We had an amazing travel day yesterday for our first trip back on the Loop. We left Marlin Bay at 8:45am. We decided to split the trip up and took the intracoastal on the Florida Bay or gulf side (ICW) to Channel 5 bridge and then crossed over to Hawks Channel on the Atlantic side of the Keys. We took our time for a while on the ICW since it was pretty shallow and then decided to get up on plane for a few miles before crossing over. The marina we booked for the night was pretty shallow and all of our navigation aids as well as the dock master recommended, we come in and out on rising or high tide since the entrance into the canal that was .40 miles to the marina measures 4’ 6” at low tide. So we looked at the tide tables for Key Largo and saw that the tide wouldn’t start going up until midafternoon. With that in mind, we took our time on Hawks Channel and arrived around 3:30pm. Tom did a great job navigating the channel and marina. We tied up, checked in and Tom commenced to washing the boat and I decided to do a load of laundry. We ended up eating at the Pilot House right in the marina. We called it an early night since we were heading out in the morning to Miami Beach. It was great being back on the water again and big water at that 😉.
More later from Sunset Harbour Yacht Club, Miami Beach~
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![]() This last week at Marlin Bay in Marathon was lovely. It's a new, beautiful little resort/marina and we enjoyed our time there. It is definitely the nicest marina we've stayed in so far. It has some great amenties; pool, workout room, club room, etc. and a great staff. The down side was our air conditioning system was STILL not working. Tom has been working on it for the last month. We had techs working on it for three days this last week. Tom knew we had a blockage somewhere in the pump. He was right and they finally found it day 3. We are now chill'in in the salon and it couldn't have come at a better time as we head up the Keys. Marlin Bay is right beside the Key Fisheries so the complex is surrounded by towers of what else....crab pots! There are lots and lots of midwesterners in the Keys and many are from Minnesota. Our next door slip neighbors, Dave and LIsa were from Michigan and also doing the Loop. They were great. They have already done the East coast and they shared valuable travel info with us. We also met a lovely couple, Mike and Beth and her daughters staying at the resort from Medina/Minneapolis. We enjoyed our time visiting with them and eventually figured out they live in the same neighborhood as my nephew Paul and his wife Dani. How crazy is that? It gets better. I was working out in the sunset tower at Marlin Bay and a couple of families staying at the resort wandered to the marina and climbed the tower. The moms (sisters) in the group and I started to chat and they commented on the boat in the marina from Wabasha. They said they were from Minnesota and never expected to see a boat from Wabasha in Marathon. I told them it was our boat. They said they'd both grown up in Byron. I then realized that I'd worked with one of the sisters, Brenda, way back when at Donaldsons. Never expected that one! It was great to see her again, over 30 years later and meet her sister, Gretchen and family. After almost two months, we fondly said good bye to Marathon this morning. It was a winter in the Keys we'll never forget! More later~
Remember the song that Bon Jovi and Jennifer Nettles sang? “Who says you can’t go home………” While we were planning the Loop, I really thought we probably wouldn’t go home other than for Christmas. I guess I didn’t think we would really want/need to but, boy was I wrong. After being on the Loop you realize that it’s good to get off the boat. I know now that a lot of Loopers take breaks especially when they are trying to do the Loop in a year. Some head back to their dirt house every six weeks. Some take years to do the Loop. One couple we met did it in eight years. Everyone is on their own schedule and for us it worked perfectly to head home for a couple of weeks. It was great being home. We had the opportunity to re-group and get a few things done and experience a tiny slice of the epic winter Minnesota was having. So the big snow turned into the big thaw! We had five days of winter and then warm temps turned everything to slush. My snowshoeing was cut way short and the frozen river that we were snowmobiling on turn into a torrent! Parking lots turned into lakes and the culvert at Jimmy’s backed up and we had loading docks full of water! It was perfect timing for us to be back so we could help Sam with all the water issues! In the midst of all this, back in Marathon, BELLA got moved to a new marina a mile up the island. We need to send out a special thanks to Keith Mackey for moving BELLA to Marlin Bay. After we decided to head back to MN, we found out from the dock master at Faro Blanco that we wouldn’t be able to keep the boat there until we got back. Keith graciously agreed to move her to Marlin Bay for us and for that we are so appreciative. Thanks also to family and friends that reached out to get together with us while we were home. It was wonderful getting together with all of you. We had dinner with the Moes, Tom attended the annual Lutteke/Amos Fish Fry, I got to go to Disney on Ice with my sister, Jane and her granddaughters and daughter in law, coffee with one of my bestie’s, Joan, a puppy visit with Kenai, lunch with the Brandrups, lunch with the Schneiders and lunch with baby Jack Vesel and his parents and Nicky J, girls night-in with Marny, Fun Day Monday with Ryder and Amber, Spaghetti dinner with the Weinholds and Barbers, beers at the Bowling Alley with Westers and Unverzagts, a visit to Air Insanity (I didn’t hurt myself, thankfully), almost got to watch the boys play hockey at the Return of the Robin tournament (Sam didn’t think he needed his parents there ☹, time with Wanda and Megan, birthday dinner with the boys, TAXES and time with both Sam and Griff. Below are a few photos (when I remembered to bring my phone) of our time at home. ![]() It was a busy couple of weeks, but now we are ready to get back to the boat and start our way up the East coast. We arrived back in Marathon, Marlin Bay on Monday, March 25. Our hope is to get on the water sometime this week after we have the air conditioner repaired and the bottom of the boat scraped. We’ll provision up and wait for the weather, waves and wind to cooperate. More later~ ![]() Call us crazy but both of us are so happy to be home in the snow and cold! We've gotten more snow this winter than we have in a very long time and it was killing us not to be a part of it! We got home Wednesday evening to massive amounts of snow. We had our first fire since Christmas and my favorite pizza! Thursday was a double cartwheel day (yup, I still do one everyday)! I was able to get out snowshoeing, we went for a snowmobile ride and then got together with friends and caught up on the local Hooterville happenings! I decided that while I'm home, I'm going to try to get out snowshoeing everyday. The trail across the river is broken (thanks Brad Amos!) and temperatures have been in the 20's the last few days, so I have I've been enjoying the great outdoors! Tom thought it would be fun to try and get one of the snowmobiles to the top of the snow pile in front of our house......he only got it so far before it got buried and he had to dig it out ;). He and Sam have been riding like crazy! They went out Friday with Dave Weinhold and Alex Kurth to Fountain. The conditions were perfect and they had a terrific time together! ![]() Saturday they headed out with another group on their sleds to Minneiska. The morning ride was great, but by the afternoon it started to rain and they were soaked by the time they got home. After two full days of snowmobiling, he's a little sore! So today we're enjoying the day inside by the fire!
We are going to enjoy the snow, our family and friends while on this break from the Loop. Being home just reinforces what every Minnesotan knows.....we live in a beautiful part of the world. More from MinneSNOWta later~ The Baggers took off Saturday morning and Saturday afternoon a couple of my crazy sisters, Kris Ann and Jane showed up! I was so happy to see them! The only thing missing was Marny. She had used up her PTO in January on a trip to Aruba and wasn't able to join us. Missed her, but I hope at some point while we are Looping she'll be able to join us. I'm not exactly sure how we do it, but there is NEVER a lull in the conversation. I've always loved spending time with my sisters and it was so much fun showing then around Marathon and catching up. They met all our neighbors on the dock and got a feel for what it's like to live on a boat. Saturday night they stayed on the boat and right on que Saturday morning the front air conditioning unit that we'd been working on during the week decided that it wasn't going to work after all! We were a bit worried that they would roast in the front state room, but hoped that the fan we set up in the main salon would push enough cool air to the front to keep them comfortable. Sunday morning they had no complaints, so all was well and we moved them to the hotel for the rest of their stay. We started with coffee in the back of the boat and planned out our day. We decided to have a dinghy day, Sunday and I took them up to Marlin Bay, Keys Fisheries, Boot Key, Sister Creek and then to Sombrero Beach. Just like all our Minnesota visitors, they were pretty happy to be out in the sunshine and away from the snow and cold. After a leisurely (mostly no wake) ride through the Boot Key Mooring field, we beached the dinghy and strolled Sombrero Beach. It was Sunday, so the beach for busy. We considered taking a dip, but Kris is not a fan of sharks and after seeing them swimming around in the marina, she wasn't too hip to take a dip! We have several charter fishing boats in the marina and when they come in after a charter and clean their catch, the sharks are hanging around to nab the scraps. We've been seeing five or six sharks all vying for a snack. The largest is about five feet long. Sunday afternoon after we tied the dinghy up, a manatee floated passed the back of BELLA. It was so fun to see one up close and I was happy that Jane and Kris were able to see a manatee. Unfortunately, they never saw any dolphins up close. I was hoping that either in the dinghy or the big boat they would get to see some. No such luck ;( Monday the weather held out for us so we were able to take the boat out and cruised up to Moser Channel. When we hit the channel the chop was pretty aggressive so we headed back in. It was a good thing we did, shortly after tying up, up we saw a water spout form in the gulf. After the water spout dissipatted we were treated to a rainbow. Our sign that Jill was there in spirit with us. In between dinghy and boat rides, we hit the pickleball court and taught Jane and Kris how to play, spent a little time at the pool, walked and talked. Both Kris and Jane (and Marny) are Grandma's now. I love hearing all about their 'littles'! And of course there was no shortage of food. They tried conch fritters, lobster ruebens, hog fish, grouper and key lime pie! ![]() After a day of roaming around Key West we headed to Burdines for dinner. I couldn't let them leave without having a basket of fries! It was a wonderful few days with my sisters! Thank you so much for taking the time to come down and see us. Love you both!
After numerous phone calls from Sam and all the talk of the fabulous snow back in Minnesota we decided to change up our plan to come home in April and packed up and flew back on Wednesday with my sisters. Griff plans on coming home next week for spring break, so we'll all be together for a few days. We plan to enjoy the snow, the boys, do our taxes and see friends and family for a couple of weeks before we head back to Marathon and start up the East coast of Florida. More later....from Minnesota! Last summer at a gathering, a group of our friends, known as the Baggers, decided to schedule a get away to Marathon during our stay. They arrived Saturday and called a lovely VRBO on the canal near Sombrero Beach home for the week. The Baggers, aka, Kevin & Pam Wester, Corey & Shelly Unverzagt, Kris & Carol Speltz and friends of the Speltz', Ron & Judy Theis, were gracious and included us in their weeks activities. We took them to a few of our favorite haunts in Marathon, made the trek to Key West and Duval Street, were treated to some great meals at the vrbo, had some laughs and soaked up the sun around their pool. The rental was great! In addition to the pool, it had bean bags, a hammock, tiki hut and bikes that were used every day....Carol was trying to ride 100 miles in a week and I think Judy was trying to walk 100 miles that week :). Need less to say these Minnesotans enjoyed the warm weather and spent most of the time outdoors. ![]() KEY WEST We headed to Key West with the Baggers for a day and checked out the shops and sites on Duval. One of the local establishments advertised the weather forecast incase any of us were unaware..... We made our way to the Southern Most Point in the USA and had a photo op and then headed down to Sunset Pier passed Mallory Square. They got to see Sloppy Joe's and we gals did a little shopping. This group of guys is known for liking to have a project to work on while they are suppose to be relaxing. For example, they'll build a deck during a weekend of camping. So when they found out that our dinghy wasn't steering quite right, they set out to fix it.....and they did. Tom and I brought the dinghy over to the vrbo so they could all take it out exploring and by the time we got it back it the steering was fixed. Thanks to their ability and ingenuity the dinghy now turns a whole lot better! Thanks Baggers for the visit! Great people, great time! More later~
It has been so much fun seeing friends from home and sharing this incredible weather and our time in Marathon. We love hearing about all the snow we're getting at home from our visitors and from Sam, who calls us giddy describing the accumulation. He's loving all the snowmobiling he's doing and says that his new cologne is "Ode to Gasoline" since he's on his sled all the time! Amos' arrived Sunday evening and we shared a cocktail on the boat and welcomed them to Faro Blanco, Marathon and then headed to Keys Fisheries so they could try some Stone Crab and other seafood. On our way back to the boat, we hooked up with the Gail, Keith, Dave and Janet for a little improptu jam session. Amos' got a tour of Southern Style and Brad got to see the engine room. Fun to have both friends from home and friends on the dock to spend time with! Monday we headed to Key West. Tom and I hadn't been to Key West yet this trip, so we were looking forward to seeing the sights. The last time we were in Key West was for our 20th wedding anniversary. Never would have believed then that we would be on a boat in the Keys enjoying our 31st wedding anniversary! ![]() We wandered Duval Street and checked out shops, bars and all the people! The people watching is always great on Duval Street. Brad, the shy fella that he is, had a great time meeting people at every stop. We decided he and Leann need to move to the Keys in the winter so he can be a fishing guide and make millions in tips since he loves to fish and talk to people! Here are a few shots from our time in Key West....... Tuesday we went to Sombero Beach, toured the Turtle Hospital and had lunch at Burdines with the Amos'. Of course Brad chatted up a fisherman at the beach! The Turtle Hospital was so cool! We learned a lot about the turtle population in the Keys and got tour the facility and see all kinds of turtles!!! Of course we had to take them to Burdines for more seafood and FRENCH FRIES!!! While we were at Burdines a friendly manatee appeared and entertained the diners Toasting the sunset on the bow of BELLA with Brad, Leann and Brian. The cannon at Barnacle Barneys didn't fire that night, but there were a few conchs blown in the marina marking sunset. Brad and Leann with the Faro Blanco Lighthouse in the background and the New moon shining right beside it. It was wonderful spending time with friends. Thanks Brad, Leanna and Brian for making the trip to Marathon!
More later~ You know how you think some weeks are going to be and then they turn out being completely different? That's how Week 3 in Marathon went for us....in a good way;) We thought it was going to be a pretty low key week and that we'd probably get alot of planning done for the next segment of the Loop. Well we got a little planning done, but there was fun to be had and we were happy to partake! Here's how it went..... Monday, like usual we got our "chores" done on the boat and then had a delightful date with the Jeromes. They picked us up, we got a tour of their marina (Marlin Bay), just up the Key from us and then cocktails and dinner at Sunset Grill. The sunset, food and company that evening was great. Always enjoy spending time with Billie and Jerry. Tuesday morning (this is the Chill'in part) I was heading up to do a little laundry and just as I got up in to the cockpit I spied a familiar face standing on the dock next to the boat. It was our neighbor from the Parkside 100 Bomb, Dan Swanberg. He and his wife, Julie are on a Cruisers Yacht in Wabasha called "Chill'in the Most". What a fun surprise! Dan came aboard and we visited and found out they were on vaca in FL for a couple weeks and were spending a few days in the Keys, so they thought they'd look us up. We ended up meeting Swanbergs at Keys Fisheries later in the day for cocktails and dinner (there is a definite theme going here....we do a lot of cocktails and dinner on the Loop). It was great catching up and interesting how many people we have in common. Dan and Julie at Keys Fisheries, above. Tom and I with Swanbergs, below. Wednesday we awoke to a RAINY, WINDY day. Luckily, we were rescued from the rainy day by the Swanbergs and headed to Tarpon Creek Bar & Grill. It continued to rain so we decided to make an afternoon of it and did the Sunset, Barnacle Barney's, tried to do the Light House Grill and then ended up on BELLA for a personal. Perfect rainy day in the Keys! Thursday was Valentine's. We took the dinghy out. We headed to Hawks Channel and then to the beach, Sister Creek and Boot Key. It was a beautiful day and we saw a pod of dolphins. There were atleast a dozen of them and they played all around us. So cool to watch! We came back to the boat and watched a parasailer right outside the marina entrance. Watched the beautiful sunset from the bow and then made dinner in. Since it was Valentine's we made our fav, Boursin Chicken, a recipe I got years ago from the Broadstreet. It took a little creativity to figure out the timing since I did it all in the electric skillet ( love that thing!), but we both thought it turned out great! Friday it was windy again, so we pooled it in the afternoon. Friday night we were invited over to our friends, Keith and Gail's boat for a jam session (this is the Jamm'in part :0). They had friends, Dave and Janet down from New Bern, NC for the weekend. Dave is a fantastic guitartist and he accompanied Gail and I the whole evening. I had so much fun getting my ukulele out and jamm'in with these folks. Reminded my of home and jamm'in at Barber's Main Street house! Can't wait to do that again when we get home! Thanks Keith, Gail, Dave and Janet for an awesome night of music! Saturday, after a good game of Pickle ball (no fighting this time ;) we headed to the Coral Head Music Festival in Marathon. We strapped our lawnchairs to our backs and pedaled our bikes to the concert about a mile down the way. They had a few bands but we were mostly interested in John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band (Jackyl was the headliner). They didn't disappoint. The people watching was brilliant!!! We had a fun day in the sun enjoying a little music. Sunday, today, we woke to 77 degrees at 7 am. Yup, 77 degrees that early. Another beautiful day. Some folks in the marina hosted a Champagne Brunch at 10 am and it was amazing! So much good food and folks.
We are now awaiting the Amos'. Looking forward to spending a few days with Brad and Leann in the Keys. Thanks for reading our week in review! More later~ It's sunny, but windy this morning so while Tom is doing the breakfast dishes, I'm gonna blog. We've filled the last few days with both boat maintenance and checking out Marathon. Our bikes and legs have gotten a work out! We found a pickle ball court and played on Wednesday. We haven't played since Green Turtle Bay in Kentucky. It got a little heated (it was 80 degrees and we were really sweating), we got a little competitive (we started swearing at each other) and we weren't playing by the same scoring system (the tennis players next to us on the courts started staring). Thankfully Griff called mid match to visit. We cooled down and no paddles were thrown ;) Thursday was grocery day. We walked the few miles to Publix and cabbed back with our loot. Reprovisioning takes half the day and has become like a "date night". We both go to the store now which has never happen in our 31 year marriage. I always thought Tom was allergic to the grocery store. Funny.....he's not. Friday we got an early start and headed out on our bikes to Crane Point Hammock, Museum and Nature Trail. Crane Point Hammock is 63 acres of tropical hardwood hammock in the heart of Marathon. Purchased by Francis and Mary Crane in 1949, they added flowering tropical plants and orchids to the hammock. Preserved from development in 1989 by the Florida Keys Land Trust, it is the largest tropical hammock in the Middle Keys. It has hiking trails, the Adderly House, Butterfly Garden, the Point and educational programs. Crane Point is named for Francis and Mary Crane, a Massachusetts couple. At that time of purchase, approximately 600 people lived in the Middle Keys along with a profusion of mosquitoes. The Cranes built a causeway to Big Rachel Key where they built their home. The house was a very unique design for its time with walls of windows and large roof overhangs. It was the first modern house in the area. After paying our admission in the Crane Point office, Tom recognized an old friend of ours from Rochester that we boated with back at BYC in LaCrosse. To our surprise and delight we crossed paths with Charlotte Quinn. She moved to Marathon 15 year ago and is now the CEO at Crane Point. It was fun catching up with her. It's such a small world. Below are some photos from our time at Crane Point Crane Point was very interesting and gave us a great overview of the area in Marathon, Middle Keys and the great effort that was put into conserving this portion of land for future generations to learn about and benefit from this native, tropical hammock. After Crane Point we headed to Sombrero Beach. They were having a turtle release in the afternoon. There is a Turtle Hospital right down the road from the marina. We haven't visited it yet (waiting to do it with visiting friends, hint hint) and they announced that they would be releasing a batch of baby turtles into the ocean at Sombrero Beach. I guess even Marco Rubio (little Marco) was there. As you can see there was quite a crowd gathered. Saturday we had a wonderful surprise! Our niece Sally and her husband, Ben from Minnesota came for a visit. Ben had been in Miami during the week for business and Sally flew down to join him for a couple of days of R and R. They have two little ones at home, Kip and Hattie that keep them very busy. Gramma Kris is at home watching them this weekend. They drove down from Miami for the day and we had a great time with them. I told Tom the other day to limit my intake of Burdine french fries, but Ben is a fry fan so.....we went to Burdines for lunch and polished off another basket of fries! They are also IPA drinkers, so we tried a few local brews as well ;) Loved seeing them. Hopefully we'll see them again on the East coast later in the trip.
More later~ All the folks we met coming down the river system kept saying to us... "just wait until you get to the blue water, you'll love it!" Well they were right! It's absolutely beautiful here! It's only been a week but we are already getting into the layed back vibe of Marathon. Since arriving, the temps have been in the upper 70's and 80's. Needless to say, we are soaking up all the sunshine! Faro Blanco is a really nice place with great amenities and staff. Their are quite a few fishing charter boats slipped here along with excursion boats and rentals, so there is alot of action on the docks. A group folks we met at Legacy took us out on a dinghy pub crawl the first full day here. There were nine dinghies altogether. It was great getting the lay of the land and meeting other boaters. We went to Keys Fishies first, Barnacle Barneys next and then over to Boot Key to Burdines. We all ate and drank our way thru the day! We had our first lobster rueben sandwich and our first of many baskets of french fries at Burdines! There is plenty to do and see in Marathon. This last weekend we attended the Pigeon Key Art Festival. Lots of talent on display for a good cause. The artists and booths varied from jewelry to some really avante garde work. Plus they had a concert in the huge bandshell that night. Here's a little info on Pigeon Key for those of you interested in learning more about it: Pigeon Key is a small island containing the historic district of Pigeon Key, Florida. The 5-acre island is home to 8 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, some of which remain from its earliest incarnation as a work camp for the Florida East Coast Railway. Today these buildings serve a variety of purposes, ranging from housing for educational groups to administrative offices for the non-profit Pigeon Key Foundation. The former Assistant Bridge Tender's House has been converted into a small museum featuring artifacts and images from Pigeon Key's colorful past. It is located off the old Seven Mile Bridge, at approximately mile marker 45, west of Knight's Key, (city of Marathon in the middle Florida Keys). The island was originally known as "Cayo Paloma" (literally translated as "Pigeon Key") on many old Spanish charts - said to have been named for large flocks of white-crowned pigeons which once roosted there. During the building of Henry Flagler's Overseas Railroad Key West Extension between 1908 and 1912, there were at times as many as 400 workers housed on the island. While these workers built many bridges along the route through the lower keys, the Seven Mile Bridge, spanning the gap between Knight's Key and Little Duck Key remains the largest and most impressive component of what was once referred to as "the 8th Wonder of the World". Sunday morning was sunny and calm, so we hopped in the dinghy and headed to Sombrero Beach, on the Atlantic side of Marathon. Our route took us under 7 Mile Bridge, thru Boot Key Harbor and down Sister Creek. The mooring field at Boot Key is HUGE! I've never seen so many boats moored. It pretty shallow in spots as well, so the bigger vessels really have to watch the markers manuering in and out of the mooring field. We were able to pull our dinghy up on to the beach and then took a walk. Lots of activity with families and tourists enjoying the sun and sand. Wild life is abundant! Birds are everywhere and interesting to watch. We're going to have to get a bird book to figure out some of the species ( I never thought I'd be a bird watcher!). The pelicans in our marina are always up for a meal when the fishing charters come in. You'll see flocks of them in the East basin waiting for the fish scraps. We also have lots of iguanas! I was at the pool one day and the fella below decided to come down the tree to visit me! Monday was cleaning day on the boat. Both Tom and I were working away when we noticed we had a visitor on the dinghy. He stayed on the bench seat for hours then moved to the side to lap up water when Tom washed the swim platform. Tom finally had to ask him to leave..... We invested in these cool bow chairs and am I ever glad we did! We LOVE watching the sunset every night from the bow of the boat since being moved to the T head on the C dock. Here are a few photos of life on the dock..... Our neighbor snapped this shot of us enjoying the sunset from the bow of BELLA. We are enjoying every minute of our time and feel very blessed to be here.
More later~ |
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