Christmas in Key West

Andy said he wanted to spend Christmas under a plam tree…and we did.

 

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Another beautiful day here in Marathon, FL.  I am sure that anyone who has followed this blog has realized just how lucky we have been on this trip…in many ways, but especially weather.  May it continue at least as long as our family is down here with us celebrating the holidays!

We will be in Marathon until December 22nd when we make our way down to Key West.  We will be stationed there until after the new year and then work our way up to Key Largo where we will be until the end of January.  At that time we will begin heading to Ft. Lauderdale to make the crossing to The Bahamas.  Whew, I am tired just typing it.

With all of that in mind, I have decided to take a holiday vacation from my publishing job here at Word Press and the Good News blog.  After the new year, I will be back to share all of our experiences with you…our loyal followers, family and friends.

Until then…

WE WISH YOU A

MERRY CHRISTMAS

AND A

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

Day #137 – Marathon, FL

WE ARE IN THE KEYS!!!

Finally, after 3,200 miles and four and half months we are in Marathon.  We left Naples in the drizzle and first light at 6:30 this morning.  Fortunately, the seas were calm and we decided to travel the 120 miles at about 18 miles per hour, which is considerably faster than we normally travel.  The boat and the Captain performed perfectly and we arrived 8 hours after we left.

Quite uneventful on the water…the main entertainment was dodging the crab pots.  I have never seen anything like it before.  The markers were everywhere and navigating the boat through them was like driving a slalom course.

We passed under the Seven Mile Bridge and officailly went from the Gulf of Mexico into Hawks Key and the Atlantic Ocean.  The water changed from deep blue to turquoise and quite shallow. 

We entered Bonefish Marina about 2:30 and tied the boat up.  Bonefish is the only high rise in Marathon.  Gave “Good News” a good rinsing after the passage and we both had a siesta.  Early morning, long day and probably an early night.

Plan to go take a walk around the area and see what it has to offer.  Oh, 78 and sunny again today.

Day #136 – Naples, FL

Left our long stay in Ft. Myers at 8:00 this morning.  Said good-bye to Bob and Deb again. I think they feel it is a little anti climatic as we have said good-bye a couple of other times and then, to our surprise, ended up meeting up with them again.

Traveling to Naples was a pleasant ride with calm waters and warm air.  First cloudy day that we have traveled in awhile, but by the time we arrived at the marina the sun was shining.  78 degrees today so hard to complain.  Had several encounters with dolphins along the way which makes for an amusing ride.  Several large ones ran with the boat and at one point, at the end of our wake, about a dozen were playing in the surf.  A bait boat brought up conversation as other ways to make a living when the trip is over.

 
The ride up Gordon Pass from the Gulf of Mexico was about five miles and lined with beautiful homes and large boats.  Lots of boat traffic and the channel is really narrow and winding. 

Arrived at the Naples City Dock, checked in and walked into town.  Quite a hike but it felt good to stretch our legs and we wandered in and out of stores.

Back to the boat, made dinner and are headed for an early bedtime.  Tomorrow we will attempt to make the run all of the way to Marathon, in the Keys, and it is about 120 miles away.  Long day and we will need to start early.  Can’t believe we are almost to the Keys.

Day #135 – Ft. Myers, FL

Our last full day in Ft. Myers, sunny and 70.  We have really enjoyed being here and are a little sad to leave.  We never thought when we arrived that we would end up staying ten days.  Our departure is only made easier by knowing that we are heading south and getting ready to celebrate the holidays with our family.

Did last minute preparation for departure tomorrow morning.  We are headed to Naples, about 45 miles away.

Fred, Ruby, Mark Lange and Christine (Sarver) arrived at the boat at 5:30.  We had cocktails and hors devours here and then are headed to Prawn Brokers, great meal!  It will be nice to see Fred and Ruby again, as well as Mark.  We haven’t seen him in a long time.  REALLY great seeing Chris as we haven’t seen each other in almost four months…way too long.

A picture of the full moon we have enjoyed the last few nights.  This is the view off the bow of the boat.  Nice~

Day #134 – Ft. Myers, FL

Good thing we had decided to stay in Ft. Myers a bit longer as it was a really windy day.  Reported to have 8+ foot waves out on the water.  Glad to be safe and dry at the marina.

Bob and Deb rented a car today and were nice enough to let us tag along as they ran around.  The usual stops, West Marine, Marine Surplus store, lunch and Walmart. 

The four of us went to lunch at Pinchers, a crab shack type restaurant that Bob had found across the river.  Good food and great atmosphere on the water.  Back to West Marine as Andy had forgotten a part and then to our marina.  The fellas stayed behind and worked on the projects that they had bought the parts for and Deb and I went to Walmart.

Came back to the boat, Andy still working on projects and I decorated the boat with a few Christmas touches.  Before we know it Ryan and Scott will arrive and then a couple of days later…Devon and Dianne.  Can’t wait for the festivities to begin!

A view from the bridge over the river of our marina.

Looking forward to sister-in-law Chris arriving in Ft. Myers tonight.  She is here to visit her parents and we just happened to still be in town.  Hoping to see her, her parents and her brother, Mark, tomorrow.

 

Day #133 – Ft. Myers, FL

A pretty quiet day here today.  It stayed quite warm through the night and then the predicted rain started about 9:00 am.  Rained most of the day and then finally cleared to a beautiful day, although cooler.

Andy spent the better part of the day locating and replacing an engine part. He found a Caterpillar dealer and had the faulty thermostat cover delivered to the marina.  Handy Andy had it done and working as always.  What a guy!

Handy Andy in the engine room!

I worked on and mailed all of our Christmas cards.  Quite an undertaking and hope everyone likes them.

After that we borrowed a cart from the marina and walked to the grocery store nearby.  I replenished groceries on the first trip and Andy replenished beverages on the second trip.  We are good to go now for some time.

The plan to move to Naples tomorrow has changed.  We will be here another day as Andy found a leak that needs to be fixed and tomorrow looks like the day to do it.  Don’t mind staying here another day as we really like it here.  Never dreamt we would be in Ft. Myers this long, but glad we are.

Put up our Christmas decorations last night.  Took five minutes and we are done.  Andy keeps looking for a small palm tree to decorate, but so far has come up empty.  A true no stress holiday and will just be happy to celebrate it with the boys and Devon and her mom.

Day #132 – Ft. Myers, FL

Unbelievably warm day here in Ft. Myers.  Reached 84 and humid.  A storm is supposed to pass through tonight and rain tomorrow with cooler weather.  Can’t complain as our weather has been unbelievable basically since we left Michigan August 1st.

 

Walked into town for lunch and then walked along the waterfront and through Centennial Park in downtown Ft. Myers.  Lovely Park and the statue and fountain were quite a site.

Spent a quiet afternoon and Andy varnished a bit of the wood.  Looks great, he likes to keep up with it.

Received great news last night that Devon and her mom will be joining us in Key West for Christmas.  Not sure how Devon pulled it off at this late date, but we are all thrilled she did.  As my mother would have said…Golden Moments.  Yeah for Devon!

 

A new picture of the happy couple from Napa!

Day #131 – Ft. Myers, FL

Another beautiful, warm day in Ft. Myers.  Andy spent the morning cleaning the outside of the boat, I cleaned the inside.  Good to get all of that done.  Did that and still had time to leave for lunch at 11:30 for Marker 34, a restaurant in N. Ft. Myers. 

Bob and Deb launched their dinghy and took us over there for a wonderful ride.  We snaked through channels and finally made our way back to their dock.  It is really tucked back in the inlets and was great fun exploring.

Tied up at the dock and went inside for lunch.  They had four items on their menu…hamburgers, hot dogs, pulled pork sandwich and soup/salad.  Lunch was quite good and the atmosphere was terrific.  Finished lunch and made our way back.  The wind had changed direction a bit and Captain Bob took a leisurely approach to getting us back. 

Came close to shore and the Ft. Myers Municipal Marina where Sir Winston is docked.  Story has it that the owner and his wife are aboard and this is one of the boats that his company has manufactured.  The others are entertainment boats, dinner cruises, etc. but they chose to keep one to live on.  Quite a site and make the other boats in the marina look tiny.

We can’t quite figure out why this guy needs all of these dock lines, but we are quite sure that he doesn’t leave the dock too often.

Deb and I went for a walk and five minutes into it we ran in to Paul and Vickie who were in Ft. Myers from Cape Coral.  They came back to the boat a bit, we caught up and then they went back into town to go on the historical Christmas house tour.  Nice to see them again and a pleasant surprise.

And now the sun is setting on another fantastic day on the water.

Day #130 – Ft. Myers, FL

Really quite an uneventful day here in Ft. Myers today, although the weather continues to be perfect. I guess after all of the excitement of the engagement, everything else pales in comparison. 

Decided to keep the rental car one more day and ran more errands. I mentioned to Andy that the expense of the rental car itself is nothing, it’s the purchases you make while you have it.  I’m afraid not knowing when we will have wheels again and buy everything we MIGHT need.

Went to Ft. Myers Beach to get a seat for the dinghy.  Quite an area, very beachy and touristy.  Glad we saw it, bet it is crazy during Spring Break and the high tourist season!

 

Having Deb and Bob over for the much promised sliders tonight.  Hope they aren’t disappointed after all of the talk.  Planning on staying here until Thursday or Friday, depending on weather.  Then we will make our way down to Marathon, via Naples and Marco Island.