We enjoyed our stay in Marathon. From here, we're headed to Key West on the "outside", meaning the Atlantic side in the Hawk Channel. We stayed in a marina and got to go to the local grocery store and do laundry and wash the boat. Always fun! We discovered a dockside bar/restaurant that we could walk to and that had local music and we enjoyed it so much we went there both nights of our stay. We even had ‘happy feet’ and danced to a few songs. The restaurant was described as ‘Keysie’ which we learned means: flip flops, Hawaiian shirts and a very laid back attitude. Gotta love life in the Keys! We particularily enjoyed the singer, Dan Sullivan, and his signature song ... "I'd Rather be Drinkin a Beer Here, Than Freezin My Ass in the North."
We left Marathon for a 6 hour cruise to Key West and spent 3 nights in that wild town. We enjoyed our time there as it felt like we were ‘on vacation’ from the boat. The marina that we stayed in was a resort/marina so we took advantage of it and used their pool a couple of days…and it felt just like being on vacation. It was fun. We ate some wonderful food and enjoyed drinks at a couple of the many, many bars that Key West has to offer. We left on the morning of Cinco De Mio, which was a good thing since it is their version of Mardi Gras; a bit too much craziness for us.
We have spent the last 3 nights in a small anchorage on the south side of Key Largo. We came here to get out of the way of storms which were coming from the North. We knew the weather was going to get bad so we wanted to find a place to hide from the wind. On Sunday night a huge thunder and lightening storm was parked over the boat for about 3 hours. The wind was fierce and the strobe lightening was a bit frightening. But we didn’t see any of the nickel sized hail that was predicted. While the winds have died down somewhat, it is still a bit more lively than we like to travel in.
Today we took Rickshaw about 6 miles out onto the reef and did some snorkeling. It was so cool to be able to do that from the boat.. Tomorrow, assuming the weather cooperates; we will leave and head north to Key Biscayne and anchor in a place called No Name Harbor. Below is a 'Keysie' boat!
Scenes leaving Marathon.
Customs House as we approach Key West.
Coming into Key West; Mallory Square where everyone goes to watch the sunsets.
Hanging out at the pool.
One of the many sailing ships that take folks out to see the sunsets.
These pictures were taken on the way to snorkling. The water was an amazing shade of blue.
