Busy, busy days.

Fishing trap Christmas tree.

 

You would think being retired and living on a sailboat would be a slow and unhurried lifestyle. It can be, but most days we end up running out of time to do everything we want to do. The last few days are good examples. We went to the marina in the morning to take showers and a couple of loads of laundry. Brenda took her pine needle basket making stuff and I took in the iPad to download some movies.

Bret on Elusive called to see if we could get together to work on splicing some loops in his lines. He met us ashore so we could practice a couple splices. We had some fun, but the splices were anything but a success. So, we made plans to meet up at their boat for cocktails and appetizers. We enjoyed a nice evening of sundowners together and then Brenda and I dinghied back to Wrinkles. We watched a couple of episodes of Downton Abbey on the iPad before going to bed.

Bret and Mike struggling with splicing.

The next day we went for a nice bike ride to check on the welder who is repairing our bent davit and to a bike shop to get a new tube for one of the bikes. We installed the tube and hopped back on the bikes to pedal against 20 knot winds toward the Vaca Cut Bridge. The kids, Mom and Karen are all coming to visit in a few weeks and we wanted to look over a condo they were considering to stay in. Our legs got a really good workout, but the condo was a good find. We stopped in the condo rental office and placed a deposit on the condo.

Once we got back to the marina we got cleaned up to meet two other couples at Hurricanes for happy hour and cheap wings. By the time we got back to Wrinkles we were pretty well worn out. Still had to watch a couple more episodes of Downton Abbey. That series is addictive.

Sunday morning we enjoyed breakfast with Brian and Lynn (Midori) and Bill and Denise (Brandy Girl) at the American Legion. Once back at the marina we made plans to have dinner aboard Elusive. The dinner was wonderful as well as the sunset.

Monday we biked up to Brutus Seafood to purchase some shrimp. Later Brenda dinghied in to the marina to work with some other volunteers prepping for the children's Christmas part. I went to Elusive to help Bret work on his bow thruster issue. After everyone's projects were completed we hosted Bret and Theresa aboard Wrinkles for Shrimp Pesto Pasta. To top the evening off we tasted some of Mom's Caramels and Brandy Balls. To end the evening we --- you know what is coming right?--- we watched two episodes of Downton Abbey.

Enjoying Mom's treats.

Tuesday morning we picked Bret and Theresa up in our dinghy to shuttle them to shore. They had rented a car to go to Key West Customs and Immigration office. We rode to Key West with them and shared a great lunch at the Conch Republic before indulging ourselves with a Key Lime Pie dipped in dark chocolate and frozen on a popsicle stick at Kermits.

Yummy!

Mike peeking at Marilyn.

Hemmingway's home.

We wandered a few streets and of course had our picture taken at the famous Southermost Point. It is a two hour bus ride back to Marathon and we hoped to get back early enough to participate in a dinghy float scheduled for 5 pm. We jumped on the 3 pm bus and enjoyed the scenery as we tried to keep our eyes open.

We hopped off the bus and went directly to our boat to grab a dish to pass, sweatshirts and something to drink. As we motored over to the assembled dinghys the sun was setting and it promised a beautiful sunset. About 35 dinghies all tied together haphazardly passing various appetizers around and around. People were meeting friends old and new as the laughter and chatter flowed out. The sunset was indeed a thing of beauty as the red colors blazed while several of the cruisers honored the sunset with blasts from their Conch shells. Opposite the amazing sunset there was a bright full moon competing for our attention. Truly a memorable time.

Approaching the raft up group.

Here is a 13 second video of one of the Conch salutes. https://youtu.be/Gl23VjdRz4Y

Once we separated from the remaining floaters we had a nice slow quiet dinghy ride around the harbor on glass smooth water. We admired the festive Christmas lights on a number of boats including Wrinkles. What a great day it has been. After a couple more episodes of Downton Abbey we were totally exhausted and ready for bed.

Wrinkles all lit up.

What will we do tomorrow?

 

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