New Job for Jeff

Jeff's last official day of work here at the City Marina was June 3rd. It was a personal choice. Life had become too political and complicated for a guy with a pension, so he resigned. There were several boat chores that needed doing, and some much needed R&R. But he was not deigned to be unemployed for long. A fellow harbor resident came to him with a tip that the charter company that she works for needed a captain - ASAP. Jeff went and talked to them the next day and shortly after he was making practice runs to see if he could handle the boat and/or wanted the job. He didn't hit the bridge and could get the power catamaran easily in and out of the slip.

So now Jeff runs the snorkel boat, "Starfish," out to the reef with passengers on a regular basis.

I had the privilege of being one of the passengers quite recently and plan on making it a habit on my days off pending availability and weather.

The day I went, it was a beautiful, sunny, calm day. With a light breeze, the trip out to the reef was quite pleasant and much cooler than being on land. It was a full boat and I was barely able to squeeze in, but the boat has a capacity of 40 passengers and there were 39 paying.

Jeff cruised through the narrow span of the 7-mile bridge without noticeable concern....the only point of the trip that is particularly hairy or potentially dangerous.

Then we were in the open water dodging lobster and crab traps.

Out at the reef, Julie - the first mate, made quick work of getting the boat secured to the mooring ball and then it was everyone in the water!

I found a comfy place to lay on the nets to soak up a bit of sun and scenery and stay out of the way.

All was well until a couple of little girls were stung by jellyfish and screamed their full heads off. Jeff and Julie administered what first aid was possible and the girls finally quieted themselves when Julie produced a bag of oats to feed the myriad of fish surrounding the boat.

The reef was somewhat inundated with moon jellies, and while quite beautiful to watch swim by, can pack a powerfully, painful sting.

Soon enough, it was time to gather all the snorkelers and head back to shore with a pleasant boat ride to the bayside.



So,

this is pretty much what a day at the office looks like for Jeff...



Congratulations, Captain.

Maddie Time!

July 26th was my niece, Maddy's, third birthday and I recently made the trek to Greensboro, NC to be a part of the festivities. I left Marathon on a Thursday morning along with my friend, Megan, who needed a ride to Daytona. It was nice having company for the first 8 hours of the trip and the stops at Robbie's of Islamorada for trinkets and The Blue Marlin in Key Largo for breakfast.

Then I was on my own. I stopped for the night in St. George, SC and then finished up the trip the next day.

Upon my arrival, I walked into my brother's house to a great big grin on a three year old who immediately broke the ice by announcing she had a wedgie...then promptly went about removing the offending article of clothing from it's delicate position in a bout of giggles.
The rest of the afternoon followed suit with lots of giggles, tickles, and hugs.

My father and his wife, Barb, had arrived on the scene the previous day. Now I just had to wait for for my brother, sister-in-law, and mother to get off work. We spent a jovial, family evening together...ordering carry-out from Elizabeth's Pizza and taking turns entertaining Maddie.



The next day was the big event: The Backyard Birthday Bash!



10 a.m. Saturday morning the party-goers started to arrive. Everyone was shown to the backyard which had been transformed into a party wonderland complete with play-set, tot-sized picnic tables, and 2 wading pools, along with an assortment of bubble-wands, squirt bottles, balloons, and snacks.





At some point, the cake arrived and shortly afterwards all our little guests were gathered up and taken home.




With just family left in attendance, lunch was served: a grand buffet of just-smoked brisket and pork shoulder, beans, slaw, and 7-layer salad. Delicious!

Afterwards, there were presents to be opened and little Miss Maddie could hardly contain herself. The rest of the afternoon was spent lounging about in good company, with a bit of an outing to some of the local shops, and then a rousing game of Whist with my mom, my dad, and Barb in which some of the rules were suspect and quite possibly completely made-up by my dad.

Sunday morning I was up bright and early and asked Maddie if she would like to do some jumping jacks with me. Her response was enthusiastically affirmative. So, I did my Insanity workout with a 3-year old which proved to be truly insane. She grabbed my leg while I did leg lifts, sat on my back for push-ups, "got me" during several inopportune moments, and decided to switch to Rudolph and Frosty the Snowman part way through the DVD. Somehow, we got through it and while she ran off to get dressed, I hopped in the shower.

We were going to the farmer's market!
But, our first stop would be breakfast at the Moose Cafe.
After a yummy meal of biscuits, gravy, sausage, eggs, and bacon we set out to peruse the farmer's wares. I had big plans to buy some homegrown tomatoes since I hadn't had a good one since this time last year. Maddie held my hand as we strolled about gathering all my market favorites: grits, crackers, cheese curds, spices, a ham hock, and most notably - cherokee purple tomatoes!

It was during our shopping that Maddie learned to use the word "cooperate" even if she didn't totally grasp it's meaning. She loves to hold on to 2 adults and swing in the middle as we walk. My brother, Keith, obliged for several such swings and then dropped Maddie's hand in search of produce. Maddie looked to me for a solution to her swinging dilemma and I shrugged my shoulders and told her that daddy simply wasn't cooperating. Without missing a beat, she grabbed Jolene's hand and said, "Cooperate, Mommy!" as she threw her weight forward resulting in the desired swinging effect.

With our shopping complete, we headed back to the house.

Later that afternoon, I ventured out to Morning View, the assisted living facility that employs my mother, to give her a hand with calendars and bulletin boards. Then it was back to the house for me for a fantastic dinner of BBQ pork and a myriad of fresh veggies and tomatoes from the market.


Monday morning came early to the Henning household as everyone set out in different directions...my brother to work, Maddie and Jolene to daycare and work, and my dad and Barb to take the scenic route back to Indiana. I worked out in the peace in quiet - unmolested this time around - and ran a few errands. But, it was quickly back to the house for me for Maddie's 10:15 arrival. After her swim lessons, I had her for the rest of the day!
And what a busy day it was!
My mother arrived around 11:30 to find Maddie and I soaking up some rays and splashing about in the princess pool. By then, we had already played with play-doh, watched approximately 30 seconds of 4 different DVD's, covered a multitude of paper with watercolors, and had a snack.

While Maddie and Sarah went upstairs to get on some dry clothes, I made us some lunch.


Next, we made dog biscuits and baked sugar cookies with sprinkles. Then we played a game, stuck some stickers, went for a walk, had a snack, painted more watercolors, read a couple of books, got out the dominoes, dumped the building blocks, and lots of Maddie's favorite activity - playing with my phone.


We were all happy to see Jolene/mommy when she got home but for entirely different reasons.

I could have certainly used a nap at that point, but it was a great day!


Tuesday rolled around much too soon and it was time for me to say good-bye... and saying goodbye to Maddie was certainly the hardest.


After she headed off for school, I packed the car, made one last trip to Target, and went over and spent a bit of time with my mother. Her and I had lunch at Brixx's Pizza and then I hit the road.

But, it wasn't quite time for me to start off for FL. Instead, it was a 2 hour trip to Kenly, NC, to visit with the Smiths - family from a previous marriage. It was great to see my niece, Josie, my nephew, Zachary, and Mark and Anne. We had a great time at the local Mexican restaurant with good food and drinks and a variety of friends.


Unfortunately, this was to be a rather short visit - although a little time spent together was better than none at all.

The next morning, I was merging onto I-95 shortly after 5am.

I would like to say that it was an uneventful ride and that I made it home in the expected amount of time, but that was not to be.
I noticed on one of my stops to get gas that my rear tire was low. I filled it to the appropriate pressure and hopped back on the road. An empty tank later and the same tire was low again, only this time I go to air it up and the valve stem comes off in my hand. I immediately think that this is not good, so I use the GPS [Thanks, Jensina!] to locate the nearest repair shop. I call the top one on the list and am informed that I have contacted a mobile service and after listing his exorbitant fees for his assistance, he told me that there was a Wal-mart nearby that would probably do the trick.

Well, Wal-mart was not as close as I was led to believe, and after another stop to make sure I was headed the right direction I decided not to risk driving any further on my lame tire and change to the spare. This is when I discovered that a very vital piece of my jack had gone missing. Luckily I had a bit of help from a gentleman who very graciously changed my tire using a part from his own jack. I proceeded to the Wal-mart rather anxious and ambivalent about my impending repair bill, but my mind was immediately set to ease when the technician behind the counter told me that a flat repair would be $10.
I was expecting something much worse.

The boys at Wal-mart made quick work of fixing my tire and stowing away the spare and then the final bill came: only $2.12 for the broken valve stem!
I couldn't ask for better than that.
A quick run through a drive-thru and I was back on the road with 4 tires holding air and only 2 hours behind schedule.

I left the mainland hit Highway 1 just as the fading sun set into the purple sea. I had one more stop for gas and the Arby's that I had promised Jeff. I arrived at the marina after a long 16 hours in the car and boy, was I happy to be there!

I slept very late the next morning and then had a nice trip out to the reef with Jeff on the snorkel boat...but that's another blog entry entirely!

So traveling is all well and good, and I had a lot of fun with family and friends and all those I love in North Carolina, and I especially enjoyed my Maddie time...

...but

Home is where the boat is!

Project Fish Bowl

Just recently, Jeff was forced to make a decision about the future of our bathroom: rebuild the head or replace it. He decided to go with the more expensive but hopefully less odorous option of replacing our existing system with a VacuFlush.

I once told Jeff that if we ever installed a new toilet/head on the boat that I was going to paint the inside of the bowl.


Here was my chance!



Now you may wonder where I would get such an idea...

The inspiration came from friends, Tommy and Allyson Cooper, or more specifically the toilet bowl on their Gibson houseboat.

Just imagine my delight the first time I was a guest on their boat and found this on my trip to the restroom!


Love it!
Got to have one!


So the new toilet was ordered and preparations were made for the not so fun job ahead. Jeff took the boat to the seawall of the Marina so that we could use its facilities while ours was out of order and then proceeded to remove all the old plumbing.

The next order of business was procurement of paint that would be "toilet-safe" and hopefully hold up to the less than ideal conditions. A quick trip to the Ben Franklin in Key West and we were all set with a suitable palette of colors of Porcelaine 150.



Now it was time to see if I could actually pull this thing off.



I have to say I was a little nervous as I practiced on a 39 cent tile from Home Depot in anticipation of laying my brush on the pristine $500 bowl.



So this is me on an overcast Saturday morning painting a commode in the cockpit.


Many a comment was made by many a passer-by.

But in the end, I managed to turn our new toilet into a one-of-a-kind piece of art...practical art at that!


Ta-da!





















Now you want one, too...don't you?

The End of the Road

It was decided upon on last Thursday that Jeff needed new shoes...something he liked, something comfy, and something that he wouldn't fall and bust his ass in.

I had a coupon for a sandal store in Big Pine so we set off across the 7-mile bridge and beyond.

The shoe shopping was quite successful.
He picked out a pair of new flops to replace the ones lost in the muck at Molasses Key and a pair of Columbia moccasins with special grip technology.
Fancy.
But maybe now his shoes won't make him fall down.
I guess this post could have been called, "Baby's Got New Shoes," but our day wasn't over yet.

So with our main task completed, we set off to do a bit of exploring.
Instead of taking the left that would take us home, we took a right and ended up in the parking lot of the Looe Key Tiki Bar...someplace we've always wanted to go. But since the biggest reason we wanted to go to the Tiki bar was for some of it's renowned live music and there wasn't anything happening this early in the afternoon, we decided to forgo the bar tab and drive through the residential area surrounding New Found Harbor instead.

I think we are like most people who come to the Florida Keys in that we very rarely stray from US 1. For the most part, everything is on US 1 and a good part of the 120-mile stretch is hardly wider that the road itself with water visible as far as the eye can see on both sides. But there are the occasional roads that meander off to one side or the other. After exhausting the navigable choices on Ramrod Key, we wandered back up the road to the Torch Keys and took a left. Here we found close to 10 miles of mostly uninhabited "back road." At some point even the power lines stopped, indicating that if anyone did live this far off the main road, they were doing it without water and electric...at least in the traditional utility company sense.


So what did we find at the end of this road?

There was an encampment of sorts..inhabited or not is anybody's guess...made up of several dilapidated buildings, rusting vehicles of all ilks and sizes, and a very funny street sign...












And beyond that was literally the end of the road.

I stopped the car and we got out for a few minutes just to have a look around and a photo op.









We quickly discovered we were the only warm-blooded, carbon dioxide-exhaling, mosquito bait for several square miles as we were descended upon by a swarm of vicious, blood-sucking, Dengue fever-carrying beasts.

We hightailed it out of there...and back to US 1.
That was enough exploring for one day.

Denise & Kelly, a Cannon, and High Adventure on the Way Back from a Key

Alright, so it's a long title, but how many ways can you say, "We had company again, and everyone had a great time!" in five words or less, and still be clever.

Besides, I love alliteration.
But I digress.

Our latest batch of company, Jeff's Mom, Denise, and her husband, Kelly, arrived in the Keys the Monday after Mother's Day. They drove into town in the early afternoon and we were happy to see both of them. It had been a year since Denise had been to the boat, and quite a bit longer for Kelly. We ferried them out to the sailboat and gave them the grand tour of the big remodel, then settled in the cockpit for cocktails and conversation. They had had a big day of traveling starting early in the AM, so we made it an easy and early night by walking across the street to Annette's for a fabulous dinner.

The next morning, Kelly and I set off in the dinghy to return the rental car, do a bit of provisioning, and procure some breakfast. Once back, we spent a nice relaxing day on the boat. Lunch was light and yummy, with ham salad, cheese and crackers, and chips and dip.



We took an afternoon tour of the nearby creek and up into the mangroves and when evening approached, we loaded back into the dinghy and headed for Dockside Bar & Grille.




It was open mic night, and we had lots of friends [some with guitars] in attendance. Jeff got up on stage and sang a couple of songs...I even helped out on one, and it was a great time.




Wednesday morning dawned bright and early just as it always does. We enjoyed tea/coffee to start off the day and then moved on to mimosas made with prosecco and peach nectar. It ended up that we had another friend, Mike Ritner from Madeira Beach, arrive in town and we invited him and our friend Matthew out to the boat. Soon it was lunchtime and we went by boat to Burdine's.







Then it was back to the sailboat for a little relaxing before sunset. We had a big plan for sunset tonight, and Kelly was very excited.

He was going to get to fire a real, live cannon!

Let me explain. Around here, sunset can get very noisy. It's an event. Some people choose to blow the conch horn as the sun gently sinks into the sea. Others play trumpet. Bagpipes are not unheard of. But others, fire cannons. No ammo, no projectiles...no cannon balls. Just a big, loud, black-powder BOOM! I had talked to one of our harbor's more infamous cannon masters and asked if we could come over with our company and participate. He was thrilled to have us and further more stated that Kelly could do the honors himself.

Nearing sunset, we motored over to the S/V Gypsy Song, where Jake and Amy graciously invite us aboard. There were cocktails and appetizers and then it was time to prepare the cannon.

The black powder was loaded.

A direction was decided upon.

The sandbag was strategically placed to keep the cannon from kicking itself overboard.

Looks like we're all set!

Kelly followed Jake's careful directions and waited patiently to light the fuse.

Jake shouted a courtesy warning of, "Fire in the hole!" to alert other boaters of the impending explosion, and Kelly lit the fuse.

There was a moment of pause...then the BOOM! And when the smoke cleared, one of the neighbor's waved his white flag and kiddingly pledged his surrender.

After the big event, we were off to Dockside to meet Matt and Mike for dinner.

Now, you think something like that would be hard to top, but we had an even bigger plan for Thursday.

We were going to Molasses Key.

Once again, Kelly and I headed to shore to pick up the provisions we would need for the day: a bucket of fried chicken and 5-hour energy drinks.

Upon our return, we loaded everyone in the dinghy, including the dog, and headed out of the harbor. On the way, we stopped at Burdine's to fill up on ice and fuel and then we ventured out into the waters surrounding the 7-mile bridge.


It was a very calm day with almost no chop at all and we soon had the uninhabited Key in our sights.

We had planned for friends Andy and Suzi to meet us at the Key and we saw them in their much bigger power boat on the way.

We arrived at the island and waded into shore with all of our things.

We picked an absolutely beautiful day to sit around on an island and do nothing!













At some point, we'd eaten and drank, floated and waded, about as much as we could and it was time to head back to civilization.

We had decided that we would all ride in Andy's bigger boat and tow ours just to make better time on the way back in.

It ended up being a really good decision!

As we were traveling east alongside the bridge, we noticed what appeared to be a bit of weather looming in front of us. The horizon was dark and every now and again you could spot a crack of lightning. Andy picked up the pace a bit, but was definitely held back by our behemoth of a dinghy trailing behind us. Jeff offered to jump in the dinghy so that the rest of us could get back faster but we decided to just wait and see. Within minutes, the wind picked up, the water got rough, and big waves crashed over the bow...drenching everyone. Now fortunately, the water temperatures around here are very similar to bathwater so it wasn't cold nor too uncomfortable. I worried about about Jeff's Mom as she hunkered on the floor to try to avoid a bit of the spray and not take quite as much of a beating as the boat pounded through the waves.
I figured she may not speak to us after this adventure!

But she was a trooper and took it all in stride. When in Rome, right?

We all arrived at Andy and Suzi's safe and sound, wet and salty.
The storm had completely blown over and the sun was shining.
We loaded back into our dinghy which had remained astoundingly dry during it's wild ride and headed home.

Hot showers were had by all and we capped off our night with a lovely dinner at Castaway's.

The frontpage of the next day's paper called the storm we came through, "a mini tornado" and sited some of the damage done by the big blow as two opposing fronts collided over Marathon.


The next morning was time for Denise and Kelly to leave and it was very sad to see them go.

The time just flew by while they were here!

Bags were packed and brought to shore and we enjoyed a parting breakfast at the Stuffed Pig before seeing them on their way.

We really do enjoy having you guys come and stay.


I am not sure how we'll ever top this visit, but when you come back again we'll sure give it a try!

An Island of Our Own

After the April 18th Tax deadline, the accountant -Roddy McDowell - that has done Jeff's taxes for the past 15 years gave Jeff a call and said he really needed to get away and were we up for some company.

Aren't we always up for more company?

Roddy spent time on the boat back in 2007 when he joined us in Captiva with the intentions of sailing with us to St. Petersburg. Our itinerary did not go according to plan with motor problems preventing us from traveling any further than Venice. The motor died as we limped into a slip at The Crow's Nest - never to start again. Roddy called a friend and abandoned ship while we dealt with mechanics and made arrangements to be towed to a boatyard.

For this trip, Roddy and his traveling companion, Carla, didn't get to do any sailing except around our mooring ball. Jeff went and picked them up at the docks and brought them back to the boat where we had a nice time lounging in the cockpit enjoying the view. After a bit, we set off in the dinghy so they could see Sombrero Beach and then we ventured into the mangroves of Whiskey Creek. Once back on the S/V Thin Line, we had a little snack of brie and summer sausage and made plans to meet for dinner. We decided on The Wreck up on Grassy Key. Dan Sullivan was playing, which always makes for a nice time.

The next day, Roddy and Carla came back to the boat for a bit of relaxing and then they left for Key West to see the sights. The following day, they were back to Fort Lauderdale to catch a flight home...a very quick trip indeed.

In the meantime, friends, Tony and Anne Baker from St. Pete, arrived on the scene. With them came their spotty dogs, Calvin and Chloe, and their 13 ft. Boston Whaler.

We first got to lay eyes on the couple and their adorable pups when they semi-circumnavigated the island and pulled up to the sailboat. With everyone on board, we gave a quick tour of the boat and then spent time catching up over a cocktail.

Then it was time for the Baker's to head back to their hotel and us to dinner @ The Wreck.

The next day, Tony and Anne and the spotty dogs did a bit of exploring the nearby waters. A little before sunset they came to the marina...this time by car. We relaxed on the boat for a bit and then we set off for Dockside for a bit of dinner and some live entertainment.

We had big plans for the next day!

We were going to visit Molasses Key...

Located out in the waters crossed by the Seven Mile Bridge, Molasses Key is a small uninhabited island with a nice, beachy surface on one side.

Although it wasn't the most comfortable ride, the Whaler's 50 horsepower motor got us through the choppy water.

I spotted a giant sea turtle along the way, but there was just no way to fish out the camera for a picture.

Upon our arrival, we had the whole beautiful, little island all to ourselves!
We made quick work of spreading out towels and unloading coolers and then it was time to RELAX!


The dogs caught on quick.

And that's what we did all day long.
We had snacks. We had drinks. We had shade. We had a lovely breeze.
Ahh...paradise.

We didn't have it to ourselves for very long.
A family on jet skis arrived and took up on the other end of the isle. Then a boat here and there. Even so, it was a pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

Eventually, we ventured back to the harbor. The Baker's headed back to their hotel to get cleaned up and then we all met at Castaway's for a bit of dinner.

It was great seeing Tony and Anne and the dogs again. We hope they come back soon and often!