Organization???

     We are still waiting for our weather window.  The rest of the country is being hit with storm after storm, record snow, freezing temperatures.  Even Florida has had its share of cold. These cold fronts are creating the north winds that are keeping us here in Key Largo.

     I have decided to put today to good use.  After running errands and doing laundry, I organized my food stores. With all the intermittent shopping I have done for the boat mixed up with the shopping I had done for the holidays back home in Delaware, I have lost track of just what I have where and in which state!  Pete helped me out by building a spread sheet listing not only the items and amounts, but also the locations.  Now I hope I can do it justice by keeping it current.

     Around 4, we welcomed Ackeoo to the marina for the evening. Connie, Walt, Bob and Lucia joined us for dinner on the veranda. We heard about Ackeoo’s crossing from Alabama to Marathon, which was quite a challenging blue water crossing. Other tales were shared and the laughter went on for quite a while. Of course, systems, purchases, and performance were also discussed as Ackeoo is also a Catalina 350 like Pekabu.

~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

John Pennekamp and Super Bowl

    Our plans were to take Pekabu out to John Pennekamp State Park for a sail, snorkeling, sightseeing, and BBQ.

Unfortunately, the deepest draft for the park is 4 feet and we take 5.  As to the jellyfish we had seen yesterday, there is now a “jellyfish alert” posted for this area so snorkeling is definitely out.  As a result, we went with Plan B.  Howie drove all of the ladies, while Pete, Dan, and John rode the bikes up to the park.  It is a beautiful park, apparently newly renovated.  It has a wonderful snorkeling area “seeded” with a wreck to explore.  There are nature walks, an aquarium, canoes to rent, a campground, in a beautiful setting plus you can book a ride on the glass bottom boat from within the park out to Molasses Reef.  We saw the aquarium and walked the park.  We were sorry we didn’t pack our snorkeling gear and food so we could prolong our stay.

    We returned back to the Marina and enjoyed a mid-afternoon BBQ with salads and all the fixings. Afterwards we headed up to the pool to relax and read for a while.

Yep, we are really here

Great colored floats ... Atleast here they can't foul our props!

     Our day continued with Super Bowl, which starts at 6:20 PM on the veranda.  Frank, of Irony, has been working on the Super Bowl pool this week. We had about 15 cruisers, 2 TV, and tons of food on the veranda. Connie and Walt, of Arkeoo, along with her dad, Bob and Lucia, of Lucia of CCYC, drove up from Marathon to join us for the evening.  I think the TV ads created more interest than the game since very few had vested interest in the teams.  The ads that I saw this year were pretty good compared to many of those in the past years. As to the game, it wound up being a very close game with Green Bay wining by 3. Since Kelli is such a Steeler’s fan, for her sake, I wish they had won. . . .Perhaps next year, Kelli.

     Oh yea! We won $10 in the pool for the second quarter scoring.

~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

Glass Bottom Boats and Ice Cream

Pekabu, Brunelle and Andiamo at Marina Del Mar as we leave the harbor

     Added to our daily continental breakfast were some delicious cakes and breads courtesy of Ann and Howie.

     We all gathered at 9:50 am by the Kay Largo Princess for our Glass Bottom Boat tour.  The predicted the partially cloudy skies cleared out by 9 and it was cool, clear with just a slight breeze.  Our destination was Molasses Reef.  During the 45 minute ride were accompanied by birds looking for handouts.  Apparently it is a tradition for guests to purchase Cheese Doodles and feed them to the birds, usually by hand. Pete and Ann gave it a try while a number of us tried for the perfect shot. I think I succeeded in capturing a number of the moments.

     Once over the reef, we went below and sat or stood over a glass grid while our educator enlightened us on the living reef and the fish that currently inhabit it. We saw quite a variety, both of fish and corral.  What surprised everyone including the educator was the amount of jelly fish and men-o-war.  A bonus on the way back was the sight of a large sea turtle on the surface.
 
      Once back, the others decided to head back to the boats while Pete, Howie, Ann, and I opted to have lunch at the Tiki Bar.  As it turned out our bartender moved here from Bogota, NJ about 15 years ago.  Talk about a small world; all four of us lived within 3 miles of her, as our kids would say, “back in the day” (Ridgefield, Demarest, Hackensack, NJ and the Bronx, NY). Since our day is still young and a car was available, we headed south on Route 1 in search of ice cream.  It was found at the southern end of Key Largo.   It was found at a fairly new place that hand dips ice cream and blends their own ice cream and candy concoctions.

Kathy, Pete, Ann and Howie

     Once back at the marina, I introduced everyone to my chicken fajitas for dinner.

     Just another great day with friends!

~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

Tahoe has to be Returned

     Pete and John headed up to Home Depot in Homestead right after breakfast.  They also needed to refill the propane.  I took advantage to strip the bed and started the laundry.  Pete stopped at the cleaners on the way home, but his shirts we not back yet.  They were to be ready yesterday afternoon, but they are apparently on “island time.”

     Since the Tahoe needs to be back by 12:30, Betty and Martha rode the bikes to Publix. Any heavy stuff can be loaded into the truck.  I waited for the guys to return.  Pete drove me up around 11:30 and I ran through the store with my lists.  He only saw the top one with 4 items.  He didn’t know about the original one, below the one he saw, had the 20+ items.  I would not wait for the deli and the cold cuts since it was Super Bowl weekend; the line was long and slow.  Somehow, we girls managed to pack the truck again.  Thankfully, the Enterprise person was OK in waiting the additional 5 minutes for us to unload it once we were dropped off back at the marina after turning back the rental.

     Besides finding homes for all the new groceries, my order from Omaha Steaks has arrived.  Thankfully, Candi has room in her freezer in the office for the “free” hamburgers.  We will be using them on Sunday for the group before the game.

     It was a little unsure for a while, but things finally straightened out for Ann’s dad, so she and Howie arrived in time for dinner prepared by Martha. A good time was had by all.

~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

A Chance to Provision . . .Again!

     Betty, Martha and I took the Tahoe and headed to Homestead this morning for shopping.  I needed to find the collapsible tent poles for the awning.  That proved to be a challenge.  After a couple of stops, one at a real Army Navy Store, we were unsuccessful. By noon, we had also stopped at Walmart and Home Depot. Betty was trying to find a flat hose to replace the one that had sprung leaks aboard Andiamo.  Of course, we found other treasures in our shopping:  Solar, “UFO,” and Stick/whistle lights for various usages and boats, as well as some other useful items.

     Then it was on to BJ’s. . . .  Now we have been provisioning all along, but we still found items we still “needed.”  The Tahoe had to be scientifically packed.  The guys took one look and questioned our sanity as to where it would all go.  Somehow homes were found for all items.

     Once unloaded from the ladies, it was the guys turn to head out to West Marine, while I prepared dinner for everyone.

    The news on Sevilla is bitter sweet.  The transmission is installed and they are now heading towards Marathon.  However, they have made the decision to stay stateside rather than make the crossing to the Bahamas.  They will keep warm here in Florida and perhaps meet up with us on the trip north. We will miss Glen and Maureen and wish Sevilla the very best.

~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

Manatee and to Delray Beach

     Pete worked while I sewed this morning.  At noon, we were picked up by Enterprise and our Jeep was upgraded to a Tahoe.  We returned to the boat so Pete could complete his conference call.  I used the time to make a few calls to friends.

    A manatee visited our side of the harbor this morning. He took particular interest in Andiamo and the water exiting from the cooling system.  He sucked, slurped, rolled onto his back and drank, thoroughly enjoying his drink of bubbly salt water before moving on to explore other things.

     We headed up to Delray Beach to Ann and Howie’s. The ride took us about 2 hours. They took us to a great street in Pompano Beach, where we had a Mexican dinner. We made a side trip to Bed Bath and Beyond see about a soda maker for our crossing. With all the Diet Coke Pete drinks, it will save us a ton of space.  After depositing our things into our car, we said our temporary farewells.  We will see them this weekend for Super Bowl with us in Key Largo.

 ~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

Organizing and Errands

Brunelle's dinghy was a great platform to
use for our dinghy trim tab installation.

     It is hard to believe it is already February!  Back home is getting ready for another round of bitter cold and snow while here in Key Largo it is in the mid-70’s, sunny, with a slight north wind.  It’s that darn north wind that is stopping our crossing the Gulf Stream, but it is hard to complain when sitting in such a warm, pretty spot.

     After breakfast, Pete cleaned the boat while I ran errands on the bike. Thankfully, Walgreens, Staples, Publix and the cleaners are all within 2 miles.  It was a good day for exercise for me while Pete worked on putting the trim tabs on the dinghy.

     After lunch, Pete and I reorganized a lot of the space onboard and reevaluated items we have not used to date. We are going to take the big cushions and other items we don’t really need up to store in our truck in Delray Beach before we go to the Bahamas, which will free up space onboard. I was also able to make good progress on the awning to cover the front of the boat.  Unfortunately I realized at dinner I sewed the wrong sides together and spent the evening ripping out the main seam.  Oh well, there is always tomorrow!

~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete