We walked down to Garrison Marina. Someone had suggested that we should stay there. Kelley had called, but our boat was too big and good thing. The marina is a long walk from town. Where we are is right downtown. So much better.

We stopped into a Cooking store. Oh, my, selection that they had. You want a special tool, it is there. There was also an Artisan Bread company (really too small to be company) next to it and the breads were sold at the store. We bought a scone (cranberry and white chocolate) and a mini baguette of grains and mango.

There is a restaurant in Key West that is the oldest restaurant there, almost a hundred years old.

It is Pepe’s and gets a lot of write ups. And, all for good reason.

The garden is charming; the food is delicious; the people are so laid back.

We had lunch there and enjoyed it. We plan to have breakfast there tomorrow.

Laid back! Isn’t that what Jimmy Buffet writes about Key West? This is the Island where life is to slow down. I feel everyone around here that is visiting is trying to put so much “hanging out time” into their stay that they are running around looking for all of the spots that they have to hit before they go onto the next “hanging out” item on their list. Perhaps it is because the weather is not cooperating. It is warm but a bit overcast and breezy.

I think my “he who would be Jimmy” is doing fine.

We had dinner at a great restaurant. Nothing fried for us tonight! The steaks were all 20 oz. or bigger. But, the waiter said we could share a meal…great! We wanted steak. We shared a delicious meal, a great bottle of wine and happily walked back to the boat. Good night.

We walked the length of Duval Street today. One bar or restaurant after another. T-shirt and knick-knack stores. We just keep walking.

The wind was up and we wanted to see the Atlantic side. Whoa! Waves!

Here is Kelley with the Southermost Hotel behind him. No one was on the beach because the wind was so strong and the waves were rolling in. We are pleased to be in a slip and not anchored in this weather. Last night the wind came up, rain poured down, lightening and thunder were dancing over our heads. We bounced like we never have before in a slip. Thank you for cleats, strong lines, and a captain who made a reservation for a dock because the weather was suppose to be getting bad!
Duval! We are game. We like to party with the rest of them; but, hello! Every place has a Happy Hour and great deals on appetizers. But, please, how much fried food or raw oysters can a person eat? We figured out that we are not Happy Hour people. Here we had a list of the best spots and we just couldn’t do it. Have a drink and move on.
As we decided to head back to the boat, we heard some guitar music and there was a young man playing and singing in a bar. We went in and had a drink and shared a snack. He finished up at nine and so did we.

We left Marco Island and went out through Big Marco River as we make our way south. As we left the Marina the red buoys were on our right; we go under the bridge and immediately make a turn to the right because there is a red buoy and it must now be on our left! I really do enjoy the challenges of boating here in Florida. It is not just get on the boat, start the engines, set auto and go!

We called Boat US and asked about going this way as we had been told that we should be able to make it with a 3.5 draft, but ask the guys who will tow you if you can’t. Boat US is great. They told us which markers to hug and that the depth would be great. He asked if we had checked the tides, Kelley had, he agreed with Kelley’s information and bid us a safe journey.

Cruising on the ICW is so enjoyable. I love the narrow passages. I really am sorry that I didn’t take pictures. I was so caught up in the ride I forgot that I wanted to share it with you.

We are awed by all of the wildlife. If there is room for a nest, an osprey couple has built a nest. Pelicans sit on posts or on branches waiting to swoop for their food. We look at islands and sometimes think that the trees and bushes have beautiful white flowers on them only to realize that the white flowers are the heads of birds. Hundreds of them….

Once we reached the Gulf the journey honestly became tedious. We just bobbed along. I love our stabilizers, although we didn’t really need them until the afternoon when the wind picked up. Finally we were at the entrance to Little Shark River, which is part of Everglades National Park.

Now, we were warned. And especially as it was dusk….Bill had said that we should be prepared for bugs; the cruise books write about the bugs; Captain Bob says to bring a shotgun for the mosquitoes. We even knew about the No see’ums. We were armed. We sprayed on our Off; I reinforced with 100% Deet. But….