Sunday lazy day on the boat, nothing exciting to write about Sunday. But Monday we set off to Cocoa Plum in Marathon to anchor out. Well the water started out bouncy bouncy roller roller 3-5 feet but it calmed down as we got toward the inlet and onto the anchorage. On the way over i sat on the edge of the sailboat as it bobbed up and down in the waves. The sun was out and warm and the wind blowing through my hair was so wonderful. Caretta was sailing along beside us and it was a great day! Then as we entered the inlet to our anchorage we saw a big catamaran coming out that we hailed and they told us it was a great anchorage. As we pulled in there was a nice big house on the corner with a nice dock with a very nice boat. We navigated on into the small canal to the anchorage viewing all the neat houses and a boat marina on one side of a canal with little tiki huts in front of each one. We had to stay in a narrow canal due to t he shallow shallow water on each side of it. We came into a neat little hole that both of our boats fit in and anchored out. The anchor got a great bite and we settled in for the night. The next day we dinghied in to go get breakfast at the fish house, finding a place to tie up our dinghies is a job. One guy on the dock said NO NO dinghies here and he didnt even own the property. We went into the small store there and they gave us permission to tie up at the dock there but did it begrudgingly. No one wants boaters anchoring out anymore. The Yankees have integrated into the keys and made it SUCK! The mentality is only clean houses with big boats and NO transients passing through. People abandoning sailboats and boats on the anchor on mooring balls and in marinas have ruined it for the rest of us. Plust the Froo Froo PooPOO mentality of the very rich elite few buying and developing land on every inch of florida soil and ruining it. SO we tied up and walked to the restaurant The Fish House and it was a great breakfast. We walked back to the docks and went into the little coco plum store to see what they had to eat. They have some great Cuban sandwiches and other great sandwiches also. We met a girl and her husband there who own a big motor trawler and live in that one row marina we saw on the way in. It is really cool each boat owns that slip and each one builds a tiki hut at the end for storage or something akin to a patio. We found one for sale but we decided against it because we don’t want to have to stay in one spot and maintain it. They invited us onboard alter that evening and we (our boat gang) dinghied over there tied up and enjoyed a nice evening on their trawler trading boat stories. Then back to the boat checking out the other IP anchored out with a nice young couple that stated they were just hanging out for a few days them on to wherever… the joy of being on a boat!

The next day we took the dinghies the long way over to the Fish House restaurant. We had to go under a really low bridge and have to get under it at the right tide. Well the ride took us out under the highway and into the rough waves and right into the dock at the Fish House. We pulled into the dock area and tied up asking a fisherman if we could dock there. He said it would be fine but the pelican on the dock did not want to move off of his spot on the dock so we walked around him.and went in the back door to the restaurant. THe fish house was cool because it had a helicopter landing pad out front and windows that could be opened to the outside all the way down the wall.And another entrance for the helicopter guests.

Back to the boats and and another great day to add to the list!

Sunshine streaming through my hatch today waking us up to a wonderful day to leave Tarpon Belly and headed to Alligator Lighthouse to snorkel and hang out in the sunshine. So we headed back down the trail to the bridge marina gas station to get some gas with Barry and Andrea. The lady at the store was wonderful helping us to tie up and introduced us to her Healer that retrieves a small boat fender as his toy. Beautiful little guy with a tremendous personality. After our visit to the store we headed out to alligator key to snorkel. The rollers were rolling us back and forth on the way and didn’t get any better after we got there but we had a ball snorkeling! We just left the boat to roll while we jumped in and swam to the lighthouse to see the creatures. Putting my head under the water i saw so many different types of fish. Having to pay attention to the coral and metal legs of the lighthouse i manipulated the maze to see the big barracudas, angel fish, parrot fish, and all kinds of other brightly colored silver shining fish swimming around me. I looked down and saw two nurse sharks which made me a little nervous because they are not violent but one saw me and started toward me. I swam away and she followed for a few feet then turned and swam away. She was just curious and i realized i had my silver earrings in shining brightly in the suns water rays. Took them off and put them away so the barracuda wouldn’t be interested in my shiny ears lol. Spent several hours in the water and got back on the rolly polly boat and headed to Layton Florida. We anchored out by the bridge near the city and a small canal we can navigate with the dinghys.The next day we took off into them went through many boat canals and homes until we found a place to tie up and walk into town. Found a cool place to eat sit and enjoy the beautiful scenery. After eating we walked around town and into the small neighborhoods looking at the neat houses on and near the water. We walked back to the dinghy’s through an empty lot and untied them from the branches and the questionable rope and motored around to see the houses we missed on the small canals. Got to a really shallow part and enjoyed seeing all the starfish on the bottom as well as the fish swimming around us. You could see the bottom with all the jellyfish and coral as well as the plant growth spreading out between them. Getting back to the boat we relaxed and enjoyed another beautiful sunset in the keys. MUCH LOVE and fair winds to all our readers no matter how small a group lol.

Woke up to a beautiful day in Tarpon Belly Key and enjoyed a calm lazy day watching the pretty clear water when the wind does not blow. Andrea and Barry are next door to us and we can wave back and forth during the day. Later on after cleaning up we decided to go into Key Largo and eat at the Fish House we had heard it was very good! Walking in to the restaurant it felt like walking into an old comfortable house with several rooms. We sat in a room with a cool scene on the walls and in a booth against the wall. There was one more booth in the room on the other side. Three couples came in and sat on the other side and were very nice. Boaters from upstate near the great lakes. We ordered and the food was great, so i recommend the Fish House if you go to Key Largo. We always get to play “chicken when crossing the street here”, Andrea Barry Steve and I get on our marks! Get Ready and GOOOO! hahahaha we made it again and didn’t die! lol Enjoyed our walk through the town with iguanas just hanging out in the sunshine chillin! We are so glad that the hotel allows us to tie our dinghy up next to the wall at the back of the hotel. Hoping to leave soon. Our tests came back for the bahamas and our weather window is gone to cross the stream so we will just hang in the keys this year and hope the restrictions are gone by next year.

Fair winds my friends and stay strong in these insane times.

Awaiting our test results so that we can hit the Bahamas this year. The weather is pretty today and lo and behold one of my drying towels ( hand towel) flew off the boat and i did not see it. I walked out onto the deck of the boat to retrieve my towels and only had one there the other had escaped obviously! So i looked around at the bottom of the basin and saw this bright yellow spot in the water and i thought i bet i can retrieve that. Steve said hey take the dinghy and get it. SOOOO i took one of the poles off the side of the boat top out of the faithful brackets that have held up through the rough weather and got into the dinghy put the key into the boat and clumsily attached the key safety to the console. Unhooked it from the boat and puttered out to the yellow square on the bottom of the basin and attempted to hook it several times and finally at 7 foot i hooked it whew hoo! Saved that microfiber towel from a certain watery grave and put it back where it belonged. Andrea has a great hammock chair that she hangs off the spinnaker pole enjoying the sunshine and quiet. I have two but have not put them out yet i will when it gets pretty and calm. So we are off to the restaurant to get some seafood. The restaurant was not very good a lot of locals staring at us as we ate. Wont eat there again. so back to the wall and the dinghy, and man is it getting hard to bend those knees and jump in the dinghy! But every time i load up it is a little mini adventure lol. Good night all and fair winds.

Beautiful day started out with a beautiful sunrise but we are expecting a storm today so we will stay on the boat and enjoy the beauty around us. Watching the water around us go from beautiful clear see to the bottom to dark and unable to see through is a wonder of nature. When the waves started to get short and choppy and the wind started to pick up we made sure the boat was storm ready even when you are on anchor. So i made sure nothing would fall off the counters and watched as the storm moved in. The sky started to get dusky and the wind started to pick up really fast. Sitting on the boat as it heeled over sitting still is a really weird feeling. The winds were supposed to be 50 knots but thankfully it didn’t last long and we were so glad. So we stayed on the boat and enjoyed the peace and quiet of the mangrove and enjoyed our sunset in Key Largo. Fair winds my friends. Until next time.

KEY LARGO 25.0865’N 80.4473’W

CHATTANOOGA – KEY LARGO

The adventure continues,

Spent time today on the boat cleaning up and organizing to be more efficient, plus its fun to do on a boat in the water in paradise! Left after cleaning to shore to pick up the sunglasses Steve had left at the Divers Direct. More walking for exercise down the strip to the divers direct then to Publix to restock the food for the boat. Found a place to eat like a locals bar restaurant with so so food. Got to check them all out though. Make sure we are not missing any good food! Conch Fritters are so good we are still getting them everywhere that serves them and grading them accordingly…so far the one i have liked the best were at the conch house here in Key Largo. The traffic is so congested like an interstate and just as dangerous, we were like track stars waiting on point to take off between cars. We did make it back to the dinghy to head to the boat where we slept soundly to the rocking of the bay.

Arrived in Key Largo today out on the blue water coastline into the channels at Key Largo. Well the channel is very shallow into the bridge so we had to use the Big Moose to do a little redneck recon and pull our buddies boat off of a shallow sandy area near the channel.Channels are not marked too well out her in the keys sometimes! Got to be on your toes out here. So after we made it under the bridge we had to maintain a NO WAKE speed all the way to the bay due to all the houses and shallow waters on the trail. There are so many beautiful and cool houses in the narrow waterways. You will see what i mean just check the pics. The course is so narrow if you veer off you will be grounded. I actually heard someone on the radio who saw us say “if they get stuck we will just charge them to pull them off”. So we showed em we never ran aground! Silly motorboaters. The bay was so nice we passed the crawling mangroves reaching out into the water and into the bay where we dropped anchor into clear 7-12 foot of water where you can see the bottom clearly. I love the clear water, getting closer to the beautiful turquoise waters of the bahamas. Checked out the area and went to eat at the Conch House and walked to the Divers Direct store to find a tank. BUT ended up buying a cool underwater case for our iphones to take pics with! Steve realized at the counter that he has left credit card at the conch house restaurant, so we called and they had it and would hold it. We had walked a good 2 miles in all and i said taxi time. HAHAHA so we rode back to the Hampton Inn where we were allowed to tie up our dinghy at the wall there. DONT even get me started on NO DINGHY DOCKS allowed per mayor orders. I cant believe as much money as sailors and cruisers spend that we are not allowed to tie up at city docks!!! Unlike when we did it 10 years ago when people were still friendly and unafraid(and not damn rude yankees). South florida is becoming a sucky place for boaters and tourists. NUFF SAID. Its is still warm and beautiful and love the snorkeling and diving here. Enjoy the pics.

We pulled anchor around 7 and headed off to Long Key anchorage near Fiesta Key, actually right next door to Fiesta Key. The weather was a little bumpy but nothing really uncomfortable. The morning sky was beautiful with storm clouds in the distance. We ran from the storm but it moved around and in front of us but we never got in any rain. It was a good sailing day and we anchored out next to the highway on Long Key and dropped anchor and lowered our dinghys into some fiesty water to go eat at a cool little tiki hut restaurant that belonged to an RV Park it was good food. We hopped in our little dinghys after eating and rode the wild waves back to the boat put the dinghy back on its davits fighting the rocking of the boat as we worked frantically to lock the chains in place. Finally got it hooked up very well and secure and went to bed with the rock and roll of the Big Moose. Fair winds fellow sailors and followers

Happy Birthday today to my sister Paula Allen!!! Today we pulled the anchor and set off to shark island anchorage for the night and will head to Long Key in the keys tomorrow. The sail was good with both sails out and the wind helping us along at 10-15 knots. It was a nice and uneventful trip coming into the anchorage. NO swimming here as it is a gator area with many many little red eyes that light up at night when you shine your light on them. I sat and watched a pelican diving into the water repeatedly trying to catch a fish. He must have been after a tricky fish. The serenity was so nice with the calm water and the many different colors of the sunset going down behind the boat. Barry and Andrea anchored out close to us, it is a lot of fun having them with us on this trip. Not too much happening here so I will sign off and watch the rest of the sunset.

Good morning peoples! Hope everyone is having a great day today. Today we will explore the cayo costa state park and head to the beach for shell hunting and sunset! I am posting pictures for todays post.