Day Two Marathon Key Tuesday, January 21, 2025
Well, after our day of travel, we slept. Some longer than others, but we slept.
My internal alarm clock had me up by 4:30, but I did sleep.
It was a quiet start.
Before breakfast, Butch and I explored the grounds of Tranquility Bay. We came upon an egret in the high grass who was possibly stalking for breakfast too.
After breakfast, we piled into the car.
We drove toward Seven Mile Bridge.
We quickly discovered that the bridge is seven miles long. Once you are on the bridge, there is no getting off until you reach the other side. I think when we reached Veteran’s Beach, we were able to turn around and head back to Marathon.
Back on Marathon Key, we were curious to check out Sandals. This was a store that we had seen constantly along U.S. 1 on our drive into Marathon.
Turns out that Sandals is a beach store. It is not unlike the Wings stores that we find on every other corner in various beach towns along the mid-Atlantic coast.
After Sandals, we made a grocery store stop at Winn-Dixie, a chain that I remember from growing up in North Carolina. They were a Florida based chain. With all of the changes and challenges in the grocery store landscape, I was surprised to see that they continues to live.
Lunch time was approaching. We decided on the Sunset Grill. This open air restaurant sits at the foot of the Seven Mile Bridge. The restaurant is properly named as it is the ideal location to watch a sunset.
I ordered conch chowder and a blackened fish sandwich. It was interesting to note the differences in the conch chowder from my similar order on Monday at High Tide in Key Largo. This version was much sweeter and featured less vegetables in the mix.
After lunch, we were in pursuit of shrimp for dinner and bait for fishing. We found both.
The clerk at the bait shop directed us to a water front seafood market where we purchased three pounds of fresh caught shrimp for our dinner. Bubba and Forrest would have been pleased.
For the remainder of the afternoon, we took advantage of the sunshine and comfortable temperatures.
At the heated, saltwater pool, Dan tried out the snorkeling gear that he brought with him. He was prepping for swims in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean to view sea life.
At guest services in the lobby, we picked up golf balls and putters to test our green reading ability and patience on the synthetic putting greens in the open space in front of our unit. Additionally, we reserved three bicycles for a ride back down to the Seven Mile Bridge.
After the putting practice and bike rides, I put together the fishing rods and set them up to use on Wednesday morning. My non-resident fishing license issued by the state of Florida was only good for seven days, so I wanted to try my luck and not waste my pennies.
As we pushed toward dinner with our shrimp, a few of us ambled toward the water in search of a sunset.
Thanks to gray clouds, the sinking sun was obscured, but I did capture our brides who are the braintrust for this trip.
Prepared by Butch and Marian, our shrimp dinner was delicious, and it was topped off by a Florida favorite—Key Lime Pie.
Our post-dinner entertainment was organized by Marian. We participated in an assortment of games that made us think a bit, but that also generated humorous commentary.
Soon sleep was calling, and we talked about our thoughts for Wednesday.
Turns out that cold air we left back home was going to find its way into the Florida Keys.
Whatever disappointment the gray clouds, sparse sun, and stiff winds would bring, I needed to remember it was much colder back in Richmond.
But beyond the weather, I’m also reminded to be thankful for this opportunity to get away.
And I must always keep in front of me this fact—some people from the day they are born until they make the leap to heaven never have the opportunity to get away.
And maybe there is no better way to ponder this by referencing a song written by John Lennon.
On his 1980 album, Double Fantasy, Lennon’s song, “Beautiful Boy(Darling Boy)” is about his son, Sean.
In the song, Lennon used this quote from Allen Saunders: “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”
Amen.
might be baloney 