Happy New Year

In the last blog I stated we were headed towards Marquesas and Dry Tortugas(weather dependent) Well, weather rules here...After much discussion, we decided not to venture there. Instead, we pulled anchor on Christmas Eve morning (from Key West..aka washing machine) and headed to Newfound Harbor between Big Pine Key and Little Torch Key..Water was choppy and those pesty little crabpots were all over the place.. We looked like drunken sailors trying to dodge them all!!We also noticed quite a few of the Portuguese Man O War jellyfish in the water. We dropped anchor around 2:30 in much calmer waters. On the way into the harbor we passed Little Palm Resort. Absolutely beautiful little island... Very pricey though.. Only $350.00 a nite to tie up to their dock ( like $7.00 per foot..yikes, the normal is 1.75 to 2.75 per foot) They were very fond of their facility!
We enjoyed a nice Christmas Eve on the SeaVeyor..and woke to a very pretty and CALM anchorage .. Dwayne was going to surprise me with a Christmas Brunch at Little Palm Resort, but found out that it was booked solid. You would have had to make reservations months in advance... Anyway, it's the thought that counts!!! We made our own little brunch with poached eggs, crab meat and sauce... Very yummy and it did not cost $$$$$$$$$$$$ !!We enjoyed a very relaxing Christmas Day.. Spoke to all of family by phone. We took the dinghy in the next morning and looked around Little Torch and Big Pine... Very quiet area compared to Key West!
We stayed a week at anchor in Newfound Harbor and then left out for Marathon on the 30th. Was a short trip , only two hours. City Marina was closed. We had tentative reservations at the Sombrero Dockside Resort.. Everything was full due to holiday weekend..they were going to put us on their restaurant dock...We pulled into the Boot Key Harbor and made our way thru the anchorage (mooring field) and found the Sombrero dock.... NOT NO , but NO WAY!! If we had docked there, the patrons were about a foot away from our boat....We said thanks, but NO THANKS... We were able to get a dockage on the fuel dock at Marathon Marina ( located at the very entrance to Boot Key Harbor) They were kind of pricey, but needed some shore power. We had an issue with the generator. It's a great Marina, great location, and wonderful helpful staff.. Very clean with showers,laundry matt, restaurant,ship's store and delightful cruisers all around.. Met some very nice people there... While there, Dwayne decided to take my bike (PeeWee) to Napa parts store... To see my 6'5" husband on that was a site to behold.....So off he went.. only about 6 miles or so... By the time he got to the store needless to say his backside was numb and he was not a happy camper! Ha. Before leaving the store, he was calling a cab and the store owner felt so sorry for him, he had one of his employees give Dwayne a ride back to the boat, with PeeWee in the back of his truck!! Ha!!
That evening we ordered Pizza.. first time we had any since leaving Morehead.. It was soooooo good!
We stayed one more nite at the Marina, to bring in the NewYear... The next morning we headed back into the Harbor... We found an empty mooring ball for our size vessel and took it.. (Marina was not open) The next day, we found out we were lucky to get it, they were 100% full..
It's nice having friends that are electrical engineers... Shea, on Great Escape was also in the anchorage.. He and Dwayne fixed the problem with the generator. (Napa had sold Dwayne the wrong part) So, our gen is humming again!!
The following week had several days of COLD (yes, I said COLD) weather here.. I know , it's in the teens in North Carolina) but it should be against the law to be so cold here in the Keys!!
Dwayne finally decided he needed a Big Guy bike.. We walked to K-Mart and found him a very nice one.. It makes things so much easier.. We also put baskets on them for groceries, etc... You know you are a Cruiser when..... HA!! We do look the part now..
Met some nice people on Folley, Stan and Judy,George and Rebecca aboard Atlantis and another couple on Aloha Friday... That's the nice thing about Cruising.. you meet so many people and we learn so much from each other....
We will probably stay here the month of January and do little boat projects.. This is the best protected anchorage in the Keys with lots to do... Next Blog update , Dwayne has promised to put in "technical stuff"... More news at 11.. Dwayne, Linda and the Cats!