October = Key West

Port of the Islands to Marathon

We headed out of Port of the Islands for good the first week of October.  It was hard to leave all the friends we had made there behind but it was time to move on. We made a weekend stop over in Marathon grabbing a mooring ball in boot key harbor.   This was a nice weekend stop over in Marathon before heading down toward Key West to pick up our good friends Chris and Michelle.  You might remember them from our first gulf crossing and the naming ceremony.  If not check out this video

Marathon to Stock Island

We found a spot to anchor between Stock Island and Boca Chica.  We had read that the depths were tight so we jumped in Shelby and used our new depth finder from Bill and Angie who were in our July Cruising section of our summer cruising video. Did you miss it see below? We figured out the best place to anchor while we waited for Chris and Michele to land in Key West.  We settled on a deep hole just off the channel. ​

Stock Island to Marquesas

Finally they arrived and we headed in to pick them up and get them aboard.  While we prepared to pull out the next morning.  The boys got out in Shelby to play around.  Chris and Michele remember all the old  Journey and we were excited to share some of the new, with Shelby being a big improvement from before.  The next day we headed  down to the Marquesas where we fished, swam, and snorkeled.  But our favorite anchorage was at Boca Grande on the way back.  The beautiful white beach and the lone palm tree was picture perfect along with the blue clear water.  We were able to anchor close into shore and head in to check out the beach.  The sunset that night well just see for yourself. ​

Marquesas to Key West

Some winds drove us back to Key West a little early but after some adventures in getting our slip and disturbing the locals in the mooring field we found ourselves safely at the dock.  Many thanks to the City Marina at Garrison Bight for their hard work to fix a mistake.  I think the locals forgave us.  We set out to sight see along the docks and ended up at our favorite little spot in Key West the Sunset Tiki bar at the Galleon.  We watched the sun go down and said our goodbyes.

Fantasy Fest

Dee and I had a few days to rest before Fantasy Fest begins in Key West.  A wild ride is about to begin because Fantasy Fest kicks off with the Zombie Bike Ride from the airport all the way down Duval.  We did our best Zombie impersonations but I can only say Wow to the costumes we were about to see. ​

Next up is Tutu Tuesday which was a fun night and yes Dee had his own Tutu.   We saw some interesting costumes with tutus  and enjoyed hanging out with Chris and Rosie.  Then some friends from Naples joined us for the end of the week and the fun continued…..  

We heard the locals parade was the best and not to miss out.  The rain that evening kept us from being able to participate in the entire parade, but we jumped in about half way and enjoyed the fun. Then the last night arrived and we headed out to see the big parade.  The theme this year was In Tune But Off Key.  So we enjoyed lots of different types of music represented in the parade it was a blast!  Afterwards we partied into the night.

After Fantasy Fest Dee and I were ready some down time and recovery.  We found a little quiet area along the water to chill out and prepare for November and the last of our visitors in Key West before heading toward Marathon to visit some more friends and Thanksgiving with Jesse aboard Journey. ​