It seems to have been a hectic week. We rented a vehicle for 10 days while we are in Marathon. On Sunday, February 10th Joe and Mike went to West Marine (they actually have been to West Marine 4 days in a row) to get parts that will fix our dingy issue. Most of this day Joe and Mike worked on the it, changing the fuel filters and installed a new bilge pump plus replacing the bilge pump switch. Leann and I went to Publix for coffee and some fresh veggies. Later this evening we all went over to Proud Mary, a 2012 55’ Fleming for docktails owned by Mary and Barrie. Their Fleming is beautiful! Their daughter resides in Frankfort, Ky so I’m sure we have made new friends that we will definitely see again! They too love to travel and are going to Italy later this year. We gave them some ideas of our favorite things to do in the area they are traveling. Of course, we told them of my deal with Joe. 😉
On Monday, we drove to Key West. Walked around Key West that morning. Of course, we went to Kermit’s to look for Key Lime Cooler Cookies. They were out. Really?! We still found a couple of goodies to buy. Spending a morning walking around reminded us that we had done all we wanted to do in Key West at this point of our lives. We left a little after noon to meet some looper friends of Mike and Leann’s, Jill and Kevin from Chasing 80. They rode their bikes to meet us and got got in a down pour. Small world, they are from Cincinnati. Actually, we have met 3 couples already from the Cincy area on the loop. We had lunch with them on Stock Island at Hogfish Bar/Grill. It was very tasty. I had a salad with blackened hogfish (kind of a snapper), Joe had a burger. Afterwards we went to Jill and Kevin’s marina. While walking around there we saw General Patton’s boat, When and If. It was commissioned in 1939 by him. He said, “ When the war is over, and if I live through it, Bea and I are going to sail her around the world.” Gourge Patton survived the war, however he was killed in an auto accident in Germany shortly after the war. course, He did not sail her around the world. It is now available for rental.
Tuesday, Joe and I went to get pedi’s. I got a manicure also. I was a little surprised that the cost was close to what we pay in Lexington. Not much going on today. I worked a bit and we stayed in for dinner. We grilled some chicken and used our Breville Oven Morry and Kathy gave us for Christmas to cook zucchini and a couple of potatoes. We love that that oven! I use it practically everyday!
Wednesday we had planned to go fishing with Larry. We got to the boat nice and early, it looked very stormy towards Key West. The boys thought we were safe. Leann and I were a little skeptical. We get out in the boat to go pick up our bait fish. About that time Leann and I saw lightening. We were ready to come back in. The men were discussing what to do. After we saw more lightening, a decision was made to go back to the dock. Well, we waited a little too long. By the time we got back to the dock it was pouring down. To say the least, we got soaked! It rained all day! We just went back to the boat got on warm/dry clothes and made cappuccino to warm us up. I had made some split pea soup and froze half of it. It was a great soup day! We had split pea soup and watermelon for lunch. We went out to dinner with Janice and Larry at Lazy Days. The fresh Mahi cooked Lazy Style with a lime butter sauce and almondine were delicious! Janice makes the lazy sauce. I have to get that recipe.
On Valentine’s Day we moved our boats to Marlin Bay Marina. https://www.marlinbay.com/marina/ Janice and Larry came to help. It took about an hour And 12 minutes to go 10 nautical miles from Marathon Marina. Leann nd I ran to Publix to get things for our stone crab dinner with Mike and Leann’s gold looper friends. Janice and Larry joined us. I made Paula Deen’s cole slaw, Janice brought her smoked fish spread and Leann brought some dips with crackers and chips. Joe had to drive back to our boat to get our stone crab cracker. There was a bag full of claws. We certainly made a huge dent in that bag. They were delicious!
Friday we went fishing with Esther’s brother in law Daniel. Esther has cleaned our house in Lexington for over 20 years. She continues to take care of our house while we are gone. We have someone living in our house so that it continues to be occupied. It was a beautiful day. Mike and Leann, Janice and Larry and Joe and I made the 40 minute trek to get on Daniel’s boat. We began trolling for fish. Larry got to reel in the first, a blue runner and Mike reeled in a tuna. That was the end of the keepers. We all caught some amberjack which were too small to keep and several caught sharks. Larry caught about a 5 foot shark not once but twice. Yes, the same shark twice. What are the chances?! We tried to fish on the bottom and get more for dinner but it was not meant to be today. It was a fun day for sure! I had made Honey Baked Ham sandwiches for all, Janice brought fish dip (yum) and Leann brought watermelon, peanut butter crackers and granola bars. We had reservations at Franks at 7 pm. We called to see if they would cook our fish for us. They did! We had a tuna appetizer and the blue runner francaise. Delicious! Nothing like fresh caught fish! Leann and I split a pasta with vodka Sauce, Joe had an Alfredo with chicken (delicious), Mike had a pasta with sausage with onions and peppers and Janice and Larry split a spaghetti and meatballs. If you are every in Marathon, I would recommend Franks’s. It’s a small place and you have to have reservations! We have now spent 26 days on our boat……..so far, so good!
Keep posting. I will be in Naples 2/28-3/10. Where will you all be relative to Naples location then?
We will probably be by Stuart, come on over!
Ahoy, Bala & Joe!
Just checking in on your adventures! Sounds like everyone is having a fabulous time!! Wish we had a yacht to join you, lol! Be safe & enjoy every minute!! 🙂
Love,
Greta
Thanks Greta! You’ll have to join us at some point! Bring Rog! He can help me cook! after the wedding of course!
Anxiously awaiting an update…. you got me all excited with the fishing and then POOF it’s all radio silence and no postings for over a week! Thanks Joe for giving me the website card, the pictures of your trip are wonderful. I hope that you are both having a great time and look forward to your next posting!
If you had to say what you’ve enjoyed the most about your adventure so far, what would it be?
Take care – Butch
Butch,
Still learning the daily stuff. Maybe stayed too long in Marathon, it was hot and rained too much.
Been doing lots of riding stuff lately. Got a new AC compressor installed today. Getting a blog posted just got pushed to the back burner. Barbara does most of the writing and I insert the photos. Moving 42 miles north in the morning. Thanks for following along.
This looks like so much fun! I’m so happy you guys are enjoying yourself. Please posting pictures and stories. There’s not been a day that goes by that multiple people ask about you guys and its nice to be able to show them the pictures of your adventure!