Some Parts of Life Aboard Blue Moon

 As noted earlier, life is not a sunshine and fun.  We try to get out and enjoy the company of fellow boaters and local places to visit and eat.  We try to support local businesses as well rather than order everything on line.  The boat, just like a house, has to be cleaned and maintained.  Not necessarily fun stuff but still needed.  We also try to get out and maintain ourselves by riding bikes or walking everywhere and getting to the local gym regularly.  The gym is a luxury we've not invested in before but as we're getting older, it's a good idea.  This page is a mishmash of stuff.  You can click on any of the pictures to see more detail.

Our neighbor Robert on the old Overseas Highway.

Rainy days happen everywhere.  We try to think of it as a

good freshwater rinse for the decks.

The marina staff served us glasses of cheer.  Dinghy side service no less.

One chore I hate is defrosting the fridge.  Rainy day was

as good a day as any.

We like the Stuffed Pig.  The tables are all outside under

a large thatched roof area.  They are surrounded by gardens

and various bits of ornamental art.

A view of a very handsome man and the interior of the 

thatched roof.

One of the garden areas.  There are pigs of various makes and styles.

This tropical bird structure is colorful and fun.

Pigeon Key

 We rode our bikes over to Pigeon Key with our neighbor Robert.  We always make it a point to visit since there is so much history there and we always learn something new about the Overseas Railway, the Overseas Highway and the people who made it all possible.  It was considered the 8th Wonder of the World due to the massive engineers effort required to design the bridges and the massive manpower required to make the engineer's vision a reality.  A non-profit group runs and maintains the island and the roadway (bike, pedestrian or mini-train only) to the island.  The fees to enter the island are used to help defray costs.  The guide is always knowledgeable about the different eras of the island's history. re The island has been used a construction of the 7 mile bridge staging, a rest-stop for the Overseas Highway, a resort for fishing and a research lab.  It is currently used for education and historical preservation.

here are several buildings on the island.  They house a museum, classrooms

places for summer camp kids and instructors to stay and storage/maintenance.

In one of it's eras, folks were there on vacation and tended to be swept away in the

currents so a saltwater pool was built.  During the research phase various aquatic animals 

were kept in it for study.

One of the buildings on Main Street.

The buildings are almost all over 100 years old but are built of old growth pine

and thus resistant to rot and termites.

Another house.  Notice the wide eaves and porches to keep the sun out.

At the time that the island was a work camp, there was almost no vegetation.

Everything was brought in to make it more attractive to tourists.

The concrete used to build the bridges is expected to last another 700 years.

The formula used is no longer available to current builders.

The largest building on the island is the remaining worker domitory.

It now houses summer camps.  They leave their bits of themselves in each class.

Another mural.

                     Each class leaves behind a signed fishing buoy and each rafter is a decade of classes.
                        There were four of these buildings at the height of construction with 60 men in each.

                        

Some of the signed balls.

The ramp down from the original Overseas railroad/Highway.

 

                                           The roadway was built on top of the old railroad.  It was only
                                       22 feet wide with two lanes.  The locals called it the bridge of mirrors
                                       since cars tended to know their mirrors off on the guardrails.

                           

                                                    An old diving suit from back in the day.

Only the section leading to Pigeon Key of the former highway is maintained.

They made a split to keep wanderers from going further.

The break shows the old railbed with the concrete poured on top. 

A view from the road.

The guardrails for the Overseas Highway were old railroad rails.

You can still see the holes where rail spikes would have gone.

Our last view before heading back to the boat.

Exploring the local waterway

 Our harbor is made up of a few bodies of land with our mooring area being between them.  One is a mostly mangrove key called Boot Key.  The main office and the town of Marathon are on Vaca Key and Sombrero is adjacent to both.  Running between Sombrero and Boot keys is Sister's Creek.  We took a ride out the creek to the Atlantic and then back in to explore some of the waterways in the mangroves on Boot key.  You never know what you'll see.  It's been three years since we were here so some new things to us.

A house with a sandy beach along the creek.

Down one of the several waterway cuts

off the creek.

This boat was up in the mangroves.  It's been there for a while.

The sun was so sparkling and enchanting on the water.

The roots of mangroves grow down into the brackish water.  Mangroves are essential to filter the water and protect land from storm surge.

Sombrero Beach Park at the end of the creek.

What to do when you don't have bifocal sunglasses.

he seagrass can be mesmerizing when your in shallow water.

S

ister's Creek is a popular anchorage for those who don't want to deal with the

 "hubbub" of the mooring field.

We came across this weird sight and wondered how 

two masts managed to stay so straight all by themselves.  When we got closer we saw the 

boat they were attached to, an old schooner.  You can see the bow pulpit sticking up if you zoom in.

This house was in the process of being demolished.  It used to be quite the palace. 

 I wonder what the story is there.

This is a flipped over sailboat.  It was in very shallow water so we couldn't get closer.

More varnish work.  I think we're through for a while.

You're never actually finished.

Some of the villas along the creek.  This is all one house.

More This and That

 We have settled into a sort of routine.  We give the boat some time, us some time and fun some time each day.  We're trying our hand at Bocce Ball, dominoes and general socializing.  We make regular trips to check mail at the headquarters building, Home Depot, Publix, Winn-Dixie and West Marine.  We have sampled several local restaurants and explored side streets and waterways just to see what's there.  We've done some more varnishing and hopefully commissioned a new cockpit table.  Mostly just messing about and enjoying such a unique lifestyle and place.

What do you do with an old, old trailer?

Why put a shed underneath it, of course!

Jolene the garden goddess apparently had a rough night!

I love the sense of humor.  You almost stop reading after

the usual warnings.  This was worth reading to the end.

The community garden beds are looking great.

We stay in touch with folks we've met over the course

of a 24 year military carrier and of course family and friends from forever.  That means, Christmas cards from the Keys!

I do love the feel of a real book.

David has been working hard to get our

solar system top notch.  This is now our usual output.  You become much, much more

aware of how much juice it takes to run a light, charge a phone etc. when each amp is

hard to come by sometimes.

It's Beginning to look a lot like Christmas

 Even though the weather is warm and mostly sunny, the Keys still love to decorate and show good will to all.  I like to decorate for Christmas so I always bring along a few decorations and a small tree.  David is not such an avid decorator so he tolerates, usually with a smile, my taking up precious storage space with "my stuff".  

The cabin is ready!

No mantle for the stockings but a portlight works.

No room for a proper creche so this is the cruiser version.

 The tree lit up.

A video of the tree and cockpit decorations

Some people do a much better job decorating.

The City of Marathon collects money to buy bikes for needy kids.

And kind Santa's elves from the cruising community put them 

together.  We put together two in an afternoon.  It feels nice to

return something to the community that welcomes us vagabonds.