The Keys to Paradise....

One of our favorite stops once we get down into the Keys is the Upper Keys Sailing Club. We pulled the anchor in Jewfish Hole and set our sights 25 miles to the north. The day was beautiful, with mostly sunny skies scattered with puffy white clouds. The wind was, of course in our face, so we weren't able to sail.
The Intercoastal Waterway is a smooth ride up through the Keys. It's beautiful to ride through the mangroves and feel cut off from the rest of the world, well except for the mosquitoes.  Ray and I crank up the radio and listen to our summer playlist. My brother usually supplies us with new songs to try.  This year's song is "Cold Aint for Me". With the sun baking down at around 87, it is a good thing that I don't like the cold. lol
Ray called the Upper Keys Sailing Club to see if we could tie up to their T dock. We were surprised to learn that there is a new dockmaster. Joel and his wife Kacey are from Alabama and came down aboard their sailboat to work in the Keys.

What a friendly and helpful couple. They have their hands full with their new assignment which was apparent because they were supposed to have Tuesday and Wednesday off, however, they were hard at work. It seems they had just started on the previous week and were still getting to know the area and the Sailing Club.
We greeted them as they caught the lines and helped us tie Nu Trix up. I had to walk up to the parking lot and meet the guy from Enterprise Rentals. As much as I love walking, we needed to get to West Marine and get a new invertor and a mascerator pump. That is NOT a pump you want to have break down. West Marine is quite a hike so a car is helpful. Enterprise is a great place to get a car. They always upgrade me and the cars are really clean and drive well. The guy always smiles when I try my spanish out on him. I either told him we had arrived by boat or that we are castaways living on the water?? My spanish is not very good. He always smiles though. haha
When I got back to Nu Trix, in my nice black car, Ray had the A/C turned on and it felt soooo great. I also realized that I had not looked in the mirror in a couple of days and that may have been why the guy at Enterprise was smiling. Maybe I did say I was a castaway because that is how I looked. At least I remembered to put on pants! I promptly showered and washed away many days of salt and sea. I was a new woman! I even dried my hair! Let me tell you, I know how to live it up now and again!

Brisa, our seafaring kitty, takes about three hours to get over being mad at us for turning on the engine. We figured we would leave her alone and go in search of some fish.  There is a great restaurant that we found back in 2013 when my sister and brother-in-law were with us. Back then we rolled into the parking lot at 8:50 and realized that they closed at 9. We started to leave when a server came to the door and told us to come in. We said we didn't want to keep them open later than they were supposed to be and she assured us that it wasnt a problem. Well were we soooo glad that she beckoned us back. The food is amazing and the service spot on! So, here we are back again in 2017.
If you are in Islamorada, the Shrimp Shack is definitely a great place to get supper fresh fish. They come with hush puppies and homemade banana bread. It is very reasonable also. I ordered the scallops and they just melted in my mouth. I had a slightly religious experience. I kept trying to figure out what the amazing nutty flavor was in the rice. I gave a bite to Ray and he laughed and said, "Ummmm that would be butter, dear!" I guess a little over a month off of dairy and I had forgotten the yummy creaminess that is butter! I'm usually careful to ask, but I forgot. There's a reason that I am dairy free and it is not by choice. Nothing friends, nothing, tastes as good as the real thing, but heartburn, bloating and headaches are bad enough to make me pretend that they alternatives are just as good.... bother!!!! After we were stuffed and I took a preventative pill for my adventures with butter, we hit the road and headed back to our boat. I had been a long six days away from land and it was catching up to us fast. We barely got back to Nu Trix before our eyes were closing for the night. Brisa had finally forgiven us and curled up between us to snooze. What a great night's sleep.

The next day was a mad rush to get all of the things completed that were on our lists. We needed to re-provision, get water for our tanks, wash the sheets clean of mosquito carcasses.... bleck.... and get all the other clothes cleaned and put away. We also were looking for a harness for Brisa to keep her safe and make her hate us even more. I swear she looks at us like the Chucky doll from those crazy horror movies. I am sure it is all my imagination.........  Anyway, we had our coffee aboard and then hit the road to get all of it finished. The storms kept rolling through and we were kind of glad to be on land with the wind blowing through so hard and rain pounding like it would never rain again. Ray suggested that we take a break and find a place to eat. Well, I was all for that, so we put in restaurant finder on the phone and Voila, a place on the water where we could get fish. I never get tired of mahi mahi! We ate on the water where the snorkeling and diving boats leave. We both had the Keys Mahi sandwich which was beyond wonderful. It came on coconut bread with mango salsa. Ray got the mango slaw to go with his, but I wanted sweet potatoes.

The restaurant had a great atmosphere and the wait staff was superb. We will definitely come back next year. The chores were calling so we paid the tab and left to finish what was keeping us from crossing to the Bahamas. We topped off our diesel, stored our provisions, put away all of our clean clothes, tried to coax Brisa to love us again with several little catnip laced mice..... jury is still out, though she did come down off of the shelf and proceed to lay on the counter in the galley. She knows she is not allowed there but she sort of gave me a "What" look when I started to say something to her. Cats!!!!  Finally we were in a good position to leave the next day. We didn't have to rush because we would only be going 15 miles up the ICW to Pumpkin Key. We scanned through the TV channels, read a little, checked in with family and finally headed the call of our bunk. Brisa was feeling better because she spent most of the night bouncing off of the walls, grabbing our feet under the blanket, crawling under the blanket to explore and basically making it slightly difficult to sleep. I finally yelled at her and she gave me a "meow"...... I'm thinking it was so naughty kitty language, but she settled down and we all got some rest.
The next day was bright and beautiful. Kids from the sailing club were all over the little cove in their little hobie cats and kayaks. One of the parents has a small speed boat and was giving the younger kids a thrill ride on a large inflatable. It was the kind of day that you could just find a nice piece of sand, throw down a blanket and read the day away. We, however, had to get the car back, settle up with Joel for our time on the dock, get Rays obligatory bag of ice and throw the lines. We took our time as our bodies were already adjusting to Island Time and making us slower to move and lazy in our plans for the day.

We drifted over to Snooks Bayside and had yet another fish sandwich, took in the glorious water views, chatted with one another and dreamily let the upcoming trip form exciting destinations in our minds. What a great afternoon. Ray decided we may as well get back to the boat and prepare to leave. We went up to the clubhouse and talked with Joel and Kacey about our plans and listened as they talked of their hopes to sail for the Bahamas within two years. Back on Nu Trix, they helped us push off of the dock and into the cove. Nu Trix was on a heading to Pumpkin Key in hopes of a crossing through Angelfish Creek the next morning.

We dropped the anchor and put up the mosquito nets around the hatches. We read and watched the storms as they formed to the north of us. As it usually does, the weather closed in and we had to close the hatches. It rained and the wind picked up, but we were protected in our anchorage. It was a little stuffy with the hatches closed but our fans kept it from being unbearable. Sleep finally came and with it dreams of my 7th year crossing the Gulfstream to the Bahamas. I get nervous and excited at the same time. The ocean, though beautiful, is NOT to be taken lightly or she will take you. I trust in my captain and in myself so much more than I did way back in 2007! Whatever may come, we will be on our way to the Bahamas, because though boats are safe at harbor, that is not what boats were made for...... to adventure!!!!