Channel entrance to Boot Key Harbor/Marathon and bascule bridge. Frank and Lisa on M/V Gnatnoop arriving to mooring field.The new reefer system is ordered and we will spend another week in Marathon awaiting its delivery. We are managing by putting a layer of highly technical boat insulation (car sun shade) on top of the freezer box for the refer items. Being creative and adaptive is a major requirement for peaceful living aboard.
At least most of the really weird "characters" at the City Marina departed, which decreases the entertainment value, in addition to the waiting lines for showers and laundry. Bobby had no worries about losing Jenny to some boat guy here, as these guys are on the edge of just about everything. Now, when we sail through Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, it might be a different story (if she can get past the nautical outfits).
Lisa and Frank (M/V Gnatnoop) spent a few days in Marathon this last week moored next to us. We discovered $1 taco Tuesdays at the Hurricane with Happy Hour drink prices making for a pleasant evening (specials start after 1800 or 6pm, so don't bother getting there earlier).
Today, we had a private tour (only because we were the only ones) of Pigeon Key. Pigeon Key is 2 miles off Marathon/Vaca Key. It was used as a construction camp when Henry Flagler (partner in Standard Oil with John Rockefeller) was building a railroad down the East Coast of Florida and all the way to Key West in the early 1900s. A brilliant man with the vision to bring people to this American wilderness. He would bring the railroad so far, build a huge, luxury hotel and then add all the power, water, government buildings, etc required to support the hotel and the town he built next to it. Of course, he knew he could get rich folks up North to come to the tropical South for the winter. Thus, the start of most cities along Florida's East Coast and the homes of the wealthy predominately in these areas.
Now, the part about taking the railroad from Miami to Key West was about business. Key West is the closest US port to Cuba and the Caribbean. Ships coming into Key West could offload after a short run and the Flagler railroad would bring the cargo up north. Not only did Henry Flagler use his own money to finance all of this, he oversaw most of the details. How would the East Coast of Florida look today without the impact of Henry Flagler?
The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 wiped out portions of the railroad (this storm has the lowest barometric pressure reading recorded of any storm in the world, ever), the state bought the railroad line and made it into US1 (opened in 1938). Pigeon Key's historical buildings are restored and mainly used as a marine camp for kids. You can walk the 2.2 miles along the old roadway/rail bridge to the island or take a boat from the visitor center. There is also a movie about Henry Flagler and a museum on the island. By 1982, the new US1 was completed, with the Seven-Bridge over the ocean, starting at Marathon/Vaca Key and ending at Bahia Honda Key. This was the bridge during the car/helicopter chase scene towards the end of the movie "True Lies".
Hydration stops were undertaken as we walked the few miles back to the City Marina following the Pigeon Key tour. From the various "Tiki Hut" bars bayside (Florida Bay side of the island), we watched the high speed drag boats warming up for tomorrow's race (bayside, through the old/new bridges to oceanside, and back). Then, another colorful sunset and the rising of a full moon.
At least most of the really weird "characters" at the City Marina departed, which decreases the entertainment value, in addition to the waiting lines for showers and laundry. Bobby had no worries about losing Jenny to some boat guy here, as these guys are on the edge of just about everything. Now, when we sail through Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, it might be a different story (if she can get past the nautical outfits).
Lisa and Frank (M/V Gnatnoop) spent a few days in Marathon this last week moored next to us. We discovered $1 taco Tuesdays at the Hurricane with Happy Hour drink prices making for a pleasant evening (specials start after 1800 or 6pm, so don't bother getting there earlier).
Today, we had a private tour (only because we were the only ones) of Pigeon Key. Pigeon Key is 2 miles off Marathon/Vaca Key. It was used as a construction camp when Henry Flagler (partner in Standard Oil with John Rockefeller) was building a railroad down the East Coast of Florida and all the way to Key West in the early 1900s. A brilliant man with the vision to bring people to this American wilderness. He would bring the railroad so far, build a huge, luxury hotel and then add all the power, water, government buildings, etc required to support the hotel and the town he built next to it. Of course, he knew he could get rich folks up North to come to the tropical South for the winter. Thus, the start of most cities along Florida's East Coast and the homes of the wealthy predominately in these areas.
Now, the part about taking the railroad from Miami to Key West was about business. Key West is the closest US port to Cuba and the Caribbean. Ships coming into Key West could offload after a short run and the Flagler railroad would bring the cargo up north. Not only did Henry Flagler use his own money to finance all of this, he oversaw most of the details. How would the East Coast of Florida look today without the impact of Henry Flagler?
The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 wiped out portions of the railroad (this storm has the lowest barometric pressure reading recorded of any storm in the world, ever), the state bought the railroad line and made it into US1 (opened in 1938). Pigeon Key's historical buildings are restored and mainly used as a marine camp for kids. You can walk the 2.2 miles along the old roadway/rail bridge to the island or take a boat from the visitor center. There is also a movie about Henry Flagler and a museum on the island. By 1982, the new US1 was completed, with the Seven-Bridge over the ocean, starting at Marathon/Vaca Key and ending at Bahia Honda Key. This was the bridge during the car/helicopter chase scene towards the end of the movie "True Lies".
Hydration stops were undertaken as we walked the few miles back to the City Marina following the Pigeon Key tour. From the various "Tiki Hut" bars bayside (Florida Bay side of the island), we watched the high speed drag boats warming up for tomorrow's race (bayside, through the old/new bridges to oceanside, and back). Then, another colorful sunset and the rising of a full moon.
Jenny and Bobby on old railroad/US1 with new highway/Seven-Mile Bridge to the left. Historic home on Pigeon Key.
