The Happenings of Marathon

Blue Heaven Rendezvous #28

The big news in Marathon is that the marina got 3 new washers and 4 new dryers and took the old ones away. The dryers at least dry now and that is a good thing! They still could use more, but the sewer system cannot take too much is what we hear.
The other big news this week is that the bridge going into Boot Key Harbor is now always in the up position permanently except during extremely severe weather like a hurricane. They had a farewell to the three bridge tenders who were always so friendly and helpful at the Wednesday night “Meet, Greet and Eat.”
Lastly, we saw them put the pumping station in for the marina, so they are getting closer to having the 16 new showers possibly working. We won’t see it before we leave next week, but they’re further along than before!

Al and I visited Crane Point Museum and Nature Center which is only about one mile from the marina. It is a 63 acre “natural” Florida Keys hardwood hammock and last remaining thatch palm hammock. (A hammock is a tract of forested land that rises above an adjacent marsh in the southern United States) They had a small museum about the history of the area. It explained about the oldest house outside of Key West which belonged to a Bahamian immigrant, George Adderly









who built it out of tabby in the early 1900’s. He had made his living as a sponge harvester.
Crane Point also had a Wild Bird Center where injured birds are cared for and released when possible. The lady here is holding a Redtail Hawk who had her left wing electrocuted and so has only one wing. There were all sorts of nature trails as well as the Crane House which had a beautiful view of the Florida Bay. The owners were Francis and Mary Crane for whom Crane Point is named. It is nice to know that there will be some part of the Keys which will remain free of development.

I finally convinced Al to leave the mooring to try to get rid of the algae growing under his armpits. Just kidding! So we went out for a lovely sail to Sombrero Light and reef. We tied to a mooring ball and were hoping to snorkel but the 12 knot winds were blowing one way and the waves were going another which made us rock and bounce to the point that I felt sick. Luckily, I did not feed the fish and when we started sailing again I felt much better.

We met several couples at the “Meet and Greet.” Two with whom we went to brunch the next day. Also another Bristol boat, named Pearl, came into the harbor and the fellow came over to introduce himself. We went over to see their lovely 43.3 center cockpit and meet his wife. Most of the couples are going up the west coast in a few days. When I was talking with Pierre and Kathy on the Bristol, he asked what have I not liked about the cruising life. I said no offense to my husband, but I miss my girl friend time. Kathy‘s eyes got big and she agreed whole hardily. I have talked to other female cruisers and they all agree. It’s not bad when you meet another couple to hang around with because you do get that “girl time” then. But when you part from each other, you have to start all over to build a relationship where you talk about certain things. I don’t think men will ever understand this.

The last big thing this week was the 33rd Annual Seafood Festival held at the Community Park right next to the City Marina in Marathon. The festival is one of the Keys largest events drawing 15,000 people. We went at 11:30 am and did not get back to the boat until 8:15pm. They had all sorts of fun things for young and old. The seafood line up was; fish, lobster, conch salad, conch fritters, stone crab claws, conch chowder and clams. Other goodies like fresh fried potato chips, key lime tarts, beer and other festival foods were available too. We enjoyed our first stone crab claws immensely. We also enjoyed the fish and spiny lobster caught by the local fishermen. There were all sorts of booths from different organizations, arts and crafts and other wares for sale, and great soloists and bands for entertainment from reggae to music of Pink Floyd. The last entertainer we heard was a guy named Howard Livingston, who sounded a lot like Jimmy Buffet but had his own original songs that were great. After one of the songs about margaritas, they actually made margaritas on stage using an old Johnson motor. I have a very short video clip when they were having trouble getting the engine running. They finally got it to run but only for three batches and they then discovered it was out of gas! They serve the drinks to the crowd in small paper cups which tasted quite good on a warm night. The festival runs for two days and raises money for various community organizations but a lot goes to help local children.

The second day they had a fly over by the Navy as a tribute to our armed forces right at the crucial moment of the Star Spangle Banner which sent chills up my arms. It was very moving. We also saw Amber Leigh who is a 23-year-old singer specializing in crossover country music with a Celtic twist. Besides a great voice she also is a great fiddle and mandolin player. She has opened for such stars a Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Toby Keith and more. Her band and she were fantastic. From the looks of the crowd, everyone seemed to enjoy her. If you ever get the opportunity, don’t miss the Seafood Festival in Marathon!