Marathon Update – 4/10/20

Good friends have gifted us with towels embroidered with the phrase, “When you can’t control the wind, adjust your sails.” We are trying. While the news we’re reading online and streaming on the iPad is heartbreaking, frightening, and at times infuriating, the news from inside our gated marina is … well, there is little to none, and we are grateful for that and the fact that everyone here remains healthy. The staff here are doing their utmost to keep it that way, as some of the pictures below illustrate.

These face covers were distributed to everyone earlier this week. Scrunched up and worn around the neck like a scarf, they pull up easily over the mouth and nose.
In partnering with a local farmer, produce that would normally be used at the restaurant is brought into the marina so boaters who don’t use InstaCart have fresh food and won’t need to take a taxi to the grocery. They hope to soon be bringing in eggs, milk, and bread. The restaurant also prepares sandwiches to-go, available in the fuel dock office. Boaters who are anchored outside of the marina can phone in their order and arrange for pick-up at the fuel dock. Anyone aboard incoming boats cannot come onto the dock, and staff members take all precautions with face masks, gloves/hand sanitizer, etc.



As of yesterday, there are just three cases of Covid-19 in Marathon, and 52 in all of Monroe County (which encompasses The Keys).

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Three out of our four Chicago family members remain at home working or attending school online. Christine continues to go into the clinic, though she conducts her Sunday Weight Watchers meetings from home.

Natalie accessorized Christine’s PPE

Our Alexandria family is making the best of their stay-at-home status. We attended Good Shepherd Lutheran Church of Alexandria via Zoom on Palm Sunday. Owen gave a reading early in the service. We’ll join again for Easter Sunday Services.

Love this little church with big community outreach, where ALL are welcomed.

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To ease our stress and get a change of scenery, we try to go for a dinghy ride every afternoon, keeping the mandated 50-foot distance from other boats as best as possible. On Wednesday after the Super Moon, the tide was so low that boats damaged by storms, accidents, or neglect were very visible.

There has been no dinghy ride for the past few days, however. The westerly wind shift has blown seagrass into shore. We learned that this natural occurrence typically happens on the Gulf side of Marathon, though wherever it lands, the grass must not be removed as it provides plant nutrients to aquatic life.

Some of our dock neighbors left several days ago. One couple hauled their boat and drove for 25 hours back home to New Jersey, with just one stopover at a North Carolina rest area to sleep. Another couple is aboard their boat heading home to Connecticut.

Our refrigeration guy from “SALT” came by on Thursday with our replacement thermostat. He said when he pulled the old one, a wire just fell right out – nice to know I haven’t been imagining the temperature fluctuations. When he arrived with our replacement part, we had to be off the boat to ensure adequate distancing, so we got all the laundry done while he worked. Unfortunately, the part he ordered turned out to be for a newer model, so we will have to wait for the correct part to be shipped. Good thing we are not going anywhere soon!

We received a care package today from our Raleigh family members, Kathy and Greg. What a gift!!! I have been trying to buy kleenex since March 16th (and, we ran out of cookies awhile ago – the enclosed note hinted that the home-made variety may be forthcoming). ☺

As we all do our best to weather this terrible storm, we wish everyone happy Passover and Easter celebrations, send healing thoughts to those battling this virus, and offer our thanks to the health care workers, first responders, and all those who are keeping us safe.

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