Who knew that when we moved onto a sailboat we would end up having the most active social lives we have ever had? I certainly wouldn’t have guessed it. I imagined myself having lots of time to read books, meditate, etc, and I guess I could be doing those things, but more often than not hanging out with other interesting sailors wins out.
Just as we are getting ready to leave Marathon, we have been having increasingly good times with the friends we have been making here. This weekend was packed full of outings and gatherings, starting with going out with a crew of people on Thursday night to a local bar where we ended up knowing a dozen other people there. The next night we went to see our friends Kurt and Christina at their first local music gig. Half of Boot Key harbor came out to support them and it was quite the night. Dancing, sing alongs, and wonderful music all night long. K. even got to drum with them for most of their set.

The next day was a great wind day for flying K.’s big kites, and our new friends Dave and Ginnea came along to the beach, where K. and Dave succeeded in getting up on the kite board for the first time! We had such a nice time hanging out with them we ended up going back to their boat for a tasty shrimp pasta dinner. Then live music at the tiki hut….the fun just never ends!
And to top it all off, Sunday night we were invited to our new friend Jamison’s boat, Baby Blue. He is a generous man who is constantly with a drink in hand, and he has a wonderful big boat that is perfect for entertaining. 5 other people came over for dinner and drinks, including our new friends Ricki and Sophia. Ricki is Irish and has THE most charming Irish accent ever. He’s a fabulous musician and can play the guitar like nobody’s business. Sophia is from Sweden and her parents used to have the same boat as us! They are a sweet couple we’d like to hang out with more. We had a super fun night with lots of wine, great fish, and even dancing! (his boat is big enough for dancing!!!)
In the midst of all this socializing, we are TRYING to get some projects done on the boat, and K. has been installing the bargain wind generator we got awhile back. Of course it is taking longer than expected, and our boat is a big mess with tools and parts everywhere. I’ve also been continuing to weave, and here is a little photo of my latest experimentation in card weaving, a portable form of weaving that I just discovered.
I got to weave on the beach! There will be a series of bracelets available for purchase soon.