We had been following the Corona Virus somewhat in Feb/Mar but we had decided to make a side trip to the Dry Tortuga's on March 12th while Amy's brother Bill was visiting. We were completely out of touch with the world for the 5 days that we were there as ther eis no cell service or internet. On our return sail we started noticing things that just weren't right. First the ferry for the Dry Tortuga's passed by around 11am, which wasn't right as it should have been at the park by 10am. Then we noticed that it was empty. Our first thought was that the ferry at the park broke and this must be a replacement. As we got closer to Key West on March 17th, our phones lit up with all of the updates and by the time we made it back to Boca Chica we were not sure what was on the horizon. A Coast Guard ship was posted outside of the cruise ship terminal in Key West as they were not allowing cruise ships to enter.

Bill stayed for the following week, helping us with supplies, as we tried to make sense of what was happening to the world.

We were unsure of what the next move should be as the Florida Keys were ordering tourists to go home. We decided to stay put as all the marina's in the Keys were closing to transient boaters and it was difficult to say whether we would be able to find fuel and provisions for the long journey towards Virginia. We have been making the best of it, there are several boats here that were waiting for a weather window to start moving north, but now we are all waiting to see when we can move. Everyone is passing the time with boat projects, fishing, floating and swimming. Of course we maintaining our distance but it sure is fun having company around. If we had to be stuck somewhere it sure is nice to be here.

Amy took a job working a call center for IT support to assist users with virtual visits. This pandemic has created an urgency to implement this function for many health systems and the calls have been crippling their call centers. We are fortunate to have the ability to work from the boat if needed. Of course we could also work on some boat projects, as those never seem to end.

We are happy and healthy and are hoping that all of our friends and family will remain that way as well.