No Joy in Mudville!

Well, we're in a rut, albeit a nice one! Our day started pretty much as usual, that is, with a bowl of cereal and the Cruiser's Net. Lee, the net controller for Thursday's announced that today was his last time as net controller for the season. He and Dee have a few more Relay for Life responsibilities and then they are off to store About Time, their Gemini catamaran. They'll spend the summer in their Florida home.

After the net, we went ashore for Yoga, another Thursday morning staple. Following Yoga, we had a Punic lunch at the. tiki Hut before heading out to find a storage unit for the truck. We found a reasonably priced one at Home Depot, but didn't like the way it fit in the truck bed. We checked NAPA and Advanced Auto Parts to no avail.

Today was opening day of the Major League Baseball season, so we watched a bit of the first game (NY Yankees v. Detroit Tigers). The game was tied at 3 all when we left in the seventh inning.

We returned to the boat to get ready for the wine and  cheese celebration following the dedicate of the Boaters' Pole. If you recall, that's the pole where boaters were invited to leave their mark on Boot Key Harbor. I posted a picture of our effort a few weeks back. As luck would have it, our sign was voted the second best! The winner was S/V Windsong (see the picture) whose sign included a drawing of their dinghy with occupants (two people and three big dogs). It was really well done! Our friends Brian and Lynn, S/V Midori won the prize for being the furthest hailing port from Marathon. 

We returned to SUNSHINE at around 1900 hours hungry for dinner. After which we watched a few episodes of Cheers.

The central portion of Florida had some pretty severe storm this afternoon. A building at the Orlando airport collapsed and NASA Is concerned for Space Shuttle Endeavor as it sits perched on the launchpad. It's scheduled to make its final mission with an April 19th launch. 

Happy Birthday, Twins!

 My sister and I have completed 63 trips around the sun with relative ease, and in relatively good health! I for one, am ready for 63 more! 

On the day, we did:

• a 4 mile bike ride;

• went to Publix for my birthday dinner supplies. Lobster, pork tenderloin, corn on cob and red bliss potatoes. Grilled at Banana Bay Resort under a Tiki hut in the picnic area  and enjoyed a great dinner and celebration with Anna Marie and friends Dee and Joe;

• talked to kids and Marjorie on the phone.

• enjoyed a great day! 

More Bike Repairs!

We had to take my bike to the shop for more repairs. This time, five spokes were broken, apparently as a result of a near miss with a car exiting the Home Depot parking lot. Although we didn't collide, I had to start short and struggle to keep me and the bike from falling. During the struggle, the bike thumped the curb and, I suspect the spokes were weakened or broke at that point. 

Since most of the spokes were frozen and rusty, I decided to spring for a new wheel. Bike to shop for new wheel. 

They fixed the bike while we waited and then we rode to Banana Bay to hang out at the pool with Fritz's.

An Easy Day!

Following our usual morning activities, we hopped on the bikes for a  ride to Sombrero Beach where we enjoyed a picnic lunch. After a walk on the beach, we headed off the Banana Bay to hang out at the pool with the Fritz's.

We dined at Sparky's happy hour (25 cent shrimp) and the flat bread salad before heading back to SUNSHINE.

Sleeping In!

Holy cow! It's late! We haven't slept until 0930 in I don't know how long. Ctainly not since we've been in Marathon!

The highlight of the day was  bike ride to Sunset Park in Key Colony Beach. We enjoyed the weTher and the ambience of this little park for a bit before heading back. In all, we did 14 miles in the saddle!

Ocean Festival in Key West!

We have  a big dayr planned! Joe and Dee picked us up at the marina and we headed off to the Ocean Festival in Key West. Our first stop was the Big Pine Flea Market. We made a few purchases, including two hats at $3.00 each.

The Ocean Festival in Key West was to benefit for Mote Research Laboratory. There were a number of booths, including one Lucy (LuLu) Buffett who did some cooking demonstrations.

Performing on stage were a number of solo artists, including C W Colt. Howard Livingston and the Mile Marker 24 band headlined to event and began their performance at about 1600 hours. This mrked the first time that Dee and Joe have head Howard. They like him a lot.

On the way back to Marathon, we stopped for Dinner at Boondocks. It was a most enjoyable time and the food was reasonably priced.

By the time we arrived home (2100 hours), we were all tired puppies.

Bocce, Hanging at the Pool, Lost Key and Fish Fry!

It's Friday! We started the day with breakfast while listening to the Cruise's Net. At 1000 hours, we met some other folks on the Bocce courts. Dee and I teamed up against Lee and Anna Marie. We played three very competitive games but, Anna Marie and Lee won two of the three games and declared that they were the champions.

Unfortunately, the courts were freshly raked. The balls didn't roll very well. As the games wore on, the courts flattened out, but they remained very lumpy, even worse than before they were raked. Dee and I are sure that the results of our games would have been different had the courts been left alone!

Oh well, we'll get them next week.

We joined Dee and Lee for the $5 lunch at the Brass Monkey and then went to Banana Bay to join the Fritz's at the pool. It wS  reT pool day and we had fun swimming, treading water and hanging out. When it was time, we couldn't find the truck key. We had to return to the boat to get the spare. 

We went out for dinner and when we returned to Banana Bay, Anna Marie checked to see if anyone returned the key. As the bar tender handed her the key, he said someone found it in the pool. It must have fallen out of my pocket while I was doing laps! The funny thing is that I checked the pool to see if the key had fallen out of my pocket. Someone must have picked it up and taken it to the poolside bar before I finished my laps.

More of the Same, Again!

Bike riding, walking, $5.00 lunches, and visiting friends in Banana Bay continue to be our daily activities. Throw in Yoga on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and we manage to keep busy.

SUNSHINE's new window cover is complete and installed. She looks spiffy with her new  green stripe over the upper ports!

On Wednesday (3/23) we attended our first Meet and Greet of the season. It was supposed to be the last one of the season so we had to show up for Crazy Carol's (S/V Crazy Cat) benefit. We were fortunate to be able to sit at her table. Boy she sure has stories... especially about fishing.

On Thursday, we met Dee and Joe (M/V Island Dreamer) for crab claws at the Keys Drinkeries. Following the claws, we went to the movie theater to see Liam Neeson in Unknown.

We are having great weather. Highs have been in the low to mid 80s and lows are in the low 70s. The wind has calmed to 10 knots or less and the sky has been sunny for days.

Lots of boats have been leaving the harbor, some Bahamas bound and others are heeding north for the summer. Others are heading to other Florida ports to be hauled out for the summer. Two popular spots are Glades Boat Storage on the Okeechobee Waterway and Charlotte Harbor Boat Storage.

We have made arrangements to leave SUNSHINE on the hard in the Driftwood Marina here in Marathon. Driftwood is oceanside, about five miles north of our current position.

We have a lot of work to do to get SUNSHINE ready for her lay up. We'll do a little each day so we can continue to participate in activities, do Yoga, ride bikes and walk.

The Great Debate!

For the past four days, we've been trying to decide when we'll be leaving the harbor and where we'll be leaving the boat. Were we to stick with our original plan, we'd have to rent a car so we could take the pick up truck to our destination and get back to the boat. We'd also need at least seven days to move the boat. In this case, we'd need to leave the harbor in a day or two. Once we get to our destination, we estimate that we'll need about five days to get the boat ready for its lay-up.

While engaged in the debate, we had Carnival Canvas make a new window screen to replace the black one that has been showing signs of ultraviolet deterioration. We chose to depart from the black and had the screen made in Persian green. We gave it a test fit today (3/22) and will return it to the canvas guy so he can install the snaps tomorrow.

We made templates to get matching window screens for the lower set of windows. Winfield, from carnival Canvas, will give us an estimate in a day or two.

Last Saturday (2/19), we checked a yard in Key Largo but nixed it as a place for SUNSHINE's lay up. We also checked Driftwood Marina right here in Marathon. It's only five miles to the north and, leaving the boat there will be most convenient because we won't be able to return to it until shortly after New Year, 2012!

After much debate, we decided to leave the boat at Driftwood. We confirmed our decision with the marina staff today (3/22).

Catching Up!

3/17/11

Nothing Special!

It's St. Patty's Day and we didn't do anything special... We didn't wear green, we didn't drink green beer, and we didn't eat corned beef and cabbage.

We did bid good-bye to George. We are grateful that he was able to visit for a few days.

3/18/11

It's Friday and that means Bocce! We played several games in the park, after which Anna Marie made a grocery run to pick up some supplies for dinner. Dee and Lee, the folks who introduced us to Bocce, are coming over for dinner.

When we arrived back aboard, we had lunch, did a little light cleaning and had some time to relax before our company arrived.

Dee and Lee arrived at the appointed time and we enjoyed conversation and some snacks. I prepared Key Lime Scallops for dinner. dee brought a delicious salad and we enjoyed a sumptuous meal which was topped off with fresh strawberries.

We enjoyed Dee's and Lee's visit very much.

What a Day!

This is George's last full day before he heads home. We have a lot planned. We left SUNSHINE before the Cruiser's Net was over. We unlocked the bikes and rode about seven miles to the nature trial head at Curry Hammock State Park.

After securing the bikes, we walked the 1.4 mile trail. The warm weather has apparently encouraged lots of growth since our last visit. The ever present tripping hazards were still present, but there is additional growth waiting to trip the unwary hiker and lots of other growth in the form of branches jutting into the path from the sides and from above!

Following our walk, we boarded the bikes and backtracked about two miles to the Elder's condo. Judy offered Pizza for lunch and, after the brief respite on their deck, we headed to the pool. We enjoyed the conversation and camaraderie immensely.

At about 1700 hours we headed off for dinner at the Island Fish Company Tiki Hut. Since the restaurant cooks your catch, Bob brought a bunch of fish, Yellowtail, Porgies and Mangrove Snapper. The restaurant broiled some, blackened others and made a third batch of Franchaise.

While waiting for the main course, we enjoyed a generous portion of Calamari. In due time, the fish arrived with sides of saucers fresh veggies and Spanish Rice. The entire meal was spectacular. Our hosts graciously accepted the bill. Of course we demurred, but Bob's and Judy's generosity won out.

By the time dinner was over, we began to run out of daylight. We had to scurry back to the marina. We bid farewell to our hosts and were on our way. Anna Marie and I stopped about one mile short of the marina to turn on our bike lights. George apparently forgot his headlight, so he scurried home as quick as possible.

We made in back to SUNSHINE in time to run the generator for an hour or so and to finish watching the CSN concert that we started watching a couple of nights ago.

Once again, we enjoyed another great day in Paradise!

Nature Trails and Shrimp!

Once again, the day started with breakfast and the Cruiser's Net. We stayed aboard for lunch too, and enjoyed reminiscing with George. We finally boarded the dinghy at about 1330 hours.

We hopped in the truck and headed south to find reasonably priced campgrounds that George and Pat could use for a Keys getaway next year. The information we had suggested that the Big Pine Fishing Lodge and Campground had the most reasonable rates for camping. That a was our first stop. We discovered that their rates, although a bit high, were reasonable compared to many RV places in the Keys. The fact that no dogs  are allowed was a deal breaker. Apparently the no dogs rule has something to do with the fact the campground is in the Key Dear area.
Following this brief stop, we were off to No Name Key in search of the elusive Key Deer. On this day, there were none to be seen, so we walked both the Blue Hole And Watson trails in the National Key Deer Refuge.

We made it back to Marathon in time to catch the last hour of Happy Hour at Sparky's where we met up with the Fritz's. We consumed more shrimp and added the Flatbread salad to top off the meal.

After visiting with the Fritz's on Island Dreamer for a bit, we were back aboard SUNSHINE where we watched another portion of the Crosby, Stills and Nash concert before hitting the sack.

Biking with George!

Even though he'll only be with us for a few days, George brought plenty of toys. After listening to the Cruisers Net, we headed to shore with the intent of riding to Pigeon Key. Part of that ride is along a 2.2 mile stretch of the old Seven Mile Flagler railroad bridge.

Just as we were starting out, Anna Marie announced that we she had a problem. Her crank was freewheeling. She couldn't peddle anywhere!

Goerge looked at it but couldn't see where the problem was, except to surmise that the hub was the probable culprit. After a few spins, it seemed that the crank would catch and then skip again. Anna Marie was able to get to the bike shop where we dropped the bike. He thought it might take an hour or so to get to it.We decided to walk to Burdine's for lunch. as usual the burgers, fish sandwich and fries were great.

We made it back to the bike shop in an hour and a half only to find they hadn't even looked at it. Almost immediately, the owner took it into the back room and called me in to show me that it was not skipping. I explained the problem and he decided to take the bike out for a spin to see if he could make it spin while under load. After riding it for a couple of blocks, he report that it didn't spin at all.

Anna Marie took the bike outside and we were off to Pigeon Key. The bike performed normally... Go figure! We rode out to Pigeon Key and stopped for a minute while I explained the significance of the place to George. We then headed back, into a 15 mile per hour head wind. We made it back to the marina in time to head out in the truck.

We want to check out the prices for boat storage at the Driftwood Marina. As it turns out, they are very reasonable, perhaps the best boat storage rates in Marathon.

We then made our way to Sparkey's where we met the Fritz's, Funston's, Elder's and Michalsky's for happy hour shrimp. The waitress was a bite skeptical when we ordered 11 dozen shrimp and three dozen wings for the table. We managed to eat most of the food while having a greet visit. The Elder's and Michalsky's haven't seen George in about fifteen years!

After dinner, we went back to the marina where we launched George's kayak. He paddled back to the boat while Anna Marie and I rode back in the dinghy. We enjoyed some popcorn while watching George's DVD of the Whispering Palms Jammers. WPJ is  a group of musicians from the Whispering Palms RV Resort that George and Pat winter in while in Florida.

By 2300 hours, it was well past George's bedtime. He hit the sack, and Anna marie and I we're too far behind!

Seafood Festival, Day II and George Arrives!

It's day two of the 35th annual Marathon Seafood Festival and we're back for more music! The bands were great today too! We especially liked Buddy Brown and Mojito.

Buddy is a rising Country star and Mojito is an infectious Latin/Salsa band. The crowd was on it's feet and dancing to the great Latin rhythms.

We strolled the vendors with the Fritz's before settling down to listen to the music. We didn't get to see Mojito's full performance, as our good friend George, who is paying us a visit for few days, called to say he was about ten miles away. We quickly packed up the chairs and went out to the highway to flag him down.

After signing in with the marina, the three of us walked to Banana Bay to meet the Fritz's. After a short visit, we went to the Keys Drinkeries where we all enjoyed stone crab claws and participated in the traditional sunset toast.

Following dinner, we headed to SUNSHINE where we ran the generator for a couple of hours before hitting the sack.

The 35th Annual Original Marathon Seafood Festival!

The seafood festival is this weekend!

Today, well' listen to some music, visit the vendors, listen to moe music, and tonight, while listening to more music, as part of the Cruisers' Net Relay for Life Team, we' be budding tables.

While visiting the vendors, we found a catamaran marina in Key Largo that offered us a free haul out. The dry storage rate can't be beat. We're going to have to check this place out!

We called George to tell him that we wouldn't be heading to Titusville after all, so he'll be driving down here to visit for a few days by himself.

Back to the festival, we found a vendor that sells great tasting organic spices and rubs. We bought a six pack and are looking forward to trying them out.

The music was great all day long, starting with the Marathon High School Jazz Band and ending with a high energy rock band, the Regs.

It was our task to bus tables while Howard Livingston and the Regs performed. We had a good time performing our assigned tasks. Dee and Lee (About Time) had all of the supplies we needed and everything was well organized, making it. Pleasure to be helping out.

Joe and Dee (Island Dancer) finally arrived in Marathon, so after our Festival duties were completed, we walked over to Banana Bay to welcome them to Paradise! We visited for about a half hour before heading back to SUNSHINE and hitting the sack. after a busy day, we both slept well!

A Typical Friday!

As usual, the day started with breakfast and the Cruisers' Net followed by Bocce. We enjoyed lunch with the crew of About Time. After lunch, we attended a meeting for all the Cruiser's Net Festival volunteers. The festival is tomorrow and Sunday. We volunteered to help tomorrow.

After the meeting, we did the last large provisioning trip to Marathon Publix for this trip. For dinner I grilled a couple of eight inch pizzas. They were great!

Liquid Sunshine and Wind Return!

After listening to the Cruiser's Net, we went ashore with the intent to do some Grocery shopping, but first, we needed to go some place for lunch as we were out of lunch supplies. As we were discussing where to go, we came across some Bocce friends and soon, the three couples were off to the Cabana Restaurant at Banana Bay.

The lunch and company were great, but the highlight was a vicious cold front that moved through just after we ordered our meals. The wind and driving rain forced us indoors, where we ate and talked, waiting for the rain to stop. After about two hours, we left the place and headed back to the boat. Grocery shopping will have to wait until tomorrow.

We learned that the wind topped out at 49.7 knots! The temperature began to fall and the low is predicted to drop into the high 50s tonight.

In the evening, we attended a film courtesy of the Sanctuary Friends. the movie, Shark Waters, was great! We learned that sharks have remained pretty much as we see them for millions of years. In the last few years, over 90% of the sharks in the world's oceans have been killed, primarily for their fins, which are used to make shark fin soup. The film goes on to suggest that sharks control the animal populations that consume plankton, which convert carbon dioxide into oxygen. In fact, 70% or 80% of the worlds oxygen supply comes from the oceans!

If you get the chance, be sure to see the movie.

Key West and Open Mic Night at the Hurricane!

After the cruisers net, we headed off to Key West. It may well have been our last trip of the season, since we'll be leaving the harbor in a little over a week! Where did the time go?

Our purpose for going got Key West was to visit the Shell Warehouse. I needed a new conch shell. It seems that the big shell I currently use has a big blow hole so I can only sustain a note for a few seconds. My suspicions were confirmed yesterday. I complemented Dick from Tarwathie on his conch blowing acumen. He told me he learned from Robert, the lock master on the dismal swamp canal, that the hole need to be small and the shell should have thin walls. My shell has neither of these attributes.

The Shell Warehouse has hundred of shells. I chose one packaged by the Conch Man. It came complete with an instruction book, CD and carry bag and was only a slightly pricier than a shell alone.

We dined at B.O.'s Fish Wagon, our favorite Key West joint. Asa usual, the fish sandwich was excellent!

After walking around town a bit, we made our way back to Marathon and the boat. Having read the conch instructions and played the CD, I was amazed to discover that the Conch Man can actually play tunes on the conch shell. Apparently he holds the shell in his left hand and by manipulates his right hand in the hole to change the notes. It must take a lot of practice. I couldn't do it. I did however sustain a note for longer than ever before, so the small hole, thin wall advice from Dick as spot on. Yes, I still have to practice to sustain a note as long as Dick does, maybe next year I can give him a run for the money!

In the evening, we did something we haven't done since the Overseas Lounge closed three years ago. We attended the open mic night at the Hurricane. We went to cheer for Mike, who lives in the harbor and I the star of the musical at the community theater.

The music was much more polished than we remember it from the Overseas.  Funny thing though, Tim Dee performed. We remember him from open mic night nat the Overseas three years ago!

We had a good time, met several people from the harbor, including Carol and Pete from Crazy Cat. Carol organizes the Wednesday night Meet and Greets at the City Marina.

She gave me some tips for fishing the reef that I'll have to try out one day.

Taking It Easy!

Taking It Easy!

It's Tuesday! Tuesdays have become chore day aboard the good ship SUNSHINE. After Yoga, Anna Marie did the laundry while I took care of some personal business. We had a picnic lunch under the Tiki Hut.

Then we walked to the Tad Office where we registered the dinghy for another year.the walk was extended by a stop at. daffy Dougs. I wanted a large American Flag, but they had none. Our next stop was the Keys Fishery where we purchased a quart of Stone Crab soup (yummy!) and a pound of hogfish.

After returning to SUNSHINE, we settled in for the sunset celebration and then I rubbed the spices on the fish and put it on the grill. It was excellent; very moist and tasty. We each had an ear of corn and cucumber salad with grilled pineapples slices for dessert.

Following dinner, we fired up the generator and watched a movie before hitting the sack.    

Aborted Power Walk!

So, we hopped into the old F250 for a ride to Islamorada for a picnic lunch and a power walk. Trinkets were on our agenda as well. We wanted to purchase a couple of tea light holders for the boat.

Sadly, I was feeling a bit dizzy throughout the day so the power walking was scrubbed and we ate the picnic lunch while underway, in the hopes that some nourishment would help. It didn't. We thought a stop at Lorelei's might help. We split a grouper sandwich. It was great, but didn't help. It did give me the idea that we cooed use some spices for blackening the chicken tonight and perhaps fresh fish tomorrow. We whopped t Winn-Dixie to get some, but alas, they had none. A quick stop at Publix was successful however.

We returned to the boat to chill out for the evening. I grilled the chicken breasts and they were most excellent. That and some corn-on-the-cob and a salad made up our evening meal. As usual, we enjoyed some popcorn while watching "Gettysburg."

St. Columba Bluegrass Show!

Thanks to the Funston's, we were able to attend the church bluegrass show and BBQ. John organized attendance from Marathon Marina. The Elders, friends from home, were there as well. We all had a great time.

This is the third year we have attended this annual event and this was by far the best! The food lines, which had be a problem in previous years was much more organized. It was prepared by the Marathon HS Culinary Arts Program and it was excellent. It featured BBQ chicken, pulled pork and all the fixins,  two kinds of soup and dessert.

The music was provided by Angelica Grimm who was backed by TJ and Tom (dad) Doerfel and Harmonica Bob. They put on a two hour bluegrass show that had the audience tapping their feet.

Earlier in the day, we rode the bikes to Key Colony Beach (about 6 miles one way) to check out the festivities for Key Colony Beach Day. we arrived just in time for the parade which featured Shriners riding scooters, mini model T's, antique cars and motorcycles.

We checked out the various booths and listened to the music before heading back to the boat.

All in all, another excellent day in Paradise!

Still Windy!

It's still windy,,, for the third consecutive day! Once again we chose to walk rather than fight the wind on the bikes.

Our walk took us to K Mart and Home Depot where we purchased some supplies.

Back aboard, I worked or removing the gummy residue on my ukulele. I removed the flame decal yesterday. It takes a lot of rubbing to remove the sticky substance. I got about one-third of it off. I'll try to get the rest off tomorrow.

A Walk And A Play!

Have I mention the wind recently? Well it's been blowing 20 to 30 knots for 48 hours. It doesn't affect the boat, although wind of this strength tends to make most boats "hunt" or "sail on the ball." The motion is virtually imperceptible when in the cabin. We have the rigging all secured, so the halyards don't slap. We took the courtesy flags down so the flag halyards are quiet as well.

The only havoc the wind causes is when we take to the dinghy which provides our transportation ashore. In this case, the strong winds have been out of the east, which means we have a wet, bumpy ride going to shore. The ride back to the boat is easy because we can go with the wind. Generally speaking, there is no spray when going with the wind. To go ashore, we done our fouls. Once ashore, we take them off and stow them in the back pack.

We went ashore twice today. The first time to play Bocce. Later in the evening, we attended the world premiere play at the Community Theater. The musical, Act Now, was written, directed and starred people who live on boats in the harbor. It was a fun evening and we enjoyed the talents of our fellow cruisers. We hope all the cruisers in the harbor will lend their support as well.

Between Bocce and the play, we managed to take an enjoyable 90 minute walk.

It's hard to believe that we're about the start the second week in March. We'll be leaving the harbor sometime after the 20th of the month. After that, we'll meet our family for Easter break and then we'll be home. Doesn't time fly?

A Evening with Good Friends!

We met our friends the Funston's (Heilan' Lass) for a trip to Sparky's, home of the .25 cent shrimp/wings happy hour. Sadly, the shrimp were mushy. We did't make a second order!

Following the visit to Sparkey's, we made our way to the movie theater where we waited in line for almost an hour. The King's Speech was playing and the theater was packed. Because we arrived early, we had our choice of seats.

The movie was outstanding! We thoroughly enjoyed it. It was certainly deserving of the awards it has garnered.

Theater of the Sea and a Birthday Party for Lee!

February 28, 2011

Theater of the Sea!

During the past six years, we have spent five winters in Marathon. Once in a great while, we play the role of typical tourists. Today was such a day. We packed a picnic lunch and headed off to the Theater of the Sea in Islamorada.

We enjoyed another picture perfect day, watching the dolphin, sea lion and parrot shows. We also participated in a short tide on the bottomless boat, a walkl through the mangrove, lazed around on the beach in a lounge chair, and finally listened to a talk on marine life, including some typical Florida amphibians.

We spent about four hours in the place, which was an old limestone quarry, very similar to the Windley Key Fossil State Park that we visited a few weeks ago. The quarry has been flooded with natural salt water from the Oceanside, and is very well maintained. It was a pleasure to just walk around and enjoy the many flowers that were in bloom.

On the way home, we stopped at the Worldwide Sportsman and found a few bargains. After shopping, we went next door to Morada Bay, and enjoyed cocktails on the beach while listening to a couple of musicians. Very nice.

We returned to SUNSHINE in time for the sunset celebration.

3/1/11

Birthday Party at the Movie Theater!

The highlight of this day was Lee Moore's seventy-second birthday party. We met Lee on the Bocce court. He and Dee actually taught us how to play. He is the chairperson of the harbor's Relay for Life team and is doing a great job. We have participated in tow of the harbor's efforts to raise funds to fight cancer by purchasing a Marathon courtesy flag. We proudly fly it from our pennant halyard. We also purchased the opportunity to leave our mark on the Harbor. For a $10.00, were given an old board (about 4"x24") on which we could paint our boat name, home port, and distance (in crow miles).

Because we've been so busy, it has taken me almost two weeks to get to work on the sign, but I finished it two days ago. We turned it in to the office so the workers could mount it on the harbor post. They've been busy as well, as they still haven't put it, or about six others up. Still, we expect that within a couple of days, our sign will be mounted on the harbor post. It is a great way to commemorate our winter in Boot a key Harbor and we're certainly happy to contribute to the cause.

Happy Birthday, Lee!