04/01/2024 Southport to Norfolk, Virginia 04/22/2024

 Marathon to Indian Key

Sunset at Lignumvitae Key

 1/15/2024

Just hanging around Marathon still. My sister and her husband have arrived for a couple of days. Went out to dinner (early Bird) at Overseas Steak and Lobster House. Great dinner!! My sister was able to stop at Aldi's and cleared the shelf of my favorite snack LOL

1/16/2024

The plan was to take the boat out to the reef and do some snorkling, but it was just a little to choppy so we went on John's boat. Bill, Matt & John fished while Mary Ann & I took in some sun. Bill was the winner catching at least 7 fish, Matt was a close second with about 5 and John caught 2. Mid day the skies changed we started to head in. There was a short shower and the storm seemed to pass by the side of us. On the way back to John's house we passed an island. People had placed signs everywhere. There was what looked like an old abandoned floating house. We enjoyed dinner at No Name Bar and Grill. Again, money was everywhere to be found hanging from the ceiling and poles.

The pelicans anxiously waiting for the fish to be thrown back in !!

Storm clouds passing by us

We almost ran aground checking out these two tourist attractions

1/17/2024

Stopped by the American Legion Hall to pick up tickets for Saturday night Rib Dinner. This has become a popular spot for great meals for us.

1/19/2024

Went to Cranes Point Hammock. This tropical woodland called hammocks contain both unique hardwood species such as Lignum Vitae and Jamaican Dogwood along with native thatch palms that grow nowhere else in the US.

Got a fish pedicure there

Just in time for the Tortoise feeding

Matt, John and Dave went on a fishing boat for the morning (a big mistake). There were at minimum 12 other people on the boat. Way to many to fish properly. The rods they used were for much larger fish than anyone on the boat would of caught, making it difficult to be able to tell if a fish was even on your line. When they paid for the trip it included tips, but at the end of trip the crew said they worked on tips and $20 would be appropriate from everyone. The captain came down and started yelling "Money, Money Money" .

1/20/2024

The decision was made that we would stay in Marathon until the 27th. We are trying to get a good day to travel to the Bahamas and the winds keep coming out of the North making the crossing to dangerous to travel.

 Dave and I went for a dinghy ride around Marathon. We wound up at Boot Key where derilick and abandoned boats reside.

A restaurant destroyed by the hurricane yet the sign remains.

Several of the boats had been condemned and remain under water while the government tries to make time for the ongoing clean up.

8 of us went to dinner at the American Legion for a rib dinner. 

1/22/2024

Sol Maria (our New Zealand friends came back from Key West). Their daughter had gone home and a friend from England had arrived. They dinghy-ed in and we went to dinner at Overseas Highway. 

1/24/2024

Matt needed to go back home to check some things out. I drove him to Miami and booked a hotel room. He was due back late Friday night.

1/25/2024

I decided to go to the Monkey Jungle - a place I have always wanted to check out. For me, it was well worth a stop. I saw the Java Macaques which were the first primates introduced to the park. They were around a pond and ran around above you. You could fill small containers with raisins which they hauled up and ate.

The birds scattered in cages throughout the area were donated to the habitat by people who could or did not want to care for their birds any longer.

Butterflies are also kept in the jungle

A section of the habitat was called the Amazon Rain-forest. This was where you were able to feed the monkeys and they could climb on you to retrieve the food. The main monkeys were the squirrel monkey along with some black-capped Capuchin monkeys. Masks and gloves were required so as not to spread anything to the monkeys.

Went shopping at a Sams and Walmart to start stocking up on our supplies for a possible crossing to the Bahamas.

1/26/2024

Got a late check out from the hotel since Matt's flight was not due in until 10PM. I stopped at the casino to try a few slot machines and won $2500.00

At that point it was time to leave with my winnings in hand. I continued my shopping at Costco and Target. Matt's flight landed at around 11PM and we headed back to Marathon. We got back at about 2AM.

1/27/2024

Today was the day to finally move on. We traveled to Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park  (This place is only accessible by boat) and hooked up to a mooring ball for the night. Matt & I had been here several years earlier with Lynn & Bob (Ranger Tug owners) and knew that the place would hold historic interest for Dave & Nancy.

The infamous crab pots. These were in a row but sometimes they form an obstacle course you have to weave thru !!

1/28/2024

A quite night was spent on the mooring ball. Dave & Nancy dingy-ed over and we had breakfast on our boat before we headed to the State Park.

We spotted a Man of War on the way over to the island. What’s truly scary is that their tentacles extend under the surface of the water, and can be up to 165’ long! These tentacles are what the animal uses to stun and kill their prey (small fish and other invertebrates). For people, these venomous tentacles can administer a painful sting, even if the Man-of-War is dead.

 We were met at the pier by the rangers who would take us on the tour of the island.

These were the two rangers who gave us a tour of the island. The one on the left gave us the tour last time. We asked about mosquitos and he said not to worry - yet he came out with long sleeves and a net over his face !! This time he did not and the mosquitos were not bad - but we had sprayed beforehand !!

The ranger on the right had retired and was vacationing in Florida when he saw an ad for a need for a Park Ranger. He came out of retirement and hosts the tour of the house. He also now lives on the island 24/7. He is thinking of retiring again soon and adventuring out on a boat with his wife.

The island was originally owned by a wealthy chemist. He built this home for the caretaker and lived on his  yacht docked at the pier.

An old caterpillar tractor left on the island when there were plans to develop the island into a housing development. The new caretaker rallied the Floridians to preserve the island and eventually got the government to take possession of the island.

This is the storm shelter for the island

No one is quite sure of who built this stone wall but it extends across the island.
 

The weather was predicted to have strong winds out of the North. Our current mooring field would be exposed so one of the Rangers suggested we would be safer at Indian Key. We pulled anchor and headed to the mooring field at Indian Key another island accessible only by boat and owned by the State. 

The community of wreckers living on Indian Key in 1830s were ready at a moment’s notice to salvage the wrecked ships on nearby reefs. The wrecking community of Jacob Houseman came to an end on Aug. 7, 1840, when Native Americans attacked the island and burned most of the buildings to the ground. Thirteen residents were killed in the attack including noted botanist Henry Perrine.

After the Indian Key Massacre, as it was later called, Indian Key was used by the Florida squadron of the U.S. Navy who built a hospital on the island. Later the island was used as a staging area to build several sailing vessels as well as in the construction of Carysfort Lighthouse and Alligator Reef Lighthouse.

Today, visitors can explore the island through a series of walking paths that re-create the streets of Houseman’s community.

Dave & Nancy picked me up in their dinghy and we headed in to explore the island.

Birds on the destroyed piers from the hurricanes.

We decided to try and go to eat at Robbie's Bar and Grill. Matt and I started out in our dinghy. We wound up in the grassy fields and Matt had to row us in through the shallow waters. We finally made it to Robbie's but only had a drink and headed back to the boat. Robbie's is known for the feeding of Pelicans and Tarpons.

Another bar with money hanging everywhere

This was a crank shaft from an unknown ship but it was huge !!

On they way back we stopped by Hygge and Nancy had made a delicious pasta dish which we had for dinner. 

The protected mooring turned out to be not so protected. Winds gusted up to 25 miles and the waves increased from one to three foot. We were awakened several times throughout the night by the crashing waves against the boats hull. Matt had to fix our bimini at one point which had started to unzip during the night. When you looked outside - the water rushing around us looked as if we were traveling even though we were anchored. 

Next stop Key Largo.