So its been 2 weeks since my last confession....I mean blog! I have bloggers guilt as I use to do this everyday! Anyway, we stayed in Stuart until Dec 16th so we could partake in the fabulous Christmas party put on by Sunset Bay Marina....free booze and food....We're in! I also finished putting on our new solar panels which are working great....double the amps of our old ones! Thanks to Allan and Geraldine from Stray Cat fame, for taking us out to Dinner and the Flea Market while they visited. Allan helped me get the panels to the boat in the mooring field.It was great to see them again. We left Stuart around 8:00am last Saturday and made it Old Port Comfort Marina for a one night stay. We hadn't plugged in for 20 something days so it was good to give our batteries a good charging. The generator and solar panels never get the batteries back to 100% unless I run the generator for hours which isn't practical. While there, I realized the Dometic Freezer/ cooler had scrapped out....my instinct was a blown fuse in the 12 v plug and I was right.(years of experience I guess). I had to Uber to nearby West Marine to find the proper fuse. We had walked earlier in the day nut at that time I didn't notice the cooler lights all out.The store closed at 8pm so off I went....thankfully they had the right fuse although my initial phone call with them said they didn't have it...I went anyway because I knew they did! I Ubered back and installed the fuse and its been working like a charm again. We ordered a pizza and some wings for dinner from the insight delli which were really good! They even give you free coffee or soda while you stay there....nice folks! The next morning we headed south for Ft Lauderdale and decided to take a mooring at Los Olas Marina in Lauderdale. The marina is in rough shape with the clubhouse and office being torn down for a parking garage! The office is in a double wide trailer now...we were told the whole thing is for sale! Too bad, used to be a nice stop. It was Sunday so we got some wakes but it wasn't too bad....lots of decorated Christmas boats came through until 10:00pm! The next morning we went through another 20 bridges or so which only a few we had to wait for...our 16.5 air draft allows us to get under most without an opening! We did have to pour on the coal to make one bridge just north of Miami but the tender held it for us and another boat....unusual behavior down here because they really stick to their schedules. We did see something unusual on the way through Miami....a giant tree on a barge being moved somewhere south! It was huge! We eventually made it to Marine Stadium in Miami for a night at anchor. Always a great view of the city at night. A high school sculling team was practicing which was fun to watch. The only bad thing was some jerks on her skis buzzing all around creating havoc for the scullers and anyone anchored. They came so close to us that they through water into an open window and half filled or dinghy....welcome to Miami! We did go to shore on a little sandy Island in the Stadium.( they used to race boats in this giant horseshoe) Dylan had a blast and it was good to get our toes in sand and water. The next morning after a quiet night,( no jet skiers) we got up and left for Tarpon Basin, our last stop before Marathon. The Biscayne Bay was flat calm which is unusual this time of the year...very good trawler weather! You do get used to 5.5 ft - 7 ft of water most of the way down the inside passage. Not really! I was constantly looking at the depth gauge, I'd have been better off turning it off....always shallow but if you stay in the marked channel, no problem. We anchored in Tarpon Basin and had a calm night in fact, we saw no other boats coming south all day I guess there is still some hurricane anxiety out there about going to the keys this year. We really didn't notice any damage until we approached Marathon. Most of the sunk boats have been removed in this part of the world...so far 1800 have been recovered we were told! We did notice some rather large piles of debris on Islamorada! The next day,Wed the 20th, we arrived in Marathon after about 7 hours....the damage to boats and infrastructure was way more evident but everything is being put back together, the progress is amazing! We pulled into Sombrero Dockside Marina, our winter home, around 4:15. Roy the manager and Bruce from Summer Wind, helped us in. There is some damage to A dock but B dock whete we are is in pretty good shape. The bathrooms and bar are a mess still and the problem is the Marina can't fix their own stuff....it has to be a certified licensed marine contractor only. Crazy rule but that's the way it is. These guys are right out straight so who knows when they will be able to come here to finish the fix up. There is still one handicap bathroom just built last year that survived the storm...Donna is happy! So here we are, I have been playing a lot of golf across the street at the Florida Keys Golf Club with Bruce and Claudette from Summer Wind. Its free while they get ready to reopen for the next week or so. The course is in rough shape but it's getting better. Speaking of golf, Bruce and I scored big at KMart here when we found some expensive golf clubs for $3.00/ a club! These are Ping and Top Flite clubs folks....somehow they came here from Docks Sporting Goods...what a deal! Lefty clubs for me too! We still don't know if it was a mistake, but the the approved the price. We've been out to dinner a few times with Bruce and Claudette, I've fixed the bike tires which always seem to need it when we first get here. In fact I had to take Donnas bike over to the bike shop to buy a tube and a tire for mine...the sun and the salt is tough on things down here! Donna's been doing a lot of shopping at all her old favorites and yes Jane, Bealls is open! We are settling in nicely awaiting all our other dominates to show up over the next month. Larry and Margie get her in about 11 days, we can't wait! So that's all for now except tomorrow we go to the cruisers pot luck Christmas party at City Marina by dinghy of course in style! Merry Christmas to all our friends and family and all readers we don't know. This is the time of the year when we miss them the most. Oh ya, I almost forgot. We had our DNA tested as Christmas presents to each other. The results are in and lets just say we are as British, Irish, Welsh and Scottish as you can get. My wife's French ancestors apparently originated in Great Britain before they went to the new world in Quebec Canada. She has very little French or Western Europe DNA! Who knew! It has caused quite a commotion in her family! Lol. More to follow on this!

Pip pip, Cheerio
Craig ,Donna and Dylan