Perfect in Paradise :)

Kenny, Cap'n, Stephanie, and I left the dock at 8:30am
for the reef.  Armed with Cuban coffee and guava
pasteles, we were ready to start the day!



Pulling up to the reef is always gorgeous- the water is beautiful.

 

The water was crystal clear; I was looking over the boat at sergeant majors
and yellowtail snappers.  Cool.

We hooked a mooring ball, and the boat next to us was
our neighbors from Banana Bay, Jenna Star. Also cool.

I stayed on Marquesa to make sure everyone got situated in the water with
what they all needed.  I then fed the hose and kept an eye on how many
pounds of air we had left to use on the tank.  Donnie hovered on snorkel...



While Stephanie dove the reef!

Look at her go! This girl needs to get certified...
And buy a 40lb weight belt to keep her "flotation devices" under water, lol.

'cuda

Then it was Adolph's turn to scuba :)

He was looking for lobsters.

All of the yellowtail around him made him a wee bit nervous.

 

Actually, the reef was pretty cool, if it weren't for the fish. 
Chickens don't like fish much at all.

Before long, Adolph was signaling with his eyes that it was time to go up.

Being underwater for so long scared the pee out of him.

Next we sailed over by Vaca cut where Donnie could do some spear fishing.
He popped a spade fish.

Donnie had to free dive and work and work and work to get the anchor
free.  Kenny was pulling on the chain, and I was at the helm.  It was
a little dicey there for a few minutes.  The anchor was up under a ledge,
and the wind and waves were beginning to build.  This was another island
home we passed near Sombrero Beach.  It has solar panels and a wind
generator, unlike Pretty Joe Rock near us.  I'll bet it costs a pretty
penny to stay there.

We motor sailed up through Sister's Creek to Burdine's for
dinner.  I had a burger, but the rest of the group had a
Three Cheese Keys Ribeye Steak sandwich.  It's
Donnie and Kenny's new favorite sammich.

Adolph fell into a sugar coma over the deep fried key lime pie- yummy.

Stephanie loves Burdine's, it's one of her favorite places :)

Marquesa was sitting pretty at the dock.

The sun was just setting as we left Sister's Creek and
headed for the Seven Mile Bridge.

The beautiful evening sky was a perfect ending to a perfect day.

The wind laid down after the sunset, so we had to motor sail the Gulf back to Banana Bay.  Stephanie sat with the spotlight on the bow to keep Cap'n from hitting any lobster pots.  That worked out great.

Once Marquesa was docked, we all dashed to the pool for a dip, and then a hot tub.  This whole day- sailing, scuba diving, fishing, good food, good friends, and key lime pie- is what living in the Keys is all about.  I'm one happy girl :)  G'nite, y'all!