Two Weeks in Marathon

Two weeks down and two more to go in beautiful Marathon, Florida Keys! The weather has been awesome for most of the time. Of course it is much better here than in most areas of the country. The sunsets each evening are awe-inspiring. We have to pinch ourselves constantly to realize that we are living a dream.

The Admiral & the First Mate

I have to explain a little about our surroundings here. When we walk about 50 yards from the dingy dock there is an awesome public park. It reminds us a lot of the recreation area in Solivita, our Florida home. There are several tennis courts, 2 softball fields, 2 soccer fields, Bocci courts, a skate-board park, a band stand and several picnic areas with loads of seating. This past weekend there was a wonderful craft fair in the park. I found an awesome solid silver pendant for Jane which I had promised her for her heroics over the past few weeks. By the way she also bought me a gift, a hand painted wooden egg from a very special man.

He has painted thousands
 of wooden eggs

Peter & the Egg Man

Another interesting little story about our surroundings, which Jane read in a local publication, is about a high security government facility, marked by four radio towers just a short distance from our marina. The facility is a Spanish speaking radio station which broadcasts 24 hrs a day to Cuba. The aim is to get the US point of view to Cubans and possibly influence policy. The US has been broadcasting since the 1959 Cuban Revolution. It started out as pure propaganda and has evolved into “Radio Marti” under the authority of the Voice of America. It broadcasts soap operas, news, entertainment, shows, music, and messages “back home” for Cuban Americans. Some say it is the most listened to station in Cuba.

Peter & Bill in pool class. Picture taken with
Jane's new Cannon camera.

As mentioned earlier we have taken a class on snorkeling. We both loved the program and can’t wait to snorkel some of the local reefs. I decided to continue on and acquire a scuba diving certification. I have spent 12 hours in the pool and by the end of the week I hope to do my first open ocean dive. It has been a little more intense than I first thought but I am sticking with it and hope to cross it off my bucket list by this weekend.