Good Bye Maratrhon--Hello Florida's East Coast

Challenging marine facilities but still had a major attraction for boaters

We had originally planned to stay two weeks in Marathon, decided on staying two more weeks and, because of high winds, ended up staying another week--five weeks of perfect weather isn't too hard to take but we needed to start our trek home to be home by June. So we said farewell to Sombrero Dockside Marina and the great folks we spent time with.

Sunset in Boot Key Harbor-why folks stay here!

Burrowing owls we met on our daily walk

Lunch with Ray and Linda (Summertime)

Saying Goodbye to Sheila on Twin Spirit

We exited Boot Key Harbor via Knights Passage (with strong currents) and carefully stayed in the channel as anywhere outside the channel is EXTREMELY shallow.  The Florida Keys are beautiful but they are limiting in your freedom to go anywhere you want to go.  We spent the first night anchored in Tarpon Basin in Key Largo where we found a ten foot beach we could land the dinghy to walk Buddy.  Boaters are not welcomed by the property owners-previous generations of boaters have developed a reputation and now we are paying the price for it.  At least we found something there!

Florida Keys - Birds walk outside channel area

Boca Chita Key National Park is supposed to be a great stop in Biscayne Bay but we discovered they do not allow boaters with dogs there even if the dogs stay onboard--again caused by previous irresponsible boaters so we continued on.  We arrived in Miami but we had no desire to tour it so we opted to anchor in the Miami Marine Stadium, an oval harbor where boats raced before Hurricane Andrew.  Now it's a great anchorage with the view of Miami out our transom-we were in heaven.  What we did see was a little sea plane (looked like a lawn mower engine) trying to stay up in the air---our afternoon entertainment!  And we found a nice sandy beach for Buddy to chase a stick and stand in the water and do his barking act!

Bleacher remains

Miami from Tony M

It did fly!

Buddy and Pete in Miami Marine Stadium

Moving north from Miami can be challenging because of the many bridges you need to go under traveling on the Intercoastal Waterway.  We can clear 14 1/2 feet if the radar and antennas are down so we could make it under many of them. If you can't make it under, then the bridge operators will open them according to their scheduled time,  either on the hour and half hour or on the quarter and three quarter of an hour and not at any other time.  We had our introduction to their rigidity when we approached the first bridge, the Venetian  Causeway Bridge, at 8:02 AM. We were told we had to wait until 8:30 because we were not directly in front of the bridge at 8:00 AM, even though Pete had radioed at 7:40 AM to announce we were coming and the bridgekeeper could clearly see us...I think PMS definitely played a role n this!  Anyway the other bridgekeepers were reasonable and we finally made it to Ft, Lauderdale where we stayed at Las Olas Municipal Marina.  When we called to get our slip assignment, we were told they were closed from 12 to 1 for lunch(all employees eat at the same time?) so, o f course, we arrived at 12:30.   Pete somehow got us into the slip with 6 inches on either side of the boat without their help and when they returned from lunch at 1:30, we did get a more suitable slip.  I want to be a city worker when I grow up!

What a culture shock Ft. Lauderdale was for us!  After coming from the quiet, laid back anchorages, the hustle and bustle of Ft. Lauderdale was daunting.  Spring Week added to the frenzy-the beach and bars were packed with hardbodies-fun to watch until we read the signs that no dogs were allowed, neither on the beach nor on the sidewalks.  We were able to connect with Bill and Laura (Monkey Girl) for dinner and Laura brought me to the grocery store Wednesday.  Great to see you folks!

Bill and Laura

We thought Miami was full of huge mansions and yachts but Ft.  Lauderdale seemed to have even bigger mansions and bigger yachts.   I know there is a recession going on but this place doesn't seem to be affected-there's still plenty of money here.

Who can own this?

and this?

How much shrink wrap do you suppose this took?

Anyway, onward from Ft. Lauderdale....again we were dealing with the bridges and watching this bank of black clouds following us.  Well, they finally caught up with us and spanked us from behind with winds up to 60 miles an hour and blinding rain.  The white knuckle ride lasted about a long thirty minutes and made for a memorable birthday celebration when it was over!

Small world stories:

1.  As we were entering the St. Lucie Inlet, Pete observed a boat coming toward us that was like the boat that Charles and Erika are buying.  Wait a minute, it is the boat Charles and Erika are buying and it's on its way to Ft. Lauderdale.  We briefly spoke to the captain, trying to explain  who we are.

2.  Erika was talking to Pete on the phone while riding in the van provided by the marina in SC with other mariners .  After she hung up the phone, one of the fellow riders asked if she was talking to Pete Wilson---he's Pete from the boat BlueYonder whom we spent some time with on the Loop.  They are tied up three boats from Charles and Erika.

The world is shrinking....

Right now we are in Ft. Pierce for the night.  We had spent a month here so we feel comfortable with the area.  It's nice not to have to familiarize yourself with a new area for a change-we knew where the park for Buddy was (pet friendly!) and a good restaurant was...ah, the little things...

We understand you're enjoying some warmer weather and the snow is melting...you've earned that!