Days 179 - 188  Harbour Cay Club, Marathon, FL

 Sunday, February 20, 2011 – Tuesday, March 1, 2011



Porky's has great bar-b-que

 Looper get together

 Looper get together 

 Looper get together at Banana Bay Resort

 The tiki hut at 7-Mile Marina next to Salty's

 The top of Salty's offers a good view of the gulf

Manatee

 Manatees



 Blue stripe on the manatees's back is from a boat's bottom paint

 2 manatees at Harbour Cay Club

Entertainer on the roof plays for the tiki hut crowd at Key Fisheries

 Jim at the Tiki hut at Key Fisheries

 View from the Tiki hut at Key Fisheries

 Another Marathon sunset

 Pig races at the Stuffed Pig restaurant



Sunset at Tranquillity Bay

Warm, beautiful, sunny days – great for relaxing, walking, biking, and enjoying life.  We took advantage of every day in Paradise, but we also knew that we were getting close to the time when we would start traveling again.      

So on Wednesday a diver checked the bottom of the boat, removed some barnacles, and replaced the zincs on the shafts.    In the afternoon I learned how to make a necklace from a “heart bean” which grows naturally in the area.  A fellow boater showed several of us how to use a dremel to sand the bean so that it was smooth, shiny.  She then drilled holes in each side and strung it on a cord.  Voila!  A new necklace!   But I have to be careful.  If it gets wet, it will sprout!

On Wednesday evening we attended a baked potato party at Harbour Cay Club.  One couple provided the potatoes and everyone else brought toppings.  Yumm!

On Thursday a Yanmar mechanic replaced the engine zincs and changed the transmission oil and filters.  In the evening we joined over 80 fellow loopers at a party at Banana Bay Marina and Resort.  It was a get together for loopers from all of the marinas in the area.     It was fun to reconnect with people we haven’t seen for a long time and to meet new loopers. 

On Saturday we went to the pig races sponsored by The Stuffed Pig restaurant.  It was a fund raiser for a local day care center.   What a hoot!  The announcer sounded like a professional auctioneer - had a good sense of humor and names for all of the pigs (Brittney Spearibs,  Hammah Montana).  Of course, the pigs didn’t have a clue, and some of them wandered aimlessly while she called the race.   We actually won $11!  (Okay.  We bet $15, so we lost $4.)  But it was fun.

On Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday we worked on getting ready to head north.  On Tuesday afternoon we rode our bikes to Dockside to make plans with Carlton and Becky about leaving on Wednesday morning.   We checked the weather reports and found the forecast was for windy conditions for the next few days.  After some discussion we put our departure plans on hold in order to wait for better weather.            

Total miles: 0       Total bridges: 0       Total locks:  0

Days 177 - 178  Harbour Cay Club, Marathon, FL

 Friday, February 18, 2011 – Saturday, February 19, 2011

 College friend Ed Doyle at the boat show

Jim at the Formula exhibit

The Miami Boat Show was our destination for Friday and Saturday.  Carlton and Becky rented a car, and we rode with them to the show.  We each got a motel room in Ft. Lauderdale for Friday night.  The show had 3 locations – 2 with in–water boats, but we went to the 3rd location at the Convention Center.  It featured not only boats, but an amazing variety of every possible boating accessory known to the world.  At one of the exhibits we were surprised to find Ed Doyle, a college fraternity brother of Jim’s.  He had come from Minneapolis to work at the show.   It was good to see him! 

For 2 days we shopped, got lost in the maze of exhibits, and shopped some more.    At the end of each day we were exhausted, but glad to have finally attended our first Miami Boat Show. 

Total miles: 0       Total bridges: 0       Total locks:  0