Wow, today has been a very long day and also a day of excitement and truly love at first sight!

We were supposed to start our day at 630, but at 430 I heard a huge clap of thunder. Before the rain could start, I was up and pulling everything off the top of the boat that would get soaked. I luckily pulled everything off in the nick of time.

When the alarm went off at 630 we were definitely wishing for snooze but knew we had a long day ahead of us.

I made us an impressive breakfast of turkey sandwiches and coffee, and then we were off to Key West, 200 miles from Bimini!

Goodbye for now, Bimini, we loved you!

Once we cleared the never-ending no-wake zone, we were actually on our way! It is also the landing area for seaplanes. It was 70 miles from Bimini to Key Largo. The trip was very uneventful, and the water was very calm. We could not have asked for a better crossing.

Dave decided we should skip Key Largo and get gas and lunch in Islamorada. I called it IslaMordor as it was definitely the most hellish part of our trip!

The keys have sand bars everywhere!!!! We were at 1,500 feet of water, then bam, 20 feet deep, then 2 feet deep. It was the most insane thing we have ever seen. The channels are also tiny. We tried to go through a couple of channels that were so small we had to turn around.

We tried 3 marinas before we found one that we could finally get into, and we were churning a ton of mud. Islamorada, aka Mordor, was definitely not made for big boats. I wanted to whip out an “I told you so” for not going to Key Largo, but I knew better and kept my head down as all good Gilligans do.

Another side note. The water on the Atlantic side of the Keys is yuck. It is super clear, but it is green. The beautiful blue is on the Gulf side. As soon as we got gas, we crossed under the bridge to the Gulf. It was night and day. I wish I had taken a picture of the green water to compare it, but I was so stressed out by the channels, sand bar, and not running out of gas that I forgot.

I love to watch our wake as we cut across the water.

Beautiful blue water on the Gulf side.

It took NINE hours to go from Bimini to Key West, but we made it. I would cross to Bimini 10 times rather than deal with the craziness of the Keys, including parking in the slip (which was also terrifying). The channel to come in was all rock and almost the width of our boat!

The southernmost tip of the United States as seen by boat

Note the giant, terrifying, narrow rock wall.

Safe and sound in the slip

As soon as we were tied up with every rope and buoy we had, it was time to eat. Those turkey sandwiches had to last a long time.

Once we stepped off the docks, we were truly in love at first sight. Dave and I both exclaimed that this is like home. The harbor walk is quaint and amazing. There was food, bars, and shopping everywhere.

We went to Conch Republic Seafood House, which is just a few steps from our marina, and it was delicious!

Blackened Fish Dip

Snapper with chimichuri and marinated tomatoes

Catch of the day swordfish

After dinner, we bellied up to the bar and had a few drinks with the locals, and then we had to be grownups. We got the boat in order, did some laundry, and ordered groceries. While we were waiting on the groceries and laundry, we did some exploring and ate some key lime pie.

There are also random chickens everywhere. Love it!

It was getting late, and the groceries were just about to be delivered, so we had to stop exploring. We are so excited to be here, totally in love, and can’t wait to explore tomorrow.

We are renting a scooter and also going scuba diving one day. See you tomorrow at the end of the world!