With Uncle Gerry in town for the wedding, we decided to head to Cayo Costa this weekend and meet up with Johnny and April on Sea Crazy. Gerry was with us for the ride there and would leave with his brother and April on Sunday.

When we departed the marina, the tide was going out and it was already pretty low. Anyone who’s tried to get in or out of Snook Bight Marina at low tide knows that it can hard to navigate the extremely shallow waters. We draw 4′ and managed to get stuck on the way out. Just outside the marina, we ran aground. This would be the same spot that friends Tim and Joan ran aground along with many others. With the help of a few friends and dock guys we eventually got free. This was our very first time running aground in almost 3 years since buying Blue Turtle. I guess it was bound to happen at some point.

Once we arrived at Cayo Costa and got anchored, the four of us (and Sophie!) immediately headed to the Love Canal to enjoy what was left of the day. Corey brought along his surfboard planning to catch some waves at the beach. The Love Canal was shallow as usual in some spots and Randy had to get out of the dinghy to walk us through. Once there, we planted ourselves on the beach and soaked in the late afternoon sun. It was a chilly day, but the warm sun was awesome and we had a great time watching Corey surf, having a few adult beverages and playing ukulele (me). On the way out of the Love Canal, we kept getting stuck in the dinghy. The tide was going out so it was unusually low. Randy pretty much walked us the entire way out.

The next morning, we decided we would ding over to the docks at Cayo Costa and try to rent bikes to ride the trails. We brought Corey’s bike with us from the marina because the children’s bike rentals are slim pickings. When we arrived at the island, we realized that all the bikes had been rented out already, so we decided to walk while Corey rode his bike. We walked part of the Cemetary Trail and then crossed the island to the beach side. From there, we walked the beach all the way around the north tip of the island to the Quarantine Docks. We found another trail and went back to where we started on the beach to collect Corey’s bike. All in all, we ended up walking at least 5 miles on the island. It was a gorgeous day, sunny and high 60s-low 70s. We piled back into the dinghy and headed back to Blue Turtle, where Sea Crazy was tied up to us and awaiting our return.

Once we were back to our boat, we boarded Sea Crazy and enjoyed some of Johnny’s excellent margaritas before getting back in the dinghies to head to Cabbage Key for a late lunch. Gerry rode with Randy and I while Corey drove Johnny and April’s dinghy. Cabbage Key was empty when we arrived, we fortunately missed the crazy lunch rush and it was nice to kind of have the place to ourselves. We enjoyed great food, drinks and company and Gerry got to add his dollar bill to the dollar room. After we ate, we took the usual walk up to the top of the water tower to take in the view of the island’s surroundings then headed back to our anchorage.

 

Sunday morning, after some breakfast and coffee, we parted ways with Sea Crazy and headed home. It was a fabulous weekend that went by way to fast as usual. We are looking forward to the rest of Randy’s family arriving this week for April and Johnny’s wedding.