Sunday, and it’s time to go home tomorrow. We’ve had a really fun three weeks! And hey – technically, we’ve docked every night on an island! Cabbage Key, Marco Island, Marathon, Key West, and Estero Island!
We spent some time in the pool today, and it felt really nice. I think it was a little cooler than it has been. The sky was really hazy today, so no direct blistering hot sunshine. YAY! It looked like a few white caps out on the gulf. We sat facing west, hoping to get some of the breeze, but somehow we were pretty sheltered from it. There was definitely more time in the pool than in the chairs.
Our sunset tonight was very similar to last night…. absorbed by the Saharan Dust. It’s normal for Saharan dust to reach the US every hurricane season, but this year’s cloud is historic, forecasters said….health officials say the dust is the densest it’s been in 50-60 years.
We had several bird visitors but I only got pictures of a couple of them. In this little spot of the marina, there is water between the dock and shore where lots of fish of all different sizes like to hang out. The shore birds like to be here, including dive-bombing pelicans that make a really loud ‘kersplat’ when they dive-bomb. And in fact, tonight at about 9:00 in the dark, we had a dolphin in here! 🐬 We heard a thump on the hull, and wondered ‘what the heck’? So we stepped outside, and could see lots of splashing and movement in the water. We couldn’t see what it was, but could hear him breathe every time he surfaced. I thought it was somebody swimming the way the water was moving and sounding until I heard the breathing. It would have been great to see him!
This picture shows what is right behind us. Oh! -notice the “Black Pearl” and it’s quick transport inflatable buddy on the lifts? Not Captain Jack Sparrow’s Pearl… it’s one of the local parasailer boats that goes out everyday.
This guy was swinging on our power cord. I think he is a Green Heron. Maybe we’ll name him Harold the Heron.
And I caught him fishing! But the tiny little fish leaped out of his beak back to safety.
And then of course, Mr. fancy gold feet, Edgar the Egret chased him off, because this is his fishin’ hole, thank-you-very-much.
Here’s our Girl. We’ve been talking about all the things we might do/should do to her if we’re going to do the Great Loop again next year, to get her ready for another 6500 miles and 700 hours. It could get spendy 🙄 and involve lots of boat bucks. 💰💰💰. She’s 20 years old, with over 2200 hours. And Mechanic likes to fix things on his time line on his terms…. not in a remote place where we’d be at the mercy of BillyBob with lawnmower parts in Timbuktoo.
Stay tuned.
The next Stark Adventure is likey to be a road trip to Washington this summer. Our son is gettin’ hitched! 👰💍🤵.
I don’t know if it will be our normal kind of road trip with lots of adventures along the way. Things change so quickly in every state that I’m not sure what will be open to do or see, or if our car with Florida plates will even be welcome. We’ll see! It seems like every plan that we’ve made more than one week in advance has been cancelled for one reason or another. What a crazy year!