TEXAS RANGER: March 2017

We are having a wonderful time in Marathon! The weather is definitely warm...not winter-like at all, with the exception of a very few days in which the temperature did not quite get out of the 70's. Most days we range from lower 70's to lower 80's, with lots of sun and modest breeze. While not quite as laid-back as the Bahamas, this part of the county is headed there. We have seen many friends and met many new friends, and have enjoyed the great marina, with very substantial docks. The last time we were here was in August, 2011, on our way (just ahead of Hurricane Irene) from Stuart, FL to Corpus Christi, TX, when we spent one night in this marina, topped off the fuel and water, ate in the outstanding restaurant, and then headed west!
We have enjoyed touring the large mooring field and anchorage in Boot Key Harbor, adjacent to our marina, and have made side trips north to Islamorada to see former Corpus Christi friends, and south to Key West and a few other smaller keys to be tourists. In Key West, the advertised "southernmost point in the continental U.S." (not quite accurate, but almost) is 90 miles from Cuba, 160 miles from Miami, and 128 miles from the nearest Wal-Mart. Harry Truman, Ernest Hemingway, and many other notables spent a great deal of their time there, and "Papa" did his most prolific work while in Key West. It also marks "Mile 0" on U.S. Highway 1, is called the "Conch Republic" in recognition of the great influx of Bahamians in its early history, is home to Jimmy Buffet's original Margaritaville, and is a place where almost everything is considered "protected", from the roosters and iguanas that aimlessly wander the streets to some very unusual residents who do the same.