One Fish, Two Fish

Look at that gorgeous water! Within minutes of casting his line, Capt Rick caught his first fish of the season. His bait consisted of morsels of steak from dinner on board the night before.

The second fish was hooked so hard he needed help to release the barb. Unfortunately, the needle nose pliers were still inside the boat.

While Capt Rick waited for anyone (David B. was nominated) to bring him pliers, he was concerned the hooked little fish could die – you know the fish out of water thing – so he magnanimously lowered it into the water to keep it alive. Oh, SNAP!! A shark appeared, gulped down the fish, and broke the line.

Okay, not this shark – but you get the idea.

Faro Blanco, Marathon

Now that the fishing tale has been told, the timeline for this story is slightly out of sequence, so let’s go back to the prior stops.

This is for Craig and Maureen – who were with us at Faro Blanco shortly after the resort opened for business, when Rodriguez Cigars was in the house,

and there was a beautiful wedding!

In Marathon, we were also within walking distance of CastAways, home of the huge hogfish – for Tom and Faye.

Perry Marina, Stock Island

It was recommended by new friends Doug and Natalia on PiraSea that we order chicken wings at the Perry Marina. Boater’s tip – during happy hour all food is 25% off, and several of the drinks are 50% off. Which I think causes us to eat and drink more for some ridiculous reason. I also recommend the wings, made with a dry rub of Old Bay, they WERE so delicious!

And the general atmosphere was great.

Good advice for emails, texts, blogs, and old fashioned letters!

Dry Tortugas National Park

10 minutes before the official sunrise, at 0630, we departed the Perry Marina in Key West.

Destination – Garden Key harbor, a popular anchorage at Fort Jefferson. The run is about 70 miles, at the pace of a turtle. We gladly followed Tonto’s Reward.

Capt Rick and I have been to the Dry Tortugas twice before, once with Jamie and David, and once with Maureen and Craig. Both times we rode the vomit comet, aka Yankee Freedom, Dry Tortugas Ferry. With a capacity of 250, rough waters equal a very unpleasant experience.

Capt Rick promised me we would only go on our boat if the water was smooth, but let me tell you I did NOT expect flat, calm water! I swear, this photo is NOT modified in any way.

We rafted off of Tonto’s Reward; that means they dropped an anchor, then we hitched together the two boats, carefully lining up the doorways for easy passage.

The boats were neatly snuggled together.

Fort Jefferson was a short dinghy ride from our anchorage.

You probably know that tortuga in Spanish is “turtle”; but did you know the Loggerhead Turtle weighs up to 440 lbs, proven by these crazy skulls, and it has a lifespan of up to 67 years.

A warm shout out to Commodore Connie B – thanks for the salty treat.

Bucket List Item: Anchor Out at the Dry Tortugas. Check. It was spectacular!!

Once again leaving at 0630 – have a mentioned how I am NOT a morning person – it was about an 8 or 9 hour run, getting us in while there was still staff to help us tie up.

Key West

Hello to A & B Marina on the Harbor Walk.

Deja Vu – nearby Cuban Coffee Queen was exactly the same – this is for David Hendry, who generously brought me coffee from there more than once!

More photos of key west

Hemingway moment – David B and Rick G shared a Papa Pilar Rum moment with Ernest.

While in Key West we added a fun new art piece, so Purple Pete is no longer lonely. Say hi to Ernie!

Sending POSITIVE energy to Craig and Maureen. Wish our trips together to Faro Blanco, Key West and the Tortugas had been this smooth. We plan to see you in LA in the near future. And, sending positive energy to Caryl for her long awaited knee surgery on Monday.

Celebrating Milestones

Birthdays: June 17, Harrison Wilder Bishop; June 22,

Happy Father’s Day on Sunday, June 21

What’s Next? Heading back to Perry’s Marina in Stock Island.