Farewell to the Keys

Yes, we are finally, almost, out of the Florida Keys. Before we go, some parting shots. We ate very well ... the shrimp and lobster grilling below are from Fanci Seafood in Cudjoe Key. The lobster are spiny Caribbean lobster and they split them with a cleaver at the store, making them easy to grill and remove from the shell. The shrimp, also delicious, marinated by Ron. He perfected his technique for grilling these delights during our weekly seafood feasts at Casa Cudjoe.

Here's the best picture of the pool that we have. Since our last day was the warmest day we had, everyone was in the pool, except Keely who took this picture.

Steve and I were the last ones to leave the house, and I couldn't resist a picture of the kitchen ... action central for the past month. We are such good renters, cleaned everything out before we left.

We retraced our route back to Bahia Honda State Park. Here we are entering the park from the Atlantic side through the old Flagler bridge. In the background is the Highway 1 bridge.

After a brief stop to pump out the holding tank, we passed under the Highway 1 bridge, crossing over to Florida Bay. We anchored off Bamboo Key, a tiny island near Fat Deer Key. It was very windy and the holding was not too good, our anchor dragged that night for the first time ever ... there was nothing but water behind us, so no harm was done. Steve threw out a second anchor, but by that time the big anchor had grabbed again. We continued our journey up the Keys, the water on the Florida Bay side is shallow, but the channel is well marked. We began to go through some narrow passes where the land was visible just inches away from the markers. Check out the birds on the sticks.

Boat traffic began to increase as we went through the channel to Tarpon Sound where we anchored for the night.

Our two nights of anchoring had been bouncy and noisy with the water "blipping" around the hull due to the wind and waves. Today was predicted to be even windier, so we decided to take a break at a funky old Florida style resort called Gilbert's. The rooms here are $59/night, at least some of them are advertised that way, but the slips are still $2/foot ... go figure. Transients are parked on a long dock right in front of the 2 story motel and we are completely sheltered from the wind. In front of us is a couple on a big sailboat who've lived aboard since 1971, worked and raised their kids while cruising summers. Tonight he brought over a lengthy list of his favorite anchorages and free docks up the east coast. As always, one of the best things about cruising is the kindness of the people you meet. We actually have a plan to get as close as possible to Titusville by April 5 when the space shuttle, Discovery, is scheduled to be launched. Tomorrow, however, we leave the Keys and enter greater Miami.

Casa Cudjoe Week 4

Our final week at Casa Cudjoe was "Kids' Week". Pictured below are Charley (Sue and Ron's dog), Jay (Sue and Ron's son), Ron, Keely and Dan (our son and his SO), Kevin and Meghan (Sue and Ron's son and his SO). In this photo, they are all enjoying Ron's world famous margaritas.

The kids did the usual day trips to Bahia Honda beach and Key West, but also did a night trip to Key West, cabbing home, very late. It was a warm and calm day when we took the Shingebiss out this week, so we finally got out to Looe Key to have a look. Lying 5 miles from the Keys, Looe Key isn't an island, but is part of the reef system that parallels the Atlantic side of the Keys. Named after the HMS Looe which supposedly ran aground there in 1744, Looe Key became a National Marine Sanctuary in 1981. We had visions of weekly snorkel trips out there during our stay on Cudjoe, but the cold water temps along with reports of cloudy water due to the winter winds put a damper on those plans. The kids fished all the way out and back with no luck.

The water was incredibly blue.

... or was it turquoise ??

The reef has mooring balls, so picked one up and enjoyed the warm weather. The kids all jumped in the water before we headed back to the house. We stopped once for a little more fishing and a couple small sharks bit on their lines, but the boys couldn't hook them. It was fun to see them.

Tonight is our last night at the house, and we are busy eating up all the food, gathering our "stuff" up from the house, and preparing the boat for departure tomorrow. Our time here has been a ton of fun and it's been great to see all our friends and family from back home. It was a nice break from cruising and now we are ready to get back on the Loop.

Back in Minnesota, a heavier than normal snowfall that melted very quickly has flooded the Mississippi River, with the water higher than it's been since 2001. To give some perspective on the height of the water at crest, here's a picture of our home on the river last summer. Note the tree in the center of the boulder garden.

As this picture shows, the water is up to that tree. The garden you see in the back of the picture is about 70% under water as well.

This photo shows our dock, far right with walkway, with neighbor Mark's dock and boat in the distance. Both of these docks are normally just about 10' from the river bank. The post carrying our electric is barely sticking up in the center of the picture, this post is normally 7' off the ground.

Mark sent us these photos. The water is receding now, but will leave behind a terrible mess. We feel badly that we are not there to help with the cleanup, but grateful that our home is safe and our dock is safe thanks to Mark's hard work.

Casa Cudjoe Week 3

The fun and laughter continue at Casa Cudjoe. Week three brought us long time friends Debbie and John, from Starbuck, MN. Liz and Debbie have been buddies since 7th grade.

Jeff (John's brother) and Barb (went to college with Liz and Debbie) also came from Starbuck.

The weather has been sunny and in the 70's so we've been enjoying the pool.

Here are the four of them on the beach at Bahai Honda State Park. The beach was crowded when we were there in contrast to the sparse crowds we saw earlier this month.

We walked on the old bridge at the park to get this picture. In front is the beach and marina on the Florida Bay side and at the top of the picture is the ocean.

Flying high over Cudjoe Key is Fat Albert, a 175' tethered blimp that uses radar to monitor boat and air traffic for illegal activity. It also broadcasts TV Marti to Cuba. Fat Albert was down for our first two weeks here, but they launched him this week. Here's a link to a great story about Fat Albert if you want to read more...dunno if its true, but it's a pretty entertaining tale. http://www.balloonlife.com/publications/balloon_life/9701/fatalber.htm

On our Shingebiss boat ride this week, it was calm enough to finally get close to the American Shoals lighthouse. This lighthouse is one of several that run along the reef about 5 miles off the Atlantic shore of the Keys.

We found another great bike route on Sugarloaf Key. It's a loop road closed to cars and was originally built for a development that never happened. The road crosses over this inlet and great party spot.

John and Jeff have been fishing, last night we cooked up their daily catch. Tonight we are having a shrimp and lobster dinner with seafood purchased down the road. Just as on the boat, our best meals continue to be the ones we cook ourselves and this week Debbie has treated us with several of her culinary delights. We are really enjoying this part of our trip and we all love the Keys. Here's a picture of the house taken from the vacant lot across the canal. We're spending alot of our time hanging out right near that umbrella you see on the deck, next to the pool.

Today, Steve finally taught me how to drive the dinghy and here we are, with him in the bow and me at the helm. He didn't think I could pull start it, but (surprise !) I did it.

Casa Cudjoe Week 2

In searching the lower Keys for walking and biking paths, we discovered this path on Sugarloaf Key. Another hiker told us it was an old road, we walked along it for a couple of miles without reaching the end.

There were some beautiful overlooks along the way.

While sitting around the pool one day, this iguana stopped by to visit.

As I approached him for a picture, he took a flying leap down onto the seawall, and then he jumped into the canal.

Lucy is enjoying her outdoor time at Casa Cudjoe. Sue and Ron's dog, Charley, is trying to make friends with her, but this is about as close as they have gotten so far.

We took the boat out again this week. This is the view looking back on our "neighborhood" as we headed out the three mile channel toward Hawk Channel.

The weather was warm, seas fairly calm. Mark (and Cheryl) and I rode on the bow.

On the flybridge are Mary, Cheryl, Sue and John.

Our visitors this week are Mark and Cheryl (our neighbors) and John and Mary (family friends of Sue). They've been very busy exploring all the attractions, restaurants and beaches in the Keys. The two couples did not know each other before this week, but have gotten along great. Today we all went to Key West. This is the Oldest House in Key West, one of the few attractions which is FREE. The garden behind the house is a peaceful oasis, much appreciated in the chaos of spring break in Key West.

We had an interesting tour of the Hemingway House and saw many of the six toed cats that live there.

Tonight we all had dinner at the Wharf in Summerland Key. Pictured are John, Steve, Liz, Mary, Sue, Ron, Cheryl, and Mark.

The next crew comes in tomorrow and this group leaves the following day. So far so good.

Casa Cudjoe Week 1

The Casa Cudjoe home is everything we expected. Plenty of room for everyone and very comfortable. We have the pool heater running, but with the air temperatures still 10-15 degrees below normal, the water is still too cold. Steve took a plunge, but he didn't stay in long.

Like all good visitors to the Keys, we visited Key West and rode the Conch Trolley to get an overview of the Island.

At the Southermost Point in the US, we got off the train and stood in line to get our picture taken. Pictured are Week 1 visitors Chuck and Terie (far left, Liz's niece and her SO) and Cyndi and Glenn (far right, long time friends of Terie and Chuck).

At sunset time, we headed for Mallory Square for the daily sunset celebration. This schooner was passing by.

Later in the week, we had lunch at the Square Grouper on Cudjoe Key and took this picture. Our best friends, Ron (gray tee shirt) and Sue (red tee shirt, turquoise hoodie) are here for the month.

We drove to Bahia Honda State Park and walked on this beautiful beach.

Our boat is secured at the dock and we are continuing to sleep aboard, but for the most part we're hanging out at the house. Here's a view of the sunset looking down our canal.

The last full day of Casa Cudjoe Week 1, Steve took Terie, Cyndi, and Chuck out for a dinghy ride through the canals to look at the homes in our neighborhood. The water in the canals is turquoise and very clean and clear.