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