Marathon Week Three

Another fun and eventful week in Marathon.  We've met new people, enjoyed the very hot sunny days, explored new places, learned more about wildlife first hand and can't believe we only have one week left of this paradise.
We were fortunate enough to meet some really nice people from Minnesota who invited us over for a pool day.  They have a beautiful home right on the Atlantic Ocean with an observation deck that overlooks all of Marathon. The kids enjoyed there time in the pool with Buddy (Ellias) and Kina.  There baby sister, Via is only six months old and I loved playing with her.  Holding her was bittersweet as our niece was born this week in Michigan and we feel so far away. Stephanie (Craig's step sister) gave birth to AnnaBelle on Tuesday, Feb. 1st.  She's healthy and everyone is doing well. 

 We had a fun "Looper" get-together with over 50 people attending at Sombrero Marina.  Pete, Anna, Gloria, Jim and "Bama Belle's" Charlie and Brandy. 

 A picture of half the group that joined for a potluck and fun stories.

 The ride home was cold and a bit wet as we all navigated through the anchorages for a 30 minute ride home in the dark with our friends. 

 Daddy's big helper, Jaxon, takes his job very seriously.  Whenever we need water in the boat he is the first one to strap on a life jacket and run for the spigot.

 Looking deep in the woods for crab pot markers.  Picture to come of our new-found collection.

 Man-o-war is a jellyfish that is very profound in the area.  On a short dinghy ride we saw over 20 of them with very long tentacles.

 At Sombrero Beach we met a friendly Macaw named Yogi who could wave hello.

A Manatee with her calf were at our marina this week (and several more were spotted days after).  We were in the dinghy and boated right up next to them and were able to touch the calf.

 Ryann caught another hermit crab on the beach and named him TeeBo. He joined our other hermit crabs, Emily and Zack and within 10 minutes TeeBo moved out of his shell into a new one and then out of that one into another.  It was great to watch and even Emily decided to move shells (first time in 6 months).

 Just off an island outside of Sister Creek we found a horseshoe crab. Craig is holding the female while the male is holding on to her back end.  He said it was much heavier than he anticipated.

 The kids are loving all of the time with BooBoo our friends Pomeranian.

 Ryann caught many fish one evening.  There's a boat near us that keeps his underwater lights on at night and all the fish go crazy around it.  Craig took a few fish, cut it up so it was bloody and aimed the pole over to where locals have caught shark. No luck yet, but he's not giving up!

 Jaxon is the dockmasters dog. Spelled the same way as our Jaxon, this dog could give a high five for a treat!

 Jim caught a fish and Peter and Peter were jealous!  FYI - Craig's real name is Peter 

 The City of Marathon held a Fun Festival for kids that had many activities and booths for a fun-filled day. Free food, arts and crafts, face painting, animals to pet, live music, etc. This friendly pelican loved kids to pet him.

 Jaxon and Buddy both have dad's in the carpentry trade. 

 Kids made Home Depot bug house crafts from wood.

The kids were able to hold a fire hose.

Another trip to Sunset Grille on a very hot day.  We were joined by fellow looper friends, Blue Yonder, Crawdad with their daughter and son-in-law, Bama Belle and Paul and Cindy from Bulldog Sally.

 Everyone went swimming and had a cocktail poolside.  It was refreshing after our bike ride over.  We see Pete and Anna almost everyday and we all agree they feel like family now!

 The girls holding hands underwater! 

 The Parrent girls play in the pool.

 Danielle and Craig put together would be DDRAIG...the name of this vessel!

 Dennis, the dockmaster came over for a lesson on meteorites and impactites.  It was amazing to hold something from so many many many years ago that helped to form our world.

 The boys relaxing on a dinghy ride...

 ...while the girls drove!

 Pigeon Key was a six mile round trip scenic bike ride.  The little town housed the workers of the Seven Mile Bridge back in the early nineteen hundreds when the first bridge was built. 

 The view of the bridge going down into the town showed a lot of history.

 On the left is the new Seven Mile Bridge that connects the Keys and center is the old bridge which started as a train bridge built by Henry Flagler.

 Jaxon and Buddy playing at the park for the homeschoolers get together. 

 Stranded with their dinghy out of gas, our friends, Adrian, Anna and Gloria found us on the Sombrero Beach.

 We towed them back to the docks after a walk around a nearby island.

 The space between Jaxon's tooth is large enough to hold a pretzel in it.

 Going to check on the kids one evening we found Jaxon sleeping in Ryanns bed. You can see Morgans leg in there too. They are best friends and play, eat and sleep together!  Everyone is sleeping good each night after all of the fun in the sun! 

One more week in Marathon to go!