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!