Marathon, FL - 2/15/11 (day 18)

Since we were expecting our friends, Skip & Barb Johnson (Moor $tuff) to make it to Marathon today, we decided to go shopping (SURPRISE!) until they get here from their anchorage in Shark River. They will be coming onto Sombrero Dockside Marina which is next to ours. As we were leaving the marina we altered our plans to see if we could find our friends, Dan & Biddi Langford (Biddi & the Beast) over at Banana Bay Resort which is on the Bay (Gulf) side of the island. We knocked on their boat and ended up spending a couple hours with them and even planned to meet them for dinner tonight.

This is a small island a few hundred yards off their beach that can be rented for only $2,000 per week.

The Bay is very pretty however swimming is not recommended at this beach.

Here's part of the reason .... that is actually sea grass from the bushes out to the boat. It looks like solid ground, but it isn't at all.

I wish I could say this is part of the Valentine gift to my bride, but it is the result of a bad experience with her curling iron. Regardless I still look proud when people stare!

Skip & Barb got to their slip about 2:30 and we had celebratory drinks to see each other because we had not been with them since the Gulf crossing. they went North to Tarpon Springs and we went South to St. Petersburg after Clearwater.

Dan & Biddi arriving at the Hurricane for our taco dinner.

The group picture with Biddi leaning back just as it was snapped.

I think Ricki misses her craft room at home since we noticed she was playing with her tomatoes.

Tomorrow we plan to give the boat a bath and put the final varnish coat on the eyebrow teak. It should be ready to re-install by Thursday.

Coded message to Gladys: all envelopes still intact!

OK - I tried to put the pictures in the center position again and found out some of them cannot be enlarged. Doesn't make sense but I will revert back to the left/right positions next blog.