Moving Day :(

Got up and got moving early today, as we had to take Marquesa over to the canal behind Dave & Diane's house.  I'll let the pictures do the talking...

We both had our sad faces on just before we cast off :(

The view of Banana Bay from the Gulf. The red channel markers
are just to the left.  The marina is nearly empty now.

Our last view of the Seven Mile Bridge.

The approach, passing through from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean.

GOING UNDER!!!

Plenty of room as the tide was low. 67' of clearance.

Past Burdine's (our favorite place for a burger and fries), through the
old draw bridge (that now remains permanently open), up Sister's
Creek and in to Boot Key Harbor.

And wouldn't you know, just as we passed through the bridge, there
was a momma and baby dolphin to bid us farewell.  The baby
must have been nursing, as the momma breeched and rolled
the baby end over end across her back.  It was cute to see
the little one's tail flipping in the water :) This is momma's dorsal fin.

The view of Boot Key Harbor. More than half the boats are gone from
here, too.  The fulltime cruisers are now on the move.  Look at all the empty
mooring balls.  Cruisers from all over the world spend the winter here. 
It is a very popular harbor in all the boating and sailing magazines.
The place was packed this year. Every ball was taken, and boats were
anchored on the sides of the channel and in the creeks.

A look up Whiskey Creek where we take the dinghy through the
mangroves.  There are two geocaches hidden way back there!

Past the house on the corner that takes you out to Sombrero Beach
or further up into the canals where Marquesa will be staying. 

Past the osprey nest by the radio towers.

I was in the bow pulpit looking back at Donnie and
Dave in the cockpit as we motored through the canals.

This is the home that sits on the corner, marking the canal where
Dave & Diane, Bryan and Polly, and Kenny and Fran all live.

The robin's egg blue home on the left and the first boat is Bryan
and Polly's.  The mint green home and second boat is Dave and
Diane's.  The yellow house next to them is the dock where Marquesa
will make her summer and fall home.  The canal is a good hurricane hole.
Capt. Donnie pulled in, turned her around, and docked her like a pro :)

After lunch, Donnie and Willis were enjoying a
quick catnap in the air conditioning.  My Lord,
is it ever hot today...and humid. Summer is here.

All of Donnie's jobs required him to work in the hot sun.  Here the
dinghy is getting broke down.  You should have seen the barnacles
he scraped off the bottom...in just three month's time in the saltwater.

I definitely got the better end of the deal.  At least I was working in the
air conditioning.  I defrosted the fridge and freezer, bleached every
cupboard, shelf, walls, etc.  I packed all of our clothes, remaining
food, medicines, papers, books and such, and loaded up the Jeep.
Willis was hard at work, too; supervising me.

Here's a bare naked Marquesa.  Sails are off, bimini and dodger
are off, rails are off, and the wind generator had yet to come off.
I think she looks sad, too.

Naturally we worked up until hard dark.  The
last project was taking the wind generator down.
We need to send it to the manufacturer to
get serviced before next season.

Dave and Diane helped us clear out some of our food for supper.  Donnie grilled the last of our brats. Showers never felt better...and bed is going to feel good too.  All that's left is to sweep the floor in the morning, take out the trash, store the bikes and cockpit cushions down below, and lock her up.  Bryan and Dave will be keeping an eye on her.  In the event of a hurricane, she will be moved to the center of the canal and cross tied with lots and lots of line.  I pray it is a relatively storm-free summer and fall here in the Keys. 

I do not look forward to the ride home.  We hope to make Valdosta, GA by tomorrow evening, and back home to Middletown, IN, by Monday evening.  Pray for traveling mercies...G'Nite all.

I'm sure going to miss this place

I didn't get moving until nearly 11:00am, but I was up until almost 4:00am.  It was one of THOSE nights, where the brain simply would not turn off.  Starting the day late, and realizing it is 4/29, the date of my dad's birthday, just left me feeling 'off' all day, for lack of a better word.  It always hits me strangely, even after nearly thirty years.  Oh well, there's work to be done.

Donnie tackled the chart table, sea berth, cockpit lazerette, tools and dive gear, while I hit the hanging locker, galley, hatches under the settees, the head, and medicine chest.  It was time to clean, sort, organize, throw away, and pack.  I mailed another box of winter clothes and linens to Mom, as I am afraid we won't have room for Willis and his litterbox in the Jeep!

Willis seemed a little out of sorts in all of the cleaning confusion.
He definitely knew something was up when I got out his cat carrier.
He wanted nothing to do with it.

After a late lunch on the boat, by 3:00pm we took a break for some fun
 in the sun by the pool. Today was bittersweet all the way around.

The bougainvillea is in full bloom again by the pool- so pretty.

As Marquesa was getting emptied out and carried to
the Jeep, Willis was chillin' looking for a belly rub.
I think he's feeling a little blue, too.

Donnie and I decided that tonight we needed to close out our
wonderful winter season in the Keys by taking the dinghy out
for a final ride to get some delicious seafood. 

It was a beautiful time of day for a dinghy ride on the Gulf.

The entrance to the harbor at Keys Fisheries.

The folks were lined up about twenty deep to place their order at the window.

The view from our table out on the dock, as we gorged ourselves on
hogfish sandwiches, a crabcake, fries, slaw, sweet tea and key lime pie.
We went balls to the walls for our 'last supper' :)

I'm sure gonna miss this place.  Time to go home and make money
so we can do it again next year. 

We plan to attend a Tent Sale at 8:00am tomorrow morning for a boatyard that is going out of business.  Maybe we can pick up a few things for Marquesa if we find some good deals.  Then Dave and his wife Bert are going to meet us around 9:00am to ride along as we move Marquesa to the canal, next door to Dave and Diane on the Atlantic side.  It will mean a final trip under the seven mile bridge for this year.  All good things must come to an end...so they say...whoever the heck 'they' are.  The dishes are calling...Willis' box needs cleaned for the trip home. *heavy sigh* Have I said I'm really going to miss this place?!

Scary stuff

The morning began by saying goodbye to some new friends.  You meet the most interesting people when you are out cruising.  Our latest neighbors were no exception.  We had a lovely time yesterday in the pool with them, then on the stern of their Sea Ray 55' as the sun set. It was an absolutely gorgeous boat.  For them, cruising is like taking your beautiful home with you to the next exotic location. For us, we live in a hallway that's like camping on the water :)  They were very sweet though, when I gave them the penny tour of our boat before they cast off. (Yeah, it doesn't even deserve to be called the nickel tour!)

Corine and Brian hail from Tequesta, FL, near Jupiter, by way of Syracuse,
NY.  Corine's daughter Rachel, and her husband, Nate, are from
Burlington, VT.  We absolutely loved VT when we camped there years ago.

Donnie dove in (naturally) and checked out Wicked Witch below the
waterline.  He was checking out the intakes, to see if they needed cleaned
out of any sea grass or debris.  He also got a closer look at the 'ding' in
one of Brian's props when he hit the reef a while back.  That repair will
require him having the boat hauled out, unfortunately.  Lucky for us, if
we hit bottom, we will hit keel first, which protects our prop.

Goodbye, Brian and Corine!  Same time, same place, next year :)

After our friends left, it was time to get serious about getting ready to go home...boo, hiss.  I packed another box of clothes and linens to mail to Mom tomorrow, and I vacuum packed linens that stay on the boat in smartbags.  I cleaned up around my herb garden, deciding which ones I will attempt to bring home with me.  Then I hosed off our lawnchairs and bags and set them in the sun to dry. I will also be giving the living quarters of Marquesa a thorough scrubbing in the next day or so as I cannot stand the thought of critters tearing up my beloved boat.  After Ed & Barb's tale of rats that nearly destroyed the interior of their Kellie, I had nightmares (literally) for days.  Creeps me out to even think of it. I am not taking any chances!

Donnie cleaned and oiled our clown bikes.  He then broke them down,
stored them in their canvas bags, and lashed them to the deck of Marquesa.
That was a big job!  After that, he sorted through his tools to gather up
the ones he wants to be sure to take home.  He reminded me of his guitar,
a fishing rod, the power washer he bought from Home Depot, our duffel
bags, Willis' travel carrier and litter box, more tools, some dive gear,
and God knows what all else...I don't know how we'll get it all home!

After lunch on the boat, we took a much needed break and dip in
the pool.  It was another hot one today in the sunny Florida Keys!

I spotted this fella in some bushes by the pool. (an iguana)

It was blazing hot today, and the humidity was up, too.  When we got back
to the boat late this afternoon, we found our 'pets' laying in the shade
 of a piling on the dock...so cute...and resourceful.  The water is really
warm too, or I'm sure we would have found them there.

We met up with the family at the kid's park (which is a paradise in and of
 itself if a child is under the age of 10 :) to celebrate Jackson's 2nd birthday.
Ava and Eli would absolutely love, love, love this park.

The boy was a sweaty mess...but his momma was beautiful, as always.

Jackson was so pleased with himself that he could make it rock all on his own!

Mamaw 1 and Mamaw 2 took turns with baby Reece.  I didn't even try
to horn in.  Instead, I got the dead bird to change.  That's the third one
she has given to her Aunt Karyn.  Good thing I don't mind messy pants!

That's some fancy wrapping Aunt Karyn did :)

You can buy all the toys you want, but give a little one a 99 cent pack
of balloons and some bubbles and he's more than satisfied!

Reece got a little balloon action, too.

Kids are so cute when they see their cake for the first time and realize
that everyone is singing "Happy Birthday" to them. What a grin!

Adorable!

Two cupcakes and one scoop of ice cream = T - 6 minutes and
45 seconds until the sugar overload kicks in high gear...and it did!!!

Bryan and Polly gave Jax a sweet book about a manatee, very Keys-ie.

Uncle Donnie managed to pry baby Reece from Mamaw 2 for a little lovin'

I took a walk around Dave & Diane's yard after the party was over. She
is growing the most beautiful orchids.  They are airborne plants, I guess
you would say.  The roots of the orchids attach themselves to the
bark of a tree.  They are so pretty...she has several colors of them.

There are holes all over people's 'yards' which are coral beds.  No
trouble with ground squirrels or moles down here...they have HUGE
 crabs in them!  One went skittering in front of me and down into his hole
 and scared the bejesus out of me.  All along I thought they were holes
 from snakes.  This one scared me just as bad.  Naturally, I screamed.

"Scared" was the theme of the night, as Donnie and I went geocaching.
We finally found this one after we went four wheeling in our Jeep
down a scary, deserted, dirt road.  Before we found it, Donnie was
dragging me through a scary woods with our flashlights...in the
WRONG direction.  When we came across a hobo encampment
(unattended) I screamed and headed back for the car.  I've watched too
 many episodes of Criminal Minds!  He was pleased to get a pocket knife. 

I found the second one...at a gas station at the base of the sign.  It was a
microcache that just contained a log 'book'.  You would have to be very
stealth during business hours or a 'muggler' might catch you :)

Donnie found the next one, behind a sign at the end of a dead end
road.  It was also a microcache, this time in a film canister.

Do you know how scary it is to walk a deserted beach at night?!  First of
all we had to crawl through the weeds and around a fence just to get
down to the beach.  Then when we got close, it was clearly about another
50 yards through dense 'woods' and mangroves.  I was not about to
go in there...Donnie did, in bare feet, no less.  I was sure he'd step on
a coral snake.  However, leaving me alone on the beach was just as bad!
I have also watched too many episodes of CSI Miami.
It was a good fifteen minutes before I heard, "FOUND IT!!!"

I was not about to go foraging back through the foliage to return the treasure chest.

Our last stop (at midnight) was back at a train car.  We were here with Emily
last week, but couldn't find it as I had written the coordinates down
incorrectly.  Emily, you had to have passed over it when you were
looking all underneath the train car on the parking lot side!  It
was also a microcache, a hidden key box that contained a log book.

We were dirty, sweaty, bug bitten and hungry, so we headed for home after that one.  We took showers, had a late night snack, and called it a night!  Tomorrow I need to start thinking about packing up the car.  My OCD skills will be in high gear these last two days, with planning, organizing, and packing for our return home.  I saw the weather in Indiana today....I am REALLY not wanting to return home to cold rain :(  I will quickly lose the tan that I have worked so hard to get....another boo, hiss.  G'Night, all!