With a couple days between Heather and Joe leaving and Tracey and Brian coming we wash the boat, tidy the interior and finish off some quick jobs that we had left because, well, we were having way too much fun. Miss you two already.
Tracey and Brian were held up by a storm passing through the US so by the time they arrived it was after dark. They missed all the scenery on the drive on the way south. A long day behind them we all get settled and get to sleep for the next day.
Waiting out some winds we take in the pool for a couple days with some of Brian’s homemade mojitos and margueritas. Being the great chefs they are they find fresh fish at the fishery and cook us up some amazing tuna. We are well taken care of in the chef department while they are aboard. We also head to Key West and rent bicycles for the day. We are able to see all of the big tourist spots. In Mallory Square, where folks come in to enjoy the nightly sunset, we stop at a bar and order Key West beer and mojitos. Very potent mojitos. We didn’t stay for the sunset as we really wanted to see more of the city before the daylight was gone. Heading into the Duval Street area we hop off the bikes and walk the street grabbing an ice cream and meandering the shops. It is a bit more busy than last week with Heather and Joe but I’m sure covid has still kept folks away. The roosters and chickens are everywhere including in the outdoor restaurants and bars and stopping traffic while they decide whether to cross the street. The cruise ship area is empty of ships and passengers. President Truman’s home and the southern Whitehouse, as it is called, has many visitors along with Hemingway’s home entertaining the tourists. As our day comes to an end we stop in for happy hour and $5.00 margueritas and enjoy the last of the day. Then the trek home and see all the turquoise waters again.
We did head out to Sombrero Reef when the winds calmed. We stayed there all day snorkeling and enjoying the day. It is always a good roll with the waves out here but we decide to stop and stay the night in an anchorage as the winds calm near shore. We are entertained by a dolphin show. The young ones were jumping and swimming by our boat with mom and the tiny ones watching us as they fed by the boat. The show was spectacular. While Tracey and Brian were here at least one of us caught sight of a stingray jumping out of the sea, manatees, dolphins, sharks, a green turtle, rainbow parrot fish and many others while snorkeling. Even a goliath grouper was seen while snorkeling.
Scott and Brian got out the hookah snuba system (a combination of scuba and snorkeling) to clean the underside of the boat. It took about 1.5 hours with both of them scrubbing off the barnacles and gunk growing. Most boaters hire a diver to scrub the bottom but with Scott having his scuba license the DIY solution makes more sense, for us.
Sunsets and sunrises, great food and life long friends made this 10 days amazing. Looking forward to next year wherever that may be.
