Fun and Work

Over the past 4 days we have tackled several repair issues and played with our old boat friends, Steve and Linda, who were our dock mates at E 55th St Marina in Cleveland. Steve and Linda sold their house about the same time that we did and moved aboard there trawler, Yesterday's Dream, on which they have been living and cruising down the Mississippi, across the gulf, and are presently in Marathon Key where we are.

Among our dirty jobs was re plumbing the holding tank, probably the worst job on a boat, and one that no friend should have to help with. However, we are blessed with our good friend Steve, who knows how to fix everything and has a very willing spirit. The hands in the picture are not ours, although Joy did her share of the dirty work! Also, fixed was some loose electrical connections, a sticky valve, and the ladder on the stern of the boat. Thank you, Steve!

Afternoons are for relaxing and playing, so Joy and Steve went out kayaking, while Joe and Linda did some relaxing. There is a picture of the private island off Steve and Linda's marina with a cabin for rent for $2,800 a week. We also saw an iguana, about 2 feet long, sunning himself on a ledge by the water.

The first 2 days in Marathon, we anchored and waited for a mooring ball, starting tenth on a waiting list. There are 250 moorings in the harbor, so by day 3, we were able to move onto a mooring for the next 2-3 weeks; a good spot to be in. Marathon Marina community has free yoga three mornings a week that I am excited about and a buddy board where boaters planning to cross to the Bahamas can meet each other and cross together.

Today, we went out with Steve and Linda to the reef to snorkel. Joy and Steve got in the water with the jelly fish, full body swim suits for protection, and snorkeling gear. The fan coral was beautiful with lots of multi-colored fish. We saw several barracudas, all minding their own business. Later in the evening we watched the Super Bowl until halftime, when we returned to our boat. Of course, we had to critique the commercials and knew we were getting old when there was nothing in the halftime show that appealed to any of us. Tomorrow we take the $3 shuttle to Key West to visit with Francis and Linda, and Linda's sister and husband.