We have been sleeping in of late. It doesn't get light until well after 7 AM and we pretty much rely on the light to wake us. Feels somewhat decadent to sleep in, one thing we are finding with being retired, some days it just does not seem right to not be getting up and out the door to a paying gig. Guess after both of us working 45 plus years the habit is hard to break. Some days we do miss the people and places that we worked, some more than others. I miss singing with the choral group and the friends I made there. While neither of us is missing the CT winter especially this year!
We started the morning with coffee in the cockpit while we discussed what we wanted to do today. There are always chores that could be done but they aren't any fun. The winds have finally laid down a bit and now that it is getting into the latter part of March the weather is getting quite hot. We are in the 80's every day now which makes for sweaty uncomfortable work up on deck. I had good intentions of doing bright work while we were in the harbor but that has fallen to the wayside. I also started polishing the stainless but that too has come to a halt as by 10:00 AM it is way too warm to want to stay out on deck. Staying out of the sun has become somewhat of a priority too we use sunscreen but even so that sun can be a dangerous thing. The stainless and bright work will still be there when we move North and at a dock you can use electricity to run wonderful things like fans and a to be acquired cabin AC. If I can manage to get out of bed earlier I might do a bit in the mornings before it gets too warm..... but then again probably not.
Since neither of us felt like doing boat chores we decided it would be a good day for a road trip to Key West. Key West is just a little over 40 miles from Marathon. The drive down turned out to be quite productive. We found a Honda dealer on Big Pine Key where Scott got a new fuel hose for the dinghy motor and some little end bit gizmo that had worn out because of age. Lo and behold I have now been able to start the dinghy motor twice now!! That is a big deal because I have not been able to up to now. Importent should something happen and the Captain wasn't available to start the dinghy. So after a short stop there to pick up the parts we continued down to Ke.West. Whoa I was shocked at how crowded it was.... really a Thursday in late March?!?!? I never figured Key West to be much of a vacation destination since it is not known for beaches so much as bars. Traffic was backed up quite a ways up route 1 into the town. I had picked up one of those coupon books you find at all the roadside places which turned out to be a real Godsend . It had the location of the parking garages, so while Scott negotiated the traffic and the clutch I navigated. We found a garage, parked the car and headed out to explore. The garage was right across the street from the Key West West Marine store so of course we had to explore that! We were close to the boat docks so we explored that area and found the little museum dedicated to the Dry Tortugas and Fort Jefferson. There is a ferry service over to the islands which are a National Park. We picked up the information on the ferry which as it turns out is quite expensive. We strolled down Caroline Street to Duval the main drag in Key West. There were lots of tourists out doing the tourist thing. We stopped in a few shops, perused the merchandise and made our way down to Mallory Square. There were two cruise ships in port and the trolleys and Conch trains were full. We stopped at the Key West Rum factory and had a private tour of the facilities. Interesting on how they made the rum. By the time we finished the tasting room was packed to the rafters so we did not partake in any of the samples. By now our tummies were rumbling so we found the Hogsbreath Tavern and stopped for a bite. Fish tacos for me (yum) and pulled pork for Scott (double yum). Scott had to have a famous Hogsbreath t shirt and I even had a coupon oh joy! After lunch we walked up the other side of Duval Street and stopped at the Oldest House in Key West for the tour. We looked in at Wyland's gallery and enjoyed the sites and the ambience of Key West. We headed back to Marathon late in the afternoon and made our way back to Light Reach. It was a fun day and quite different seeing Key West from the land approach as opposed to from the water. We'd like to go back at some point not sure if it will be this year time is starting to slide away from us. The picture is of the Captain standing next to a mile marker post by the waterfront, note how far we are from Mobjack Bay!