Susan and I drove to Ft. Lauderdale and spent the day with our friends, Don and Rosemarie. They have lived in Ft. Lauderdale for over 30 years after moving from Denver. They were wonderful hosts. We had a terrific bike tour of Ft. Lauderdale. It is a great way to see a city that has over 300 miles of canals.
Peter flew into Ft. Lauderdale as Susan flew to Savannah for a girls' trip to explore the city and catch up with college roommates.
Pete and I drove to Chez Gilbert where the boat was docked. Our first order of business
was breakfast at the local Waffle House.
We then sailed from Key Largo south to Shell Key where we dropped the anchor for the night after a delightful 6 hour's sail. Enjoyed a swim in turquoise waters.
After navigating for a good part of the day, Pete grilled steaks on the poop deck.
The next day, the crew of the mighty Gratitude sailed another 6 hours to Vaca Key and the beautiful
Marathon Marina and Boat Yard. Hot weather and high humidity dictated a swim.
We launched our dinghy, the not-so-mighty Attitude. It was a fun ride in Boot Key Harbour to yet another tiki bar for lunch. When we arrived, we realized we had both forgotten shoes. So back to the mother ship for shoes. 'Castaways' has 32 beers on tap, good food, and a solid, colorful local following. They offer a shuttle service via golf cart to the surrounding trailer park.
Pete's water taxi service is top rate!
Susan returned to Ft. Lauderdale after 3 days of frolicking in Savannah with college roommates.
She picked up Jamie at the airport and, after a quick stop at Wendy's, drove down to Marathon. We had a wonderful 65th birthday dinner for an old guy from Colorado.
Black and white kitty helps staff with clean up after dinner.
Bahia Honda has a state park with beautiful white beaches. While you many people think there are an endless choice of white sand beaches in the keys, such is not the case. Most shoreline is mangrove swamp, a habitat for birds, iguanas and lots of other critters.
In the background is the old railroad bridge that Henry Flagler built around 1910. The railroad went all the way to Key West but was wiped out during the hurricane of '37. In the 1950s it was converted to a highway using the old rails as guard rails. Most bridges have been replaced with modern bridges, but remnants of the old railroad bridges are in evidence all up and down the keys.
We reluctantly let Peter and Jamie head for home in NYC. Susan and I rented a small condo in Marathon for a week that we would use as command center to sort, wash, and organize gear for the next season. It turned out to be an air-conditioned oasis after 90 degree days of boat chores. While the Grat has a very efficient heater, it does not have a/c.
The Chiki Tiki is a good place for a lunch break. Or happy hour. While exploring for tiki bars in our dinghy, we roamed around the many moorings in Boot Key Harbour. Much to our delight, we came upon the sailboat Anam Cara and friends Franci and Mike from Chicago. We first met them two years ago in Norfolk and later in Oriental, NC. We had lost contact so it wonderful to reconnect and spend some time with them and other sailors over drinks and pot-luck dinners.
View of entrance to Boot Key Harbour from the Chiki.
We had our first invited four-legged visitor aboard Gratitude courtesy of cruising friends from Arizona. They warned us that the very friendly Sami (short for Samantha) was like a slinky. We were very relieved that the visit did not end with an impromptu swimming lesson for Sami the Friendly Ferret.
After decommissioning Gratitude for the season, we pulled her out of the water in Marathon, a sad day.
After a meandering journey of over 3,000 nautical miles from Summerside, PEI, Canada over the last 6 years, it was time to once again put her up on the hard for another season.
We will miss the keys until Gratitude is splashed again in January.
Thanks to all who have followed the adventures of the
Mighty Gratitude.
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