Stayed at the Rock Reef Resort Wednesday to yesterday am (Saturday). Paul and I kayaked Thursday before we went to get Jim up at Flamingo in the Everglades National Park.

Snorkeled off the beach Friday. Face to face with a 3′ barracuda. No probs. Lots of upside-down jellyfish. Not sure if they sting but I had a full swim skin on, gloves, booties etc just to be sure.

Lots of Iguanas and geckos here too. Beautiful green lizards of some kind. There is the odd mockingbird, cardinals, woodpeckers, and other birds around as well. Yesterday while Kayaking, I saw a big pink bird flying. Maybe a pink Flamingo but more likely it was a roseate Spoonbill.

Friday afternoon we had a look around the catamaran storage and sales across the street. Paul picked out a few boats but the price on his favorite, the 60′ custom Fountaine Pajot, was just a bit out of his reach. Incidently, the 60′ Jeanneau monohull with all of the hull damage has been roughly-patched and is now a home for some of the yard workers! Apparently it’s beautiful inside and they’ve got A/C in there as well. Crazy!

Then we met our friends Carolyn and Dave Shearlock for supper at the Islamorada Fish Company that night. Yummy. Carolyn has a great website called theboatgalley.com with super tips for Cruisers.

In the shallow basin by the restaurant deck, there are big tarpon swimming around ( 5′). If you buy a bit of fish food,  they may swarm while you feed them along with other fish such as small nurse sharks.

Ended the day with handmade ice cream from Mr.C’s. Delicious.