7-Jan-2024. Back in “Adventure Mode”

Happy New Year! Sorry for the multi-week pause in updates .... I was in "holiday mode" enjoying time with family and friends. It's 6am and I'm in Key West FL on a standby list to see if I can get on a fully booked ferry to Dry Tortuga National Park. This NP is 70 miles west of Key West and is only accessible by ferry or seaplane, both of which are sold out. I'm hoping that as a solo traveler I might get lucky and there might be an extra spot on the ferry for me if everyone doesn't make it here in time, so I'm typing with one finger and crossing the others.

After returning from Germany and dog sitting for 5 days in Sarasota I spent another week in a Sarasota Airbnb with my 3 kids and daughter-in-law. We had a great time and visited with my mom every day – lots of shared meals, card games, Rummikub and manny's. And a day of Daiquiri Deck Discovery! After all the fun Kristen helped me clean my car off so I could continue on in a clean vehicle.

Then on Saturday 12/30 I drove south to the Florida Keys to spend New Year's Eve and the following week with friends. We rented a house on Marathon Key and also rented a boat. Spent the majority of every day on the boat exploring fishing spots, hanging out on a sandbar, and just exploring the island. Sunset on board was a mandatory (and gorgeous) event every evening (sun doesn't set until 5:45pm here - so much later than 4:15 in Maine!). Sunsets were so colorful they looked totally fake - and I have entirely too many pics of each one! Randy and Terry provided fresh-caught fish for delicious fish tacos but as the saying goes there was lots more fishing than catching going on.

Sadly the last of my friends returned to Maine yesterday and I'm now a solo traveler again - but my cup runs over from all the awesome social time I had these past 3+ weeks. Enjoy a few pics below from my Sarasota and Marathon FL weeks:

SARASOTA

MARATHON KEY

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2024! 💗