Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Tuesday March 3, 2009
Hello Everyone,
I understand some of you are having snow. I really do not misss the cold weather and especially the snow. We are still in Marathon, Florida and the weather here is a bit cool also. We had to wear jackets most all day yesterday because of the winds and cooler weather. Sunday night, the winds blew about 30 plus knots all night. Ondra got very little sleep as the boat was constantly moving and the noise from the mooring ball was too loud hitting the side of the boat which was also due to the winds.
We had a good day yesterday. Andrew & April Neville spent the day with us. They are here on vacation. Justin gave them our telephone numbers so they called us and spent their first day here in the keys with us. We rode around the area in their car and showed them places to enjoy while they were here. We ate lunch at The Fishery, one of our favorite places here at Marathon to eat. They were also nice enough to carry us several places as we have to walk most times. It was great riding in a car for the first time in quite a while. They rode the dinghy out to our boat where we visited and later went for a long dinghy ride out to the beach area. On our way back, there were five people in another dinghy in the channel who were oaring back and not making much progress as the winds were still blowing them further out. Evidently their motor had quit working. We tied a rope to their boat and pulled them for a rather long distance back to their dock across the bay from where we were moored. We then, rode around to another seafood restaurant on the water and ate our dinner. Andrew got his bottom soaked as the water was splashing us and we were all a bit wet, but not like Andrew. He was very cold so we found a table by a gas heater and we were much warmer while eating. We did not get as wet coming back to the sailboat. They stayed until later and then Nelson took them back to the Marina docks where they had parked their car. We loved having their company.
We are planning to leave here in the morning and head to Cape Coral on the west coast of Florida where Nelson’s brother lives. We will be there for several days and then leave our boat there and ride back to NC to do our taxes (Ugh!). While there, we will plan to see family and friends before coming back to Florida. After visiting with Ike and Babs, we are planning to bring the boat back north. We are thinking we should be back in Rocky Mount by the first of June. Thus far, we have had a wonderful trip and hope the remainder will be just as enjoyable. Looking forward to seeing everyone soon.

Nelson & Ondra