It was a wonderful night! We went out in the cockpit at about 11:30 last night to view the moon. It was full and bright in a clear, dark sky. It was so bright it seemed like daytime. The water was like glass–reflecting the moon and the boats floating at anchor. So serene! Earlier last evening, Bob and Auggie had a “howl at the moon” contest. Bob howled trying to get Auggie to mimic his sound, but no luck. Auggie just got excited and ran around looking at Bob in the funniest way. We both laughed at his antics. We stayed out back enjoying the silence and beauty–at least until the mosquitoes bombarded us. Then we had to go in and call it a night. In the morning, the sunlight streaming in the hatch overhead, woke us up. Bob took Auggie to shore alone while I had breakfast. When Auggie and Bob returned, we discussed plans for the day.
Bob finished watching his Sunday morning programs and then we hopped in the dinghy heading for Cabbage Key. We could take the direct route since the tide today was extremely high due to the full moon. The short ride to Cabbage Key was pleasant. We beached the dinghy on the shore and walked up to the restaurant.
We encountered a tortoise and a mama otter on the island.
Mama otter was too elusive for a picture, but we were told she jumps into the fishing boats and opens the coolers looking for food–usually bait or fish. Today she was seen taking a sandwich out of a cooler. Unable to open the wrapper, it ended up in the water, but that didn’t deter her from trying the other boats. We watched her climb into a couple of boats. She was nimble and quick! Too quick for me to catch a picture of her. We sat at the $50,000 bar and had a couple of beers.
The dining room had $1 bills hanging from the ceiling. The story goes that fishermen in the 1940’s would stop at Cabbage Key for a drink after a day of fishing. When they had a good day of fishing, they would tack an extra dollar or two to the walls. Then on a day when fishing wasn’t as fruitful, they could take one of their dollars off of the wall and still buy a drink. Hence, the tradition of signing your name to a dollar bill and tacking it to the wall.
When the ferry came in, the restaurant filled up. Other boats kept streaming into the marina for lunch as well. By the time we left, the marina was almost full.
We shared a “cheeseburger in paradise” and enjoyed watching the boat traffic go by on the ICW.
We walked on the docks to check out the boats, made a stop at the gift shop for a t-shirt, and took the short ride back to the boat. Once there, we sat out back, listening to tunes, and enjoying the cool breeze in the shade. We set up the umbrella and Auggie and I sat under it.
He liked looking over the side and watching things float by in the water.
Note from Bob: Apparently, my new umbrella invention is enjoyed by the whole family.
Bob grilled mahi-mahi for dinner and later we took Auggie to shore. Yesterday we were eaten alive by mosquitoes in the park, so tonight we went a little earlier, in hopes of avoiding them. No such luck! They seem to like me more than Bob, so I sat at the dock while Bob took Auggie. We went back to the boat to enjoy the evening and watch the sunset. Tonight there would be 26 boats in the anchorage, about the same as last night.
