So long TomKat

It's been a wonderful 13 plus years of adventures of sailing & memories. Enjoy your new home. Time for us to find our next vessel.

4\29\15 to 5\18\15 Marathon to Palm Coast

Updates to blog will be made shortly.
Weather postponed our trip to Cuba. We stayed in Marathon an extra week, waiting for our weather window. We are presently making our way north up the ICW. Lots of bridges! We plan to be back in Palm Coast the 18th or 19th all weather dependent. Will update with photos when we return home since we are on the move and anchoring mostly.

4/20/15 to 4/28/15: Another week in Paradise

Took the bus to Key West on Conch Republic Day.

We were charged 20 cents. They added together 1982. 1+9+8+2. To get our super fare! We thought we were only getting a ride to Big Pine Key. Then they told us it was the anniversary of  the Conch republic. We ate at Pepe's Cafe on Caroline St.

 It is one of the original restaurants in Key West, established in 1909.  The walls are covered with art and memoriblia. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch and will definitely return here.

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We then took a 90 min. sightseeing adventure tour on the Conch Train. It was too warm to be walking to all the the places we wanted to explore so this was perfect.  It was a very entertaining and informative trip.

 
Visited your favorite watering hole Dennis!! Too hot to stay too long. We did take a tour on the America moored near there.

We learned about the Conch settlers and other historical figures who became captivated by the island, such as Audubon ,Hemingway, Pres. Truman. We learned about Flagler's influence, cigar barons and Spanish explorers and treasures found off the area ship wrecks. The tour took us by most landmarks, including the beach, famous marker and lighthouse.

It is impossible to post all the great pics. I decided to post a few pics of this visit the normal tourist may miss!

We still have so many things to explore in Key West but will save them for next trip. We returned to the marina in time for another glorious sunset and swim.

Went with friends JoAnn & Gary in their boat to explore Sisters Creek, Sombrero Beach & Burdines where the fries and other food is amazing. We have spent a lot of time with this wonderful couple and will miss them when we leave.

Went to lunch with new friends. They have established a club "gang" at the pool. We went out shopping which proved to be  successful day for all! We meet at the pool everyday and have a joke of the day and lots of laughs I will miss them all when we leave. We will hopefully see each other again next year. I miss my PC friends too and it's time I get back to them!

  
We are planning our departure from Marathon. We have had to postpone some of our itinerary due to weather. This is agreeable with us since we have had such a great trip and look forward to returning here.

4/13/15 to 4/19/15: Marathon Fun

We turned in our rental car they other day after exploring and shopping. We have sampled many of the area "hot spots". Our favorites so far have been, LazyDays, Sunset Grille, Burdines and Sparkey's.

They are all different and have unique offerings. We are enjoying the "Lazy Days by the pool reading , looking for shade and enjoying visiting with new friends. We look forward to our daily pool time with Connie & Mickey, Jane & Patrick and JoAnn & Gary and many more!

A little boat work , some cooking & shopping, but mostly fun. Our friends JoAnn & Gary have an RV and power boat here. They also live in Florida and are enjoying the same month here that we are. We have had enjoyed a few dinners and went boating with them, which was a blast.

Everyone is so nice here and most do not plan to leave or are planning 1-4 month return next year. The RV area is booked ahead almost a year. Tom is also planning our return!
We have seen many unique homes, this one is our favorite. It is  steamship, lighthouse, boat shed all in one!

We are the little boat having the time of our life on the big sea!

We keep a look out for manatees but the talk this week is about the sharks swimming around close to the docks. We see dolphins almost everyday. We will stick to swimming in the pool!

4/12/15: Turtle Hospital

We visited the Turtle Hospital in Marathon, that is located in the old Hidden Harbor Motel. The pool is used for rehabilitating sick and injured  turtles.

They also have  many other small and large tanks in other areas. The hospital itself  contains up to date equipment for surgeries and recovery

. It is a very popular attraction and we needed to make reservations several days in advance. Some of the old motel rooms are used to house visiting rescue workers and Doctors. The organization is an environmentally-friendly one with many volunteers. They also do cooperative research into the causes and treatments of fibropapilloma.

  The devastating viral tumors affect sea turtles globally.
They have successfully treated and released over 1500 Sea Turtles since it's founding in 1986.

They mostly treat Green,Loggerheads & Kemp Ridley Turtles. When they release them they usually announce on social media so the public can watch and what areas they will release.

Nice view of Lighthouse Grill restaurant for the hospital grounds.

They also have a turtle ambulance that is used in rescue & release. Very informative experience and I would highly recommend a visit.

4/11/15: Chapter 2 - Key West

Following our disembarkation from the Dry Tortugas National Park Ferry, we headed by foot over towards Duval Street and Mallory Square. We walked almost all the way along the waterfront.We encountered many cool sights that needed documenting!

An Altered Art Truck!

 We stopped at the "Conch Republic Seafood Company" for a delightful dinner. We watched at least 20 different ships and boats head out for sunset.

 With full tummy's we continued on our journey to Sloppy Joe's on Duval Street and then on to Mallory Square to watch the street performers and sunset. We think this bagpiper was there last time we visited!

Tom & I  thoroughly enjoyed the street performers during the sunset celebration. They had arts, crafts, food and even a psychic!

Sunset was spectacular with the masses of people that gathered to watch the sun sink into the Gulf of Mexico.

4/11/15: Dry Tortugas National Park

I'm a little behind in my blogging so I will write in chapters.
The most exciting chapter was our trip to Dry Tortugas National Park.
We left Key West on the Yankee Freedom 111 which is the National Park High Speed Ferry, cruising at an even 30 mph out to the Island. 70 miles from Key West it took a little over 2 hours. Breakfast was served underway and they provide lunch at Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas.

Dry Tortugas is the least visited National Park in the United States. You are only able to visit there by seaplane or boat. There is no water there, hence the name.
We first explored the Fort which consists of 3 levels. It is a massive but unfinished coastal fortress.
It was built to protect one of the most strategic deep water anchorages in North America. The fort has an extensive history. There are old coaling docks north and south of the Fort which proved to be beautiful snorkeling areas for us.

 There is a moat around the Fort. It was built to protect the structure from heavy surf , keep enemies out and it kept the black powder dry. The Union used this Fort during the Civil War to house about 500 prisoners. It's most famous Dr. Samuel Mudd for his involvement in the assassination of President Lincoln. He played a pivotal role in providing medical care during a yellow fever outbreak on the island in 1867 and was later paroled for his actions.

Several cannons are still in place and a lighthouse has existed on Garden Key (Dry Tortugas) since 1826 to help boats navigate the shallow waters. We were able to see Loggerhead Lighthouse off in the distance.

 Many Cuban refugees actually set out for Fort Jefferson in their attempt to get a "dry foot" on American Soil. Below is a boat that carried 36 Cubans to Garden Key.

Bush Key is just off Garden Key and is currently closed due to nesting season of Sooty Terns and Brown Noddys We saw many magnificent  Frigate birds which have a wing span of about 7 ft.

After a very nice lunch on the ferry and respite in air conditioning, we ventured over to the beach and snorkeled over to the coaling dock areas. We went into the crystal clear water and were amazed by the living coral and myriad of colorful tropical fish.

It will take awhile to develop those pics. which we did not take a lot of. We were too busy being amazed. We highly recommend this trip to anyone visiting the Key West area. This has been on our living life list for awhile and we were very pleased with our experience. Next Chapter will be Key West which we explored after this trip.