Goodbye Marje and Ed

Weather: Bright and sunny all day! Temp range 60 – 76 degrees; light wind (<10 knots)

Comment: Marje and Ed loaded their gear into the rental car last night. We were up by 0630, washed our faces and piled into the rented Toyota Corolla. We were off at 0700, hitching a ride with Marje and Ed. We were going as far as Homestead (on the mainland outside of Miami) so we could take care of some business and return some items to the WalMart.

It was a quiet ride to the Key Largo Starbucks, were we had a jolt of “joe.” At around 1000 hours, we bid our farewells as Marje and Ed drove off to Jensen Beach to be reunited with their Motorhome. They’ll be headed back to Houston, but not before completing another adventure or two.

We enjoyed their visit and hope they did as well. I can honestly say that we didn’t feel crowded while on the boat. They had their own cabin and the dinning table easily accommodated the four of us. The cockpit wasn’t crowded and the nets provided a comfortable lounging area.

It was a different story for the dinghy. We usually made two trips; three people on the first run and the driver going back for the last person. Each of the crew was checked out on the operation of the dinghy and each drove it to the dock as needed. In light wind and calm seas, all four of us would pile in. It made quite a sight in the harbor.

We also made extensive use of the water taxi, SmorgasBoat, especially when there was a significant chop in the harbor.

While our guests were here, we motored and/or sailed down the Intracoastal Waterway for a little over 200 miles in five virtually non-stop days. We anchored in peaceful, lonely spots and crowded harbors. We’ve been in Marathon for 20 days. And until yesterday, we were on mooring ball L10. We think our guests got to experience many aspects of cruising: good weather and bad, long days underway, long days on the boat when it would have been too uncomfortable to dinghy ashore, glorious, warm, sunny days without a care in the world, bus rides to Key West and Big Pine Key, and meeting other people. Most memorable of all would have to be the boat training experience, including the use of the head, conserving water, using shore side showers and lavatories as much as possible. Twice weekly visits from the pumpout boat were also a highlight in that it eased the worriment that the head would back up in the middle of the night.

Anna Marie and I returned to the boat at about 1300 hours to find it on the hard. We inspected the hull all over as it is the first time we have seen the bottom. The yard had already power washed the bottom and scrapped off a few barnacles (on the bow, keels and a few other spots). They’re going to paint tomorrow.

We walked around the block to the Keys Fishery and enjoyed the view from the “Upper Deck,” the shrimp cocktail and crab claws and a coke. It’s a great afternoon break (shrimp cocktail, blue crab claws or shushi) and quite a deal for $2.50 and now that we are on the hard at the Keys Boatworks, it is right around the corner.

We arrived at the movie theater at 1900 hours only to find out that the feature, “Charlie Wilson’s War,” was sold out! On the way home, we stopped off for a pizza. We ate half and saved the other for lunch tomorrow.

We ended the evening by watching ½ of Pirates II (dead Man’s Chest). We were off to bed at 2230 hours.