Only slightly faster than the speed of smell

Saturday morning dawned bright and early for
Cap'n.  He was taking his folks rummage saling.
I love a good bargain, just not at a rummage sale-
unless I have something specific I am looking for.
Willis and I opted to sleep in.  I started in on my
fifth book in just two weeks- while it rained up on
the deck.  Hearing the rain above makes me sleepy.

Cap'n got home mid-morning, and we wanted to
go to the Big Pine Key flea market.  I do love
shopping for fresh produce there.  We decided
to take the Blue Hawg.  My first attempt at a
selfie on the back of the scoot- wait for it...

There we are!  The rain stopped, the sun came out, the
sky turned blue, and it was a perfect day for a ride.
Good thing we weren't in any hurry.  The Blue Hawg is
no speed demon, that's for sure!

Only 23 miles separates Marathon from Big Pine Key.  This includes a trip
across the Seven Mile Bridge.  We are usually sailing under it.  Nothing but
the wide open road in front of us...and a very large hill (bridge) to climb.
The one squirrel running his fool legs off in our 49cc Blue Hawg
nearly gave out. But, it allowed for more sightseeing along the way.

The water sure looked beautiful.  You know what they say, "If you see green, it's lean.
If you see white, you might.  If you see brown you're aground, but if you
see blue, SAIL ON THROUGH!"

By the time we reached the top of the bridge, we were traveling just
slightly faster than the speed of smell.  You normally see the view of
Marquesa's mast passing UNDER the bridge.  This is the view of the
channel you line up in to sail through the dead center- which is about
sixty five feet of clearance to the top of the bridge. 
The squirrel was pooped at this point!

As we FLEW down the back side of the bridge (we even passed a group of
cyclists!) I thought I saw some sheep on the beach at Veteran's Park, which
on the ocean side at the end of the Seven Mile Bridge.  Now, to explain, it
was entirely PLAUSIBLE that I might actually see sheep on the beach.
There was a Celtic Festival going on this weekend in Marathon.  They
were featuring music, food, games, and SHEEP HERDING at this event.
We pulled into the park to get a closer look at the sheep on the beach,
only to discover it was two VERY LARGE, VERY WHITE people
laying on a beach chair IN THE WATER, with their three big dogs
running and splashing around them.  It could have been sheep.
(said sheepishly)

What we did discover was this rickety broke a** boat
that somehow managed to safely cross the 90 miles through
the Gulfstream from Cuba to the shores of the good ole U.S. of A.
It amazes me that someone would place their whole life into the
hands and fate of a homemade vessel like this, all for a chance at a
better life in another country.  If they set foot on our shores, they're ours.

Three days later, we finally made it to the flea market.  Just kidding.
Believe me, the Blue Hawg beats the heck out of pedal, pedal, pedaling my
 clown bike for 23 miles- one way.  All be it our butt was numb when we
 finally got there. The squirrel needed a rest, so we shopped.

We stopped and got the squirrel a drink, for the long, slow trek home.
She only takes 3/4's of a gallon of gas, afterall.  This pic was snapped as
we putt, putt, putted past Bahia Honda State Park.  It's one of our favorite
places to take a day sailing trip. It has a nice beach, grills for cooking out,
walking trails, and the old railroad bridge you can walk up to snap
some gorgeous photos of both the ocean side and the Gulf side.

We passed Pigeon Key to our left as we were beginning to climb the
Seven Mile Bridge for the second time.  I thought the squirrel would
 revolt or just plain expire from sheer exhaustion. She didn't.

As we flew DOWN the Seven Mile Bridge a second
time, I looked overhead and saw this frigate bird!
This doesn't usually happen unless you are far out
on the ocean and down in the islands.  They are
big and ugly up close, but big and beautiful soaring
high in the sky, riding the wind currents.  If you
look closely above him, I also caught a sunbow :)

It must have been my lucky day for seeing wildlife (minus the sheep sighting
incident).  We no sooner got back to Banana Bay, and this big girl
came visiting at the boat next to us.  Dave was washing "Wife of Riley",
and the fresh water running off his boat must have brought her up
looking for a sweet drink.

So naturally, I obliged.  She was thirsty.  Very thirsty.
After a belly rub and a back scratch, she was on her way. So. much. fun.

 Donnie and I took a hard workout at the gym, then headed over to Mamaw and
Paps for the first fish fry of the season with Dave and Diane.  It was delicious,
as always!  We then settled in to watch the Seahawks WIN (yay!), and
the Colts LOSE (boo!)

In spite of the Colts losing, we still had a
good time. We always do have fun
 whenever family is involved...

 By the time we got back to the boat late Saturday night, Willis T was
pretty much in the same position as we left in the morning-
asleep in the Vberth.  He was giving us lip about something....
either because we were gone all day and he was feeling rather
neglected, or the fact that we disturbed his precious slumber by
the time we actually made it home.  I couldn't tell what, for sure.
You decide.  Meanwhile, we're joining him in the sack! G'nite, y'all!