lonnnnnnggggg day

I didn't sleep well the night before, as I was paranoid about sleeping through my alarm.  One of the pure joys of living on a sailboat in paradise, is that you seldom have to set an alarm to get up.  There is something to be said for simply waking up when your body feels like waking up, day after day  after day.  I'm so spoiled. Thankfully, traffic was not a problem, and we got to Miami Int'l with plenty of time to spare. 

Having 'handicap assistance' for Mom is definitely the way to go if she is ever travelling alone anymore.  She gets too flustered and anxious dealing with crowds of people, going through security, and trying to navigate her way through a gigantic airport.  She was as happy as a clam in the wheelchair brigade!  Knowing she was in good hands and was well taken care of also eased my own anxiety.  Except for a bit of delay on her departure time, she had an easy straight through flight to Indianapolis, and Stephanie was there to meet her, no problem :)

Biddi and I then spent the rest of the day power shopping in Homestead and having lunch at Panera's.  There were so many restaurants to choose from, that you don't see in the islands, it was hard to pick where to go.  We considered a progressive lunch, Long Island Iced Teas at Texas Longhorn, salad at Olive Garden, Chicken Tortilla Soup at Chili's, sandwiches at Panera's, and Krispy Kreme's for dessert!  We would have never made it back to the boat.  As it was, we both yawned so much, all day long, that I thought I would break my face.  We had some good laughs, and managed to accomplish everything on our list at Michael's, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Walmart, the liquor store, and the new Dollar Tree in Islamorada. 

Two of the things on my list were a frame and command strips to hang Tayte's picture of Marquesa in my galley.  I love that he included so much detail...Windy the wind generator, a lobster pot ball, Cap'n and I, the fish in the sea, the seagulls in the sky and Willis T cat, too.  It's awesome.  Thank you again, Tayte (and Lori) for thinking of us.

We got home just in time for me to go to my exercise class, but I couldn't bring myself to go.  Instead, I did some push ups, sit ups, and dips at the dock.  Donnie ate a quick supper and then we went on a triple date to go see Zero Dark Thirty... 

Maybe it was the fact that I was tired, maybe it was the fact that I have not heard a peep from Carissa in several weeks, maybe it was my feelings about our present administration, or maybe it was just the content of the movie itself, even though I knew we finally got OBL, I felt wound up and half sick the entire movie.  Ugh.  I just needed to shed a few tears, go to bed, and call it a day.  It's too hard to watch those military movies when your daughter is on a deployment in Afghanistan...and we know so many, many friends who serve in the military.  I feel so grateful, so proud of them, so humbled, and yet so concerned for all that they have to go through, day in and day out, to keep my world in a better place.  In the next breath, I feel so angry and frustrated at our present administration and their lack of regard and financial support for those who do serve.  I hate war.  I hate conflict in general.  Tonight I just went to bed feeling conflicted. 

This is just another reason why I love cruising in a sailboat....to simply unplug and unwind from the rest of the world, to go ashore and explore some new uninhabited island.  It's an opportunity to just get down to the basics of life, and I need that.  My body craves it.  My soul yearns for it.  This was a number one hit the summer before my senior year in high school.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMkIuKXwmlU  I played that song over, and over, and over....who knew it would become so prophetic in my life?  I didn't begin sailing until I was in my mid-30's.  Life is funny like that.

Tomorrow is March 1, and it begins the official countdown and final planning stage for our cruise this year to the Abacos Islands in the Bahamas.  We will be leaving sometime near the end of the month, when the wind direction and weather is right.  After tonight, this girl is beyond ready.  The new list making will begin tomorrow.

G'nite , y'all.

Going up, she said, uh-huh...

 

...just as we had started to climb, together, ooo-ooo! Looking up, I said, "Hey look, umm, maybe I could see you tonight?" and she said, "Never!"  Can you name that disco tune from 1977?!  I'll give you a hint, RSO label :)  My brother Kent would name that tune, no problem!  Anywhooooo...I started my morning 60 feet up- the mast of Marquesa, that is :)

Josh, the former owner of Marquesa, has been following our blog, and he noticed that we have mentioned several times that we have had issues with our roller furling on the jib sail wanting to get in a bind.  It has required us to go up and release the halyard to ease the tension off, so that Cap'n can then roll it in.  This is not an ideal situation if you need to get the sail rolled up in a hurry- like with big wind and waves.  On the way up, I stopped at the spreaders to cut a loose bit of wrap on the port side.

The view of Black Fin Resort, aloft Marquesa...

...and Pretty Joe Rock...did you catch that HGTV episode?  It's for sale for 1.2 million. Chump change.

Looking across the entrance to Banana Bay, at our neighbors, Tide's In, Stevedore, and others :)

Looking back into the harbor at Banana Bay, to Mimi, One Gallon Don's boat, Footlose and others :)

And to give you perspective on how high 60 ft. is, this is looking down to the deck of Marquesa.  Big Ron is up on the bow holding that tailing line, and Cap'n had me on the main halyard winch.  (pretty pedi there :)  So, the reason I went up, was at the suggestion of Josh, the former owner.  He had put a restrainer (like an eyelet) about one foot down from the top of the mast to run the jib halyard through.  This brings the line down at a better angle, so the sail doesn't get bound up when we roll it in.  When we had the mast set with a crane in Charleston three years ago, the rigger didn't run the halyard through that eyelet, and we had never noticed it until we opened the email from Josh.  Thank-you, Josh, that solved the problem!

Big Ron helped Cap'n get my feet back on terra firma (sort of :)

Cap'n then retied a bowline knot to replace my half hitch and tape, lol.

Big Ron, Chuckie baby, Cap'n and I celebrated a hard morning's work (eh-hem) with a delicious Cuban lunch at La Nina's.

Mis tres amigos!

Cheers over homemade flan and Cuban expressos- I had three shots, YUM!  I love this place :)

 

Since it's Momma's last day, we all went to the pool for her final game of chickenfoot.  I've got the bird and the last of the treats from Lori :)

"Where did you see an ostrich carrying a snake?"  "How did he do that?"  "I didn't think you watch that much TV!"  We all got so cracked up over a conversation that made absolutely no sense- it's what happens when four of the five playing couldn't "hear a dump truck driving through a nitroglycerin plant!" (Name that movie :)  It was hysterical!

It was one laugh after another, until the no-see-ums were about to carry us away.  Paps says, "That's-a-my-boy!"

Once again, Mamaw killed us all in chickenfoot.  She is a domino shark!  It was the perfect ending to Mom's stay.  AIS is tomorrow morning at 7:30am. Ms. Biddi is riding along if she can AIS on time.  G'nite, y'all!



PS.  In case, you couldn't name that tune, it was Paul Nicholas in Heaven on the Seventh Floor.  Do you feel like some disco dancing? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_k9lXmpjGDg

And... in case you couldn't name that movie, it was Uncle Lewis in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation- a McDaniel Family Classic!

okay, now it's time for G'nite, y'all.  I've got to rise and shine early, early, early for living in paradise!

hot and humid

This morning Donnie serviced and greased the winch he bought at the nautical flea market last Saturday.  He mounted it to the mast, and it replaced the broken one.  We now have a working main halyard winch- yay!  That means tomorrow, I'm the lucky girl who gets to go up to the top of the mast to do some maintenance...only about 60' from the waterline.

I got a call from our tax man, and our taxes were all done.  After owing state and paying for his service, we netted one B.O.A.T.  We might still need to do a bake sale and a couple of car washes to help cover the cost of  our new Bessie.  When we went up to the office to pick up our fax and mail, this was parked in the drive...typical transport for the Keys!  Once I had copies of our returns, I came back to the boat and got Ellie's FAFSA filed for this next school year.  She has just one semester left at Purdue next fall.  Like her sister, Emily, she will graduate a semester early- smart girls!

After I made some chef salads for lunch, we all headed to the pool for some fun.  Donnie and the boys played with a scuba tank, while Mamaw, Paps, Mom and I finished our game of chickenfoot from last night.  Mamaw killed us.  Geesh.

The boys decided to try out my new underwater camera :)

I can't wait to start using this camera scuba diving on the reef!

Well, hello, Kenny!

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have been exercising at the park.  It's a circuit of twelve stations, and you work out for just two minutes before moving to the next station.  I've worked myself up to nearly completing the circuit twice.  Dave and Diane (my sister-in-law and her husband) turned me on to the exercise class.  They are in a weight losing contest at Fisherman's Hospital where they work.  It started after the first of the year.  I really must give a shout out to Diane; she has lost an incredible amount of weight and looks fabulous!

Fran, Martina, and I have also been faithfully attending.  I can't say that I've lost any weight because I love eating too much, but I do feel more toned and in better shape.  It was so freaking hot and humid though, at about 5:30pm today- I was dying.

The best part of exercising, was playing with the new rescue puppy when I was all done :) I love puppy breath!

I picked up Mom on the way home and brought her back to the boat for dinner. I made spaghetti vegetable marinara with garlic Cuban bread. We polished off her birthday cake for dessert. Mom's time here is quickly winding down.  Tomorrow is her last full day here, and she will start packing.  I am hoping the weather holds out for her, as we have a cold front coming in Thursday through the weekend.  I thought we already had our two days of winter, but it looks as if we are in for a few more days of 60's during the day, coupled with wind and rain- oh joy.  Biddi is riding with me on Thursday morning to take Mom back to the Miami airport...pray with me that all goes well for her on the return flight home.  She's anxious about doing it alone.

Donnie is out on Paradise Pointe with Mayor Dan and the gang, but I am ready to call it a night with my book....and round up Willis to get back on Marquesa.  Dern cat.  G'nite, y'all!

Booze cruise

Danny and Biddi had a Booze Cruise to Burdine's, for some friends that were visiting from out of town.  Donnie did not imbibe, as he was the Captain's First Mate.  He also was up on the bow with Danny and Penny providing musical entertainment.  After lunch at Burdine's, Danny cruised Biddi and the Beast up and down Boot Key Harbor, through the boats on mooring balls.  I guess they put on quite a show for the cruisers in the anchorage.  You don't see musicians on a boat very often (especially with a stand up bass fiddle!)  Cruisers were snapping pictures, clapping, and dancing as they cruised by.  I would have like to have seen that- I'm sure they all had a good time!  They made a day of it, staying out until sunset.

Today was my momma's 79th birthday, so we started the day with a late breakfast at the Stuffed Pig.  We were both surprised when the waitress brought out a piece of key lime pie to celebrate.  Not a bad way to start off your birthday in the Keys- it was delicious!

It was a beautiful day- sunny, hot, and humid so we decided to take a drive to see what we could see.  We passed over the Seven Mile Bridge, Bahia Honda State Park, Big Pine Key, to Little Torch Key.  I was looking for a swimming hole the locals go to.  I've heard a lot about it, and I want to take Ellen there when she comes in two weeks.  We didn't find the swimming hole, but we found a  luxurious resort and spa off of Little Torch Key called Little Palm Island.  The place looked gorgeous, y'all.  It's like nothing I have ever seen down here in the Keys....it is not Keysie-style, but more like a Polynesian style resort....something you'd find in Tahiti!  You check into the resort there in Little Torch Key, then you board The Truman (a beautifully restored wooden Chris Craft).  A fifteen minute boat ride deposits you on Little Palm Island Resort and Spa.  There are just 30 bungalows with thatched palm roofs.  Each one has a king sized bed, living quarters, and spa like bathroom.  There's a zen garden, pool, beach, five star dining, snorkeling and diving.  Unbelieveable.  The gal at the front desk said they serve brunch on Saturdays and Sundays, but it requires reservations.  The boat leaves at 10:30am, 11:30am, and 12:30pm.  I was looking at an aerial photograph of the island at the front desk, and this place looked amazing.  I asked if you could spend the afternoon at the beach if you had brunch there.  Her reply was, "No, that is not allowed as our guests require strict privacy."  I knew in that moment, that this place was L-U-X-U-R-Y all the way...probably at least a B.O.A.T. per night.  After we got home, curiosity got the best of me, so I had to look this place up.  If you want to dream of a tropical island getaway, check this place out www.littlepalmisland.com.  Just take a few minutes and peruse through the photo galleries.  The scenes of dining on the beach, surrounded by candles and water and palm trees, look like scenes taken from a fantasy date on The Bachelor!  Wowzer.  I wasn't far off....with taxes, it's $1223/night.  Oh. My. Goodness.  After I read about the dress code, I found out that Sunday brunch is $75.00/person.  That includes the champagne, y'all!  Honestly, that does not seem too outrageous to me, given the price of the resort....SOOOOOO....Frannie and I are trying to sweet talk our men into taking us for brunch one day....if we can get the boys to leave their tank tops and flip flops at home!

Mom and I also stumbled upon Dolphin Marina.  This view over the water gives you a good look at part of the old Flagler Railroad.  If you want a fascinating history lesson, that really turned the Keys and Key West into a tourist mecca, check out this site http://flaglermuseum.us/history/florida-east-coast-railway.  I have read several books about the Flagler Railroad, and the Labor Day hurricane of 1935 that destroyed it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1935_Labor_Day_hurricane.  (for you history buffs :)

My pretty momma on her birthday :)

We celebrated her birthday that evening with pizza, german chocolate cake, chickenfoot, The Bachelor, and more of Lori's chocolate treats!  I was miserably stuffed...

...and, of course, birthday cards and prezzies!  Happy Birthday, Mom!

shark!

church. Hurricane. pool. dominoes. Seven Mile Bridge.  That pretty much sums up the Sun-day.

"The sunrise is God's greeting, the sunset- His signature."

I decided to walk to the end of the Seven Mile bridge and back.  I nearly got to the end just as the sun was setting.  A man was fishing off the bridge, down by Pigeon Key.  He was catching Trevally Jacks with almost every cast.  He works at Pigeon Key, the settlement at the end of the bridge, and he was very familiar with all the marine life.  He had a close encounter with a bull shark on his kayak just last week!  A bull shark is one bad boy shark that you want to be no where near- just ask Cap'n Donnie about the time he had to feed a bull shark on a scuba dive.  YIKES!

So, this guy was catching jacks and keeping them in the water, distressed, to draw in the sharks, and did he ever!  I saw black tip reef sharks, nurse sharks, a bull shark and some big daddy tarpon!  He put one quite the show with those sharks. It was pretty exciting stuff...I'm sorry the pictures are not really clear...I was about 40 feet up on the bridge, and the sun had set so the light was from dim to hard dark...

The center is a nurse shark, with his tail curled to his right.  He was about six feet long.  These sharks are generally docile, and ones you don't need to worry about.  I've dove with them many times.

This was a jack on the right, still hooked on the line, and a black tipped reef shark breaking the surface of the water on the left. 

What you see in the upper right corner is the remains of a jack.  A shark nailed it, biting it in half.  It had been about 20" long, before it became a shark snack.  I actually felt bad for the fish.

He put the bloody half of fish back in the water, and about five sharks started buzzing through, coming up out of the water trying to eat it.  Woah!  On the third pass, a shark exploded that fish off the hook.  Crazy!

The sky was beautiful on the return walk back.  It's 2.2 miles one way to the end.  For the last several days, it was been mid 80's in the day, and mid 70's overnight.  Hard to take, I know.  ;)

The humidity is also up, and near sundown, there was not a breath of wind.  The Gulf was like glass, with hardly a ripple.  It's hard to tell where the water ends and the sky begins.  It's been like this in the mornings, too.

On the walk back, the moon was rising, and shining brightly.  The bridge was easily illuminated for the walk back to the parking lot.  It reminded me of the walk we took with Brian Meek when he was down last year.  He would have loved watching that guy catching jacks and messing with the sharks.  I thought of you, Brian! 

What little wind we had today was out of the WSW 5-10.  With the flat seas, it has been perfect for a Gulfstream crossing to the Bahamas.  I hope we get the same type of wind and weather when we are ready to leave the end of March.  If anybody has any pull with the Man upstairs, put in a special request for Marquesa, ok? lol

Tomorrow is my Momma's 79th birthday.  I hope she is feeling better, so I can take her out for some fun and sun.  She only has a few days of her vacation left before she flies home on Thursday.  As of now, it looks like she will be flying home to more snow.  When we were home in the winter months, the days seemed to slow to a crawl.  I hated going to work in the dark, and coming home in the dark.  I am so blessed to not have to do that any more.  It does seem like the days go so much faster down here in paradise.  Momma's month here is nearly up; and two weeks from tomorrow, Elliebug will be here. Now that Marquesa is up and running well, I hope to get more sailing and some diving in during the coming weeks.  The first two months here have been a little rough with boat and $$$ issues.  I pray that is all behind us now.

That's all for now....G'nite, y'all!

PIG RACES!

I spent the morning getting caught up on blogging and baking banana bread in my wee little oven.  I love my galley, rightfully named "Café Marquesa".  I can turn out meals and baked goodies just like at home- except for a Thanksgiving turkey- I'd have to do a couple of Cornish hens instead!  I love my collapsible bowl from Pampered Chef, Wanetta- I use it all the time- for pretty much everything!  It's perfect for a sailboat. 

Willis was busy offering his two cent's worth to the blog...until 1 o'clock this afternoon.  He was worn out, I tell you.  It must have been that good night's sleep he had last night right between Mom and Dad.

Donnie left early this morning with Kenny to go to the Nautical Flea Market at Islamorada.  He came with some much needed items for Marquesa....a good used winch for the main halyard that blew apart on yesterday's sail, another set of jib sheets, this time 1/2 inch which will not slip in the winches, a much needed knife sharpener for the dive knives and kitchen knives, a good used waste water cover, some stainless hinges, a couple of flashlights, and not one fishing rod or reel!

I had a little elf make a delivery this afternoon to Marquesa.  I got a care package!  There was a treat sack for Willis T, too :)  It came from Lori Oxley Terrell- such a sweetheart who does so much for others.  Her son, Tayte, drew an extra special picture of Marquesa, complete with Cap'n Donnie, his First Mate, and Willis on board.  I think he even drew one of those dern lobster pots buoys that we are always dodging out on the waters here in the Keys.  She wrote a very sweet card, and made some incredible chocolate treats for me to share with the gang down here.  Her elf helper was Frannie, such a sneak.

Fran and I shared some amazing chocolate covered pretzels at....THE PIG RACES!!!!

Our bets were placed, we were ready for the races to begin!

 

Frannie takes her bets very seriously...

And it paid off- She and Kenny won two of the three races!

The first race was literally a blur!  Our Pork Chop Pam came in second. Dang it.

The second race was some six week old piglets.  I just wanted to hold one.  Our little guy won!

The last race featured the lightening fast pot bellied pigs...not.  But they are hysterical!

Donnie was trying to coax our pig into finishing.  Long after the race was over.  We McDaniel's are no quitters!  Our pig crapped out in Turn 1.  Literally.  Eww.

After the pig races were over, we went to West Marine to get some information about our antennae on top of the mast.  We're not certain that we are transmitting very far on our VHF.  We had a little more time to kill before dinner, so we stopped at the Seven Mile Bridge to catch the sunset.

so beautiful...

We were treated to dinner tonight by George and Vicki, who are neighbors to Kenny and Fran and Big Ron on Hatteras Island.  Thank you for a lovely meal at Castaways, it was delicious, and we thoroughly enjoyed your company :)

With that, I am all caught up on blogging, and am calling it a night.  I think I'm about to slip into a chocolate coma (thanks, again, Lori ;)  G'nite y'all!