Happy New Year!

Greetings all - hope 2012 has started off great for you!  Paul and I are back in Stuart and we had a wonderful last part of our trip!

When I last blogged, we were at a mooring in Marathon and enjoying some stunning weather!  We explored the harbor on our dinghy and ran a few errands Thursday afternoon.  We also got our mail - which is always great fun - lots of wonderful holiday cards and cool stuff.  On Friday morning, we went over to the Turtle Hospital which is amazing.  Located very close to the marina - they had a 90-minute tour and the guide was excellent.  It is a non-profit organization that rescues turtles who have been injured either by being hit by a boat or swallowing something bad (like a plastic bag).  We were really impressed with the great work they do.

At the Turtle Hospital, there are lots of iguanas nearby - this one was beautiful - lots of orange color!

Here are some of the patients at the hospital - they converted a former hotel swimming pool and filled it with salt water. Turtles with more serious injuries are in individual smaller pools.

Sunset in Marathon in the mooring field  . . .

From MP's Fly Bridge overlooking the mooring field looking the other way.  The lighting was amazing.

On Saturday morning, we left Marathon (Boot Key Harbor) early and headed for Miami - last day of 2011!  We really enjoyed our stay in Marathon and look forward to returning!

Sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean - we headed to Miami on the "outside" - so south of the keys along the Hawk Channel - it was a beautiful day and very calm. 

Approaching Government Cut which is the entrance point to the Port of Miami.  The buildings of Miami Beach are on the right.

A Carnival Cruise ship was coming out as we were going in - what an experience!  Master Plan felt pretty tiny by comparison - there were hundreds of people on the decks waving at us!

Another view of the cruise ship out the back of the fly bridge . . .

We continue up the channel and another HUGE cruise ship is heading out (dead center of the photo).  But we would go left and would not pass this ship . . .

We veered left around Fisher Island and went by a cargo ship whose lines were lifted as we went by and it too started heading out of the port along with the cruise ships.  You can see another cruise ship leaving to the left of this one in the channel behind it.

We anchored just off of Fisher Island - a very affluent and ritzy area that is between Miami Beach and Miami - there are no bridges to this island, so all vehicles come and go via ferry.  I believe Oprah has (or had) a house here.  You can see the cruise ship heading out of the channel in the middle of the photo.

Our anchorage area in Fisher Island was perfect - it was very protected and although there were several boats there when we first arrived, all but one left.  It was a long day (about 100 miles), so we enjoyed a quiet evening on board - cooked some dinner and watched TV.  We had heard there were fireworks displays in Miami at midnight, but once midnight approached - we were in the front row for six different fireworks shows - unbelievable!  A great way to start a new year - but once they were done, we hit the hay as it would be another early morning departure on Sunday.  Our plan was to leave Miami and run the "outside" and be in Stuart in the afternoon.

The city of Miami early Sunday morning - the first day of 2012!  Very quiet after a big night!

Sunrise as we head out of Government Cut and depart the Port of Miami . . .

A TON of jelly fish in the Palm Beach area - there were hundreds of them!

The Breakers Hotel with downtown West Palm Beach in the background.

We had a great run up the coast - the conditions were perfect - and it was cool to see all the various towns as we headed north.  Miami and Ft. Lauderdale are all really active ports and we saw a ton of freighters.  We went "inside" just north of Palm Beach and spent the last 30 miles of our trip on the InterCoastal Waterway through Jupiter and then into Stuart.  It was a beautiful day so lots of boats on the waterway, but there are some beautiful homes along this stretch.

We pulled into Stuart at about 4pm on Sunday afternoon and it was nice to be back.  We were gone for two weeks and looped around the southern tip of Florida - it was amazing!  So great to disconnect from work and truly enjoy time on the boat exploring an area we had never been before on Master Plan.

We wish everyone a very happy and healthy new year ahead - thanks for following along!

Love, Jen & Paul

Today's Quote:

You are one individual on a small planet in a little solar system in one of the far-flung galaxies...but you can still make a difference.

~ Unknown

Marathon, FL - Still In the Keys

Greetings from Marathon!

Paul and I arrived to Marathon on Tuesday after a wonderful evening at anchor at Tarpon Belly Key.  We left Key West on Monday morning after 3 great nights there.  We continue Eastward and will reconnect with the InterCoastal Waterway in Miami and work our way back to Stuart. 

Leaving Key West, we thought this cruise ship was hilarious - check out the lips on the bow!

Tarpon Belly Key (where we spent Monday night) was a beautiful anchorage described in the photos below:

Tarpon Belly Key is uninhabited and privately owned.  At one point, someone wanted to start a shrimp farm here and dug this canal and tried to block it off - but unfortunately with the tide changes, predators kept getting in the canal and therefore shrimp did not grow successfully.  The canal is a beautiful blue and a local woman who was also there told us that this water is really cold in the summer and therefore quite refreshing since the water overall is quite warm in the summertime.

Here is a better picture of the canal wall - now disassembled.

The island is very peaceful and the water is a beautiful clear blue.

Paul went back to Master Plan to get our beach chairs so this is him returning - with MP anchored in the background.

Sigh . . .  it just doesn't get better than this.  You did have to wear sandals / flip flops because the beach was all coral and very rough - not sandy at all - but other than that, it was pristine and lovely.

There were four other boats that pulled up to the beach while we were there . . .  one very nice couple had two Bassett Hounds - Jack and Jill.  Jill (pictured here) was adorable and very friendly!

All the other boats left and only Master Plan's dinghy remains - it was a peaceful and relaxing afternoon.

Above the anchorage is a US Air Force top secret blimp station nicknamed "Fat Albert" which is very easily spotted from our anchorage.  It is a tethered blimp that holds sophisticated radar systems to help keeps tabs on Cuba and other secret missions - to include drug running.  Very interesting indeed.

Another beautiful sunset.  Tarpon Belly Key is surrounded mostly by uninhabited small keys so at night it got very dark and all the stars were out and beautiful - including a crescent moon and a few planets.

We woke up on Tuesday morning and noticed that the tide was much lower than when we arrived, so we hung out for a few hours while it came back up.  Cudjoe Channel - which we took to get by Tarpon Belly Key is pretty deep, but there are some tricky spots, so we wanted to have a few extra feet of water as a cushion.  We departed just before noon and started our way East to Marathon - about 30 miles.

We arrived to Marathon just before 4pm - just after working our way through the famous "Seven Mile Bridge"- you may recognize it from the movie True Lies.   We were in the Bay side and worked our way South to the Ocean Side - as soon as you pass through, we turned East and right into Marathon.



My Sweet Captain at the helm with the beautiful blue water of the Keys in the background.



About to head under the new Seven Mile Bridge  . . . .



They removed a section of the old seven mile bridge (on the left) and the new one (pictured above) provides plenty of clearance.  The old seven mile bridge started as one of Flagler's railroads.



You can see both bridges behind us - pretty cool.

 We made a slip reservation at a marina so we could "feed the bitch," fill the water tank, do some laundry, and get some groceries.  Right after we docked - three manatees were just behind our stern.  They were looking for fresh water, but it is illegal to do this.  This is how manatees get hurt because they approach boats thinking they will get water and you will see in the photos below that their backs have been injured by boats running over them - very sad.  There are lots of laws to protect manatees here . . .


Two manatees here - a Mom and baby (on the left) - check out how scratched up her back is.




Another angle - I made sure to include my foot and some of the swim platform to give you an idea of just how close they were to the boat.



The third manatee raises his head for a breath - check out the snout!

We weren't giving them any water, so off they went - all three of them - really an amazing site to see them so close.



Sunset over Marathon Marina as we are settling in.

So we woke up Wednesday morning and decided to move to the Mooring Field here in Marathon.  The wind was blowing pretty briskly from the North and not a great day to travel far.  The marina we were in only had the slip for one night - which was fine - Paul called over to the City Marina and we were able to get on a mooring.  The Marathon mooring field is huge - there are about 200 moorings, only about 20 of which are large enough for boats over 40' - so we were lucky to get one.  The marina is really well run here with lots of great facilities for boaters - we were very happy to move over here.  We plan to stay here until Saturday.

As a side note - our slip at the marina was in a very weird and tricky spot and I have to give Paul a huge amount of credit for backing out of this slip and going through a very narrow fairway to get out of the marina - beautifully done! 

So I unofficially declared yesterday the day of the bike!  Once we settled into the mooring and got a lay of the land, we brought our bikes over to land via the dinghy and did some exploring of Marathon.  Overall, Route 1 is the main drag and quite commercial - lots of strip malls and nothing terribly scenic unless you veer off the main path and find some cool little areas on the water.  We found a great local spot for lunch and then headed out to the Seven Mile bridge - the old bridge has a beautiful two mile stretch that you can ride out to - but only bikes and pedestrians are allowed on this area so it was a fabulous ride!



Loading the bikes on the dinghy - actually much easier than we thought it would be - once we got to shore, there were plenty of bike racks we could store them at - so it was really convenient.



A nice man offered to take our picture at the end of the bridge stretch - two miles out.  Behind us is Pigeon Key - which has some buildings and can be toured, but no cars on this island - it is a historic district and was used as a construction hub while Flagler built the railroad in the early 1900's.  Many of the buildings are still here and the island can be toured and is also a big hub for marine research.




Yours truly on my chariot - this shows a good view of the road - two miles - as we head back to Marathon!

So today is another beauty - the winds have calmed down and I have unofficially declared this day the day of the Dinghy - we plan to explore the harbor via water and there looks to be a cool state park we can get to and perhaps enjoy some beach time and a swim. 

Until our next post - wishing you all a great last week of 2011!  Lots of love, Jen & Paul

Today's Quote:
"Beauty is in the eye of the Beerholder" - on a sign in the local place we had lunch - hilarious!

A Key West Christmas!

Merry Christmas to our dear friends, family, and followers - we hope everyone is enjoying this wonderful day and that Santa was very good to you!

Paul and I are in Key West and have been here since Friday.  We are in the mooring field here with just a short dinghy ride to downtown Key West and all the craziness.  Being on a mooring is very peaceful and quiet and it's a lot cheaper too! 

Let me back up - when last I blogged, we were en route from Sanibel Island to Marco Island.  We arrived to Marco in the mid-afternoon and it was lovely there!  The marina was very posh and once again, we grabbed our bikes and went to the beach.

Before our departure at Sanibel Island - the marina there was so cute - very friendly staff and they delivered the paper and warm blueberry muffins to us in the morning! 

At the Esplanade Marina on Marco Island - quite a change from Sanibel - much fancier!  You can see Master Plan in the background in the middle of the photo - Paul and I get ready to go on our bike ride to the beach!

The beach is HUGE at Marco - we went to Tiger Tail Public Beach on the north end of the island - really beautiful!

First mate on the beach doing some shelling - what a surprise!

Sigh . . . another beautiful sunset on Florida's West coast - nice to see it set in the water.

It is fun to watch the sandpipers skitter on the beach as the waves come in - they snack on the good stuff that is left as soon as the wave goes back in the water . . .

The sun is just about gone as a Pelican flies by . . .

We had a great visit to Marco - we enjoyed the facility very much.  We had a leisurely morning on Thursday - I tied up some loose ends on the business front before our departure and we left Marco just before 11:00 AM.   Our destination was to anchor in the 10,000 Islands, which is part of the Everglades National Park - just a few hours south of Marco.

There are so many canals on Marco Island - almost all houses are on the water or the beach - amazing.

An Osprey on her nest on a channel marker as we leave Marco . . .

Heading South leaving Marco Island behind.  The clouds are so cool, aren't they?

The Captain!  "King of the world!"

As we approached our anchorage spot, we noticed this white ahead on the left - but we soon found out it isn't just beach - it's a huge group of white pelicans.  We went by and decided that we would anchor, get settled, and return on the dinghy so we could get a closer look.

From the dinghy - our closer look - here they are - hundreds of them!  Once they fly, you can see the black color inside their wings - but when they are just standing on the beach, they are all white.

The Captain with the pelicans behind him.

Master Plan at anchor just before sunset  - it was so beautiful here - peaceful and quiet - a lovely evening.  We had to close the boat up tight, however, when dusk approached, as it got very buggy very quickly!

Sunset over 10,000 Islands - a beautiful evening once again! 

So we had a peaceful and relaxing evening on anchor and our plan was to get up very early and make the trek across the open ocean to Key West.  The weather forecast was very promising and it did not disappoint - we had a very easy 80-mile crossing to Key West - it was pretty much due south.  We departed 10,000 Islands in the dark at about 6AM and pulled into Key West at noon time.

We're not in Kansas anymore - lots of cruise ships and activity in Key West!

We then got to the mooring field and got checked in and settled in for the evening.  We went into town for dinner and I ate my weight in peel n' eat shrimp - they call them Key West pinks and they are delicious!  Of course, had to wash them down with a few beers . . . YUM.  On Saturday (Christmas Eve), we went in and explored Key West for the day.  Paul used to live in this area and we had visited many times before so it was fun to return.

We rented a small electric car for a few hours to really get around.  Here is Paul in front of his old stomping grounds - the Casa Marina.

A rooster crossing the street - not sure why he did - I guess because he could!  AR AR AR

There are lots of great old trees in downtown Key West - there is some really cool architecture and great history here too.  Many think Key West is just a drinking town - which it certainly has plenty of - but it also has a lot of cool cultural things to offer too!

Along the docks, a cat takes a nap - looks quite comfortable, huh?

OK - not sure why this is sideways - so please tilt your head left - sorry!  Anyway - can you see the tarpon under the pelican?  There is a particular area on the docks and the tarpon are HUGE!

After a great day in Key West, Paul and I had a few more shrimp, a few more beers, and then had some fun with some photo backgrounds - enjoy!

I only wish I looked this good in a bikini!

So it is Christmas Day and we started the day by just relaxing and hanging out on Master Plan - reading, relaxing, etc.  Then we went on a dinghy ride around all of Key West, which was pretty cool.  We are now doing some more relaxing - then will head in to take showers, then grab some dinner in town.  Our plan is to leave tomorrow morning and head to Tarpon Belly Key - about 30 miles East from Key West - we will anchor and it will be very beautiful and peaceful.  Then the plan is to head to Marathon and eventually end up in Miami by the end of the week.  We will then work our way up the ICW back to Stuart, thus doing one big loop around southern Florida!  It has been a great trip so far and we are looking forward to the week ahead!  I have disconnected from work and plan to read some books, relax with my sweet Captain, and enjoy the scenery. 

Paul and I feel truly blessed to be able to see all this cool stuff and as we reflect on the past year, we are so grateful for so much - but especially our dear friends and family - so thank you!  We wish you a very Merry Christmas and here's to ringing in 2012! 

We'll be posting again soon - sending lots of love from Key West - Jen & Paul

Today's Quote:
I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.  ~Charles Dickens