CRAZY MARLINS: More From Florida

Monday November 26- Super humid this morning and no breeze at all. I didn't go down to watch the sunrise because it was buggy. We loaded up because we are going on the Marathon Lady. We have been going out on this boat for years. We always have fun and get fish. We went out at 8:30, the 1/2 day trip...back at 12:30. As we made our way out to our first spot Jeff and I couldn't believe how flat the water was. We don't think we have ever seen it so flat. Didn't seem like an ocean, that's for sure.

We had quite a group and everyone caught some fish. We didn't get anything big but we had enough for a few meals. Oh and did I say we had a fun time.

We collected our fish, had them cleaned and headed for home. We had some lunch and I went to the beach. I didn't stay long, it was so hot.

Tuesday November 27-Today Jeff wanted to go over across the way to the bay side. He wanted to snorkel and look for lobster. We packed up and headed that way. We got the stuff down there and Jeff put on his gear. Just as that happened it started sprinkling. I found my way under a tree but the chairs got wet. Jeff stayed out there for a while but he said the visibility was bad. It seems the weather that has arrived also brought some wind and waves. He didn't stay in to long.

We went back home. The weather changed again, and now we have a cold front coming in. It still is far from cold. It doesn't take much down here to qualify for cold. We grabbed our sweatshirts and headed to Lor-e-lei's. On our way we ran in to stopped traffic. Looked it up and an accident. We waited through that one and was moving again. Before we knew it we were at a stand still again. It didn't take to long and we arrived at our spot. They had some live music. We just had drinks this time. We had our supper before leaving.

Wednesday November 28- It felt kind of chilly out there this morning, especially with the warm temperatures we've been having. I stayed in and did some catching up on indoor things. I ran in to town to get a few things at the store. With this cooler weather, we thought soup sounded good.

Thursday November 29- Winter's arrived at the keys. It still is nice but the temps have dropped and the wind is coming out of the north. Jeff had wanted to go out in the kayak this morning, but it was too cool for me. He went out and I stayed back. When he got back he said it was really rough out there. He also said he didn't have any bites. I'm glad I stayed back, hopefully tomorrow it will be nicer. We enjoyed the afternoon outside at our site. I love having my hammock up.

Jeff found a new spot he wanted to try for happy hour tonight. They have live music.We made our way to the Lighthouse Grill. Before going in we checked around outside.

It was a nice place, and the gal playing music, Emily Springsteen was really good. The only bad thing was there was one guy who didn't know the volume of his voice. It was so annoying.

Friday November 30-Our last full day here. It was still a bit cool but the sun was shining and the wind has died down. We picked up a lot of our outside stuff. We also took Ruby for a bike ride before loading them up. Then we took out the kayaks for the last time. The water had cooled off some but we got some bites and caught some fish. We had fun but didn't keep any fish this time.

View of the campground from our fishing spot.

This is the damage from the hurricane, taking a while to come back

After a couple hours on the water, we came back in and cleaned up the boats and finished packing up our stuff. We cleaned ourselves up and made our way to town to make Happy Hour at Marathon Grill & Ale house. Hadn't been there before. When we saw where it was we saw the pet store that we have visited before. We decided to take a peak inside the pet store first.

They had a couple friendly birds. One loved being petted. The white one surprised Jeff by flying over and landing on his arm. When the bird got off Jeff had battle scars. He couldn't get them to quit bleeding. I had to get band aids from them. We then went next door to participate in there happy hour.

They had live music. I thought it was happy music. They had a steel drum, not Jeff's favorite but they sounded really good. We both liked them. We stayed around for a bit and then home again.

Saturday December 1- Well today we have to hit the road. I was so hoping that the sunrise would be a good one. Oh boy was it. So glad I got to witness that. We finished packing up and hit the road. We were traveling north by 8:45. We had an easy trip this time. We made one stop at a rest area. We arrived at Lion Country Safari a little after noon. Jeff checked us in and they showed us to our site. We landed on site number 85. We set up our rig, then we got out some stuff to get the rest of our area together. We will be here a month so we might as well feel comfortable. I took Miss Maddyn's birthday card up to the outgoing mail. As I was walking up there I spotted Jeffrey and Maren pulling in. They came down after setting up. We had some drink and conversation. Before long it was time for supper. Both of us really didn't feel like cooking so we went to Outback for supper. We had a wonderful dinner and a swell time catching up.

Sunday December 2- I had a big list of things I needed to get done. First thing was to get the laundry caught up. I started the laundry here. I needed to wait to get some quarters. The office opened at 8. I went up got change and finished the wash using there laundry facility. Next I made an amazon order. Jeff had some things to get and then I got the kids Christmas pajama's ordered. We finished up some of our stuff outside. We even had time for a pool break.

Monday December 3- When we got up this morning it was foggy out there. I went to the post office to mail out the Christmas ornaments. Then I stopped at the store. I wanted to get my baking stuff purchased. While I was out Jeff went and found out what day they are giving the monkey's there Christmas gifts. We had purchased some tickets on cyber monday, but want to save then for the monkey thing. They are giving them there gifts on December 20. I hope we can wait that long. Spent some time up at the pool. Jeffrey and Maren came down for happy hour.

Tuesday December 4- Happy Birthday Maddyn and Katie. Justin called me this morning so I got to sing Happy Birthday to Maddyn. Seth called from Thailand and I got to sing to Katie. Jeff and I decided to go to a movie today. I wanted to stop at a few stores on the way so we left early. So first thing we did was do some shopping, I found some Christmas decorations on sale, and a couple things for Ruby I couldn't resist. Then we went across the street to Cheddars for lunch. First time we've ate here. Our lunch was good. Then on to the movie theater. We watched Bohemian Rhapsody. We both loved it. The popcorn was even good. Then we came back. First thing, get Ruby in her Christmas stuff.

Wednesday December 5- It's my birthday...60! Hard to believe. We went for breakfast. Jeff found a new spot to try. Keke's Cafe, it was alright. I think they messed up our order by giving ours to the table next to ours. We probably would go back because they had the best home fries and pancakes. Can't win them all. Then we went to Walmart. Jeff needed some things and so did I. Came home and my friend Judy called. Jeff was making pulled pork for supper and I made potato salad. We invited Jeffrey and Maren down to join us. It had cooled off so we sat inside to eat. Everything we had was so good. After dinner we had ice cream cake for dessert. It was a nice day. Maddyn even called to make me smile.

Thursday December 6- Woke up this morning to cooler temps. It was in the 40's this morning. I decided to get some work done around here. Jeff had a few things to do around here too. Our water pressure seems low again so he worked on that. I had to clean inside. We took the grill apart and cleaned it. Jeff wanted a haircut too. Then I sat down and finished quilting on my table runner. I just need to get fabric to bind it. The grand kids Christmas pajamas arrived so I have to get those packaged up and in the mail.

Friday December 7-Today we left early to get our car to a Chevy dealership, Jeff made an appointment at Roger Dean. We made our way over there. We planned to just wait while they did it.

We dropped off our car and walked to get a bite to eat for breakfast. We saw a Denny's just down the block, well 3 blocks. We had breakfast and then stopped at a few places as we made our way back to the dealership. We made it back a bit before 11. We sat to wait. Jeff went to check on it and they told him it was just about ready. They were just finishing up washing it. We were impressed. They even vacuumed it out. We left and made a couple more stops before getting home. I wanted to get Miss Ruby a water dish for her pen. She spills bowls. Then I needed fabric for binding. I found just what I needed. I even managed to come up with the perfect size box to ship the rest of Christmas in. When we got back that's what I did. I got the boxes wrapped up and labeled. Then I took them to the post office. I have all my Christmas shipped. So all I have to do is baking.....yeah! Well our day wasn't quite done yet. We had planned to go down to City Place in West Palm Beach to witness the snow and entertainment. Well we had quite a time getting down there. The traffic was bad. We arrived and found a parking garage and walked to City Place.

We did some walking around enjoying the lights and snow. It was a mess down there because they have the roads all tore up. The entertainment wasn't what we thought. They had something else setting up but we didn't stay for that. We did get to see Florida snow..... We have been waiting to hear from Seth and Katie, they are traveling home from Thailand. They made it safe to Chicago but are still going to miss Ashton's hockey game that took place at 2 o'clock today. They actually lost the first game. It was there first loss of the season. They had another game tonight that Seth and Katie were back for...this one they won. They will have another game tomorrow and one on Sunday.

Saturday December 8- We stayed around here today. I wanted to get that binding cut, pinned and sewn on. I got that done . It was a nice day to sit outside and get that done. I also had to call in my prescription in. Wanted to go to the pool but it clouded up and felt cool. So skipped that. We had plans to make our way to Carlin Park for an outdoor concert. We made our way down there. The weather looked a bit sketchy. We went through some rain on the way over. We met Amanda and Kip there. They are volunteers we work with at Jonathan Dickinson. We had a great evening. We did get rained on just a bit but we hung around and the show was so good. The company was great too.

While watching the show Seth kept us updated on Ashton's game. They are playing the team that beat them there first game. They are seeded #1 so to move on they have to beat them. They started off with a flurry. 2-0 ....we are winning. Then I get a text with a picture. Ashton took a skate to the knee. He won't be playing anymore tonight. Instead he will get stitches. Good thing one of the players dad is a doctor. The good news is they smoked them...7-0. They are moving on to the championship.

Sunday December 9- It is a warm one this morning. We woke up early to head over to Generation Church. We can't wait. The drive over was really good, not much traffic. We arrived and was greeted with a very warm welcome. Amanda and Kip met us there. The message was so good, right on point and the worship....awesome. Felt so good to be back.

After church we went for breakfast with Amanda and Kip. It gave us some time to visit and catch up on whats been going on in there lives. We also heard from Seth. They are on the way to the ice and the championship game. Ashton won't be able to play. He is upset about that but the coach made the decision. Just hard for a kid to watch from the bench. Good news they won and won big 7-1...way to go Bizzard!!!!

We spent the afternoon at home. I started baking a bit for Christmas. We also was waiting for pictures from Miss Maddyn's first birthday party. It was hard to miss this but everyone gave me lots of pics to enjoy.