2/20/16     Saturday        Boot Key/Marathon, FL

OMGoodness. I slept for nearly10 hours last night, not all restful sleep but horizontal in any case. The day has been delicious and the evening wonderful. Coming back to Sisters Creek tonight was beautiful. Warm. Light wind. Our own anchor light star field. I've noticed that palm trees have become my norm and I look forward to being home on the boat. Now that both David and I have more confidence in the dinghy I can take it into the dock myself again.

Yoga this morning then sitting around the marina lounge - the large warehouse room - and working a jigsaw puzzle with some other adults. A fun diversion and I may purchase a puzzle to gift the marina so we'll have another to work. This one was an EASY 300 pieces. Fun to see how strangers work together, with our very own ways of doing things, to complete a project. I joined the trio and Beth handed me a stack of green stripped pieces saying "here are the green stripped meadow pieces, a project for you." I took them then ignored them, not out of resistance, its just that the horse cart with the words printed on it was more interesting to me. I got around to the green stripped meadow but it took awhile, and it was fun.

Dick and Nora joined us and we divided up - Dick and David taking the dinghy to Sombrero Beach and Nora & me getting lunch for all of us traveling by their van, and meeting at the beach picnic tables.

our picnic table is just to the right, water is beautiful

Mission accomplished and lunch eaten we all piled into the dinghy for a waterway tour. We went into the canals off Sisters Creek to look at houses. Beautiful! AND we saw an iguana, a yellow and brown one, that was 3' long. Dick got a couple of photos that he said he'd share..maybe by the time I finish this post.                  

We had a good time riding up and down canals. Also went into the waterway beside our new anchoring place, pretty shallow water (4'-6') that opens out into a really shallow (1') open "pond". Quiet and lovely but probably filled w/biting bugs around sunset.

Red Mangrove

Waterway tourists minus Dick, photographer

We ended our tour back at Grace for drinks on the aft deck admiring the day, the small grey heron, and appreciating our good fortune and our friendship. David took Dick and Nora back to their car at Sombrero Beach. I stayed on Grace to straighten and change clothes. David returned.

Dinner tonight w/Nora & Dick at the Sunset Grill next to their campsite. Food and atmosphere is family-friendly but hose families are generally quiet and contained enough to not intrude on anyone else's fun. A good 3-piece band was playing in the open air beside the pool, around which people were enjoying dinner. Guitarist was great! We've eaten her a couple times before and really enjoy it.

my camera/phone does NOT get sunset distinct colors but still...

Nora & Dick leave tomorrow so dinner was their last supper w/us in the Keys. They'll visit Nora's sis in Sarasota make another stop in D.C. to visit a friend then book it for Maine home. Loved spending time w/them here. Would do it a bit differently next time...like we did today...making plans in advance rather than getting together then trying to decide what to do/where to go. That was frustrating for me as it was hard to get us to decide, all wanting to not be bossy or feel guilty for always getting way or just wanting to know ALL the options. Triple Capricorn me is driven to distraction by some of this behavior. Opinions were not easily offered so as not to influence decisions. Duh! What's the point. So, make choices before we meet then just carry out the decision/
agenda. Hoooooooooooooooo hummmmmmmmmmmm!
Loving that they were here with us. Looking forward to "back to normal" boating here not that I know what "normal" is, particularly. But I look forward to cultivating some friendships here in the harbor. For example, I still haven't met the gardener but savored the gardens anyway.

tomatoes in the background

beds are about 2' high and 3' x 6'

    Friends, Dan and Wendy will probably arrive tomorrow and we are now # 6 on the mooring wait list. Wind is supposed to move to the east and southeast Monday and Tuesday, making it easy for folks to leave for the Bahamas and folks in the creek to move to balls. Could be us. Hoping to get a mooring as that would make it easier to leave, to come and go.