Did anyone watch the meteor shower last night? Bob & I laid on the hammock and watched lots of stars falling out of the sky. It was beautiful. This week, in the warm, sunny keys, we spent remodelling a room damaged by Hurricane Wilma 2 years ago. It was down to studs, so we insulated, drywalled, plastered, painted, put in a tile floor, bathroom, cleaned, and it's almost ready for rental. We're trying to put in hours so that we can take some time off when company arrives next week...Lyle & Lisa are coming for a week, then Billy & Susie from KC the following week. We're very excited...we need people to play with! The motel is still empty, but Mark is back from Marco (he was gone a week, and we "ran the place"...the motel was empty the whole time). It's slow time here, but still 80+ degrees and sunny. It does rain almost daily for 5-10 minutes...enough to dirty the windows. Haven't been fishing, diving, snorkling or sightseeing for the past 2 weeks, saving that for company. It's ok tho...it's good to put in honest days' work! And Cheyenne hasn't eaten for 2 days. I'm getting a bit concerned...she's still relatively spunky...wants to go for a walk and swim, but mostly sleeps and doesn't eat. We think it's the heat. Mark said that's how everybody gets here! Lazy! (That's why he appreciates us so much!) Not much else to report. I've been watching the presidential debates, trying to decide who to vote for in the primary. Anybody have any input??? I've actually been pretty fascinated by the whole process. Never had much time to research, and I'm enjoying it! Hope everybody's staying warm...it's cold everywhere but here, apparently.

Marathon, FL Our home for the winter!

Greetings from sunny Marathon in the heart of the beautiful Florida Keys!It's been a while...we've been busy:) Have been here at Bonefish Bay Motel for almost 3 weeks and having a blast.

Where to start...we met a lovely couple from Germany, Manfred and Waltraud who were staying here at the motel as well. They were here for 3 weeks so we got to know them quite well...tipped a few beers, went to the flea market, and had dinner together a few times. Spent Thanksgiving with them and Mark and his mom, Herta (also from Germany). It was great, but it's so difficult to remember that it's the holidays cuz it's 80 degrees and sunny every day and still feels like summer.

Mark took us fishing last week:) We caught a mahi mahi, 3 mackerel, lots of yellow tail snapper, and a couple grouper that weren't big enough to keep (bummer...I love grouper!) So we've been eating fish nearly every night, along with fresh veggies and fruits from the weekly flea market. And we're not bored anymore:) The rooms all needed to be deep cleaned (there's only 16 of them up and running since the hurricane), but it still took me 2 weeks to do them all (at just 4-5 hours a day). And the sale of this place isn't looking good, so Mark has us redoing the remaining 4 rooms (drywall, plaster, paint, flooring, and bathrooms). That should keep us out of trouble for a while! Currently no one is at the motel (it's slow time), including Mark. He went to Marco Island to help his mom move to Fort Myers for the week. So Bob & I are in charge. Not much to be in charge of, but maybe someone will stop by and rent a room or two. Meanwhile, we're doing catch-up landscaping, cleaning, and remodeling rooms. We do manage some time to relax, read, hit the local bars for happy hour occasionally,...The one trade off for this gorgeous weather is the bugs and vermin. We have spotted a couple rats (traps are now everywhere), the no-see-ums are terrible from about 4pm to 7pm daily (citranella/eucalyptus spray is the only thing that deters them, for a little while). You literally can't see them, and they feel like little needle pricks and the itch lasts for days! Oh yeah, then there's the scorpions:( My first encounter with a live one was while I was cleaning a room...he looked dead, lying in the kitchen sink, and I went to spray some pinesol and he moved!!!!! I screamed so loud I think they heard me in Miami, and ran to get Mark, who chopped off his stinger with a plyers!!! Very creepy. Then while raking one day I disturbed one who fortunately ran away from me:) Another scream! I continued raking for a while and chased up 3 more, which I expected, so didn't scream anymore. I guess I'm getting used to them, but they still creep me out. Apparently the sting is very painful, but not fatal. I bought some Benedryl just in case. And I now wear shoes while raking.Bob continues to be the pool boy daily, even though nobody is using it. It is very clean now! The dive shop here uses it occasionally for training, but no one else. He's so cute out there in his speedo and Ipod (JK about the speedo). He is getting a nice tan tho.We found a nice little par 3 golf course close by, but haven't played yet. Maybe this week. Also have been riding our bikes almost everywhere to save $ on fuel. Diesel is $3.70/gallon here.I think that's all I have to report. Will be more consistant about writing now that I'm falling into a routine. I hope everybody is staying warm and GO PACK!!!!!