Day 116, Year 10: Dolphin Day
Date: Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Weather: Sunny, Winds NE 10, Temp in the Low 70’s F
Latitude: 24 41.695 N
Longitude: 081 07.093 W
Location: Anchored Just Outside Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, Florida
We got a radio message from Sea Turtle this morning telling us that we were coming up on a pod of dolphins. Mark and I both headed out on deck just in time to see them playing at the bow of the boat. But as soon as we arrived, the dove down and came up a safe distance away. Not as good for photos, but it was so much fun watching them. They were snorting when they came up for air and once one of them squeaked. He sounded just like a rubber bathtub toy dolphin. We have often had dolphins dive under the bow of the boat, but I think this is the first time we have had a pod travel beside us, frolicking the entire time, for such a long time. What a special treat.
We arrived at the entrance to Boot Key Harbor, put down the anchor, had lunch, launched the dinghy, and started the almost four mile dinghy ride to the far end of Boot Key Harbor. That is where we could pay $5 to leave the dinghy while we explored on land. It was less than a mile from the dinghy dock to Crane Point Museum & Nature Center, so off we went. We enjoyed the 1.5 mile trek out to the water on the north side of Marathon and then back to the Museum. On the way we learned the name of most of the lowland hardwood trees. And I finally learned the difference between a Poisonwood tree and Gumbo Limbo. We walked through the Wild Bird Center which is a sanctuary for injured birds, down Adderley Lane to see the oldest home in the Keys, and eventually found our way back to the starting point. It was 5 o’clock by this time, so we had to hustle to make a stop at Publix for a few groceries and then motor back to Windbird before dark. It is slow going in these Florida ‘No Wake’ zones, but we made it out of the harbor just in time to watch the sun go down. Mark dropped me off at Windbird and then he went over to Sea Turtle to deliver the bread and milk that we had bought at the store for Lynda and Lee. While Mark was there, the three of them went over the two options for getting to Fort Myers Beach. Option #1 was to leave in the morning and do an overnight, getting us there from the next front hits. Option #2 was to make a couple of stops in the Everglades on the way north and wait out the strong northerlies there. That scenario would get us to Fort Myers Beach on Sunday. They decided on Option #1, so in the morning we will head directly to Fort Myers Beach. Mark called his family to warn them of our arrival time and hopefully we’ll be getting together with them on Friday.
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| 150203 Day 116 Florida, USA–Dolphins and Crane Museum & Nature Center |
