JACKIE B III Going Loopy

  There was a lot more to do in Key Largo beyond diving the reefs. We stayed at Marina Del Mar and had three pools with hot tubs to choose from. There was pickleball nearby that we took advantage of.  Mike of course found a sand bar to Kite on.  I didn’t tag a long.  Stayed at the pools  with shade and not so gusty. This photo is of him returning from the sand bar. On a calm day, Mike led a group of us to the sandbar where he kites. We had a blast standing in the warm water looking for Eagle rays and turtles. We even saw a nurse shark. The original African Queen from the Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn is berthed in the canal at the resort we are staying at. Many people take an excursion on her. So she went past our boat daily. These Loopers on Andromeda are from Lundington, Michigan so I’m hoping we will run into them again. It was pretty easy to find other loopers to dine with as anyone traveling on the outside of the Keys stops in at Marina Del Mar. Our...

  Our Voyage  “Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and all that move in them,” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭69‬:‭34‬ ‭NIV‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.69.34.NIV

We left Boca Chica Marina in Key West , but didn’t get too far.  We went out to Wester Sambo  Reef for a wonderful dive. We did see a shark and a sea turtle but we didn’t capture them on the video. We had a guest when we surface. He really didn’t want to leave us. But he finally decided to take off as we dropped off the mooring buoy, We returned to Marlin Bay Marina, definitely our favorite on the Loop.   This is the actual view from our slip. We had dinner with Looper friends, Shirley and  Tony from Puffin. We all played Pickle Ball too but moved on in a couple of days. It was great to see them again. Our Voyage    “You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭8‬:‭6‬-‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

  Our last guests to visit us in Key West were Rich and Kay, now from Holland Michigan but Rich also worked with Mike in the Pentagon. They were treated to beautiful sunsets at our marina. And Mike took Rich paddleboarding around the lagoon at our marina. We took them to the southern most point. And to Mallory Point. There was a beautiful cruise ship in port. We watched the street performers, but none of us were asked to participate this time. But we did see a beautiful sunset they are famous for. We may not miss the frequent flyovers as the very loud fighter jets landed at the airfield right next to the marina.  But we must remember it is the sound of freedom! And it really was pretty cool. We made some new sailboat friends on Heron Now while staying at Boca Chica. They have birds onboard, just like the pirates. Hopefully we will run into them again as they also plan to return next winter. We will miss the daily national anthem while living on a military post. We LOVE Key Wes...

Our next set of visitors came from Michigan.  Cindy and John were up for anything so that’s what we did! Their first day was a rainy day but that didn’t stop us. We had breakfast at Blue Heaven. It was once a bordello then a boxing venue where matches were occasionally refereed by Ernest Hemingway. Today it’s unique restaurant with chickens and cats wandering around the courtyard. We were lucky to get a table with a roof! After the weather cleared, we  went back to the southern most point. There, Mike tried to point even further south. There were beautiful fishing vessels off shore. John received a special welcome at the Butterfly Garden. The butterflies were abundant and colorful. The Sunset Celebration at Mallory Square features many street performers.  I was lucky enough to be chosen out of the crowd to be a juggler's assistant. This video shows snippets of the knife throwing part of the act. Even though I missed getting the knives to him, we parted as friends. Cindy a...

Mike and I had some time between guests to explore.  This time went out on our paddle boards. This was my first of many encounters with a nurse shark.  The are basically more afraid of me that I am of them…Now. We paddled out of the marina under the bridge and over to what some people call the sub pens.  They aren’t really but it makes for a nice tall tale to explain the 7- 20 foot deep ditches.  We think the navy was getting material for the runways at Boca Chica.  The water in the ditches is really clear and there are turtles, Barracuda and thousands of fish you can see even from the surface. We made plans to bring all our guests out here with the dinghy since it is so close to the marina. We brought Mikes cousins out first on their first day. Then we brought them to a Sip and Salsa night at the Navy Community center on Sigsbee Island. We’re the four people on the right in the photo. I was excited to bring them down to the wharf. Here they are: Barbie and John...