Wednesday, February 20, 2013 – Cabbage Key and Pelican Bay:

Sunset on Cabbage Key

            We woke up to pea soup fog and resting gently on the ground.  The depth sounder kept reading 4.4 feet, and well, that’s about what we draw!  Well, at least we weren’t rocking wildly as the speedy power boaters woke up and started their frenzied dash to their next party or fishing hole! 

Unfortunately, even though the colors were properly displayed and in a timely manner, there was no blowing of the conch shell or ship’s horn this morning.  I think we were all in awe of the beauty of the fog, which cast its pale shroud over the surrounding area.  At times it would partially lift, and then a new fog bank would roll in and make everything look ethereal again.

A boat in the fog

Morning fog in Cabbage Key

Around 10:30 a.m. we decided it was time to try and move the boat into deeper water, which we did with no trouble at all, and we were soon floating nicely in 10’ of water.  However, then the wake from the passing boats had us rolling around, and I wondered if I was not happier resting gently on the ground in 4’ of water!

We had plans with our friends to dinghy into Cabbage Key and have lunch at the Inn, so at 11:45 a.m., they picked us up in their dinghy, and we rode over to the island for a lovely afternoon at an interesting and unusual restaurant.  The story goes that a long time ago a patron (maybe down on his luck) tacked a dollar on the wall with his name on it.  That way, even if he lost everything, he could still come  back to the inn for a drink.  Now the dining room is plastered with layers of dollar bills tacked to the walls, columns, ceiling, and every conceivable surface all signed by previous diners.  We decided that they had enough dollar bills and declined to leave one ourselves!

Restaurant with dollar bills covering every surface

After a delicious lunch, we walked around the grounds and followed the “nature walk” that circled part of the island.  We saw a huge turtle, a majestic eagle surveying the world from her nest on top of the water tank, numerous skittery little lizards, and many, many birds.  The inn has several cottages you can stay in scattered around the island, which we passed on the nature walk.  I stopped in the gift shop to see if I could buy one of Mary Rinehart’s mysteries, but they had sold out of them.  (Her son was the original owner of the inn when it was his private residence before it was sold and turned into an inn in 1942.)

A turtle on the nature walk

After lunch we decided to “up anchor” and head over to Pelican Key for the evening.  There was some concern that it would be difficult to get into the anchorage because of the shoaling, but we had no trouble and found a peaceful little spot to drop the hook.  We decided it was time to put our dinghy in the water and test it out, and we were pleasantly surprised that the dinghy engine started up right away, and at 5:00 p.m. (cocktail time), we put a bottle of wine and some h’ors d’oeuvres in a boat bag, and dinghied over to our friends boat for a cocktail hour.  We solved more problems of the world, and headed back to our boat after about an hour.

Tomorrow we have tentative plans to explore the beach and a little place called Murdock Bayou.  We understand that this is a long dinghy ride, and once you get into the bayou, it is very shallow (even for dinghies and you can only go by dinghy), the mangroves arch over you, and you have to watch for alligators!  We may have second thoughts about this, but our friends did this a few years ago, and said it was a little nerve-wracking, but worth it.  We plan on taking both dinghies (if we really do this), our cell phones, hand-held radios, and anything else we can think of to ensure a “safe passage!”

The weather today was beautiful after the fog burned off – warm temperatures, not a cloud in the sky, and just about perfect!  Meeting up with these friends from home really has been a highlight of our trip, and I am afraid it is going to end too soon!

One final word about cell phone addiction – here we are in this wonderful little restaurant, and what is our friend doing…

Cell phone addiction!