Northbound

Enjoyed Key West, but just like Vegas, a few days is enough.  Went to Schooner's Wharf for our last fish tacos, and left the next morning about 9.  We had a beautiful overnight sail.  Very comfortable point of sail and breezy almost the entire way.  Landed at Crow's Nest mid afternoon.  Benstock's stopped by to fuel up, and then we went for a nice walk on the beach and swam.  While out on the jetty, it started raining.  We had a good thunderstorm, and it was pretty to watch from the boat.  After it subsided, we grilled a delicious steak, cauliflower and corn.  We watched a movie that I chose, which was so depressing we laughed!  Next time Eric will choose the movie.

Taking the inter coastal to Longboat Key Club for our last night of vacation.  It's pretty humid and warm, so we will enjoy having air conditioning and a pool.

We made it to Key West

Our overnight was uneventful.  Around midnight the winds picked up and Eric let me sleep until 6 am.  I took over and watched the sunrise.  We arrived safely in Key West about noon, and went to have our traditional margarita and swim.  We cleaned up the boat and did laundry.  The Benstock's arrived on Sababa about 5, along with crew Shirley and Zack to help them.  We went to A and B restaurant for a bunch of h'ors doevres.  The following day I went for a long walk, and Eric worked out on the boat.  We went to Duval for a really fun parade.  I paddleboarded, which is really fun around here with all of the huge yachts.  Mike made dinner on their boat and we watched the Lighting win.  The funniest part was when they scored and Eric threw up his hands - only problem was he had a full glass of red wine which spilled over everything.  

Last night we did something we had not done before.  We went to the roof top of the building next to us and watched the sunset.  Beautiful.  Some men who caught MANY fish gave us some fresh mahi and we grilled it for dinner.  Delicious.  

It is so much fun to be here on our beautiful boat.  It is so interesting to walk around and hear everyone's stories.  Some people have been very lucky in business and have been able to retire early and spend a lot of time on their boats.

Today we took advantage of our water toys.  We went kayaking and I paddleboarded again, which I love.  We reprovisioned the boat and will take off in the morning.

Key West or Bust 2016

We left St. Pete on Monday morning after Mothers Day.  We sailed to Moores Stone Crab, one of our favorite anchorages in Longboat Key.  Only to find that the restaurant, Moores, was no longer there.  A crane was taking it down.  Funny that new cruisers to the area will never know that Moores was there. To us it will always be Moores.

We grilled delicious grouper for dinner.  I paddleboarded around the area, which I love.  In the morning we headed to Venice.  When we arrived, we saw the boat HEADROOM was there.  Our friends, Tom and Brady.  We were so happy to see each other.  I paddleboarded, very close to a dolphin, and then Eric and I walked on the beach and swam.  We pooled our food with Tom and Brady, and after the four of us walked on the jetty to watch the sunset, we had a delicious dinner on their boat.

This morning we headed off to Key West.  It was a beautiful day on the water.  We tried to catch dinner, but only caught 3 inedible fish, Bonitas.  So I baked bread, and we ate leftover chicken which was delicious.  The smell of the fresh bread baking was amazing.

I am really having fun with my new Ukelele.  Eric and I are playing duets and having fun.  I am on watch now for a couple of hours.  I have not even napped today.  The day has gone so quickly.  For the first time, I have not even read, because I was afraid of getting seasick.  I have never enjoyed a day so much.  It was just a pleasure to relax and look at the beautiful water and just chill.