Saturday, March 3 - Marathon, Florida

After four wonderful days in Key West, it is time to say good-bye.  

We head out of Gallieon Marina and Resort at 8:15 a.m.

 Boy, those cruise ships are BIG!!!

Soon we find the channel that welcomes us to the Atlantic Ocean!!!

Rounding the bend of the "REAL most southern point of the USA"! ;)

The southern-most point is a beautiful campground and picnic area 

(the landmark, however, is about a half-mile north of here 😉)!

 We say good-bye to Key West!

And hello Atlantic Ocean!!!

Soon jets from the local Navy Station are doing practice runs over our heads!

While the winds are blowy (15-20 mph!), they're coming from the North and Northwest, so we hit them bow on and enjoy the spray over the boat (sometimes spraying us on the top deck)!!!

After Key West, we pass Boca Chica Key, then five more Keys 

before we come to our destination of Marathon.

When we get to Big Pine Key (the third Key before Marathon), we notice that the trees are all brown.  We find out later that this is the effect of Hurricane Irma (Big Pine taking the biggest hit); the locals are hopeful that the greens will come back.

Once again, we encounter many crab pots!!!

Of course, we also see a lot of bridges!

Here's "Seven-Mile Bridge" or as our family likes to call it: "Kenny Chesney Bridge".  On one occasion when our family was cruising the Keys, we saw Kenny Chesney playing his guitar on the old Seven-Mile Bridge, while a helicopter flew overhead making a video for one of his songs!!!

And there it is, our destination; Marathon!!!

The channel ahead takes us to our home for the evening; Marathon Marina and Resort!

We are excited to be in such a beautiful marina!  We arrive at 1:30 p.m.

First, a little boat clean-up!  I think we could fill two salt shakers with all the salt on our boat!!!

The salt from just wiping down that little bit on the railing!

 Later, we find out that our "Looper" friends, Angie and Gary, are in the marina across the highway on the Gulf side at Faro Blanco Resort Yacht Club.

A beautiful home sits on its own private island just to the south of our friend's marina.

Another beautiful "Keys" sunset!!!

Enjoyed a cocktail on "Unruly" with hosts Gary and Angie, and then a scrumptious dinner at the marina/resort restaurant.  

Tomorrow, a reunion of "Looper" friends at an incredibly private resort: Ocean Reef in Key Largo!!!

Friday, March 2 - Last Day in Key West

WE HAVE OFFICIALLY ARRIVED IN KEY WEST!!! 😍🎉

Our boat is secured in Gallieon Marina, and it is time to explore the island.

Since the mode of transportation here is mostly bicycles and motor scooters, 

we decide to use our bikes to get around.

After getting our "official" Key West picture, we check out the Atlantic Ocean.

Next stop, lunch with Captain Charlie Erickson (also, engineer of the Key West Express).

As we bike around the island, we continue to see what we have viewed in the past when we visited; 

the roosters literally rule the island!

While the residential lots are VERY small, the homes are absolutely beautiful!!!

One residential lot that wasn't very small was Ernest Hemingway's home.

Hemingway had a passion for cats; in fact, 55 are still living on the premise today!

They rule the house, as well (Hemingway's master bedroom)!

 Hemingway loved his porches; two porches surround his home, 

one on the upper and the other on the lower part of his home.

The Key West Lighthouse can easily be seen from Hemingway's home now 

that Hurricane Irma has come and gone!

 Hemingway's upper porch connected his master bedroom to his writing studio (a separate building).

Beautiful gardens surround Hemingway's home.

One of Hemingway's FOUR wives had this pool built on the grounds.  Frustrated with her "playboy" husband, Hemingway's wife had his boxing ring removed and spent $20,000 on building the first pool in the Keys in its place (what an expense, when Hemingway only paid $8,000 for the house)!!!

On another day we tour President Truman's "Little White House", 

which he stayed in five times during his presidency.

We also enjoy shopping in some of the many boutiques on Key West.

As we come back to the boat later in the day, the tarpon and pelicans show up for a special treat; the fishing excursion boats return and are cleaning the fish they had caught (guess who were the recipients of the fish scraps)?!

As we walk our bikes back to the boat, we are reminded of the beautiful country we live in, 

 but also some of the remains of the damage of Hurricane Irma.

The nights end with BREATHTAKING sunsets, 

full moon risings,

and finally, dinner and dancing downtown;

 some of the most famous: Sloppy Joe's, Captain Tony's, and even Hogsbreath!