2/23/16     Tuesday        Boot Key/Marathon, FL

A diving pelican (fishing no doubt), a white egret and a rainbow....all this before 8:00 A.M. Could be a good day in the making.  

yesterday but it was still beautiful and similar to today, maybe it was today
in paradise

We're now # 1 on the mooring ball wait list. Hoped that today would be our ball day but the wind was really blowing. Hard to imagine anyone took off for the Bahamas but maybe at least 2 could have decided to go up the west coast of FL. Sigh.

So.....to the beach!!! Took our beach chairs and our books, and our phones just in case we got that mooring. The wind was pushing waves into the mouth of the creek. Drama....and beauty. Love the sound of the surf. Windy but warm and sunny. After about an hour we moved to a slightly less windy portion. Two women and a man came down with paddle boards. "Its pretty windy and choppy," said one woman, "but we've always wanted to try this and our time here is running out," said the other. "I've always wanted to try it, too," said I. And so I did! I did let them go first since they'd paid the bill. The man got worried about the women after they'd disappeared for abt 1/2 hour. We three (nick, David and I) were about to get in the dinghy to go see if we needed to tow them back when they appeared. Then it was MY Turn. WhoooHoooo. It was a bit rough out at the mouth of Sisters Creek. Balancing on my knees was no problem and I learned quickly that shallow pulls w/the paddle were more effective than deep pulls. Getting back to the beach against the tide and wind was....exhilarating. Back in the beach cove I tried standing up....as the waves were crashing in. Challenging. I managed about 45 -60 seconds each time. The water was really shallow so falling off was no worries. I do have a nice bruise and laceration on my shin where the board ran into me. All in all, though, success. Don't need to own a paddle board but would definitely enjoy the activity again.

Thanked our new friends and headed back to the boat where we read, scraped the rails, talked to buddies who stopped by in their dinghy. On the way back we saw another iguana. They are so prehistoric looking.    

here's looking at ya

same lady