We were hoping to catch a bigger case of Keys Disease or laid-back island attitude but we are still pretty much engaged. Like a house, boat projects are never done, but unlike a house, our boat home gets rocked by waves and is doused daily with corrosive salt by air and water so a lot of maintenance is required. And, when you have a classic teak trawler, this increases geometrically to get “Baby Grand” looking grand again after almost 6 continuous months of wear. We don’t get paid and instead keep paying as “ a boat is a hole in the water into which you throw money.” We don’t have a boss although Bob does refer to me as the Admiral.
We have been busy the past 2 weeks swabbing the decks, washing the fiberglass, windows and canvas, polishing the chrome, and cleaning the cabin and bilge as well as laundering all bedding, rugs and pillows. We changed the oil and filter as well as the transmission fluid. Big on our list is replacing the macerator pump which has now “crapped out.” You will notice that we are not posting pictures of all of these activities as our hands are usually too grimy and wet to hold a camera.
We rented a car for the weekend of 2/6 to 2/8 and went all over. We started locally in the Marathon area and took an excursion boat out to Pigeon Key which is perched under the Seven Mile Bridge. It was used as a dormitory area for the workers who built the Flagler East Coast Railroad from 1908 to 1912 and then for the bridge tenders and painters who kept it maintained until the Labor Day hurricane of 1935 destroyed the RR bridge. Interestingly, all the housing structures have endured through countless storms with its Conch architecture unlike the multi-million dollar coastal homes which are regularly decimated. Pigeon Key is now run as a non-profit organization with educational opportunities for all.
We also toured Crane Point Nature Center, a 63 acre site with nature trails, a butterfly meadow, wild bird hospital with Dr. Quack presiding, the George Adderley Bahamian house built of “tabby” in the early 1900’s when this area was jungle ,and a history museum. In the midst of the Keys development, it is special to find a piece of the real FL Keys. We ended Friday with a great dinner at Key Colony Inn with Charlie and Jeannette from “Highlander.”
We will be journeying to Miami on Saturday for an opera and will be touring the Bill Baggs State Park, the Fairchild Tropical Gardens and Vizcaya on Sunday.
We have been busy the past 2 weeks swabbing the decks, washing the fiberglass, windows and canvas, polishing the chrome, and cleaning the cabin and bilge as well as laundering all bedding, rugs and pillows. We changed the oil and filter as well as the transmission fluid. Big on our list is replacing the macerator pump which has now “crapped out.” You will notice that we are not posting pictures of all of these activities as our hands are usually too grimy and wet to hold a camera.
We rented a car for the weekend of 2/6 to 2/8 and went all over. We started locally in the Marathon area and took an excursion boat out to Pigeon Key which is perched under the Seven Mile Bridge. It was used as a dormitory area for the workers who built the Flagler East Coast Railroad from 1908 to 1912 and then for the bridge tenders and painters who kept it maintained until the Labor Day hurricane of 1935 destroyed the RR bridge. Interestingly, all the housing structures have endured through countless storms with its Conch architecture unlike the multi-million dollar coastal homes which are regularly decimated. Pigeon Key is now run as a non-profit organization with educational opportunities for all.
We also toured Crane Point Nature Center, a 63 acre site with nature trails, a butterfly meadow, wild bird hospital with Dr. Quack presiding, the George Adderley Bahamian house built of “tabby” in the early 1900’s when this area was jungle ,and a history museum. In the midst of the Keys development, it is special to find a piece of the real FL Keys. We ended Friday with a great dinner at Key Colony Inn with Charlie and Jeannette from “Highlander.”
We will be journeying to Miami on Saturday for an opera and will be touring the Bill Baggs State Park, the Fairchild Tropical Gardens and Vizcaya on Sunday.
