Patriot Dreams: December 2014

Friday, December 19, 2014

December 19, 2014 - Another beautiful day in paradise!

We are enjoying our time in Marathon, in spite of the fact that we live attached to a mooring ball and have to take the dinghy to the dinghy dock to access land, laundry, showers, etc. It is a much different experience, as we don't have the close contact with our neighbors like we do in a marina slip. However, our nearest neighbor, Victor, came and introduced himself. We are planning to go out to dinner with him tonight after a 4:30 meet and greet at marina's tiki hut.

Over the past few days we have kept very busy. The first day we took a long bike ride to check out the slip arrangements while we're gone home for the holiday. We also went to the rental office to verify our living arrangements in the canal-side house where we will be staying with Bev & Gordon from January 1-February 1. Both the marina and the rental house are in Key Colony Beach, which is an incorporated community within Marathon.

Yesterday we took the dinghy down Sister Creek and out to the Atlantic to a gorgeous beach - Sombrero Beach and spent the afternoon soaking up the sun. Most other days we have gotten on our bikes and explored the area.

We will be here until Sunday, then will move the boat to Key Colony Beach Marina for the time we'll be in Michigan.

Sneaking through the mooring field to our boat

Sister Creek, the waterway that we took in our dinghy to Sombrero Beach. Caught a glimpse of a manatee on the way.

Sister Creek, almost to the Atlantic

Intracoastal markers straight ahead, marking the entrance to the Atlantic

Multi-million dollar homes along Sister Creek. I picked one out that Jim could get me for Christmas but he said "not this year, maybe next." :) :)

In some spots, rocky shores, and white sand on others.

Sombrero Beach...white sandy shore. Great spot to soak up the sun and get caught up on reading.

Landed ashore, ready to put our toes in the water and fannies in the sand!

Took a short dinghy ride out to this island that is occupied by a lone house. As you can see, crab pots along this shore also!

Quite the pad and VERY private! Wouldn't want to be here in a hurricane, though.

Just a small fraction of the mooring field. Can't possibly capture the immensity of it.

Here is Connie working hard at directing me where to go in the dingy.

We still adore our little "home away from home". It works for us! This was taken as we returned in our dingy from the Sombrero Beach on the Atlantic side of the keys.

Thursday, December 18, 2014

December 18, 2014 - LOVING Marathon!!

To our dear, loyal followers, we FINALLY have a chance to post to the blog. We have had so much fun, and no internet access other than our iPhone hotspot and we offer those 2 excuses for not posting our updated information.

When we departed Marco Island we ventured to Little Shark River, where we anchored for one night. This was a secluded anchorage in the Everglades, very private and calm. We saw lots of birds, but didn't see manatee or alligators, as we had hoped. However, we had a very enjoyable night enjoying the peace and quiet, and sharing the ample space with only one other boat.

The following morning we left Little Shark River for the shorter trip across the Gulf to Marathon. Luckily, we had a beautiful day for travel...sunny skies, comfortably warm weather, calm seas with a small breeze behind us, gently nudging us along. It was truly glorious and we spent a good part of the day on the bow of the boat with our navigation equipment and remote control steering enjoying the sunshine and peaceful seas. We were accompanied during several parts of the journey by dolphins swimming in our wake, under our bow, and showing their graceful diving skills just ahead of the boat. I can't even begin to explain the exhilarating feeling of the journey. We felt SO fortunate to have had such good weather for the 35 mile journey!

The only challenge of the journey were the multitude of crab pots throughout the Gulf. Thus, the entire day was spent with both of us on the lookout for crab pots which dotted the surface of the beautiful, blue-green Gulf. It was definitely not a day where we could set the autopilot for a waypoint and expect to get there via a direct route. Our journey was a zig-zag trip across to Marathon. Thankfully, because of the calm seas, we were able to spot them a good distance away and had no direct encounters.

We are now on a mooring ball in Boot Key Harbor in Marathon.We arrived here on December 15th and were astounded as to the magnitude of this marina's mooring field. They have very few slips in the marina, but have approximately 250 mooring balls and surprisingly, as of today, they are all occupied! In all directions, all we see are boats connected to mooring balls, with constant dinghy traffic passing by. We are close walking/biking distance to all the amenities of Marathon.

On Marco Island...this is how they keep their work boats safe over the weekend when they're not working on their waterfront project. Very clever, and an interesting eye-catcher.

We were moving too fast to catch this in focus, but a familiar sight along the way...osprey nesting atop the intracoastal markers.

Made it to Shark River just before sunset. It was a beautiful anchorage, calm and peaceful.

Strangers in the night - another boat at the Little Shark anchorage. Nobody we knew, but it was nice to know that someone else was there.

Because the connection through the hotspot is so slow, we will post additional photos tomorrow, along with an update of the latest adventures. Also, it's past "Looper Midnight" - 9:00 p.m. so brain fog is setting in. Goodnight, friends and family, our loyal followers! xoxo

Friday, December 12, 2014

DECEMBER 12, 2014 - On the way to Marathon

After spending three days at Legacy Harbor Marina in Ft. Myers, we are now on the water again, headed toward Marathon where we will leave the boat to fly home for Christmas.

We had a fun time at Legacy, meeting up with Looper friends we've missed - Mark & Vicki (Blue Willow), Dave & Michele (Just Us), and Paul (Infinite Sea). We caught up on our adventures since we've been together and made new memories.

Today we said our good-byes and left Legacy to travel in the open Gulf to Marco Island, where we will spend two nights anchored out in Smokehouse Bay, within a residential area of Marco Island. Our trip in the Gulf was a bit rougher than we would have liked, but not dangerous. The wind was behind us (following seas) so we "surfed" our way across the Gulf. We saw many dolphins, pelicans, and osprey along the way.

Tomorrow we plan to take the dinghy ashore and explore Marco Island. On Sunday we will leave here, weather permitting, and travel to Little Shark River in the Everglades. We plan to spend one or two nights there and then travel to Marathon in the Keys. We will leave our boat at Key Colony Beach Marina and when we return on the 30th we will be accompanied by sister Bev and brother-in-law Gordon, who will spend a month with us in Marathon at a cottage in Key Colony Beach. We will have our boat tied to the dock just outside the cottage, so plan to take some excursions on the nicer days. Looking forward to our time with Bev & Gordon.

Looper gathering for pot-luck at Marker 1 Marina the night before we left to go home for Thanksgiving. As you can tell, it was a little chilly so we were all bundled in our warm jackets.

Anchored with friends Roger & Mary on TaTa

Pelicans roosting in this tree along the water near Anna Maria Island

Found a neat little marina on Anna Maria Island named Keyes Marina...not listed in Active Captain but a great spot for smaller boats like ours. Explored with Roger & Mary. Fun day!

This little store??house?? was floating in the Caloosahatchee River. Sign said they were open for business. Not sure what kind of business...

Having fun with "my sisters" at the Legacy Harbor Marina Christmas pot-luck last night.

Leaving the Gulf and entering Collier Bay in Marco Island

Marco Island...high rise paradise

Collier Bay entrance, sign alerting us to manatee. We hope to see some while we are here.

Definitely an upscale area...many homes along the water in this price range.

One of the many osprey we have seen along the way. Many have built nests on top of these markers.

Boats slipped at Esplanade Marina at Marco Island, just next to where we are anchored

Our anchorage is in a residential area, so our window view is into the yards of the nearby homes.

Most of these homes seem unoccupied...probably owned by snowbirds who haven't flown south yet

Sunday, December 7, 2014

December 7, 2014 - Finally a post for those who were wondering if we are still alive!

Time flies when you are having fun, and we are surely doing that! I know it has been ages since we have posted, so this will be an attempt to catch our loyal followers up on our adventures.

We flew home for the Thanksgiving holiday and, despite flu bug attacks, we loved our time with family and friends. We got our much-needed hugs and loving' from the grandkids, and took comfort in knowing that in just a short time we will be returning for Christmas celebration with them!

Our flights to and from Michigan were easy, and luckily we got a very short glimpse of the snow that had hammered them in the previous weeks. The day after we arrived the snow melted and provided an enjoyable, worry-free visit.

When we returned to Dunedin we were happy to find that several of the Looper friends with whom we had traveled earlier had made their way across the Gulf to "our marina". Thus, instead of leaving the day after our arrival back at the marina, we stayed for another two days. During that time, we enjoyed bike rides, card games, potlucks, and cocktails with the friends gathered there.

We left with Roger and Mary from TaTa on Thursday, December 4 and traveled across Tampa Bay to an anchorage near Anna Maria Island where we anchored and tied together for the night and took our dinghies to the nearby beach for a short walk. We returned to the boat for dinner and an evening of cards. The following day we pulled anchor and went to Anna Maria Island, stopped at Keyes Marina and took a walk to the beach, then went for burgers and a beer at Duffy's. After lunch we departed for our journey to Sarasota and a mooring ball at Marina Jack's.

We rented a car with Roger and Mary and drove to St. Petersburg to attend the boat show, and both confirmed that we loved our boats and couldn't find one we would rather have. After the boat show we went for a short visit to Looper friends Carey & Martha on Freedom, who were in a slip at the St. Petersburg City Marina. Fun day!

Today we hopped in the car and went to see the Ringling Museum and Art Gallery...a great experience that we all enjoyed. On the return trip we introduced Roger & Mary to Trader Joe's, one of our favorite places, and a real treat for us all.

Tonight we again gathered for dinner and cards and called it a night, knowing that we would both be leaving tomorrow for our next destination.

This part of the journey has once again been filled with many laughs, lasting memories, and great adventures! We have seen so much, made warm, lasting friendships, and continue to count our blessings every day!