Hi All. We hope this finds you safe and healthy……..

It’s April 22^nd and we’re still in our little Bonefish neighborhood in Marathon Florida.

We feel very fortunate that we’ve been able to move around a little and be out in the sunshine. We’ve taken Scout-About to the little private beach around the bend several times. Much needed recreation for humans and doggies.

On Thursday, April 16^th, we took Scout to Sombrero Light, a local hangout, about an hour away where we picked up a mooring. When we arrived, there were about a dozen boats moored with folks relaxing, swimming, snorkeling, etc. It was a warm day, in the 90’s, and the water temperature was a cool 83 degrees, a perfect day for playing in the water while still social distancing. We stayed a couple of hours until it started getting a bit “rocky-rolly” then we headed back to the marina. It was a fun day!

The sandbar beckoned us, again, on Saturday, April 18^th so, at low tide, we piled in Scout-About and followed our neighbors, Michelle and Donnie, out. It was a hot day and lots of folks had the same idea. It was a bit crowded and we saw about 20 of our Bonefish neighbors in their dinghies. The Sheriff stopped by to give us a friendly reminder that boats needed to be 50 feet apart, groups could be no larger than ten people and we should maintain social distancing. After adjusting a couple boats, we were good to go. Another extremely fun-filled day!

And Michael continues to complete boat projects! He is currently building a steering station and bench seat for Scout-About. We enjoy taking her so many places but driving using the tiller and having only one seat with two humans and two dogs is a bit uncomfortable. So, guess what, he has decided he can design and build them rather than buying a new dinghy. An ambitious project for sure. He is truly amazing!!!!

We’ve been here in Marathon for almost two months and, while it’s not a bad place to be “stuck”, we are ready to move on. It appears that restrictions are beginning to loosen a bit, so we plan to leave by the end of the month. Our plan is to head to St. Mary’s, Georgia, put Scout on the hard, rent a car/truck and drive to Bend, Oregon where we will spend the summer.

The route we have plotted looks like it will take about ten (long) travel-days. It appears that fuel is available, but most marinas are still closed so we plan to anchor most of the time. Depending on weather and lay-overs we should arrive in St. Mary’s around May 10^th and our “loop” journey will temporarily shut down……

And our Bend, Oregon adventure will begin….

We will keep you posted.