Day 332
Our month of February has been filled with visitors. (Translation - fun!)
I told Mike "It is time for a Meandering Magees update so everyone can get their 15 minutes of fame by being in the blog and it will be a long one as I have so many pictures."
He said, "Why not do a post of just pictures? Everybody likes pictures."
"But I have a lot of things to write about," said I.
"A picture is worth a thousand words," was his reply.
So here are the pictures, in chronological order, with captions!
Fellow Loopers Mel and Ann (seated) and the Stein Family-
Ben, Laura Maddie and Molly (who was taking the picture).
We traveled down the rivers in 2016 with the Steins and reconnected when
they stopped in Ludington this summer on their way to completing their Loop in Chicago.
They were on vacation in the Keys and stopped by for lunch.
That same day, we had dinner with friends Kathy (Packard) and Greg, who were on their way back to
Orlando after a day in Key West.
First time to see a mother manatee with her baby
Wendy Wilson and her daughters organized their fellow Loopers for a Keys Kleanup
one day a week for the month of February. The debris from Hurricane Irma we bagged or piled for collection included a TV, coffee table, siding, insulation, and shingles.
It wasn't the big things we picked up that tugged at my heart. These
measuring utensils were in someone's kitchen.
We picked up roadside and pulled things out of the mangroves.
Champagne Sunday on Saturday at Faro Blanco Marina.
Loopers use any excuse to celebrate. This day it was the arrival of
Shell Belle (Jim and Mandy) and another sunny day in Marathon.
Mike is under the red umbrella.
An impressive brunch!
From left:
Jim (Hour Plan), Jim (Shell Belle), Mike, Mel (Morningstar)
The guys always talk shop as we are all in the same boat.
Ha! - we've used that phrase a million times.
I went on the tour of Pigeon Key last February with brother-in-law Greg W.
The buildings there sustained considerable damage from Irma in September.
We went to the Pigeon Key Art Festival to support the restoration efforts.
Love their slogan
We hosted Jim and Mandy Conley and Jim and AC Stebel for the Super Bowl.
Jim S. took this picture from the back of True North.
God's handiwork before the big game.
Went to the airport to pick up brother Greg. Brother-in-law Greg W surprised us when
he was there also. We got 2 Gregs for the price of 1!
Here he is, earning his keep, cleaning our grill.
All of the tiki hut roofs got re-thatched at our marina
Took a road trip to Zephyrhills and the RV park we used to stay at.
Cousin Lionel Haskins and his wife were visiting from Michigan so it was
a mini Magee family reunion with Uncle John and Aunt Helen.
George Freeman came to fish. He wasn't disappointed.
Next came a weeks vacation for sister Karen W as she joined her hubby Greg on True North.
A lazy boat ride through Boot Key Harbor and up Sister Creek to Sombrero Beach.
One radio station we listen to is Conch (pronounced "conk") Country.
We ended the day at Sunday Funday at Sunset Grille.
Gary Schaefer and Stacy spent a day fishing with Greg.
High winds prevented them from going out into the ocean so
they fished "between the bridges". (The 7 Mile bridge and Flagler's old railroad bridge).
They were just getting ready to call it a day and started to bring in the lines.
Karen felt a pull and knew she had a bite. As she was reeling it in, the fish jumped out
of the water and a collective chorus rang out: "TARPON!"
Pretty exciting as that is one fish that Greg had yet to catch.
Greg W had this shark on his hook.
Greg and Karen W were fortunate to see the trifecta of ocean creatures:
Dolphin
(they have been coming into our harbor to feed this past week)
Manatees
and Sharks
Another day brought more guests - my sister Sally and her husband Kerry.
Girls went souvenir shopping while the guys fished.
Bray Mckerchie, Kerry and Greg W.
There is a price to pay for having fun fishing - washing the boat!
Sally joined me for my nightly ritual of waving at the people on the Sunset Sail catamaran that departs from our marina every afternoon about an hour before sunset. If I miss it going out, I
catch it when it returns. Most everyone onboard waves back!
The day after we took Greg, and Karen and Greg to the airport for their flights home, we attended the
Sunset Celebration at Banana Bay Marina and Resort in Marathon with over 100 other Loopers.
Not all are in Marathon; some drove from other parts of FL to attend. I had fun catching up with several Loopers who stopped in Ludington this summer and were here.
Mike is sitting in the middle of this picture.
Tuesday was a Looper dinghy tiki bar run. Did I mention Loopers use any excuse to
get together? We hadn't had our dinghy in the water for over a month so we were happy
to join up. Lunch at the first stop - Island Fish Co., then stone crab claws here at the Honky Conch (remember it is "conk") and ending with a shrimp cocktail at Barnacle Barneys.
Unique and Random Photo of the Day:
Tip Jar at Keys Fisheries - the Honky Conch
"Tipping. . . Not just for cows and boats."
Cracked me up!
