March 2-4, 2014 Marathon, FL

Today we were taking the bus to Key West.  We met Brent and Sue at the dinghy dock around 8:30 and walked over to the local VFW for a pretty good breakfast for cheap!

Then it was a three block walk to the Keys West Transit bus stop where, for $3, Mary and I along with 3 other marina couples rode the bus all the way to Key West.  It takes about 2 hours.  Its a local bus meaning it makes stops all along the route.

Susan and Mary at Mile Zero

We got off at Mile 0 and proceeded to stroll the streets for awhile.  We stopped at the Green Parrot bar for  a beer and listened to a jazz band start up a set.  Hunger pangs hit Brent and Mary shortly there after so while Sue left to go explore some art galleries we stopped in at Sloppy Joes for a sloppy joe sandwich and a drink or two.

Brent, Sue and Mary at the Green Parrot bar studying maps

We then headed over to the Hemingway house and poked around there for a few hours.  Interesting place with about 45 cats roaming around.  

Hemingway's pool  

Next was the Mel Fisher marine museum where they have on display many samples of his treasure hunting.  Very interesting place.  By that time it was near sunset and since we were near Mallory Square we took that in with all its entertainment.  Really fun.  The sunset wasn't all that exciting since there were clouds on the horizon.  We strayed over to the Hogs Breath saloon and ate a few things along with a couple of drinks.  

Guy is just about to dive through the little hoop

By then it was getting close to bus departure time so we briskly walked the 3 blocks to the bus stop.  But Sue, fearing Mary would freeze on the bus since they keep the A/C on so low, stopped and bought some sort of shirt thing for her.  Me?  Right.  I was left to freeze in my t-shirt!

So Mary's shirt, her dress and palm leaf basket accounted for all our purchases.  But of course we're here for another few weeks and will undoubtedly be heading back.  So many shops.  So little time.  Thankfully they have benches scattered about for those of us less enthusiastic about embracing the shopping experience.

All the original boating couples were waiting at the bus stop except for Gabe and his wife who somehow got on the wrong bus and ended up riding all through Key West for an hour.

We all got on the empty bus and began the journey back to Marathon.  One of the stops in Key West was at the hospital and where Gabe and his wife finally boarded the correct bus.

Our bus.  We all got off and strolled to the nearby gas station

We had gone several miles outside of Key West to shark inlet bridge when we ran into a long line of cars stopped dead in the road.  There was a 3 car pile-up at the bridge and traffic was stopped in both directions for about 30 minutes.  And since this is the only road alternative routes are not to be had.

Just to add to the enjoyment factor the bus was uttering some pretty spectacular grinding noises.  I'd swear we were about to loose a transmission or a wheel bearing.  But no, we made it to Marathon without a breakdown.  I wonder how far the thing went after dropping us off.  Course I'm only speculating but it sure sounded like it was on its last legs.

We got back to the boat around 11 and had to run the generator for an hour or so to keep the batteries up overnight so we didn't get to sleep until about 12:30am.  Awful late for us old folks.

Mary and her booze

Monday, we received an early (9:30am) phone call confirming the raffle prize Mary won.  At the Pig races the previous day she entered a raffle.  And won!  2 huge bottles of  Drewers scotch and 2 bottles of Canadian Club.  Irony at play again.  Neither of us drinks Scotch or C&C and Mary isn't drinking much these days at all.

We walked the 1/2 mile to the Day Care center to pickup our prize and lug it back to the boat.   And yes, the Keys are liberal play ground but they honestly don't regularly dispense large quantities of alcohol at such places.  The Day Care center was the beneficiary of the raffle money so they gave out the prizes.

Our resident Manatee

Another Manatee wondered into the dinghy dock again and hung around our dinghy for a time.  Mary and several other women policed anyone attempting to leave the dock.  And yes, that included me.  So I had to sit awhile until the Manatee decided to float under the docks leaving me a clear path to leave and haul the booze back to the boat.



I returned and went to the store while Mary stayed in the cool shade of the marina office.  And the we both went back to the boat to put away the groceries.

We had ended up with a social conflict, Brent and Susan's for dinner or Rob and Sue on their smaller boat to see the sunset before heading to a restaurant on the other end of the island.  Robe suggested we might be able to see the Southern Cross, a constellation usually more visible in the southern sky.  Alas we'll never know because we ended up going to Brent and Susan's boat since they're leaving here in 2 days.

But before we had to be over to Brents boat for dinner, I took the dinghy over to Rob's boat to cajole him into thinking about another day to do the trip.  While I was there we discussed his Splendidee washer/dryer which he had removed to fix.  My interest is becoming intense since the repair job I'm attempting on our old Frigidaire unit isn't progressing as neatly as I had hoped.  So the specter of purchasing a new laundry appliance hangs in the air above our checkbook.  Ugh ...

I left Rob's and decided to take the dinghy out in the ocean and run around Boot Key and back into Sister Creek.  The poor outboard has been chugging along in the harbor and slow speeds so I figured opening it up for a while might pacify any stirring gremlins.  Was a nice ride.

I got back on the boat, showered and loaded up the liquor.  And Mary.  We went over to Brent and Sue's boat and had a great time.  Sue and Brent are really good cooks!

Dave, Mary and Joanne

Next morning, Tuesday, we were making plans on going out to the reef to snorkel since it was supposed to be calm all day.  We talked with Dave and Joanne who had to come into town from their condo on the north side of the island.  So we met them here at the dinghy dock and after walking around the park we decided to just go eat lunch at Lazy Days where Rob and Sue keep their boat.  Healthy people that we are, it was 4 salads for us.  Sheez ... how low have we sunk.

We did walk over to Rob and Sue's boat for a few hours of catch up and then took Dave and Joanne back to the dinghy dock so they could do their errands before everything closed.   We'll probably see them tomorrow.  We'll either run up by them or they'll run down here.


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