A massive cold front ripped through the Florida Keys two days ago, bringing rain and rapidly falling temperatures. This morning, temperature was a brisk 61 degrees at sunrise. Thankfully, the boat has a great heat-pump that kept the boat nice and comfy.
By noon, the temperature had moderated to 77 degrees, perfect for riding the bicycle to Publics and a quick stop at the local liquor store to restock the Green Coconut Margaretta components.
After lunch, the wind was still howling, but there were still things to see and do. Aiding a lady in distress was the first order of business. She had just returned from the grocery store with a load of fresh produce and fresh caught fish fillets, all of which were sitting in plastic bags in the bottom of her dinghy. Problem was her outboard motor was flooded and try as she may, it would not start. It took me a few minutes to diagnose the problem and get the engine fired up. She was a happy sailor, gave me a hug and kiss, then shoved off across the harbor. Story of my life - the good looking, young gals always seem to leave you standing at the dock.
Sunsets are spectacular here, as well as the sunrises, which I never seem to get out of bed early enough to witness. And, of course, there are lots of neat people here to photograph as well. During the last 30 minutes of daylight I snapped the photos below.
Wednesday nights at the Marathon City Marina's Tiki Hut are reserved for Meet & Greet, a get together where folks get to meet newcomers to the harbor and u s oldsters get to fire up the marina's grills and show off our culinary skills. I'll be at Sombrero Resort playing music for their Happy Hour, rocking the house with the PSR-3000.
Unfortunately, there's just under two weeks before I have to head north for the Chesapeake's nearly frozen upper reaches. Brrrrr!
The view from the Tiki Hut is pretty spectacular, particularly when perusing the adjacent harbor.
Over the years there has been a lot of sailors from all parts of the globe that stopped in Marathon - some just stuck around for a decade or two and others left signs.
Captain Jack, who just turned 91, is a permanent fixture at the marina, still rides his bike every day, still hits on the ladies, and lives aboard his 28-foot sailboat. Jack came here more than two decades ago.
When most folks come to the marina from their mooring balls, they're often accompanied by children, and or pets. These are some happy youngsters and they love sailing.
The pets are always happy to come ashore, especially the dogs. They have one thing in mind at least three times a day, therefore while underway they're always at the bow of the dinghy. You can almost hear them saying "C'mon, go faster, I gotta pee bad."
Flowers abound on the island, and after just one day of rain they burst into bloom, even from what appears to be a nearly dead plant growing out of the rocks.
As I stated at the onset, sunsets here are phenomenal to say the least. These were shot from the ramp leading down to the dinghy dock.
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About the camera: The above photos were shot with a 12-year-old Sony Mavica CD-1000 digital camera. It's only 2.1 megapixel, but the lens is fantastic - 20:1 zoom.
More to come,
Gary
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