Hi Loyal Readers,

We arrived in Marathon, Fl,  January23rd and put the boat in the water the next day.  We promptly came down with a case of bronchitis which took weeks to run its course. We're blaming the crud on the airplane trip to Ft. Lauderdale.

 This year is quite different for us as we have been at the same location for a couple of months.  It is, of course, very different from transiting every day or so.  We have established a bit of a routine here and have made some great new friends.  It's like moving into a neighborhood where everybody is outside all of the time and everybody has a common interest in boating.  We go to yoga twice a week which has paid off as we contort ourselves around the boat.  Movie night is Tuesday and there is always a great turn out.

We don't have a car so we depend, as do many folks here, on our bicycles.  We thought we would really miss having wheels but we manage quite well with panniers for the bikes.  You can always opt for a cab for a flat rate of five bucks for anywhere on the key.  The bus to Key West is a buck and a half each way.

We had a wonderful visit from our Canadian friends Peter and M.J. Shankel and Doug and Pam Briand.  We were on the go all the time.  A highlight was a fishing trip arranged for by Pete.




To the left is a Permit which is a type of Pompano.  Our captain was great and we all caught a bunch of fish and then took them all to the restaurant here at the marina and they prepared them all family style for us in a number of different ways.  Very fun day!  Thanks Peter and M.J.!

                                                                                  Doug and Pam

Another day we had a beautiful sail.  We anchored on the Gulf side of the key and had a 

nice picnic lunch.

Here is a pic of Cap'n Pete at the helm of the Gratitude.  MJ is navigating through crab pots.

Every so often, manatees visit to sip some fresh water coming off the dock.  

This one scared the *&$% out of me when I bent down to check a dock line.

Mama with her calf.

Darcy and Jeff Allen-Young are building Darcy's Bateau in Loveland, CO.  It  is a 41' motor
yacht designed by Jeff's dad in the 1940s.  Jeff and Darcy came down to Marathon to see what this boat life is all about as they .
 

Here they are in the Fatty, our 8' dinghy.  I forgot to mention it 

as a prime means of transportation along with the bikes. We also got in some
nice day sails with Jeff and Darcey.

One sail was out to Sombrero Key where we picked up a mooring and did some snorkeling.



We will be here one more week and then head north to Ft. Myers on the Gulf coast of Florida.  Then we will go through the Okeechobee Waterway across Florida to Stuart, Fl on the Atlantic side.  We reluctantly have put the Gratitude on the market with a broker in Stuart.  We'll see what happens.  May or may not be another boat in our future - have to see what happens.

Or will we just sail off into the sunset?!?