Never made it to Key West... as we studied the various guide books and Active Captain recommendations, we opted to stop short of Key West at Stock Island Marina Village.

We missed the Grand Opening by a few days, but found everything still shiny and new and the staff very helpful. This harbor has always been known as a working harbor and still is, but the new facility is planning to add a hotel, swimming pools and a park.  They advertise themselves as being the last stop before Cuba, but we were still surprised to see the hailing port on the Hatteras tied up on F Dock.  After googling the Hinckley Sou'wester 70 custom yacht Patriot,  we learned she had been for sale two years ago for $1,695,000.  The tug - - - I don't know anything about, it just adds contrast!

Another reason to stop at Stock Island was The Hogfish Bar and Grill is here.  We arrived at the marina around 1:30 pm and were glad to plug in and turn on the A/C.  It was a hot ride down with a very light breeze directly behind us.  Dory and I headed out right away to check out the advertised dog park.  It was great.  There were three dogs already there and she had a great time romping with them.  Hogfish is just over a mile away, so we opted to eat aboard tonight and head over there tomorrow.

The weather hasn't looked good for our overnight passage, so we signed up for another night.  Jim Mosher, a fellow CCYC member is in Key West staying with some SOS (Singles on Sailboats) friends, so we invited them to join us for a drink aboard before heading over to The Hogfish.  We all agreed that it's better to go during the day as the atmosphere loses something in the dark.

We joined Carl, Terri and Jim at The Hogfish Bar and Grill on Wednesday night.

There isn't a gourmet restaurant here yet, but there is a unique breakfast and lunch "stand".  It is situated near the dog park, community garden, bocce ball courts and the Guinea Hen Haven.  We enjoyed a good lunch there on Thursday.

It's a dog's life on Brunelle and Dory seems to have adjusted pretty well, but sometimes she wants "out" and lets us know by situating herself on the companionway stairs.

When I see a gorgeous boat go by I can't resist googling it, so I googled Freedom and learned all about this 104' Trumpy yacht built in 1926 for Woolworth's heiress.  It ended up in disrepair in 2002 and on the verge of sinking, so the McMillen Company bought it for $100, put it on a barge, took it to Newport, RI and put together a syndicate to fund it's restoration which took from 2004 to 2009.  She looks wonderful today! We passed her on our way down from Marathon.

Here it is Friday morning and if we don't get moving, we'll miss the Super Bowl Party at John and Brandi's in Ft. Myers!  Actually the weather looks like it will cooperate, so we hope to head off around noon for an overnight passage, getting us to Ft. Myers tomorrow morning sometime.  ~~~_/)~~~M&D