We went out on Ship O' Fools, once again! We all decided to try something new out, and made a heading for Molasses Key. It's a little, tiny island south of the Seven Mile Bridge. It worked out that we took Hilary and Charles' trimaran (with a 2 foot draft) because our boat would have never made it anywhere close! We were able to drop anchor right next to the little beach there and play in the sun all day!
There were some ripping currents running through the channels, so swimming was a little difficult, if not impossible, at times. To get Mckinley to shore to play, I tied her off on a leash that was fastened around my waste. For the most part, she was able to make her way through the current on her own, other times though, she would have been swept out to see. Key West would have found a wet and angry Fluff on their shores! It definitely wiped her out though!
We ended up having such a great time, we all decided we wanted to stay overnight. We had a full moon, great weather, and low winds. Couldn't have been any better. Except maybe for the congregation of Cormerants (a local seabird) on the island. They apparently use the heavily forested mangroves to spend their nights - and they make low, guttural croaks throughout the night. Sounds similar to the Colorado River toad...only louder. Despite the acoustic demonstration, it was a beautiful night!
Bright full moon shot!
We spotted about a dozen large rays in the water, and even a couple sharks. We couldn't get any good pictures of them due to the currents though. Dave managed to find a beautiful conch, a sea snail. In the Keys, conch's are a big deal. They're used for food, musical instruments, decoration, and is the Florida Key's (aka, the Conch Republic, as they like to be known) symbol. Although the Conch Republic never REALLY receded from the U.S., the Key's likes to maintain the belief of recession in order to identify with the 'concerns that motivated the original protest against what they view as an "unresponsive" central government taking action without considering all of the implications'. The Conch Republic celebrates their Independence Day on April 23, entitled ""Sovereign State of Mind," seeking only to bring more "Humor, Warmth, and Respect" to a world in sore need. They're hippies, in short.
Finally, here's a shot of the infamous Hilary and Charles. He's Greek, and she's a social butterfly. Together, they make a fun and quirky duo!
Wow that sounds awesome! Wish we could have go there with you all! I always looked at those little keys and wanted to get up in there between them for a night!!!!!
ReplyDeleteIt was a blast - we loved being so isolated out their! However, either one of our boats would have been impossible (or at the very best, a heart attack in the making) for us to navigate anywhere close to the islands. If you two ever make it back here, that should be on our list of things to attempt!
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