Saturday at the Flea Market in Big Pine Key

Last Saturday we got up at the unheard of 6 AM and headed to shore to meet Carol and Pete on S/V Crazy Cat. We were headed to the nautical flea Market in Big Pine Key. The picture is of the fog in the mooring field.















We none found great finds at the market so we headed to the No Name Pub for lunch. The picture is left to right Carol, Pete, Larry and me. Check out the wall paper behind us. It's all one dollar bills stapled to the wall. We had a great lunch and enjoyed the company even more.

We came in Pete's truck camper so they took us for a drive to see Big Pine and the Key Deer that roam free. The picture is of Carol feeding a deer. They are much smaller than the deer in NY.

It took a few days to rest up last week. Since we have been sitting still we don't get up early.

The past two weeks have been busy. Larry had to change out our toilet and the hose that leads to the holding tank. This was a job we had hoped to do in Deltaville this coming Summer. Well it's done now and the new design of the toilet is great. If I remember I'll take a picture for the next time.

Record Low Temps In Florida!

Along with the rest of the country Florida has had record low temps for the longest stretch in years. It was difficult keeping warm. Most cruisers didn't have a heat source they could use. The stores selling warm clothes were sold out as well as stores selling portable heaters. In the after math the strawberry crop and corn crop was destroyed. The local grocery store displayed a sign stating there will be no strawberries for an indefinite time. Florida just isn't equipped for cold weather.

One week ago we rented a car and drove North to North Fort Myers to visit Larry's Mom and Dad. It just happened to be the coldest few days of the cold snap. Their furnace struggled to keep up and there were power outages in nearby housing developments. In spite of the cold we had a nice visit with Mom and Dad. We don't get to visit with them as often as we would like. I also got a chance to visit with my girlfriend Karen from NY. She was also visiting her Mom and Dad here in Florida.















This past week we got a call from Brockport Yacht Club friends Larry and Trish Beneway. They were here in the Keys for a few days. We made a plan to get together for dinner at Porkey's. We have not seen each other since Larry and I left NY in 2005. It was great to catch up on the happenings in each of our lives since we last were together.
















With a break in the weather friends from last season Chris and Divia on S/V Maggie M treated us along with about thirty other cruising couples to a opera on the water. Pictured here are Chris and Divia at the stern of their boat.

This picture shows a few of the many dinghies rafted up behind Maggie M. You can see the sky was threatening to drench us all but held off for the occasion.

The weather has finally given us a break from all the layers of clothes but is still cool at times depending where you are. When the wind is blocked and the sun is on you it feels quite nice. With this break several of the cruisers have taken the opportunity to jump off to the Bahamas. Our friends Tom and Cathie on S/V Interlude left yesterday morning and spent the night at Rodriquez Key and when we spoke this morning they left for their crossing. One week ago the marina had a waiting list now they have open mooring balls.

This morning I helped Larry change the joker valve on the head. It went the smoothest it has ever went. That should have been our first clue to trouble. Latter in the afternoon trouble reared its ugly head. The toilet would not pump, of course we had used it. We figured some of lime that builds up on the inside of the hose broke loose and stuck a few feet down the hose. Larry tried with a coat hanger and a small snake we borrowed but no luck. He is now at Home Depot purchasing a larger snake. I hope it works. We had already planned to change the toilet and the hose this Summer, I hope we wont have to do it tomorrow. It's getting late so we'll see what happens. Hopefully we won't have to resort to the old fashion bucket for the night.

A Cold New Year!

We stayed on the boat this New Years Eve. I had had a reaction to some tuna I ate for lunch the Monday before and was down for the count all week. I can say I'm doing much better now. We did wake up at 11:55 to the celebrating in the harbor. Horns blowing, cheers and fire works. We stayed awake long enough to say Happy New Year to each other then back to sleep. Tom and Cathie had come over earlier but went home at the cruisers midnight 9 PM. We none receive TV here in the Keys so we couldn't watch the ball drop anyway.

New Years Day we had our traditional sauerkraut for dinner. Being of German decent I like to make sure of good luck in the New Year. We also added black eyed peas courtesy of Tom and Cathie. He being a Southern boy his tradition for luck in the New Year is black eyed peas. The two blended quite nicely for dinner (see the picture).

The weather here has continued to deteriorate like the rest of the country. We woke to temperatures of 47 with wind chill of 39. If you close your eyes and relied on the temperature to tell you where you are you would never guess Florida. We are being saved by the sunshine. I hate to think what it would be without it.

Tomorrow we have a car rented for the weekend. We will travel up the West coast to visit with Larry's Mom and Dad. I talked with Dad yesterday and he said to bring all the warm clothes we can. It's even colder up there. It should be a nice ride if the sun continues to shine. We'll have heat in the car. It's been a while since our last visit. It will be good to see Mom and Dad again.

Larry broke a tooth on the trip down. This morning he went to one of the local dentists to get it fixed. He just called and all is well and is on his way back. It was a cold morning to get out and about but an appointment is and appointment.

Larry still isn't employed but hopes for a short stint at West Marine while they change the layout of the store. He will at least get his foot in the door and hope for more. As for me, last week was a waste and I didn't to start my projects in the workroom. I hope that will generate some side jobs for me doing canvas work. I'll start next week and hope for the best.

Larry's back and I want to see the dentist's handy work!