Key We$t to Key Largo

I know the thought of us being "stuck" in Key West didn't get us much sympathy but we ended up being in Galleon Marina for 10 nights or 6 more than we had planned on. The problem was the winds were high for the whole week and we wouldn't have made it out of our slip without blowing into other boats and making a general mess of things. Even if we had gotten out there would have been no place to go since the seas were 7-10 feet out there. We ran into friends Ed & Kyle who happened to be in town at another marina and had lunch with them the first Saturday we were in as they planned on leaving Sunday morning....turns out they ended up at our marina for the whole week too after trying to head north and seeing how bad things had gotten.

Kyle, Ed & Jill at the Green Parrot

Nice thing was we were able to slow down a bit and really enjoy Key West as well as get a fresh coat of wax on the boat. Down side is we about blew the March budget in the first 2 weeks! We got to explore a bunch and found some great new spots as well as spending more time at the Parrot listening to live music almost every evening. Once we did get out of the marina we spent a couple of extra nights in the mooring field so I could get in one last Sunday afternoon jazz show at the Green Parrot. While the main band is the same every week the "horn section" changes with various musicians sitting in. The gentleman on the stool in the picture below was there every time we were and we were told he in 93!! He's still got some great lungs!!!

Key West Mooring

Finally we were able to tear ourselves away from Key West and start heading north. This time we wanted to go up the Florida Bay side of the islands since we had gone down the Atlantic thus completing a "loop" of the lower keys once we got back to the 7 mile bridge. Turns out this was a great plan even though a longer way to go. The strong winds out of the south for the previous week had given the bay a chance to become crystal clear and we could even see the crab pots 20 feet below the surface.

A big highlight of this day was the number of Dolphins we saw along the way. One "family" in particular swam in our bow wave for over 1/2 an hour (over 4 miles) never leaving and matching our speed with ease....I have no clue how they do it or why. In this case they seemed to be showing the younger one how to make the silly people on the boat do tricks like wave and clap and whistle at them...stupid human tricks I guess.

Once back in Marathon we went back to Faro Blanco for a few days to re-stock and give Jill a few days to get over a cold she acquired somewhere in Key West. Thankfully she isn't selfish at all and shared it with me as I was to find out a few days later. We were in Marathon for St. Patricks day and Jill was feeling better so we took the dinghy up to Claws n' Straws for one last round of $1.50 crab claws and the traditional Irish whiskey with a pickle back....with a beer back....don't knock it till you try it!!

After Marathon we had a short run up the inside to a FREE mooring ball in Islamorada which should help the budget recover. The mooring is free for up to 7 nights and is at Shell Key which is a state park. It was an easy dinghy ride into World Wide Sportsman and some nice restaurants. We spent 2 nights here before crossing back into the Atlantic for another short run to John Pennekamp State Park which is a well kept secret of a marina at $52.00 a night.

Shell Key mooring field

 We will be in Key Largo until Thursday when we finally start making our way out of the keys after 3 wonderful months. Our next reservations are in Hollywood Fl. (thanks Bryan) starting Monday so we're not really sure where we'll be along the way, keep an eye on the tracker.

One last note about knowing when you've been somewhere too long...The last Sunday jazz we went to at the Green Parrot I started getting the "locals" drink prices (not a bad thing) and realized I was beginning to look like the "Smirk" guy (definitely a bad thing!!!)

Until next time from somewhere not in the keys.....

More Visits, Parties and Key West

End of February brought better weather and more visitors. First up was a looper party (go figure).

There is a couple who winter in Marathon on their boat that did the loop several years ago. Seven years ago they began hosting a looper "Sunset Celebration" every year for those of us in the area. This includes people contemplating the loop who happen to be in the area. We all bring appetizers and the sponsors provide the drinks and cover the band. This year there were over 160 people attending....that's almost double the number that complete the loop each year! Several of us from Faro Blanco Marina went by dinghy and a good time was had by all (I think).

Hello, My Name is.....

Next up was a visit from friends Vickie and Bryan who decided to get away from the cold north weather for awhile. Problem was it wasn't cold when they left Cincinnati but was when they got back, oh well....I think they enjoyed the lower latitudes anyway. You regular readers will remember them from the Nashville trip last summer. I think they now have the "most nights on Chasing 80" award. As most visits began we took them to Sunset Grille to get acclimated, I think we must sit in the same seats every time!

Also we took the trip to Key West as we did with all the visitors. It would be a shame to be this close and not get to see it! I believe they had fun taking the quick tour around town, I know Jill and I did!

What did he say?

Next up was another visitor from our old marina in Cincinnati, Troy or as his friends call him T-Roy.
We can't go in to many details of his visit since this is a family blog but I believe he may have had the best visit of all....

While he was here I had a few boat bottoms to clean and he jumped right in to help (not the water). If I ever start to make money diving I may have to hire him as an assistant. I'm pretty sure he was ready to find a job and move down here after his stay. The wind had been blowing from the north again so the diving was a bit interesting with all the sea grass.

Creature From The Black Lagoon

Most of the loopers here had been scheduled to leave on March 1st but for one reason or another most extended their stay by a few days. Funny thing is the restaurant scheduled the unveiling of their new menu party for the 2nd....coincidence? I think not. We finally got some free food and drinks out of this place and made the most of it.

Well, the next day and after a bit more than 2 months in Marathon we finally got underway. Most folks began heading up the Keys toward Miami and points north...not Jill and I. We decided it would be a shame to be this close to one of our favorite towns and not take the boat, so we headed toward Key West for the weekend....we thought.

7 Mile bridge

It was great to be moving again and a nice smooth ride down the outside to Key West. Once we passed under the 7 Mile bridge we were officially in the Atlantic Ocean. A short 5 hours later and we were passing the southern most point in the US and making the turn into the Key West ship channel. That's a pretty cool thing to be doing in our own boat I will say....

Key West Harbor

The "plan" was to be here till Monday but Mother Nature decided to kick up the winds so we'll be staying put until at least Friday. Our friends Ed & Kyle were here at another marina and left yesterday morning to head toward Ft. Myers...they are now docked next to us waiting for the winds to calm down too. Ed said it only took one time to stuff the bow into a wave to remind them that this is pleasure boating and there is no need to be on a schedule....wise man.

I know it's hard to be sorry for us being "stuck" in Key West but don't be surprised to see me starting a GoFundMe page after more than a week here...it may blow the whole March budget!!

Find Chasing 80

Come Friday you can start tracking us again as we head up the keys toward south Florida.

Until next time...

On the road again....

Just a quick note that we will be getting underway again in the morning. That would be March 3rd for those of you that don't see the post tonight. I know some cold northern readers like to follow along while they should be working...(joking)

After a weekend in Key West we will be heading slowly back up the keys with plans to be in the Ft. Lauderdale area about April 1st. We'll make the decision on heading to the Bahamas or continuing up the east coast at that time depending on the weather.

The second half of February was as fun as the first but we'll put out a real post about that with pictures in a few days. OK...I can't leave you with no pictures....

Name the movie.