Lazy at Bahia Honda State Park

The good news is that stink bugs aren't falling into the showers, the bad news is that the green gnats will eat you alive.

Well, we've spent 4 nights at Bahia Honda State Park. While we've been here we have met a really nice couple on a C Dory. They used to have a Corsair F24 Mk1 so we took them for a sail yesterday. The dinghy for their power boat is a little sailing dinghy and Scott got to take that out for a bit. I followed him out in our dinghy, photos to come soon.

We ran into Cliff and Chris, the couple that saved our trip last year! If you don't know about how lucky we were to meet them last year be sure to catch up in our old post titled: A Comedy of Errors. Cliff and Chris were hanging out at the state park with some friends when they came by the harbor and saw our boat.

We managed to get a great deal on storage on Big Pine Key. So the truck and trailer will be stored 6 miles from Bahia Honda, which is just a quick bus ride on the lower keys public bus.

Today we are headed for Saddlebunch Harbor. It's 24 miles toward Key West. This is the same harbor we got stuck at last year (when all our ice melted and we nearly starved) when it was honking out of the wrong direction. Winds are favorable for our sail, blowing out of the Northeast at 10-15kts. Should be a nice reach.

Hi Ho Saddlebunch,
Lauren & Scott

Launch Day

Today was a long day! We woke up and had a breakfast feast, made by Carol, before we hit the road. 6 hours later, we were pulling into Bahia Honda State Park (sorry, I slept the whole way so nothing eventful from me).

The rigging process was grueling. It's not so bad when you're putting your boat in the water at home for the summer, but it's a whole new story when you're launching a boat to live on it. I won't bore you with the details. Long story short, we worked until it was too dark to see and until we were too hungry to care. The boat is in the water with the bare minimum for the night.

We drove back to Marathon for dinner and walked back to the truck with improved attitudes. Funny how food will do that to you! After admiring the sky full of stars, we are tucked in on the boat and ready for bed.

On a lighter note, here are some things we didn't say to each other today:

"I love you so much, we should do this trip every year for the rest of our lives."
"I really wish those strangers would come over and talk to us while we crank our mast up."
"Oh, those little green gnat bites feel so good!"

Still smiling,
Lauren & Scott