Ok, its been 3 weeks since my last blog. So here goes. We left Vero Dec 5th and headed to Stuart even though I was suffering with the flu! We had the shot too! Anyway I was in the middle stages and was feeling well enough to travel the 30 miles down to Sunset Bay Marina in Stuart, one of our favorite stops. We did stop for fuel in Fort Pierce because it was cheaper tham anywhere else by far. $2.77/ gallon! Anyway, we then headed to Stuart which is anout 4 miles off the ICW up the St Lucie River. Sunset Bay has about 75 moorings as well as 400 slips so it is a pretty big place. Sam and his crew who run the place are the best. Our plan was to stay a werk and then head to Marathon....well plans change! Donna got the Flu too so between unfavorable weather and recovering from the Flu, we stayed 12 days! We did have some fun but a lot of time was spent on the boat and in fact Donna felt so bad, we went to a clinic to see a Doctor. She had a splitting headache and bad cough. We got some meds and by the next day she was much better. We ran into Mary and Doug Purdy from Lake Champlain who brought their boat down this fall. Doug retired earlier but Mary just retired in Dec and they are going to explore the Bahamas this winter. Great seeing someone from home. Unfortunately because we wrtd ill we did not get to see John and Jennifer from Lady J, visiting from Guatemalla, Bill and Maureen from Sweet Freedom fame, since sold and Kath and Dan at a party at Bill and Maureens in their new home in Hutchinson Island. Bummer, but we didnt want to give them the crud! I did get to go to a movie in Stuart and Donna got to do a little shopping and we did get to attend the Sunset Bay Christmas party where the Marina supplied the booze and food! Great fun connecting with all our cruiser friends like Tim and Dianne Leighton who arrived the day before the paety....good timing guys! Now our next decision was when to head to Marathon...it usuallt takes 5 days from Stuart in good Weather....well a major blow was goming in 4 days to all of Florida, and I mean major. Winds predicted 35-50 mph! We did not want to be stuck in an anchorage with that kind of wind...just too dangerous and very likely dragging the anchor at night which is no fun! So I decided we could do the trip to Marathon in 3 days and beat the storm. The first day we went 10 hours and got to Lake Boca, lots of bridges and slow manatee zones but we did it. Lake Boca is a tiny "lake" on the ICW which is really a joke. It is just a lityle cut out area off the ICW which has anchor room for a half a dozen boats. We got anchored right at dusk, got Dylan to shore and then spent the night avoiding other anchored boats that were swinging all different ways due to current and wind. I had to pull up on the anchor about 30 feet or we would have hit a small sail boat! ( nobody on board). We left at sunrise and our plan was to go 70 miles and get through Miami and down to the bottim of Biscayne Bay! We usuallt stay in Marine Stadium but not this time. Days are short, sunset at 5:30 this time of the year doesnt help! So many bridges, very little boat traffic, a nasty bridge tender that wouldnt open even thoufh we wete only a minute late, which meant we sat and floated for a half an hour waiting for the next opening....Venetian Causeway West, thank you! Not!!!! That lost half hour meant we wouldnt make it to Barnes Sound, darn it! Do we decided to get to Pumpkin Key which is in Card Sound at the bottom of Biscayne Bay. We pulled in just as the sun was going down and sadly for Dylan, no shore access as it is a private island! Poor Dylan ....he did go # 1 on his tinkle turf but no # 2 for 36 hours! Yikes. We had a quiet night behind Pumpkin Key and got going at daylight Wednesday morning. We were taking the inside passage which is always exciting with depths down to 5 feet or so! After awile you stop lookung at your depth sounder as its always reading 5-7 feet for miles! The weather was great with light winds from the north which gave us a little push and we also got a tidal push part of the day. We were goung to take a short cut at the 7 mile bridge entrance to Boot Key Harbor in Marathon but they are working on the old bridge and stuff is hanging down so we went the extra 3 miles to the 65 foot opening and 3 miles back to Boot key. It was a little sporty with wind against tide causing some 3 ft waves but it only lasted 20 minutes until we entered the harbor....we did it! 3 long days to get here, but we beat the storm that came through yesterday! Bruce and Claudette from Summer Wind, who got here 2 weeks ago and are staying at Skipjack Marina next door, met us at our slip at Sombrero Dockside and helped us get tied up. They were so nice in that they invited us to dinner on their boat once we settled in. Thanks guys, best pot roast ever! Dylan was very happy to see shore and do his business! His eyes were turning yellow and were crossed! Poor puppy! Yesterday, the storm hit and we were very protected from the strong south wind. Very little rain and thunder. Today the wind has switched to the west ehich blows rifht down the harbor. Winds in the mid 30's, gusts to 40 making it a littlw bouncy! Anyway, we are glad to be here, the place looks great with new palm trees planted, the cement deck fixed and the Bar and Restaurant next door has been purchased and is being fixed up and should open soon! Life is good....let the winter shenanigans begin! We cant wait for Larry and Margie to get here around Jan. 5th or 6th! Hurry up guys!

Fair winds and calm seas