Leaving Marathon 2019

     We are leaving the Marathon vortex.
 
 The vortex is the tendency of boaters to come to Marathon and never leave. We are leaving to head back to our summer home in Mystic, CT. Again. Starting our 9th return trip. People say it's still winter up there and we tell them it takes us until May to get there and, although they're confused, they can accept that weather.

     We did a lot this winter season although winter is to a different standard than we used to know. While most of the country had a difficult winter, ours was warmer than usual. A lot of 80 degrees. A lot of 'highest temp. in the country' days and only a few cool periods or rough northers. Not hard to take.

     I was involved in raising money for the local Kid's Bike Fund with auctioneer Mike Barber again. A new record amount was raised and a new high in the number of bikes purchased and given to the area children was achieved. Strange to think it all started with the idea of donating a couple of Waterway Guide cruising guides a few years ago to getting cruisers to donate more than a hundred items to be auctioned at a live auction.

     I also started volunteering to be a tour guide/trolley driver at Crane Point Hammock Nature Center in December. Once a week I would take two tours around the property for about 90 minutes each. I would tell them about the history and ecology of the hammock and the people who owned the property in the past. I got to talk to a number of tourists from the northern parts of the U.S. as they tried to escape their winter weather. Education and entertainment were my twin goals and I had fun doing it. Got a fair amount of tips, too. Those were turned over to the Foundation.

     Mike, Heather and Cobbe visited us for a week at Christmas after we had flown to NYC for his first birthday at the beginning of December. Interesting development period for him. Just started to walk, then standing up on his own without pulling himself up, then running around like crazy.

     We flew home to Connecticut for a doctor visit in January and was I given another three months to live. Hope to keep those piling up. We also took that visit as an opportunity to visit with Cobbe, Heather and Mike, seeing them for a third time this winter, before coming back to Marathon. We were two miles from home (in Marathon) on the airport shuttle when we were rear-ended by a huge dump truck, the construction semi type. The shuttle van was stopped for traffic for a while before we were struck. The van was tossed at least 50 feet, with the brakes on. We could smell the burned brakes as we gathered our wits after the impact. Carol thought we were

on fire. The truck driver came out of his vehicle with his cell phone earbuds still in. Distracted driving. We were a bit sore for a few days and Carol had a bump on the back of her head but we were lucky, given the size of the truck. We were sitting next to the window that did not shatter. Other passengers were not so lucky but they also had no significant injuries. We settled with the insurance company a week or so later and got a few bucks.

     I volunteered again to be a beer puller for the Celtic Fest at the park for two days. Somehow I became an expert on ciders and other beers when, in fact, I know nothing about beer and little about hard ciders. Looking and sounding authoritative goes a long way it seems. Being able to BS on ones feet is also a required skill. Helped at Crane Point as well.

     So now we're leaving Marathon tomorrow (2-16-19) in what looks to be a nice weather window. Hope it holds. Planning to go offshore all the way to Fort Pierce in one overnight shot. Plan to visit Gelato in Velcro Beach, too.

     We'll see what the future holds for us. Short and long term.