The Stressful Spring of 2004

Swimming and Sunsets in February is previous to March - our last month in Marathon

March car rental

I discovered that we could get a car more cheaply if we rented it before March 10th (probably due to Spring Breakers) although it was more expensive than it had been in January or February. We were also seeing evidence that it was Bike Week in Daytona, in the number of motorcycles on the road. Traffic is very bad in the Keys. Because there is only one road, accident will tie up traffic for hours. The other day, a motorcycle came out onto the highway from Knight Key which is just at the east end of Seven Mile Bridge, and ended up under a propane truck. The motorcyclist woke up in the hospital and didn't remember what happened. Traffic was at a standstill for four hours because there was a worry about the propane truck exploding or something. My SIL brought his boat down from Miami and it only took him 4 hours. If there is an accident on the road, it will be quicker by boat. (Although not by our boat which took 2.5 days). In some cases it might even be faster by motorcycle So drive carefully, pay attention to what is going on and don't rush or tailgate.

So Bob picked up the car on March 2nd - we didn't do much of anything for the rest of the day.

3 March 2004

We ate at MM 49 Fisheries.

Bob walking in to Key's Fisheries for lunch in 2011

This is at the end of 35th Street Bayside Although there is a sign out on US 1, you have to be looking for it - the restaurant is at the end of the road. This is a seafood market (Bob biked out here to get shrimp to cook- a pound was $7.99), and a marina and a restaurant.

Sign - Keys Fisheries Market and Marina Restaurant

Soups (conch chowder, clam chowder, or lobster bisque) are $3.95. They have a famous lobster Reuben for $13.95, crab cakes are $9.95, a pound of steamed peel and eat shrimp is $13.95. Fresh catch Fish sandwiches range from $6.95 from mahi mahi to $8.95 for yellowfin tuna for fried, grilled or blackened. They have stone crab claws, scallops, calamari, soft shell crab and even salads and burgers

Menu on the wall

You give your order in at the window, and they call you to pick it up.

Bob waiting in line to order

The quirky thing about this restaurant is they ask you a question and you are called to pick up your food by the name you give in your answer. For instance - one time we went, they were asking for your favorite singer. If you listened to them call people, you'd have though Placido Domingo and Crystal Gayle were eating there. I was Freddie Mercury.

Sign that says Pets Welcome - Children must be leashed

Bob bringing our food

You eat at wooden picnic tables outside. They do have plastic enclosures to shield you from too much rain or wind.

Outdoor seating with plastic sheeting

The customs and Coast Guard guys come in and dock here to eat.

Sign over the outdoor seating - "Fish to Taste Right Must First Swim Three Times, In Water, In Butter and in Wine.

Bob had coconut shrimp, and I had

Lobster roll and fries

Key lime and coconut ice cream for dessert (two scoops were $3.50)

Sunset at Key's Fisheries

In addition to their restaurant and marina business the Keys Fish Market has a small gift shop on site,

Plaques for sale

Fish

Fish plaques

and of course they will also ship you various actual fish or crustaceans. Mostly things like stone crabs, and lobster (the ones without the claws)

We Ship

4 March 2004

We ate at the Quay. {This restaurant no longer exists as it was completely destroyed by Hurricane Wilma.}

My daughter considered taking us to dinner by boat to this place, but because we were Oceanside, and this restaurant was Bayside, she was afraid we wouldn't be able to get back around by boat to our slip after dark. So I decided to go and check it out.

Front of the Quay

Seating is inside or outside and they also have a Tiki Bar and a gift shop.

Gift shop

Bob picked to eat inside. I was glad to see that they had early bird specials from 4-6. The early bird specials had everything -like drinks and dessert - included. The regular menu items were between $15 and $30, but in the regular menu you paid extra for drinks, and dessert, plus the prices were about $2.00 more than on the early bird.

Inside of the Quay

The service was somewhat slow and disorganized. Our waitress had 5 tables inside, and at least one outside, and a lot of them were seated at the same time.

Bob looking at the menu

I had the

Early bird Florida lobster stuffed with crab meat for $16.95

and Bob had the early bird bbq ribs and half roasted chicken (which was too much for him to eat) for $14.95. The prices ranged from the $16.95 that I paid for my lobster dish down to $10.95 for chicken.

This price included:
- tea or coffee (we had iced tea and the waitress brought the pitcher and left it on the table)
- salad (which Bob had), or soup (it was cream of celery and I had that),
- the entree (there were a number of them listed including prime rib, veal marsala, and a shrimp casserole)
- boiled potatoes (I had), baked potato (Bob had) or rice,
- vegetable (in this case nice green fresh green beans - not overcooked),
- homemade bread (two kinds, the dark sweet bread was good, but the rolls were scorched on the bottom and tasted stale to me), and
- chef's choice of dessert (cheesecake).
There are no substitutions on this menu. The soup of the day (which I didn't want in any case) was beef barley and we could not have had that.I did also consider the special of coconut shrimp, which the waitress said were 5 shrimp as big as her hand, but it was $24.95. The prices of the specials were not listed on the board out front.

There was a big dessert exhibit in the front of the restaurant (picture) which included a number of cakes and other yummy looking things

Dessert case

but there is only one dessert on the early bird menu. I thought our desserts looked like they had been to the wars, with big pieces out of them, like they had been sliced carelessly and stuff had broken off. They tasted perfectly good though.

Parking lot and sign

5 March 2004 - Bob's 68th birthday,

We went down to Key West. I don't think we ever drove on the new Seven Mile Bridge until this year (2004). When we left Key West in 1969 (to move to Philadelphia in January - brrr) we were still using the old bridge. Since then, we've seen it from the water, but not driven on it.

New Seven Mile Bridge

Boa man

actually found a parking space on Duval Street (no cruise ships in town). We went to the Oldest House.

Oldest House

An exception to all the Southernmost things that were here in Key West when we were there in 1961 is this house which is the oldest house.

Oldest House in 1961

Sign on the Oldest House in 1961

It was still a private house then, although even then it was signposted as the oldest house. It was donated to the state in 1974 and turned into the Wrecker's Museum.

Oldest house-Then and Now

As you can see from looked at the two photos together (1961 and 2004), the railing has changed and also some of the roofline.

It is now the Duval Street Wrecker's Museum. Admission charge is $5 or less if you have $1.00 off coupon. It is a one and a half story "New England Bahama House" (or "a Classic Revival five-bay center hall plan") built in 1829, 8 years after the treaty with Spain ceded East Florida and the Keys to the United States for unpaid debts. It was located on Whitehead St. near Caroline until 1832 when it was moved, by mule and heavy rollers, to the current location.

Hall table

Formal Parlor

Victorian couch

Dining Room

The Watlington family that lived in the house (Captain Francis Watlington was a harbor pilot, coastal pilot and wrecker) was quite large (7 daughters). There were originally extra porches and breezeways where family members could sleep. Downstairs much of the furniture is original to the house including Captain Watlington's office

Office desk

and a map of the various wrecks in the area. The builder Richard W Cussans incorporated maritime features into the architectural design: mortise and tenon joinery, horizontal wall boards of now extinct Dade County Pine, a ship's hatch cut into the master bedroom roof to raise for ventilation.

Bed with mosquito net

Wash stand

Old sewing machine

Front of the doll house

Upstairs are a dollhouse and other children's toys. I don't think enough publicity is given to the presence of the dollhouse. It is a marvelous little thing, with a mural on the dining room wall by Martha Watson Sauer of Key West, and porches with rocking chairs.

Dollhouse in the Oldest House

Dollhouse

It is a bit hard to take photos of, because it is enclosed in glass (understandably) and there are killer reflections in the glass. This was not an item that was originally in the house - I don't know the background for this big dollhouse although it is newer than the 100 year old dolls that were displayed along with it. The sign said that the daughters of the original owner (there were 7 of them) might have had such a dollhouse. In addition to the dollhouse and the dolls and other playthings the displays included

Crib and a child's hip bath

There's also an original cistern

Cistern sign

We went out in the back yard and I went all the way back to take a photo of the

Grounds of the Oldest House

Our house in Leonardtown is a frame house built much later than the Oldest House in Key West, but we have a 'summer kitchen', which is a separate building from the main house. It was the custom in the south to build the kitchen separately for two reasons - to keep the heat of the stove away from the main house, and to reduce the risk of fire.

Kitchen of the oldest house

The wall oven (beside the fireplace) is a "beehive oven" believed to be the only original one intact in Florida outside of the Ximenez-Fatio house in St. Augustine which was built in the 1790s. Notice the old egg carriers, and various cooking implements.

When we lived in Key West the Truman White House was an officer's quarters on the Naval Base. I thought it might be nice to see it now that it is open to the public. So we walked over from the Shipwreck Museum/Oldest House (there's no parking inside the gates).

Entrance to Truman Annex-you have to walk in

Little White House of Truman

Truman White House sign

Porch of the Truman White House to wait for the tour outside the gift shop

We had about 45 minutes on the parking meter.

Bob looking at photos in Truman White House - this is everything you can see without paying for the tour

The tour not only cost $10.00 each (way too expensive), but would take more time than we had on the parking meter. When I read about the tour, I found that the house had been restored to the 40's styles. I can remember the 40s and it doesn't particularly interest me. There is a free 10 minute video tape extolling all possible virtues of Harry that you can see before the tour. I sat on the floor and watched it - there was no seating except in the handicapped area. I decided that the video tape was sufficient, and we didn't stay for the tour.

Hall with a cardboard cutout of Truman on the right

After we finished with the Truman White House, we wanted to eat. So Bob put some more money in the meter. Wendy's was the closest place to go for lunch. It would have been nice to find something a little more upscale, but Bob likes Wendy's, and it is quick. The building was obviously not originally built as a Wendy's

Wendy's in Key West

Inside Wendy's

Wendy's menu

Wendy's food

I got a bacon cheeseburger. Bob had a combo meal #1 which is a Classic Single hamburger with an order of Biggie® fries and a Sprite, which costs less than $5.00. Then we went to the commissary to do our grocery shoppin.

We went to Key Colony Inn again for Bob's birthday dinner.

Prime rib

Vegetables

6 March 2004 (Saturday)

It was off to Big Pine Flea Market again where I shopped for an anniversary present for one of our daughters,

Big Pine Key Market

Vegetables for sale

Bob browsing at the Boater's friend

and we had lunch at Rob's Island Grill in Big Pine.

Rob's Island Grill sign

Nice and cool after the swap meet, with numerous large screen TVs around the room. There were various sports uniform jersey's around the high ceilinged room also.

Conch Republic flag on the ceiling

The wait staff was attentive. They have specials each day. For lunch they have hot sandwiches and subs, a build-your-own sub, sandwich or wrap, fried baskets, raw bar, burgers, pizza, soup, salad, wings and 'warm-ups' which include things like conch fritters or calamari for $5.95, Crab stuffed portabello mushrooms (8.25), Cracked Conch ($7.25) Nachos Supreme (whole order $7.95), Onion Rings, Fries, Cheese Fries and Chili Cheese Fries (add Jalapenos for an extra 50 cents). They also have desserts (Key Lime pie, cheesecake, triple layer chocolate cake or daily special), drinks (most $2.00 including coffee, soft drinks, tea, lemonade and bottled water) and do take-out orders.

I ordered a

Chicken salad sub for $7.50

and Bob had a

Sloppy Joe for $6.25

However Rob's Sloppy Joe is different from other Sloppy Joes and Bob did not read the menu before he ordered, so was HE surprised!! It is NOT a tomato based beef sandwich but is more like a club-- a triple layer turkey, ham, Swiss, coleslaw and thousand island dressing.

Benches outside Rob's

It is only possible to access the ends of the old 7 mile bridge from the Fleming Key end to Pigeon Key, and then there has been a piece taken out so that ships with taller superstructures can go through Moser Channel. Also it's probably to reduce liability. A similar piece has been taken out at the other end. So you can no longer get to the middle by land.

Old 7 mile bridge from the new bridge

Consequently, if one wants to take a picture of the old bridge, one must do it from the new bridge. I made many attempts to do this, and this is the best one. The bridge is deteriorating and rusting and trees are now growing on it.

Sunday 7 March 2004

We started out to go to Upper Crust Pizza, but they were not open on Sunday night, so we drove up to the Panda House Chinese restaurant..

Bob walking up to the Panda House

They have a lunch buffet 7 days a week for $5.95. They also deliver within a 3 mile radius The restaurant has a nicer ambiance than the New China Inn which is down toward Key West.

Panda House sign

Panda House lobster

There is an enormous lobster in a tank at the entrance. They say they specialize in Seafood, Lobster/Fish, and Peking Duck. They do not use MSG

They bring the addictive little chips with the mustard and sweet dipping sauce to start, and hot tea. I had

Dinner #21 (General Tso's Chicken)

and Bob had

Sweet and sour

.
The dinners included soup (egg drop for me and won ton for Bob), entree, pork fried rice, and egg roll and fortune cooky. The bill before tip was $18.38.I wonder if they were trying to tell me something with my fortune cooky. It said, "It is very possible that you will achieve greatness in your lifetime"

Sunset, March 7th

8 March 2004

We finally got to take the tour of Pigeon Key. We didn't get there until almost noon, because first we went to the Boot Key Harbor City Marina AKA Marathon Marina

Play ship

The manager of this marina rents out the mooring balls, and supervises the pumpout boat. The marina has a number of restrictive rules and the renting of the mooring balls has been somewhat disorganized this year. This is partly because the marina manager cannot see the moorings from the marina. They also have a small amount of dock space along the wall. Seawall dockage is $15.00/ft/month in the winter plus $30 to $60 for electricity (higher rate for A/C)

Moored boats

Mooring Rate Monthly $150.00 Includes
-Four (4) holding tank pump outs per month
-Recycling center

Moored boats

Dinghy dockage is an extra $60/month and includes
1 Vehicle parking space
- Bicycle space
- Port-a-potty disposal center
- Garbage disposal
- Lounge-Library area
- showers, restrooms and laundry. The laundry is locked after 6 pm.

Dinghy dock

Mahi Mahi, Dolphin or Porpoise.

Painting on the side of one of the buildings near the marina A Ballyhoo being chased by a Bull Mahi-Mahi Dolphin

When people say 'dolphin', they immediately think Flipper. But there are two different kinds of animals that are called dolphins. One of them (the Flipper type ones) are mammals. The other one is a fish, and is quite different and very good to eat.

The fish pictured in the mural is the fish dolphin. When people talk about catching and/or eating dolphin, lots of less informed people shy away. So - depending on their clientele, the restaurants sometimes call the fish-dolphin "mahi mahi" on their menus. Mahi mahi is the local Hawaiian name for dolphin.

Common names for animals and plants can be very confusing. It would be more precise if we called them all by their scientific names (genus and species), but THAT will never happen - at least not in my lifetime.

I didn't want to go to Pigeon Key before lunch, so we made a reservation for 1300 and we went and had lunch at MM 49 the Stuffed Pig first.

Stuffed Pig sign

This place is not open past 1400 (2:00 p.m.) so we've never been there before. Bob said it looked like a dump, but we went in anyway. The service was cheerful and quick and the food was good. They also filled my water bottle for me with ice cold water for free. They have a 'patio' area out back if you want to eat outside.

Side door

Afterwards I went to the rest room, and there was a sign like you see in many restaurants - "Employees must wash hands". Under that was written, "If no employee here...wash you own".

Sign in the washroom

I had the

Omelet special (spinach, tomato and cheese)

and Bob had

BLT Sandwich

They also do catering and Karen Dennis, whose card I picked up, is a wedding planner

Pigeon Key was originally developed as a work camp for railroad workers in the early 1900's while building the "Railroad to the Sea" from Miami to Key West. It is located off the old seven mile bridge, just west of Marathon, Fla. Our first visit to Pigeon Key was in 1968. At that time we had two running vehicles a VW bus and a 1932 Plymouth. We were moving from Key West to Philadelphia and were driving our 1932 Plymouth up Seven Mile Bridge when the Plymouth stopped running. So Bob pushed and I steered, and we coasted down onto Pigeon Key where Bob fixed the fault.

1932 Plymouth being fixed

Pigeon Key in 1968

7 mile bridge in 1968 - drawbridge part dimly visible on the left

With the exception of WWII when the Government took over, Pigeon Key was used by the staff and families who maintained the bridge. The key was utilized as a fishing camp, then a research center by the University of Miami in the 70s.

University of Miami Field Station

There was nothing there at that time except a few buildings and some rabbits

Rabbits

When Flagler decided to extend his railroad down to Key West (which was at the time one of the major cities in Florida), he was originally going to built the railroad on fill, because that was cheaper than building bridges. But the locals needed the channel south of Vaca Key to get their produce from the bay side to Key West. Moser Channel is the only deep water route from one side to the other.

So old Henry decided to build a bridge. Everyone said it could not be done. But he ordered special salt water cement from Germany, and his people built the bridge. It was completed shortly before his death.

The 1935 hurricane wiped out Islamorada, and the railroad, and killed the construction workers. Flager's widow sold the rights of way and bridges to the State of Florida. The roadway was converted to auto traffic between 1935 and 1938. They put a road on top of the rail bed. They used the old tracks to make a railing along the sides of the bridge. That was the road we used when we were living in Key West. The road was very narrow - so narrow that trucks had to fold in their left side mirrors, or you risked breaking them when you would hit the mirror of a vehicle coming the other direction.

The new 7 Mile bridge was completed in April of 1982 and Pigeon Key Was by-passed. The new fixed bridge (the old bridge was a draw bridge) has a 65 foot high span. Sailors with 65 foot masts have to wait until low tide to get under this bridge. The segments of the bridge which connected to Bahia Honda and from Knights Key to Pigeon Key were retained,

Pigeon Key Visitor's Center (an old train car on Knight's Key)

Knights Key (or Knight Key) was an important staging point for Flagler's railroad. He had docks built to facilitate bringing materials down the Keys by boat before there was rail access. Now it is primarily a campground although there are also some rental units available, and there is, or used to be a restaurant there. It was also the location of the old railroad car which serves as a gift shop and terminus for the little 'train' which goes out to Pigeon Key. Visitor tours include a 2.2 mile ride on the tram -"Henry".

Henry engine

Speed limit 15 mph

Railings of the old bridge made from the tracks

Starting out on the Train Henry

I took some pictures while riding the tram, but I had zero expectation that they would come out because the tram gives a very rough ride. I could NOT hold the camera steady at ALL. But all the pictures turned out. Who knew?

Photo from Henry

Restriction - one vehicle at a time

I thought this was a silly sign until I remembered that for the art festival there were shuttle vans and even in regular days there were campers and other vehicles other than Henry

Boat dock area

Bell

Side door

Coconuts

Model train exhibit

Restored buildings were painted in Flagler's colors.

Flagler yellow buildings

Henry the train (named after Henry Flagler)

Office building

One vehicle at a time

Old 7 Mile Bridge with the old drawbridge not visible

Road up to the bridge

7 mile bridge crosses Pigeon Key

Looking through the frame

Underneath the bridge

Bridge framework

The old bridge was narrow--I didn't realize how narrow it was until I saw it again.

It was also a draw bridge. Otherwise how would big ships get from the bay side to the ocean side without going all the way down to Key West? I totally do not remember the draw bridge. I can just see it faintly in my 1968 photo.

Missing drawbridge

Underpinnings of the bridge

Flagler yellow building

A pigeon on Pigeon Key

Bridge underpinnings

When you look up at the underside of the bridge, you can see how they cantilevered out the automobile road out on each side of the original narrow railroad track

Underside of the bridge

Flagler yellow

Water pipe that brought water to the keys from the mainland

Old bridge from Pigeon Key

Steps up to the bridge

New bridge from the old bridge

You can also run, job, walk or ride your bike out to the Key. Keep in mind that if the wind is with you going out, it will be against you coming back if you are walking or biking.

I biked out to the old bridge and someone took my photo there

Trailer camping with a boat

There are campgrounds in Marathon. We see this campground from the stern of our boat - it looks like the campers are cheek by jowl.

Knight Key campgrounds from our boat

When we come out to the highway we pass under these power lines. When it is humid (most of the time) you can hear them crackling as the moisture gets to the wires. (Power lines such as these are not insulated - something to bear in mind if you are kite flying or parachuting or if one comes down to where you are.) It's really interesting to see the pelicans fly through or over the power lines. When we walk and are waiting for a gap in the traffic to cross - we say to each other, "Must be humid - they are really crackling today"

Near to New Years we heard some explosions and at first we thought it was gunfire because it wasn't humid so we could see the lines weren't crackling. But we decided it was fire crackers.

We had dinner afterwards at Sombrero Resort's Marathon Pasta and Pizza (for the second time.)

Sombrero Resort sign

Bob walking up to Sombrero Pasta and Pizza

9 March 2004

We did some shopping and had lunch at MM 52 Leigh Ann's Coffee Shop.

Leigh Ann's Coffee House sign

This restaurant is actually in Key Colony Beach. Immediately you walk in here, you can smell coffee.

Inside Leigh Ann's

But we are not coffee drinkers so we probably don't appreciate this place as much as we might. Leigh Ann's mom bakes the bread, and her friend does the pies, cookies and cakes. There are 25 different coffee beans - Leigh Ann has them roasted locally so they can be used within 24 hours. There is also espresso and frozen frappuccino. You can have continental breakfast (large assortment of bagels and pastries with home made jam - including mango) or biscuits and gravy, or an egg sandwich. For lunch there is quiche, soup, salads and subs with beer or wine served by the glass. They also have imported wines (bottle or case), the home made jam, imported cheese and pate and baked goods for sale 'to-go'.

I had the

Quiche of the day which came with a mandarin orange and spinach salad,

and Bob had a

Bob's BLT sandwich

We drank iced tea. The bill with tip was $20 which I thought was way too expensive for lunch, even a gourmet lunch.For some reason I thought this place was only open for lunch, but they also serve dinner.

10 March 2004

Bob turned the car in on the 10th

Originally we had been going to leave March 15th, but there was no monetary advantage to leaving early (since we were not getting any refund). So we started watching the weather. There have been strong winds from the northeast for most of the winter with just a few days respite every 5 or 6 days. So we decided to wait until we got our 2nd pumpout for March on the 18th and then wait for a good window.

Big Shrimp sign March 16th

We walked over to Castaway. I got the snapper Mazatlan which is one of their specialties, and it was very good.

Another specialty is alligator tail - I haven't had that one.

A window opened up on Sunday the 21st when the wind was supposed to still be out of the NE, but to calm down a bit from 25-35 knots and
then come around to the SE for Monday before it would pick back up from the NE and East for the rest of the week.

Osprey on the Communications tower with a flag at duck

Leaving Marathon - March 21, 2004

When the office opened we went up and asked for the refund for the utility deposit of $150, and they said we'd used less than the minimum
(again) for the electric although they said we used 1100 gallons of water in February which is ridiculous because we use the water out of
our tanks and we've only refilled them twice - once for 300 gallons and once for 200 gallons, and we use the bathrooms all the time for
showers etc. Bob doesn't wash the boat with a hose, he uses a bucket.

We took off all our lines, and were out in Hawk Channel by 9:25. We passed two big schooners anchored off Boot Key - HERITAGE of MIAMI and CALYPSO.

One of the big schooners

Also the CSY HABITAT was among the boats anchored out there. These are mostly boats that feel that Boot Key Harbor is too crowded (which it is).

By noon, we had gone 15.3 sm - the wind was about 15 knots on the nose, and we were doing less than 5 mph. After lunch, Bob starts fooling with the rpms of the engine - it is not getting to full power. He wonders whether it is a clogged filter, or a barnacle ladened prop. I had wanted to do a better job of inspecting the prop than I could do at Sombrero Key, and hadn't had a chance.

We see lots of crab pots, and we can see shallower patches of water in the middle of the channel where there are patch reefs.

Indian Key

We picked up a mooring (this time with me doing the pick-up and Bob driving the boat, which works much better) at 1610 after 34 sm.

Mangroves on Indian Key

Indian Key dock

Bob was worried because we can only see two moorings, and there were 5 here before. I talked to the Park Service on the phone, and find out that there WERE 5 but they say some have 'broken loose'. Bob becomes more worried that the mooring we are on will also "break loose", as we were intending to take the tour of the key tomorrow at 9 (tours are 9 and 1 on Thursday through Monday) and then possibly stay here to wait out the next bout of bad weather, which will be until at least Thursday.

Bob changed the filters and found that there was a lot of gunk in them, and we had dinner.

Sunset

March 22, 2004

We got up about 6:30. Bob is still worried about the mooring and says he would rather be at anchor. I am anxious to tour Indian Key, but I actually agree with him, although I don't say so. The problem is there is NO protection from the predicted NE or E winds in Hawk Channel except possibly Rodriguez Key which is really close by.

Indian Key dock

So we decide not to wait, and we get underway about 7:45.

Alligator Reef Light

We get to Tavernier at 1000, and can see Rodriguez ahead. It is way too early to stop. I suggest that if we are willing to anchor after dark, we might be able to get all the way to Miami tonight. Bob is really happy with that idea.

Green spider

We are past Rodriguez by 1130. The wind is only 4.6 knots and getting lighter and is about 30 degrees off our course. The engine has really perked up and we are now doing 5.5 knots. I call and have the Marathon phone disconnected, and call our son-in-law and tell him what we are doing. Bob puts all the sails up, but has to pull the jib in because the wind direction is a little flaky.

Bob sitting by the computer box

By 1410, the wind is about 12 knots and we have gone 40.5 sm. We see the BOB boat. I'm not sure what BOB stands for, but what it is - they take people out snorkeling and in addition give them a half hour ride on an underwater scooter with an air helmet.

BOB boat

At 1656, we are opposite Sands Key and we have done 58.4 sm which is more than we usually do in a day in the ICW even starting earlier than we did. We are averaging 6.4 sm. Now the wind starts to pick up speed (as predicted) and is right on the nose, so our speed really slows down and we are getting a bit of water over the bow.

Sun setting

It's really rough until we turn into Biscayne Channel, at which time the waves subsided. Also we had a better angle on the wind. It's about 1830 (6:30 pm) The sun is setting, but it isn't really dark yet.

Sunset

Green aid to navigation

Stiltsville at dusk

An hour later, we have come up Biscayne Bay, and it is dark. I have picked out a place to anchor in an indentation off Hurricane Harbor which is at the west side of Key Biscayne. Bob has prepared the anchor, taken in the sails, and handed the helm over to me to find a spot to anchor. I motor in watching the ATON (aids to navigation) on the radar and our position on the electronic chart. Bob is looking for the flashing lights on the daymarks (difficult against the lights on shore). Finally about in the middle of the area, I'm ready to have Bob drop the hook. It sets quickly and firmly. We have done 73.6 sm (64nm) at an average speed of 6.2 mph.

It is now blowing like stink. We have dinner and go to bed.

March 23, 2004.

We wake at 6:30 and the boat hasn't moved an inch. There are two other boats (one a trawler and one a sailboat) also anchored here. Bob thinks they came in after us. The wind is really blowing hard, and Bob feels that it would be too difficult to pull the anchor against the wind. So I call our son-in-law and tell him that we won't be in to see them before they go off on Spring Break.

Bob apparently sees that I am really unhappy with staying at anchor for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (which is the amount of time this rough east wind is supposed to be here), so he asks me to ask the marina if we can have a slip on the south side of the dock so that the wind will be blowing us out of the slip instead of into the slip. They say that we can do that.

So I start trying to motor up to the anchor - taking the strain off the anchor rode so Bob can crank it up. Then we motor towards Miamarina. When I call them on the radio, they try to put us on C dock (south facing) and I have to insist on the north facing slip. They assign us to B26. Bob overshoots a bit because the slip is on the other side of a big power boat, but he gets the boat turned in the channel. The bow is blown over toward the power boat, and I try to toss the line for the port side to the dock man who is slightly on the starboard of the bow. I miss the toss and get the line caught up in the anchor. Bob gets the bow in to the finger pier and the guy picks the line up off the anchor.

The guy in the Gozzard on the other side of the power boat was amazed that Bob could apparently just stop the boat in the middle of the channel like that (he couldn't see that he was trying to maneuver back to the slip that he'd overshot) and was convinced that we must have bow thrusters.


Miamarina usually has plenty of space for transients (except during the boat show), and is the same price as Dinner Key. (as of 2003-2004 it is $1.85/ft/day or $25/ft/month). Plus Florida tax of course. In 2001 it was cheaper than Miami Beach, and much nicer. The price includes electricity, water and cable TV. It is also convenient to most stuff. They have parking for slip renters. No internet connection there either, but I can do pocketmail with the pay phones. Florida residents who want to get a slip for a year can get a lower rate.

They have concerts almost every night at the mall and 100 restaurants and shops. We could hear the concerts if we went on deck, but we don't have to listen to them if we go below. The boat does not appear to get as dirty as it did at Miami Beach. I would say it is no noisier than many other marinas. It's farther from the trains than Melbourne. There are planes flying overhead, and sometimes horns and sirens, but all-in-all, we like it pretty well.

At least one shower in the ladies bathroom is plumbed backward which makes it confusing to get hot water. They leave the ladies room unlocked most of the time because they can see it from the office. The mens is locked all the time because they tell me that that the homeless men come in and wash their clothes in the sink and use the hand dryers to dry them, and they take showers and use up all the paper towels drying themselves. Bob doesn't think much of the showers, so we are showering at our daughters.

After we tied up, Bob walked up to get the car (which I hadn't canceled yet), and we drove out to our daughters. Bob and our daughter and granddaughter went to our grandson's ball game (he had an awesome game), and our son-in-law worked on the new family room and I logged on with the computer. We met the ball playing group at Red Lobster for dinner.

RosalieAnn in Miamarina

March 24

After Bob did some shopping (he wanted to replace the spare filters that he used at Indian Key ) we had lunch at Denny's.

Dennys

Denny's has more that 1700 restaurants across the US. They made their name by never being closed, and allowing breakfast, lunch or dinner to be ordered at any time of the day or night. I think they are now closed on Christmas. The food is basically plain middle of the road food - nothing really fancy. They have good desserts. For lunch, I got broccoli cheese soup and Bob had a club sandwich. The bill came to $15.20 including FL's 7.5% tax without the tip for lunch.

We went to our daughters - she got me an appointment to get my hair cut. She took me and dropped me after she took our grandson to pitching practice, which I watched some of first.

Daughter watching pitching practice

Pitching

Bob meanwhile was taking all the construction debris

Bob cleaning

(our SIL and daughter knocked out the wall between the family room and our grandson's room)

Furniture huddled in the middle of the room

and loaded the skip with it. After we got back, I cut Bob's hair and then we left and had dinner at Lombardi's (one of the restaurants at Bayside)

Outside seating at Lombardi's

Lombardi's

They have plates with their name on them, and they also have a bar area. I had a seafood pasta and creme brulee. The creme brulee tasted burnt. Bob had carrot cake for dessert.

Bob's carrot cake

The bill with the included 15% tip was a bit over $45.00. There is also a gelato place associated with this restaurant.

Miami at night from the marina

March 25

We babysat while our daughter shopped for their camping trip tomorrow. Afterward we walked up to Bayside from the boat to get dinner - first we tried the Hard Rock, but they said there would be a 20 minute wait. So we walked around to the other side of the mall and went to Chili's which was new this year.

Chili's

It is really noisy in there, but we were seated quickly. The tables have Mexican tiles set in the middle.

Tiles on the tables in Chili's

There were TVs around, mostly set to ESPN stations, and for once, they had captions on them so you could read what was going on - you certainly couldn't HEAR it. Our dinners were a long time coming. First they brought us the wrong ones, and I noticed that they also brought the people at the next table the wrong one twice. It might have been because it was still a new place.

Bob got

full rack of ribs with cinnamon apple side

and I got a

My half rack with corn on the cob, cinnamon apple, rice and chicken

It was very good but I had to bring most of my ribs back to the boat. (They were a bit too chewy for my taste.) I drank lemonade and Bob drank water. The total bill was $37.63.Note: Most of the restaurants at Bayside add a 15% gratuity on automatically. I don't know if Chili's elsewhere do this or not. In any case, the bill comes PLAINLY labeled Tip, with a line underneath for Additional Tip.

March 26

Our daughter's family left in the morning for their camping trip. Bob's foot hurts - he's done something to it. He's taken some Aleve. We went to Fairchild Gardens which is south of Miami near Perrine where our daughter lives. It has a Coral Gables address. The 83 acres gardens were established in 1938 and are among one of the world's best. There are

Palms

Palms

cycads, flowering trees and flowering

Jade vine

There are also greenhouses

Bob inside

Mr Stinky

Red flower

Green and white striped leaves

Ginger?

Bob looking at some plants

Plant in the greenhouse

Red flower

with orchids and other tropical plants.

Orchid wall

Lavender orchids

White orchids

In addition to to being a popular visitor attraction it offers a variety of programs in environmental education, conservation and horticulture and is an international leader in tropical plant research with an important part in preserving the biodiversity of the tropical environment.

Included in the admission price, there is a tram tour of the garden (which we took)

Bob on the tram

where the driver will explain the various plants.

Heron or egret

Custard apple

Trunk of the rainbow eucalyptus

Ducks

Grouping of plants

Baobab

Cactus

Artists sketching the view

We ate lunch at a little outdoor Garden Café which is one of the tram stops

Garden Cafe where we had lunch

outside on a picnic table, observed by a chameleon.

Chameleon

The website says "Light lunches and cold drinks are available at the Garden daily from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Enjoy a snack under the sapodilla tree or observe the conservatory nursery through the large windows of the cafe"

Then we went to our daughter's house and collected the mail and fed the animals and did some email. We had dinner at Denny's on the way back to the marina.

March 27, 2004

We crossed the toll road at Rickenbacker Causeway to Virginia Key, Rickenbacker Causeway is a toll road.

NASDAQ 100 0pen entrance

We had to pass the site of the NASDAQ tennis tournament which had somewhat of a traffic jam.

Then we drove the length of Key Biscayne to Bill Baggs Park. The fee for the park is $5.00 per vehicle, including up to 8 visitors. Single occupant vehicle = $3.00. $1.00 each per bicycle/individual walk-in. The park is named for Bill Baggs. If you have never heard of him, it probably means you aren't from Miami, because he was a Miami newspaper editor who advocated this area for a state park. The park is part of a large barrier island ecosystem which is north of Biscayne National Park.

Probably the first European on these shores was Ponce de Leon on the first Spanish expedition in 1513 to the land he called Florida. When he visited this area, he named it the "Cape of Florida." Sandbars and submerged reefs combined with storms, were a hazard to early sailors, causing hundreds of shipwrecks along the Straits of Florida. In good weather, the shoal areas can be seen, but in storms, it is not so easy. Plus the old time ships had less maneuverability at some points of wind. The reefs and shoals were one reason that Key Westers made their fortunes as salvagers. One of the federal government's first actions when Florida became a U.S. Territory in 1821, was to plan for the extension of a network of lighthouses along the east coast of Florida.

My grandfather wrote this postcard to my grandmother in July 1925.

Antique postcard of the Florida Lighthouse

The legend on the back of the card says:"Years ago the Florida reefs were feared by all vessels sailing the south Atlantic. The Government [constructed] many light houses and a particularly tall and staunch one of brick was built at Cape Florida on an island jutting out at a particularly dangerous spot. This light has been replaced by a new modern structure standing on the very edge of the Gulf Stream"
His comment is that it was "Some warm". That at least has not changed!!

Today (24 July 1925) was "some warm"

I did not realize that my grandfather was such a traveler. I do not know what he was doing in Florida in 1925 - my mother would have been just seven days from her 16th birthday when this was written. In spite of the increased number of aids to navigation, we observed a sailboat aground near the junction of Hawk Channel, Biscayne channel and the Cape Florida channel.

Following Hurricane Andrew in 1992, an extensive restoration program was undertaken. The goal of the program is to restore the natural plant communities and systems historically associated with the island and to eliminate the invasive non-native species.

We visited the park on an extremely windy day - there were small craft warnings out, and there was a lot of surf.

Surf on the fishing pier

Some of the best shoreline fishing in the region is available from the seawall located along Biscayne Bay. These little built out dock areas are all along the south shore of the park. You bring all your own equipment and saltwater fishing license required

End of the fishing pier

First we went to the southern side of the park and I walked out along the seawall to the lighthouse.

Cape Florida light

Closed lighthouse door

Oops- I can't get to the lighthouse that way because there is a barrier fence. We found out that the lighthouse tours were only at 10 and 1, so we went to No Name Harbor

No Name Harbor

and had lunch in this trailer shaped restaurant overlooking the anchorage.

Bob walking up to the Boater's Grill

One of the boaters has come in to shore in his kayak.

Boater's Grill Business Hours sign

(The other cafe was closed due to renovation) .The Boaters Grlll has a limited menu which they cook to order and bring to your table after you order at the counter. I had the seafood soup and Bob had a hamburger .

If you anchor here, you will have to either have a dinghy to get in to eat or maybe you can tie up to the seawall There are no overnight facilities on land in the park except for organized group camping for groups such as scouts. The park is for day use only. Boats that anchor in No Name Harbor can stay overnight for a $15.00 fee per boat per night. This is more or less on the honor system. The sign designates how this is to be paid.

Harbor pay station fees - How you pay

Boater at the shore of No Name Harbor

We went out to take the 1300 lighthouse tour.

Cape Florida Lighthouse

Bob sitting by the monument to the lighthouse restoration

Bob didn't want to stress his foot, but I actually climbed to the top of the lighthouse.

The original 1825 lighthouse and cottage were burned in 1836 by Seminoles. The keepers climbed up to the light and one of them was killed and the other was wounded in the feet. He flung a keg of gunpowder down the stairs hoping to kill himself and avoid capture and torture by the Indians. The wooden stairs burned down, but he was not killed. This man, named Thompson, was rescued the next day by the crew of a U.S. Navy schooner. The sailors fired a ramrod with a piece of string tied to it over the top of the lighthouse. Thompson caught the string and was able to haul a heavier rope to the tower's top. Two seaman hoisted to the top hauled the injured Thompson down. It was later reported that the top of the lighthouse had more than 200 bullet holes in it

Old light structure

Walkway to the lighthouse

visitors over 8 years old can climb the tower to the top

Lighthouse door with child

The light was extinguished from 1836-1846. There were complaints that it was too short, so in 1855 the tower was made 40 feet higher (up to 95 feet) and wooden stairs were replaced with 119 spiraling iron steps to the top

Bottom of the lighthouse stair

Stairs_disappear_up_into_the_lighthouse

Depth of the lighthouse door

Looking out to sea from the lighthouse window

and a second order fresnel lens was installed.The light was damaged in the Civil War, and was extinguished in 1878 when Fowley Rocks light was built. In the 60s, the state of Florida saved the area around the lighthouse from developers by establishing Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park and they restored the lighthouse and keeper's dwelling.

Lighthouse keeper's cottage from above

I saw these guys from the top of the lighthouse. I do not know what the parameters of this sport is but it looks tricky to me. There was a quite strong wind (small craft warnings) when this photo was taken, and it looked like they were headed down the keys with no way to get back to land against the wind.

Wind surfers from the lighthouse

There were a large number of families enjoying the beach on this spring break weekend,

Public Beach from the lighthouse

even though there was considerable surf due to a sustained northeast wind of about 20 knots.

It's a SHADOW

Miami skyline from the top of the lighthouse

On June 15, 1978, 100 years after it was extinguished, the U.S. Coast Guard reestablished the light. Volunteer guides take visitors through lighthouse

Bob sitting on the lighthouse keeper's cottage steps

and the replica of the 1846 furnished keeper's cottage and the cook house.

Fireplace

There's also a cistern.

Cistern

The tours are Thursday through Monday, at 10:00 AM and 1 PM. Arrive at least a half hour early. Access to the tower is limited to groups of about 20 people at a time. There is a short narrative film in the reconstructed Keeper's kitchen building,

Then we went out to our daughter's house to check on things and Bob picked the tomatoes and grapefruit from their garden

Bennigan's sign

On the way home, we had dinner on the way home at Bennigans

Inside Bennigans

Bob had the American burger

We shared an Apple sizzler $4.39

the bill was $34.22 including tip

Pony Ride at night

.
March 28, 2004

We went to James Deering's Vizcaya in the morning. Vizcaya is not actually in Miami Beach, but is in Miami. A bit of Venice, on Miami's Key Biscayne is maybe what James the second son of William Deering of International Harvester tried to recreate when he built Vizcaya. In 1916 when it was finished, it was meant to look hundreds of years old. Entrance fee for the 34 rooms is $10 for adults. I've been here twice - once in 1967 for an antique car show when photography was allowed inside. Our second visit was this year-2004.

Another Deering estate at Cutler is that of Charles Deering (1852-1927) who was a wealthy Chicago industrialist, art dealer and early environmentalist. The son of William Deering, who started the Deering Harvester Company in Maine, Charles served as the first chairman of the International Harvester Company. We haven't been here - my grandson went and said it was boring, but he isn't interested in old houses or ecology.

For the first visit we were driving our 1932 Plymouth. The cars were on display in the courtyard (toward the street) and also on the waterfront for some kind of festival. I toured the house at that time and took pictures. These are some of the photos I took then - some of them paired up with ones i took in 2004

Vizcaya South Terrace in 1967

Entrance/front 1967 bottom 2004 top

West side of Vizcaya - 1967-2004

James Deering's bathroom

James deering's fireplace

Breakfast room Glass from inside

Library 1967

South Gardens from an upstairs window - 1967 on left, 2004 (with the pigeon) on the right

Looking down a stairway

Looking down at a fountain in the courtyard

Fountain in the patio - I967 on left, 2004 from outside on the right

Mural inside the back - 1967 on top, 2004 taken through the window from the patio on the bottom

Entrance to the courtyard - 1967 on left, 2004 on right

Bob with the 2 girls at the Antique Auto show

Tea House on the Water side of Vizcaya - 1967-2004

1967 East side of Vizcaya - in 2004 the east side was covered with scaffolding which was also covered

Antique Autos on the east terrace with the barge beyond

Top 1976, bottom 2004 Robert Winthrop Chanler was responsible for the ceiling of the swimming pool, an extraordinary stucco bas-relief representing the underwater flora and fauna of the Florida Keys

We went back this past visit and no photography was permitted inside the mansion. I was incensed. This is what their website says."Personal Photography (Bridal and Quince) permits for OUTSIDE PHOTOGRAPHY ONLY are available for purchase at the ticket booth and DO NOT REQUIRE RESERVATIONS.

Arcade with professional photographer

Permits are issued from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily. Cost is $75.00 plus tax. Each permit admits a total of 6 people, including the photographer. PERMIT FEES ARE NON-REFUNDABLE. Certificate of Insurance for Public Liability Insurance in an amount not less than $1,000,000. combined single limit for bodily injury and property damage is required. Miami-Dade County, c/o Vizcaya Museum and Gardens..must be named as additionally insured. OUTDOORS ONLY FILM STILL PHOTOGRAPHY 8:00 A.M. TO 5:30 P.M $1,650.00 $750.00 Each hour before 8:00 A.M. and after 5:30 P.M. $100.00 $50.00

Rules
1. Photography is allowed ONLY with a permit and receipt showing payment.
2. All vehicles must park in Vizcaya's regular parking lot.
3. Photography is permitted in the Gardens only, except the Secret Garden.
4. All telephone calls must be made at the pay phones in the Service Area or in the regular parking lot.
5. Photographers and their subjects must not block doors, driveways, stairs or ramps from public use.
6. Photography is not permitted inside the Museum.
7. The only restrooms available to photo permit holders are those in the Service Area. As the caf? and gift shop area is a concession area not operated by Vizcaya Museum, photo permit holders may not use their restrooms.
8. Photographers and their subjects must comply with any direction given to them by Vizcaya staff. Any photographer disregarding the above rules may lose his/her privilege of photographing at Vizcaya

Bob at the West Entrance

Side garden at the West entrance

Reflections in the entrance door

In actual practice, there seems to be no restrictions on tourist photography

Butler's pantry

Dumbwaiter in the pantry

Kitchen

Breakfast room Windows from the outside that I took in 1967 from the inside

Terracotta Sculptures in the breakfast room - from the kitchen

I took photos out of the windows, into the windows on the ground floor and sometimes inside when the guard wasn't looking.

Looking through the window on the west side

Center section of the Barge

The end of the barge n the water in front of the Main House sculpted by Alexander Stirling Calder.The Barge is a breakwater shaped as a boat and decorated with carvings representing mythical Caribbean creatures

Deering wanted Vizcaya to be approached and seen from the sea,

Sali boat in the channel on the right of the "barge"

Sculpture from the back

Arches to the secret garden

Sculptures in the garden

Canal around the center island

Central island canal

Muscovy ducks in the Canal

Beware of dogs

I thought perhaps I could buy a picture of the things I wanted to record so we went to the gift shop. Vizcaya Gift Shop offers postcards, slides, and videotapes along with Italian craft items such as ceramics, jewelry and tapestries during museum hours.

gift shop

I would have been happy to buy a slide or postcard of the interior of the house, but there were very few available. This was disappointing in view of the prohibition on photography of the interior.I didn't want to spring for a videotape, and the tapestries and works of art were too expensive for my pocketbook. What I really wanted was a weather vane which showed the speed and direction of the wind inside the room, and I could not find that in any photos or postcards.

After we toured most of the house, we went back over to the swimming pool side

Pool area

Cafe sign

Little boy looking into the pool

Cafe door

Eating inside

where there was a cafe and got lunch (kind of cafeteria style). We could have eaten outside, but it was too hot for me out there. Our bill for lunch was $19.25. I had a

A salad and some Fruit

In the afternoon, we went to our daughter's house. Bob did some laundry, and then went to the store for the perishables. He is convinced that our daughter's neighbor is not installing their floor right.

March 29, 2004

Went to our daughter's to finish up email. I am having a lot of trouble with pocketmail. It has strange filters and I can't clear out the email that is spam. Anyway, I called them for the umpteenth time, and I can't use it until they correct the problems with it. So I'm switching the way I'm doing it so that mindspring isn't forwarding all my mail, but instead pocketmail is picking it up - hopefully after it has most of the spam filtered out. If that doesn't work, I'm going to have to change my email address.

After our daughter's family got back from camping, we all (including our SIL's half brother) over to their friends for dinner. Our daughter supplied the hamburger. Then we went back to the boat.