to mosquito repellent.

Sunset Grill, outdoor pool and dining on the ocean

We spent a day here in Marathon and Al and Dennis went to a seminar on “Offshore Energy Management” and “Wind and Solar Energy Systems”.  In the evening we went to the Sunset Grill for dinner- what a beautiful setting.  We met a couple of twin sisters from the Netherlands over breakfast.  They were on a south Florida trip to see the state in seven days – driving from Orlando to Key West and everything in between.  I guess you see what you can in the time you have.  Al and Charlie noted that it took them six hours to drive here and it would have taken six days by boat.

Key West beckoned and we drove down yesterday to enjoy several stops including;

Pepe’s for lunch, where we met Joe and Debra from “Free Wheelin”. They are doing the Loop in pieces.  Last summer they were turned back at the Erie Canal by the lock closures and so they spent this year on the East Coast. 

Pepe's Charli, Debra, Al and Joe

The southern most point

We did some shopping and toured the Shipwreck Museum and the Key West Lighthouse.  A lot of the early economy of Key West depended on the trade in salvage that came from wrecks on the reefs surrounding the Keys.  So the Lighthouse emphasized their attempts at preventing wrecks and the Shipwreck Museum told how the Captains and residents profited from the over 500 ships per year that ran aground before Lighthouse and navigational aids were developed.

At Sunset we gathered at Mallory Square with the other hundreds of tourists and watched the street performers and musicians, while a large cruise ship departed and mojitos were enjoyed by all.   Finished the day at a great Cuban restaurant and drove back to the Coral Lagoon. 

Character at the shipwreck museum

   

 

Nice Displays

Sunset Key from the Shipwreck Museum Tower

Marathon Seafood Festival

Byline for the Festival is: See Food and Eat It

Eric Stone Band on the Main Stage to open the Festival

The cold snap is over this morning.  It was down to 70 degrees yesterday so we wore lightweight long pants and a light jacket to go to the 37th Annual Original Marathon Seafood Festival.  The festival was held on the high school football field and neighboring community park.  It featured a “Main Stage” (only stage) with bands playing all day.  The bands were great, one was a family of boys and they had all been playing together all their lives.  The family had 9 boys and 1 girl and currently 4 brothers and a girl friend were in the band.  They were great! And a little girl of about 3, their niece, was up on stage with her tiny fiddle dancing like a pro.  A 4 year-old nephew also played (or pretended) to play a little guitar.  Various other brothers and sisters and relatives got to sing a song or two.  With all these upcoming members, the Doerfel band could be playing a long time.  There was also a Caribbean band, and a group of high school kids that were terrific.

An array of food tents sold lobster, shrimp, fish platters, conch chowder, conch salad, conch fritters, Cuban and the usual assorted ‘fest foods’.  We noted the lack of ice cream and can you believe it …. Only one beer tent for several thousand people.

Whole Florida Lobster and Peel and Eat Shrimp

Near the entrance was a giant map of the US where you were invited to put a pin in your hometown.  The attendees were from all over the country, with a good representation from Milwaukee/Chicago area.  We had to put our pin way out in the middle of Lake Michigan there were so many.  There was a small art fair and about 200 vendors had booths ranging from rattan furniture to shirts and shorts, beach glass jewelry, gourmet dip and drink mixes, scuba gear and binoculars.

Many Loopers were at the festival and we met up with Bob and Carol (Southern Cross sailboat) from Minneapolis.   Bob and Martha (Field Trip) from Lodi, WI have been traveling with us for several weeks and they have rented a car for the last week so we have been getting to places with greater ease than usual – we much appreciate their willingness to share.  Bob and Loretta (yes, lots of Bobs) are departing this marina on Carol Ann this morning.  We will probably catch up to them again in the next weeks as we travel north up the Florida east coast.

Boby and Carol from Southern Cross

 

Four Young Ladies going bungee trampoline jumping

Boring Blog

Yep not boring, Pink

Sometimes we are asked, “do you ever have a boring day”?  Yes, sometimes we PLAN to have a boring day.  After yesterdays hiking and excursions, we spent today doing laundry and errands.  We went to the hardware store, the grocery store, the drug store, and the sandal store.  I got new sandals.  They are not boring, they are pink.

While shopping the weather began to look threatening and the chatter around the Publix store was “tornado warnings in Key West – storm headed this way”.  So we headed back to the marina and started closing up and tying down.  The very ominous sky delivered a significant wind shift, a bit of blow and moderate rain, which is still coming down 4 hours later.

Like the storm clouds we see in Wisconsin

Some sailboat friends stopped in to share their excitement at purchasing a trawler much like ours and later we went over to the ‘Carol Ann’ for snacks and conversation.  Martha furnished a fabulous key lime pie that she purchased from the famous key lime pie baker who works at the hardware store.  That was about all the excitement we could handle today and so, if you are looking for a non-boring day report, we will try again soon to do something exciting and thrilling.

Everglades National Park

Up close and personal

Yesterday, we visited the Everglades by car with Bob, Martha, Marilyn and Curt a two hour car ride up the Keys, across Biscayne Bay, through Homestead, and passing the agricultural area of southeast Florida. The Everglades is the largest wilderness east of the Mississippi, with many different ecosystems based on the height of the land. A few inches of elevation can change the ecosystem from a freshwater habitat to a prairie to a Hardwood Hammock (dense forest) to a saltwater habitat. Alligators, crocodiles, turtles, several fish species and numerous birds populate the area. Along the main road there are six short hiking areas to view the different types of habitats.

Strangler Fig wrapped around a tree trunk

Mahogany Hammock

This is one of the Hardwood Hammocks with giant mahogany trees and very dense foliage. Interesting to see this habitat in a fairly untouched condition. Each of the small hiking areas have a boardwalk that was constructed years ago allowing people to visit and view the habitats without disturbing them. They were disturbed when the boardwalk was built but have returned to a mostly undisturbed state.

Flamingo Visitor Center and Marina

On the tip of land adjoining the saltwater Florida bay with a dam that retains the brackish water up stream. The Everglades are generally covered with slow moving water from Lake Okeechobee to the Florida Bay. The land is very flat so the flow is very slow, the water we saw was from a few feet deep to an inch or less and each area has a different habitat.

Paurotis Pond

We encountered a bird watching group with a Park Ranger at this stop. They pointed out a Green Heron, a Vulture, Roseate Spoonbill, and a Wood Stork around the pond. Mullet join in the fun by jumping out of the water 4-5 feet into the air.

Pay-hay-okee Overlook

The view over the Freshwater Marl Prairie is a long flat plain covered with grass where the native Indians lived. Florida has a wet season and a dry season and the habitats change based on the season. Winter is the dry season and as an example the bald cypress lose their needles and grow them back during the wet season.

Bald Cypress leafing out

Purple Gallinule

Royal Palm-Anhinga Trail

Arriving at dusk we immediately began to see the wild life. As we walked the trail we saw alligators, vultures, cranes, turtles, anhinga, a beautiful purple gallinule and plenty of mosquitoes. There were quite a few people on this trail, but the evening brought out the wildlife and all the alligators were moving about.  There was a spectacular sunset over the marshes. 

We walked many boardwalks and spent about 8 hours in the car.  After a stop at Key Largo for supper we arrived home safe and tired. 

Wood Stork

Alligator

 

Nice day in the Everglades

Bahia Honda State Park

This morning one of our fellow Loopers had his electrical system inspected by a representative from SALT (Sea, Air, Land Tech) a local firm of experts on electrical issues. He discussed the current draw on the boat, the methods currently available to refresh the electrical supply (Batteries) and some alternative methods including wind power and solar panels to add additional energy. The biggest power draw on boats is for refrigeration. In our case we have a refrigerator with a freezer compartment that is quite adequate for our needs and the current draw is about 4 amps. But other boats also have additional freezers and ice makers. The balance of the electrical need is fairly intermittent and needs to be included in the calculations for current draw but generally is less significant. Air conditioning is not included in the calculations since it is usually necessary to run the generator to operate the air conditioning systems. Bob from SALT is very knowledgeable and provided some great information, some added to my knowledge base and some confirmed my understanding.

Sea Grass and the beach

 This afternoon we went down to Bahia Honda State Park, all the beaches we have seen in the keys are left natural. That means each high tide brings in sea grass and algae that is deposited on the beach, not always the most beautiful looking beach but ecologically correct. It became overcast this afternoon an even misted a bit about 5:00.

A fellow beach dweller

We had a docktail party on our sundeck starting at 6:00 and three couples joined us for drinks and hors d'oeuvres. The party was a bit shortened again by a light rain, great stories as everyone shares their experiences on the Loop. The people on this trip are truly the daily highlights.

Chairs