Marathon and the Keys Deezeeeze

Our first week at Burdine's was not what we expected but the 2nd and 3rd week have been filled with wonderful company and more experiences. Dave's brother Dale and his wife Pam came last Tuesday and the fun began. We ate dinner the Chikatika their first night and we enjoyed another beautiful Burdine's sunset. Each day we explored a different area. On Wednesday we went to Sombrero Beach to see how rough it would be before calling and reserving kayaks. The winds continued to blow 10-18 and the brave kayakers who were coming in looked exhausted so we decided to spend the day on the beautiful beach. We enjoyed people watching and came back and grilled steaks and enjoyed a beautiful evening on the bridge which included listening to my new favorite musicians in the Keys- Corey and Ty. They really are talented and draw a real crowd.

On Friday we went to Key West (only about 42 miles from here) with the intentions of going snorkeling. Unfortunately, those same winds that kept us from kayaking were blowing in Key West. No worries- we just decided to do the day and evening exploring the "fun scene" on and off Duval Street. Pam and I did some shopping and we visited some our favorite hangouts from 9 years ago when we came down for my 50th birthday. The only one we couldn't visit was Sloppy Joes as there were no seats or standing room!

Saturday we took a cab to the 40th annual  Marathon Key seafood festival. There were over 20,000 people that visited the seafood festival this year. The venue was made up of row after row of merchants selling all types of interesting art, crafts, clothing, jewelry and of course SUN GLASSES ! The seafood tents were very busy with the favorite being the stone crab tent.

Late Saturday afternoon we took the boat out of the slip (ahhhh... love that smell and sound of those 2 Cummins engines.. but I digress). It was fun just cruising around in the Atlantic and then under the bridge into the Gulf. We went to Faro Blanco Resort Marina where a lot of our fellow Loopers are staying/stayed and saw a wedding out on the point. It is a beautiful place and we are sorry we didn't just go there. Have I mentioned lately how much I miss a pool! (smile)

Sunday we went kayaking for 3 1/2 hours through the mangroves. I was a little nervous as I had never kayaked in open kayaks and the uncertainty of the mangroves. We all enjoyed the afternoon- and I was pretty proud of myself!

Monday found us back in Key West and we went snorkeling! It was a beautiful big catamaran that took us to the Gulf Reef (the original plan to go to the Atlantic Reef was changed because of the wind, visibility and a Man of War sighting during the morning run) so they took us to a Gulf Protected Reef and we had a beautiful time in very clear, relatively warm water. On the way back the captain and crew raised the sails and Happy Hour began. The sail back by Key West was gorgeous! We were all tired but very happy that we finally got to snorkel!

Pam and Dale left Tuesday and Wendy and Darrell came on Wednesday. We hadn't seen them for well over a year and it was so nice to be back with them! We took them kayaking on Thursday and it was like a different experience. The water in the mangroves was crystal clear and we saw lots of fish and even got to kayak with a manatee. We didn't have to do the limbo getting under a lot of the mangroves like before as the tide was very low. That part was great but it was much more strenuous because of going over very shallow grass ponds and literally having to pull over them. Then on the way back we fought the tide and a little wind and I was exhausted. I got a terrible leg cramp and just couldn't get through it so I dumped out close to the beach and barely made it back on shore. Scary and a little embarrassing! We enjoyed St. Patrick's Day at the restaurant around the corner- Castaway's- the oldest restaurant in Marathon. Unfortunately, Wendy and Darrell had to leave today and go back to Orlando to spend time with their son Cody.

We are looking forward to Dave sister Deb and her husband Chuck coming down on Wednesday. FRYEDAZE is loving the company!

 

Another beautiful sunset at Burdines in Marathon

 

Cell phone tenting, its just one more skill you must learn in the bright Key West sunshine

 

Pam and Dale leading the way through the Boot Key mangrove water trails.

 

Dale and Pam start out on our Key West snorkel adventure with Sebago.

 

 

Lots of shark bait



Hogs Breath Saloon is always a fun time.

 

Enjoying a little Margaritaville refreshment 

Catamaran cruising, heading back into Key West harbor

 

LOST AT SEA! They told us not to stray too far from the boat. Sure hope Dale can make it back to the dock.

 

Ben calls these shots "old people selfies"

 

The first test with the new waterproof camera was a success.

A Seven Mile bridge sunset.

 


Enjoyed Darrell and Wendy's company and took them kayaking into the mangroves

 


Dave checking back to make sure Wendy was still coming

 


Very tight through some of the mangroves. Wasn't as bad at low tide as we didn't have to limbo to get through!

 


The panther in the tree that scared the bejesus out of Dave the first time through (he didn't see the sunglasses the first time!)

 
 


Sailboats at anchor right outside and tied to the mangroves

 

We were lucky to have this manatee with us when we were kayaking. He was so busy eating we really didn't seem to disturb him!