We arrived in Boot Key Harbor after about a 30+ hr sail from the Bahamas. It was around 2:30pm and we were exhausted. We decided to rest a while before calling to deal with customs. We might even wait till the next morning. But at around 5:00 pm we did the "right" thing and called, they asked the usual questions.. how long were we gone, did we have anything to declare, etc.etc. They then told us we had 24 hrs to appear in person in either Miami or Key West! (why didn't we know this??) After some frustration, we decided that we would take a 2 hr bus ride to Key West the following day. Meanwhile we ran into our ole cruising buddies Rick & Danee of Dolphin who were moored in Boot Key Harbor too. They decided they would take the bus trip with us and we would make a day of it... hanging in Key West.

The following day we got on the 10:00am bus. Once there, Dave and I immediately reported to the address we were given for customs office in Key West.. "What??!?! They haven't been in this building in years?!?" Sooo we had to take another bus about 15 miles in another direction. Welcome back to the US of A!! Anyway, once finished with that we had a fun day in Key West doing all the things you do in Key West... Sloppy Joes, Hogs Breath Saloon, Irish Kevins, eating, shopping and sunset at Mallory Square. We hopped the 8:20 bus back to Key West. Sadly the next day David realized his phone was missing.. the nearest Sprint Store was..... in Key West! He took another 2 hr bus ride only to find that store had been closed... wasting another whole day. We sure have been unlucky with electronics this trip.

We learned our neighbors of 17 years Chuck & Janet were in Key West (they sold their home on Island Drive and left about 1 month ago to cruise full-time) and would be heading to Marathon in the next few days. We had been keeping in touch but were never sure if our paths would cross. We're so glad they did and we enjoyed a day and evening with them on both our boat and theirs, then at Birdine's for a late dinner. On Wednesday, after a full week in Marathon, we headed off for what would be about a 24 hr pass to Ft Meyers. Heading North.