Marathon – We rent a car and explore



Matt is being quizzed on names of fish



The day didn’t dawn very well, it was overcast and spitting rain but we decided to rent a car anyway. We drove to Crane Point which is a nature conservatory, an island of green surrounded by houses and other development. They specialized in saving injured birds and they even had two that were blind from cataracts and were being hand fed daily since they couldn’t see their food. Most were recovering from broken wings or other ailments that would heal leading to their eventual release back into the wild. As we entered the park, the sky cleared, the sun came out and the air warmed up into the 80’s – a spectacular day. It’s an educational area with a museum that simulates being in a coral reef. The trails have many stops along the way explaining the native trees and animals. In all a very interesting experience, I would highly recommend a stop here if you’re in the area. Ann was careful to discuss everything with Matthew since part of his education requirement is to learn about Florida and its flora and fauna along with its history.

Time for fun too!

We stopped for lunch at LazyDays, a really great restaurant on 11th street. I had the best fish sandwich so far on this trip, just delicious! The food was great and the service was excellent and the view was of the setting sun – what more to want?

The next stop was reprovisioning at the Publix supermarket which is huge. The crowd there was definitely of the grayer variety but the business was brisk, everybody had the same mission. Our dink was filled to overflowing but we made it back to the boat without a mishap.

Butterflies outside in January!

We’ll do more exploring Wednesday. It’s currently 75 tonight at 8:15 pm, very pleasant. And, there’s been no insects on our trip south of Miami so far, not expected but welcomed. We’re sitting in the cockpit with everything opened up and there are no mosquitoes or flies or any insects at all, we’ll take it.