Well, we finally made it to the Florida Keys and warmer weather. Here is a quick update on the last couple days.

I last posted from Marco Island as we were anchoring in Smoke House Bay. It was a great spot to anchor with a dinghy dock for us to tie up and let the dog out easily everyday. There was also a dinghy dock at the grocery store, so it made shopping very easy as well.

As we were doing our last grocery run, we passed a boat that yelled our names out! It was Tom and Shelly Wright. They are the parents of one of William’s swim team members from UK. We have not seen them since 2014. We were so glad they yelled, and we followed them to their house for a beer and some catching up.

The next morning, Saturday, 2/27, we moved from Marco Island to Marathon, FL. This was a 102 mile run and we could not have had better conditions for the trip. One foot or less waves the entire way and the wind was off the nose. This boat really likes the waves off the nose. We hardly know they are even there.

Pulling out of the Marco River

A look back at the river as we enter the Gulf again.

The run down took around 5 hours with the slow speed out of the river and then once again when we arrived at Marathon due to shallow water. Between those two areas we were able to run from 24-25 MPH. The fun was dodging all the crab pots. There were a LOT of crab pots!

Arriving Marathon you can see the shallow water.

If you look closely, you can see the sand trail we are making as we churn up sand at idle speed due to the shallow water. It was 6-7′ the last 3 miles into the resort where we are staying.

We will be staying at Marlin Bay Resort and Marina for a week and touring the Keys from here.

Once we got settled into the slip and cleaned the boat again to get rid of the salt, it was time to relax in the pool and hot tub. I will post pictures of the slip and area in a mid-week post. It is great here and we are right next to the pool. It is also very dog friendly, easy for us and Memphis.

We have finally caught back up to a couple of loopers friends that we have missed spending time with. We were able to meet up for dinner and late drinks our first night here before one of the boats was moving on.

Things even got a little silly as the night went on. In typical fashion, this group touches absolutely every subject in discussion which leads us to unusual actions sometimes! We had a blast.

Today, Monday 1/29/2024, we are going by car with Phil and Mary to explore and see Key West. Looking forward to this as Amy and I have never been to the Keys before.

I will post more mid-week with pictures of the resort harbor and our time in Key West. Until then I hope you have a great week.