Thursday, May 22, 2014

Falling Quickly Into The Routine

Lignumvitae Key Mooring
N24°54.280’, W080°42.338’

It hasn’t taken us long to fall right into the old Cruising routine…  Only this time, we’re not in a rush to get anywhere.  I think I’m going to like this new regime… 

Our first morning at Lignumvitae Key was already a lesson in going with the flow.  

Plan:  hang out with Holly and Christian from Talli-Ho while we check out the State Park and maybe have some lunch ashore on Indian Key.  

Reality: We waved goodbye to Talli-Ho as they motored past us on their way to Rodriguez Key where they hope to stage for their Gulf Stream Crossing.  So, left with the day to ourselves we began to look at the options.  We found out that the State Park only does tours Fri-Sun.  This being Thursday, left us with not much to do.  So, we packed up the boat and prepared to get underway to our next anchorage…

Zoom Zoom WIDE OPEN!
When we went up into the cockpit to start the engine, we looked around at the beautiful water surrounding us and then looked at one another… What are we doing leaving this place!!!???  Let’s splash the dinghy and go explore!  So we DID!


I’m not sure how many ways there are to describe the beautiful waters of the Keys, but I’m running out of ideas!  They are just so gorgeous!  We ya-hoo’d as we ran the dinghy full tilt across the waters so clear, we could have counted the blades of seagrass on the bottom, if we weren’t zipping along at high speed….












Talli-Ho Let's GO!
We took Matecumbe channel to the Lower Matecumbe bridge and passed beneath into the Atlantic.  We looked out and low and behold… we could see Talli-Ho motoring along in the near Hawks Channel.  What are the odds of that!??  


We turned and motored along the highway to pass back into the Bayside beneath the Upper Matecumbe bridge… 

















Lookey Bucket 101
As we motored slowly along, we saw a ray gliding gracefully beneath us.  We slowed down and got the lookey bucket out to see if we could get a better view, but the ray took off!


Forever on the lookout to see one of these gliding underwater...
We continued on and found the dock at the entrance to the Lignumvitae Botanical Garden.  We were hopeful that the information we had read was incorrect and that they would be open today...


But even though we did find a park ranger and the doors to the home there open, he was just doing some chores.  

















The Grounds
He allowed us a quick peek into the home however and we found it to be very much like the many light keepers homes we’ve seen along the way.  


The outside of the house was interesting enough as the walls seem to be made from coral.  We looked around and sadly left.  It would have been fun to have walked the garden pathways, but we will have to suffice with internet information this time. 




Dos Libras moored just beyond the point
We got back into the dinghy and motored along the shore in shallow waters where we saw another ray and a huge turtle. 


Our day ended with our first transom showers of the summer and the discovery that deodorant soap turns to wax when it encounters salt water.  Must get some Ivory soap at the next grocery stop!  The water was super salty and the perfect temperature for floating behind the boat.  I could float without even trying.  












Jezabelle is always hogging the deck chairs...
We enjoyed yet another serene sundown with our dinner and went to bed early.  It's so nice to be able to just relax and go with the flow...  

Everything is working nicely and we are taking time to do whatever pops into our heads.  Not a bad Routine to follow if you ask me...

3 comments:

  1. This now a must stop on my trip. Thanks for the pictures.

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  2. Not a bad routine at all ... glad you "broke away" from Marathon!

    ReplyDelete