Not much has happened since our last post. The weather has been lovely until yesterday. We're experiencing winter in the Keys...daytime temps in the high 60s and night temps low 60s. Of course there is a pretty stiff breeze so it feels cooler. But that didn't keep us from riding our bikes to church this morning.

Most of the past week we've battled plumbing problems on the boat. First the fresh water pump was cycling on when no water was running. Then the drain line under the sink cracked. As usual God provided an answer, we have made friends with a guy from Wrightville Beach, NC and he's very knowledgable about plumbing/electrical/ac on boats. So he went through the boat and took care of all our problems.

In the Florida Keys there is no name for famous than Henry Flagler who built the world famous Overseas Railway in the early 1900's. Called the “8th wonder of the world”, this amazing ribbon of steel and concrete forever changed the history of the Florida Keys.

Yesterday, we attended the Centennial celebration of the completion of the railroad. It was held at Pigeon Key, a five acre parcel of land that housed as many as 400 workmen during construction. Now it is home to the only authentic museum documenting construction of the Overseas Railway.

We had to ride our bikes about 5 miles in a stiff wind to get to the site. But it was worth it to be part of a historic celebration and to ride on the Old Seven Mile Bridge that may be closed to the public soon.

There were many volunteers dressed in early 1900s attire adding to the feeling of stepping back in time. After visiting all the old buildings and sampling seafood chowder, molasses cornbread, and mango crisp we had to ride 5 miles back to the marina.

This is how they cooked the seafood chowder, the cornbread and the mango crisp...just like it was done back in the day.

Here's Phil with our new friends, Stu and Chuck from Norfolk, VA.

This is the Old Seven Mile Bridge with the middle span removed so that boats can go from the Gulf of Mexico into the Atlantic Ocean without going all the way around Key West.

And this one is just to prove that we really were at Mile Marker 0 at the southern end of US 1 in Key West.

Even though there was play-off game last night on TV we were too pooped to ride a half mile to see it. Remember, we have no TV here in the marina after the office closes at 5:45. The only thing that causes is being out of touch with news, sports, etc. but we really don't have a problem with that. And we spend much more time interacting with people. Cruisers learn quickly how to slow down and let the world pass by...even when we're not on Island time.

Time to Catch Up

We didn't make it to Key West on Tuesday...just too lazy to do much of anything except enjoy the sunshine. Same thing on Wednesday. Guess we were resting up for a the visit from our wonderful friend Zandy. She drove 700+ miles from Pensacola so that we'd have a vehicle to use for sightseeing. (Thank you Zandy).

Zandy and Phil on her arrival.

Friday we spent here in Marathon just getting her acquainted with the area. We were sitting outside late Friday afternoon and a boater pulled his dinghy up beside our boat. He's a Columbian (the country) and he lives in Duck, NC. It was a fascinating evening hearing about his travels.

New Year's Eve we went to Key Largo which is back toward the mainland. After having lunch in a great seafood restaurant, we went to the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. It was the first undersea park created in the US and encompasses about 70 nautical square miles of Atlantic Ocean waters. There are so many things to do: glass bottom boat tours, snorkeling, scuba diving, camping, fishing, or just hanging out on the beach. The Visitor's Center features a 30,000 gallon saltwater aquarium and other natural history exhibits. There's also a theater where visitors may watch nature videos.

The following pictures were taken inside the Visitor's Center.

This is Key Deer which are small than whitetails or any other breed we've seen. They look like minatures.

These are some of the birds that inhabit the Keys. Notice there are no songbirds. That's because there is no fresh water except that piped in for human consumption.

We got back to the boat in time to join the New Year's Eve festivities which didn't amount to much.

Sunday was another beautiful day so we checked out the only public beach in Marathon. The surf is totally different than beaches further north; there is no wave action and the water is very shallow. None of us were interested in taking a dip so not sure how warm it was.

After lunch we went to Crane Point Museum and Nature Center. It's a 63 acre plot that maintains the natural habitat of the Keys. We took a trolley tour of the park and learned about many of it's trees and plants. We saw one of the world's last remaining thatch palm hammocks, a butterfly meadow, and one of the oldest houses in the Keys built out of tabby (burnt seashells) in the early 1900s.

This is just one of the many flowers blooming here...and yes, it's January 1st.

Monday we headed out to Key West where we saw many things that you can't see anywhere else, like the southernmost house in the continental US. Zandy and Vi took the Conch Train tour while Phil just walked around taking in all the sights. Perhaps Vi would have been better off walking because the train had very uncomfortable seats and the driver hit every bump in the streets causing her back to flare up.

An mid-afternoon shower chased us out of Key West and the front followed us back to Marathon. We were all too tired to cook so we opted for pizza and a little of the Rose Bowl game at a nearby restaurant. The wind was pretty stiff all night causing the boat to rock and roll. The temperature also dropped down in the low 50s during the night...that's the coolest weather we've had since arriving on December 19. Neither the weather or Vi's back improved much on Tuesday so Phil and Zandy had to entertain themselves with mostly inside activities. With no improvement in sight until the week-end Zandy decided to leave this morning. The temperature won't be in better in Pensacola but her bed will certainly sleep better than the bench seats here in the boat salon.

Nothing much planned until the 14th; that the date of the centennial celebration of Flagler's Overseas Railroad. We'll tell you about that in our next post.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas celebrating our Saviour's birth. We had a very quiet, relaxed week-end.

Friday was an exploring day. We rode our bikes as far west as you can go in Marathon. That's not very far because the entire city only covers 8.6 square miles.

We checked out several restaurants before we decided on an old 1950s style cafe, Castaway. See pictures below.

The water here is so clear that you can see the rudder on the boat and the roots on the trees. One night there was a hugh manatee swimming around here in the harbor but we missed it. We do see fish almost everyday. It's strange to look down and see fish swimming around or shadows of clouds on the bottom.

Remember we told you about all the bikes here. This is just one of the parking lots...there's a bigger one at the end of the harbor.

Why even Santa rides a bike when he's here.

Saturday we went to a covered dish dinner where all the boaters in the area are invited to. Of course, they didn't all come but there was a nice size crowd and tons of good food including ham and turkey. With people from all other the world staying here there was quite a variety.

After dinner we went to a candlelight communion service which we enjoyed very much.

Christmas was another beautiful day so we walked to an 8:00am service about 2 blocks from here. Again, we had communion and met some nice people. The walk made us hungry so we had a big breakfast back on the boat. The rest of the day was quiet because most everyone either went home for Christmas or stayed on their boat like we did. Of course all the businesses were closed so there was very little going on.

Today it's back to business as usual. Lots of traffic in and out of the harbor. Most of the boats here are on mooring balls and they have to come in for water, showers, laundry, groceries, etc. Of course they don't bring their big boats in, they just use their dinghys. The dinghy dock is just past where're we docked in the harbor so we have a steady flow of people going back and forth.

This is a picture of the dinghy dock with a few of the boats there. Building in the bakcground is the showers/restrooms/ laundry.

We made a run to K-Mart this morning before it got too hot. Had to return an item and pick up a few things. Made an unplanned purchase - a DVD player - now we have to find a movie rental nearby. Or maybe borrow some from other boaters. Every morning at 9am there's a broadcast on the VHF radio for all boaters. It updates who's new and who's leaving, announcements of anything happening in the area, and what is for sale, swap or giveaway. Lots of interesting stuff - just learned this morning there are free Spanish lessons being given every Monday at 10am. Think I (Vi) might give it a try next week.

Tomorrow we're planning to take the bus down to Key West; it's a little too far to go by bike (about 17 miles). Will tell you about it in our next post.

A 40 day marathon trip to Marathon

After 40 days we are finally settling down in our temporary winter home. It's wonderful here. Sunny days, warm tempratures, mild breezes and very friendly people. We spent our first full day adjusting to our new life style. We have all of the comforts of home; lights, air conditioning, running water, a half-bath, cooking facilities. Everything except TV but guess what, we don't miss it at all.

Our bicycles are parked right outside our boat along with probably 200 or more other bikes. They are our main method of transportation. What ever we need we use our bikes to go and get. We did have to call a taxi the other day. We finally decided that we needed a refrigrator. Well, Phil just couldn't figure out how to get it from Home Deopt to our boat on his bike. So he rode to Home Depot and had a taxi bring him and the frig and his bike back to our boat. The next day he rode down to another marina to pick-up some medicine that we had mailed to them (we were supposed to stay there but it just wasn't the right place for us). On the way down there he passed a used furniture store and found two old chairs that he thought would work very nicely on our boat. Guess what? He tied the two chairs to his bike and pushed it about a mile or so back to the boat. What a sight that must have been.

Last night we went to a Bible study and then grab a bite to before returning to the boat around nine o'clock. This morning we set out to the grocery store. On the way we stopped at a thrift store. Not much there but we did find a tin box shaped like a NC Tar Heel with the Hatteras light house on it. The guy wanted a dollar for it but all we had was a twenty dollar bill so he just let us have it.

We left there and went to K-Mart to pick up a few things and then on to the grocery store. We ended up with a backpack full of stuff and about five bags of groceries that we managed to put on our bikes and return to the boat about two miles away.

Just as we were getting back on the boat a couple that we met in Ft. Lauderdale came by in their dinghy. They're the ones from California who have a lot in Oriental, NC. They came by later and visited with us for a while. It's nice to see somebody that you've met before. Makes you feel like there's a reason that you keep running into them. Perhaps God has a plan for them that we can help with.

The elderly man in the boat next to us had ask us to bring him a pumpkin pie from the store which we did. We just gave him the pie as a Christmas present. Later in the day he brought us a step ladder that we could use to get on and off our boat and wished us a Merry Christmas. God is good.

We had a steak, corn-on-the-cob and garlic toast for dinner. We are eating very well. A little relaxation and then off to bed. Tomorrow we'll go exploring further and maybe get some pictures of the island. There's a nice nature preserve here that we haven't had time to visit.

Phil doesn't do all of the helming (driving). Occasionally he let's me take the wheel.

This was Monday on the Gulf of Mexico as we were coming into Marathon.
Not sure you can tell much about it from this picture but the water was really choppy.

Yippeee! We There

After we bring you up to date about yesterday we'll tell you about today.

There are many interesting names in this area. For instance, Gilbert's Marina where we stayed Saturday night is on Jewfish Creek. Have no idea how it got it's name.

The antenna cable on the GPS shorted out so we got a late start.. West Marine is becoming one of our regular stops and it doesn't open on Sunday until 9am. But we finally got moving about 10:30. A couple of dolphins escorted us out of the harbor.

From Jewfish Creek we entered Blackwater Sound. The sound is just west of the Everglades National Park with vast expanses of water and mangrove forests. We didn't attempt to go ashore because all the keys within the park are restricted from landing except where designated and charted .

From Blackwater Sound, the ICW snakes through mangrove-lined Dunsenbury Creek, Tarpon Basin which is very shallow, then on to Buttonwood Sound. From there we entered Baker Cut which passes Pigeon Key and on to Cowpens Cut. Cowpens was named for the pens used to hold manatees, which were used for food by the Indians.

After Cowpens Cut we passed Islamorada (Spanish for “Purple Island”) before entering Steamboat Channel. The wind switched from east to northeast and increased to about 15-20 mph so we decided to make it a short day. God is always looking after us; just as we needed a place to hide we found the Lignumvitae State Botantical Park. We settled in about 3:30pm.

At 18 feet above sea level, Lignumvitae Key is the highest of the Keys; it is named for one of the hardest woods in the world, “the tree of life”.

In this area the ICW lies between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Barrier islands offer some protection on the ocean side but there is very little to the west, just open waters.

The wind is going to rock us all night but we're securely tied to a mooring ball. We'll turn in early so that we can get an early start tomorrow and get into Marathon before late afternoon.

Just as predicted the wind kicked up all night making it hard to sleep. There was a heavy overcast this morning so we didn't get moving until almost 8am.

The wind continued to blow, gusting sometimes so bad that we couldn't use the jib to smooth the ride. After what seemed like an endless day we finally made it to Marathon about 3pm. Interestingly, we were in the Gulf of Mexico on one side of the Seven Mile Bridge and in the Atlantic Ocean on the other side.

The marina where we had reservations didn't work out because it was too far from everything and there was no public transportation nearby. So we came on in to Boot Key Harbor City Marina. They don't take reservations so we were taking a chance on a vacancy. Once again God was in control, they had one slip left on the floating dock and it was suppose to be for a 33' boat. Our boat is 34' but the dockmaster said he would fit us in and he did.

As soon as we registered and tied up we took the bikes and went exploring, mostly for food since we hadn't had lunch. Wendy's never tasted as good as it did today. We found a Home Depot nearby so Phil will be a happy camper.
And there's a small church that we're going to visit probably Wednesday night.

When we got back to the boat we put up our little Christmas tree and turned on the outside lights. We're the only boat in the harbor that's lite up. Maybe we're just eager or maybe they're all scrooges. But we won't let that dampen our spirits or enthusisam for being here at last.

By the way it's about 75 degrees tonight and the rest of the week is suppose to in the low 80s. Signing off for now; we'll give updates as we discover this delighful place.

Almost There

After spending a lazy day at Nettles Island Marina in Jensen Beach because of strong east winds we left Wednesday about 7am. The wind was still very strong but Phil did a great job getting us out of the slip with the wind on our stern. The ride was a little choppy until we let out the jib. Then we made excellent time to Jupiter Beach. NIGHTMARE... 6 bridges within a 10 mile stretch...3 that open on request and 3 that open on the hour and half-hour. Add to that mess, a barge that we had to wait for at the first hour/half-hour bridge. Fortunately we tagged onto it and made the next 3 bridges ahead of time.

While we were waiting for the barge one of the boats behind us came on the radio and asked the bridge tender how to get to the Okeechobee Waterway. He was already 20 miles too far south so he had to turn around and go back through the 3 on-request bridges. Not sure what kind of navigation aids he was using, if any, but he sure was off course.

The winds never let up all day, in fact they got stronger after lunchtime. When we got to Rivera Beach we pulled into a marina/boatyard that we found in Skipper Bob's Marinas Along the Intracoastal Waterway Guide. After fighting to dock the boat in the strong winds we found it noisy, smelly and without facilities. So we backtracked about a mile to a very nice marina that's actually cleaner and cheaper than the boatyard. Lesson learned: always ask questions about everything you read in this guidebook. There was a retired Presidential yacht berthed at this marina. Quite a beauty, wish we could have learned more about it but everybody was ready to go home by the time we got there.

Bridge Day – If yesterday (Thursday) was a nightmare with the bridges imagine our consternation today when we had 19 bridges that had to open for us. The only saving grace was south of Lake Worth the ICW becomes a canal with concrete bulkheads lining it's border. Along this stretch, town follows town with beautiful homes surrounded by subtropical growth in full bloom.

To end this already stressful day, we finally docked about 4 pm in Ft. Lauderdale at a city-owned marina. Let's just say we won't stay there again. We did meet a delightful couple from California who had lived aboard for 43 years. They raised both of their sons on board as they traveled all over the world. Now they've bought a lot in Oriental, NC and may one day settle down there.

Friday was a better day...only 11 bridges. The ICW runs through Miami on the western side and it goes on forever. There was nothing interesting to see unless you like high rise building, one after another after another. Because of all the bridges we did get to talk to people on the shoreline quite frequently. We finally got to Dinner Key Marina in Coconut Grove about 4:30. It's huge with 525 slips and 250 mooring bouys. We picked up a mooring bouys to save some money then rowed the dinghy in for dinner. Didn't realize that it was a 1 mile walk to the nearest restaurant. But now we can say we've had dinner at a landmark in the Coconut Grove.

This morning as we were preparing to leave the mooring bouy we saw a huge fire in the marina. A large yacht had caught fire and was sending foul-smelling black smoke up in the air. Shortly all the news helicopters were circling overhead and sirens were wailing. When we left they had the fire under control but the smell followed us for miles.

Getting to the Keys from Miami on the ICW requires crossing Florida Bay, a big body of very shallow water. We traveled for miles and saw very few boats until we neared Key Largo. We're docked at a small marina on the west bank of the ICW. Very laid back place with a lot of folks running around in shorts or bath suits on December 17th. We should be in Marathon on Monday and we'll give you another update.

One of the first things we saw as we pulled into the harbor was an old boat named Queen Anne's Revenge, just like the restaurant back home. Can't get the story behind it but I will try to post some pictures.

This is a lighthouse that we thought was an interesting color. Can't remember where it was but notice the people at the top. That's how close we were to shore.

This is the boat that we saw as we pulled in today.

Getting Closer

Tomorrow we will finally pass the 1000 mile marker so we're almost to the keys.

At the end of our last post we were docked in Palm Coast. We had a storm during the night and the next morning was the coldest morning since we left home. Again Phil's handiwork kept us cozy.

We had to stop the next day in Daytona Beach to pick up the new GPS. There was a courtesy dock that we used to get to West Marine. The tide was low, the dock was high and the winds were blowing away from the dock. We finally got the boat tied up and made our purchase. Then we had to figure out how to get away from the dock with the wind blowing us into it. As we started out of the marina, we were stopped because a dredging barge had the channel blocked.

We arrived at Seven Seas Marina in Port Orange, Fl about 3:30 and immdediatley went to work on installing the GPS. Neither one of us know much about electricity but we managed to rewire the new GPS to the existing wires and IT WORKED.

Next morning we had to rig up the new anchor that we bought in St. Augustine. Without a windlass it was quite a chore to secure a 45lb anchor to the front of the boat. We finally got under way about 8:15. Just below the Port Orange Bridge, a small mangrove island is the nesting ground for pelicans, egrets and cormorants. Next we had to go through the Ponce de Leon Cut which the cruising guides warned us are subject to shoaling at both the north and south ends. But we had no problems maybe due to the tide. After passing through the cut we saw lots of fishermen on both banks and some in boats. One guy pulled in a fish about 18" just as we were going by. When we asked what it was, he said a black bass. We were so interested in finding out what it was that we forgot to take a picture.

The next stretch is known as Space Coast Area because Cape Canaveral is located here. We could see the Space Shuttle hangar at the Kennedy Space Center. Since there are no more shuttle launches there wasn't a lot to see unless you stop and take a tour.

We arrived at Titusville about 3pm. The city marina has a new mooring field which we used but it was too far to row the dinghy to shore so we just stayed on the boat. The weather was nice enough for shorts and no shoes, there was a full moon and the lights from the harbor were quite nice.

Saturday morning we went into the harbor to pick up ice. There was a misty rain falling and it seemed strange to walk in the rain in December and not get cold. It was a short day so we arrived at Eau Gallie Yacht Basin at 2:30. Until the 1960's there were two distinct cities situated on the western end of the two causeways crossing the Indian River Lagoon. The southern city was Melborne and the northern city was Eau Gallie. Eau Gallie is French for "rocky water". In 1969 , the two cities merges,taking Melbourne as the name. However, the original downtown area of Eau Gallie continued to be referred to by the old city name. This land where the marina is located was deeded to John Houston, brother to Sam Houston, by Pres. Lincoln. The current owner took us to his memobilia room where we saw a copy of the orginal deed signed by Pres. Lincoln. Saurday night the marina was having it's annual Christmas party and everyone in the marina, as well as folks in town, were invited. It would have been a very nice night if it hadn't rained the entire evening.

Sunday morning we left Eau Gallie and made our way to Vero Beach City Marina and yet another mooring bouy. This time however we had to raft with another boat. (This means we had to tie up to the same mooring bouy as another boat.) The owners were not on board so it really didn't make a difference. Since there was nothing nearby and no public transportation on Sunday, we stayed onboard.

Today, Monday, we made a short run to Nettles Island Marina located at Jensen Beach, Fl. It's an interesting island that is partly man-made. There are a variety of accomodations here but again there is no public transportation. The dockmaster took up to a grocery store about 3 miles from the marina on the mainland.

Sorry folks, have lots of pictures but this connection won't let me post them. Marina wi-fi connections leave a lot to be desired. Maybe next time I'll have better luck.