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.

This and That

 People are so nice and friendly here.  We are always greeted nicely and we return the favor.  People also tend to take the world and themselves more lightly than folks caught up in the cares of the world.  It is a refreshing change of pace for us.

This bit of whimsy is Jolene.  Yes, the Dolly Parton song is now a permanent earworm!

Jolene watches over the garden and those who volunteer as tenders.

She is provided a lot of clothing options and you never know 

exactly what she'll be wearing .  We always check for updates.

Not everyone in the harbor is a slave to maintenance.  If you zoom in,

you'll see several inches of growth.  It takes a long time to accumulate that much.

We pull the dinghy out of the water every night to prevent barnacles and soft growth.

Happy Hour at the Tiki gives everyone an opportunity to meet

new friends and reconnect with those we've met on previous trips.

We watched in fascination as the crew worked on the local cell tower.

It is basically in the marina's backyard.  You really have to have no fear 

of heights to do this job.  They ascend on the lines controlled by the ground crew.

Since the boats are moored, some have to sail somehow

and so have sail kits rigged for their dinghies.

Always a project for Captain David.  He is trying to

make our solar connections more robust so he's been researching better connectors and 

wires.  We also ordered a new flexible panel to provide a bit more energy.  Ideally, we'd 

never need to run the engine to recharge the batteries or make hot water..  Good to have a goa.!

Another popular gathering spot is the water spigot.  Usually there is a 

line to fill jugs and water bladders to take back to the boat.

I managed to get this picture early Sunday morning before the rush.

Basically we live in the open.  We sleep with our portlights (windows) open and

the back companionway is also open.  This allows for maximum ventilation but also

means we're waking up with the sun.  We do get some glorious ones!

We've also been blessed with a consistent run of 

spectacular sunsets.

Slaves to Beauty

 It's been a while since I updated but I woefully underestimated how much data I needed to buy for the hotspot.  At first, I thought I had a bad unit then the provider said they had a technical issue and there were indeed guys climbing the local tower.  Finally I got a representative that told me I was out of data.  So, I doubled my quota and we can now watch tv and blog and check email!!!  The first full week was mostly chores but we did manage to fit in time to socialize, get a few workouts and keep the pantry full.

We spent a fair bit of time being

Blue Moon's slaves.  We like her to look good and that means manual labor.  Every six months the varnish needs a light sanding and a few more coats of high quality varnish.  first you have to scoot along the deck taping it all off.  What a PAIN.  I have a pad to protect my knees from the

non-skid and David worked the side from the dinghy.

Our neighbor, Robert, is on a beautiful Shannon 38. He kindly

shared a picture of the work in progress.

All taped up on the starboard side.

We have long traveler tracks on both sides.  We needed to tape off

the tops and edges to prevent  varnish from accumulating and

making it hard to move the traveler.  We really need that to make 

the shape of our genoa fit the wind conditions.  We also have moveable

cleats on the track to give us more options in tieing on lines and fenders.

All nice and shiny again for this round.

No, cruising is not all fruity rum drinks!