Christmas tradition holds that our "stockings are hung by the chimney with care"... so in the spirit of the season, this post is about socks.  Maybe some of you even received some for Christmas?

Living north of the Keys, we took socks for granted.  We all owned them... we rarely thought of them, but we wouldn't consider getting dressed without them except for the occasional trip to the beach or the pool on a hot summer day. 

Annapolis was a little different since it's such a boating town.  People love to wear their deck shoes without socks, but when the cold weather comes everyone dons their socks and waits until the First Day of Spring when the Maritime Museum hosts the annual "burning of the socks" party to signify the arrival of warmer weather (usually more theoretical than actual) and the ability to once again wear one's deck shoes sans socks.  We have been known to wear our socks long after the Official Sock Burning since thermal comfort outweighs the fashion statement of bare feet in deck shoes... until summer, at least.

Living in the Keys it's easy to forget about socks since virtually no one ever wears them.  We were talking to several locals just before we left for the holidays, and inevitably the topic of socks was raised by people who had to trek north to visit family for the holidays.  These people didn't even own a pair of socks.  Their ankles hadn't been covered in years.  One fellow was heading to Pennsylvania to visit his sister, and she asked him what he wanted for Christmas.  "Wool socks", he told her.  Just give them to me as soon as I get there.  The lady at the Library said that she and her husband have a big lumpy parka that they can use when one of them goes north to fetch their grandchildren... but they didn't have any socks.  Seems strange, but it's a common problem in the Keys.

So the real question is:  what does Santa do when he doesn't find any stockings hung by the chimney?  No socks... no chimney.  Makes you wonder... 

We've put just a few Christmas lights around the boat and we have some decorations out - including our 8' inflatable snowman.  Some other boats in the marina also have lights, small lighted trees in a cockpit or cabin window, a tree in the marina office, etc.  The Chamber of Commerce has put up lighted decorations along Route 1 - a holiday dolphin, lighthouse in holiday colors, and a palm tree with a bow are the common themes.  It's a bit different getting into the holiday spirit here where it's 80 degrees every day (this is a very good thing).  No one has shorts with a sleigh or holly motif... people aren't wearing red hats with white fuzzy trim (too hot!)... though the local real estate office has a mailbox in the shape of a manatee and it's always wearing something appropriate for the current holiday (an elf hat; you should see the red teddy it wears in February).

The other interesting thing about the Keys is that shopping isn't a big deal because we don't have malls and lots of chain stores.  I don't miss the eroding of holiday spirit from fighting parking lot traffic and crowds in malls.  But it's harder to wrap things when the wrapping paper is damp from the humidity.  It's all a trade-off, isn't it??

Last night was the annual Holiday Boat Parade here in Marathon.  I'm sure the one down in Key West was much bigger, but we decided to stay put and cheer for the local crowd.  Many folks from the marina decided to make a party of it all.  We had cocktails and snacks before parade time, then we all trooped down to the fuel dock to sing carols and applaud the parade boats. 

We left Baltimore on September 9th and arrived here in Marathon on November 25th, putting 1405 nautical miles (1616 statute) under our keel.  We had a good trip this year - we left early so we were ahead of the migration herd, and we kept nicer, temperate weather throughout the trip.  This is the first trip south where we've had a chance to meander a bit, and we really enjoyed shorter underway days and stops in some new and familiar places.  We spent a lot of time visiting friends along the way, and that was the highlight!

Now we're shifting gears from running the boat every day to working on our big boat projects - electrical upgrade including second charger and bigger alternator, moving batteries and wiring; some interior varnish, painting and repairs. 

Monday started with a bath for the boat, oil changes for the main engines and transmissions, and fuel filter changes - primaries and secondaries.  This is the cart full of oil to be recycled (14.5 quarts for each engine and 3 liters for each transmission).  We have so many projects and repairs going on that we have to maintain it all on a spreadsheet.

Once we get into "project mode" we tend to forget to take some time to play, so we've been making note of art and music festivals and other fun events.  We bought tickets to the Marathon Community Theater for Friday night, and we're going down to Key West this afternoon.

Nature is still the best reason to be here - this big dragonfly landed on the boat - he's even wearing the local color... "key lime", and we've had a green heron on the stern lines.