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.