Vaca Key, Marathon, Boot Key Harbor

Monday, February 3rd

We anchored at Lower Matecumbe Key last night. The private homes there are massive, spectacular, and all have sandy beaches. It was a pleasant night aboard Imagine. We raised anchor at sunrise. Instead of Hawks Channel we took the inside for Marathon. With little to no wind, we motored westward to the 7-mile bridge. 

We arrived there at dead high tide. The board was reading 65 feet, but since it was early in the day we dropped anchor for a couple hours to get another six inches of clearance. In the end, we cleared the bridge without even touching with the VHF antenna. 

Arriving Boot Key was straight forward. Just pass close to the green marks. Once inside the bridge to nowhere, we anchored near red "18". Boats here are a collection of bristol to derelict motor yachts, sailboats, trawlers, and even a few catamarans.

Tuesday, February 4th

We arrived at the Marathon Marina office early to check in. Facilities here are quite nice and a great value. $100 for the week gives us access to showers, laundry, a workshop, community center, bicycles, dinghy dockage, pump out, local shopping, package delivery, etc. As I write, Amazon is already on the way. We decided to stay through the weekend to watch the Superbowl.

In the afternoon, we dinghy'd to a local spot for HH. Live music and a busy crowd was a great way to finish the day.

Brenda prepared a very tasty Indian chicken curry over rice with spinach for dinner.

It was a full and busy day. We were asleep by 2030.

Wednesday, February 5th

We started the morning listening to the "Cruiser's Net", checked out two bicycles, and peddled to West Marine. I ordered line to replace our Yankee sheets. Brenda found a nice pair of shorts.

There are several restaurants and shops on Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway (US1). The Turtle Hospital is only a short walk from the marina. https://turtlehospital.org/

Back at Imagine, normal day-to-day chores were completed. In the afternoon we went to the Tiki for Cornhole and Sundowners. Back aboard Imagine we had a simple dinner before our 2100 bed time.

Thursday, February 6th

I slept well last night. I had several vivid dreams and awoke just before sunrise. Today would have been my youngest daughter's 37th birthday. I still miss her and think of her every day. It's been said that people die three times. The first is when they physically die. The second time is when buried. The final time is when no one remembers their name. My baby daughter's name was Sarah Marie Duvall. She was a beautiful child. I will forever miss and love her.

Morning boat chores and my work kept me busy for most of the day. Brenda went kayaking. After work, we peddled to West Marine to pick up the line (a.k.a. rope) for our new sheets (ropes that are tied to the sails for control). Three Amazon packages arrived also. Afterwards, we visited with several cruisers for their weekly jam session. There were about five or six on acoustic or electric guitar. Another group was grilling sis kebabs, steak, and wahoo. They invited us over for food and conversation. One couple gave their account of visiting Luperon and the Dominican Republic. It really sounds like my kind of destination and adventure. Time will tell where we end up.

Tonight's sunset from Boot Key

Friday, February 7th

Another glorious night sleeping aboard with a beautiful sunrise. A nice breeze through the forward hatch was enough to pull the blanket over me. Nodding off for another few minutes, and I awoke to the distinct odor of ganga wafting from one of the boats upwind of Imagine.

Coffee in the cockpit, catching up with the rest of the world, whipping our new sheets, and a bit online time filled my morning. Next chore... Grocery shopping.

Living on a boat adds unexpected delays when going ashore. Gathering what is needed, loading the tender, motoring to/from the dinghy docks, Ubering back and forth, not to mention navigating the busy isles adds up. Today it was about 2.5 hours, but we are again well re-provisioned.

We attended Friday night cruising community's happy hour at the tiki. Last night's theme was tacos and tutus. Most everyone brought a dish to share. I cooked pork tenderloin in our new pressure cooker.

And Brenda baked some awesome Margarita cupcakes. They were gone before I could get one.

Tequila was the prevalent beverage of the evening. Brenda and I both became acquainted with several people. It was a fun evening, and we were back aboard Imagine by last light.

This post is getting a bit too long to manage on my phone... enjoy. I'll follow up with more before we depart here on Tuesday.