Our Sunday Funday on Party Key! (Sunday, March 25)

Early this morning we decided we should head out and get some miles under our belt. The weather forecast is for high winds in a few days and we didn’t want to get stuck here for too long and miss seeing other places. We decided that we would try and make it as far as we could today to make up time if we get stuck somewhere. We headed for Fiesta Key and had Marathon as a backup if the weather didn't cooperate. It was forecasted that there would be isolated thunderstorms with gusts up to 25. We showered and packed up the boat. We said goodbye to our Northern friends and headed back the way we came in. As we were motoring out Scott and I happened to be looking in the same direction and saw a fin. We both looked at each other excitedly and fearfully. Scott asked if it was a dolphin or a shark and we waited. It came up again and we saw more of the animal this time. It was a dolphin! Finally we had seen one, if only for a brief minute. By the time we had the camera it hadn’t come up again near us. Hopefully we see more soon.

The breeze was pretty light so we motored about 20 miles. We crossed under the 7 mile bridge and continued up the gulf side of the keys. I wasn’t feeling all too hot so I went down below to get out of the sun and take a nap. I arose from the dead about the same time the breeze filled in. We shut off the motor and sailed the last 20NM. It was pretty light breeze still, around 5-10knots. Waves were basically Lake St Claire chop, which was comforting. We cruised all the way up to the harbor entrance at Fiesta Key RV Resort and Marina. We found a wall and parked for the night. We had a nice dinner, showered (again, bonus! Two in one day), and worked on laundry. While we were searching for the change machine (the washing machine took quarters), I found the book swap shelf. Scott was running around like a chicken with his head cut off so I scooped up a Stone(s) Barrington novel and another chick novel for myself. When Scott was less flustered, I told him what I had found and oh happy day! He was delighted, having not yet read the one I found him. 

Tomorrow we are not exactly sure of our plans but we are still headed up the Keys.

Squeaky clean,

Lauren & Scott

No Wonder it's One of the Top Ten Beaches in Florida (Saturday, March 24)

 

I woke up a little earlier than Scott so I explored a bit. I walked around on the beach and took a few early morning pics. I found a little crab that I ended up catching. When I brought it back to the boat I woke Scott up to tell him what I’d caught for him. To his dismay, it was so small it looked like a spider; totally not edible. His morning started and we had Key Lime Pie for breakfast, followed by breakfast burritos that we made at the boat.

We hung around the boat for a bit and then decided to walk over to the old highway. We walked along the outer beach and then back around to the highway. The beach was beautiful! There were a ton of people lying in the sun and wading but it was still not too crowded. The old bridge had amazing panoramic views. I ended up taking a video and tons of pictures because it was so beautiful.

After we worked up a sweat on our walk we decided to go for a swim. We went to the beach between the bridges because it was deeper. We watched our new Nova Scotia friends snorkel and we cooled down a bit. Scott spotted an Island Packet anchored in the harbor and wanted to take a closer look. We kayaked out to see it and the owners were relaxing in the cockpit. We chatted with them about their packet and what their plans were. They were recently retired and had sold everything (house and cars). They were living on the boat that they brought down from Maryland in the beginning of December. They told us that they had a mooring ball at Boot Key Harbor for a month and they were taking a few days to check out Bahia Honda as well. After hearing more about how happy they were with their boat, we headed in to get out of the sun. Back at our boat a manatee came to hang out for a bit. I waited patiently and took a few pictures each time he came up for a breath.

The day was almost ending and I wanted to show Scott the little beach I found in the morning so we walked over. It was low tide so there were a lot of rock bottom tide pools. Scott immediately found Lobster between rocks and ordered me to retrieve lobster catching gear. Armed with gloves I reached between the rocks for an antenna. The lobster wriggled loose and it made me pretty jumpy. Scott grew angrier each one I grabbed but couldn’t keep hold of so I told him to put on the gloves and stick his hand into the dark gap. He did. Allegedly by the time he went to grab them they had all receded into hiding, but if I hadn’t scared them he would have gotten one. We later found out they don’t have claws but that they have thorny whips to defend themselves with.  

Since we were unable to catch any lobster we had to settle for a chicken dinner. We don’t have a solid plan for tomorrow but we think we are going to get back on the move and head further up the keys.

 Winner winner chicken dinner,

Lauren & Scott