Sun & Fun

From what I can tell this is an organization that sets up events for Gay Groups

Three sets of "barkin' dogs" here, after 3 hours of walking.

Ocean Drive Traffic on a Sunday afternoon right in the heart of South Beach

At the oh so chic Miami Beach Marina

Cory & Me with Government Cut in the background

Oh how I love these brightly painted Life Guard stations.  I want one !!!!!

You really can't see it but those are thousands of people lining the beach in the distance.
Can't help but wonder how many people are in South Beach on a Sunday.  There are thousands on the
beach, thousands on the streets and thousands in the pools at the hotels.....fabulous!

People watching on Lincoln Street Mall

The essentials

Mucho Miami!

Cory & Jessica were in need of a break from their 16/7 work week in tax season so they came over for a fun filled 24 hours.... first time we've been out until midnight in forever!!   They arrived at 5:30 after getting a tiny bit lost trying to find us on Sat. nite.  We went back to Sea Angel to watch the sunset, which came through once again, and then took off for  SoBe (as it is fondly called locally).  We ate dinner on Lincoln Street which is a street they closed off to traffic and landscaped and bricked.  It is now a giant outdoor shopping mall with small inside restaurants that have outdoor seating areas in the middle of the avenue.  Very tres chic.  You can see and be seen, it was very busy on Saturday night so lots of people watching.  After a great dinner of Argentine Skirt Steak and Seared Tuna (me), we were fortified enough to head to the main attraction.  We once again walked most of South Beach and the change from day to night ended up being bikinis, to skimpy dresses. Much to Gary's disappointment we haven't seen any topless attire yet, almost but not quite.  

Had a good night's rest and were ready for the Sunday Show.  We had doughnuts, coffee, (coffee spray on Mom and Dad and doughnuts, thanks to Cory) a good laugh and off we went!  We took the local bus (finally!) down to the south end where Miami Beach Marina is.  The boats in there were unbelievable!  I don't think they'd even let us dock there, nothing old, everything new shiny and $500K on up.  They also did a great job on the park between there and the beach, it was gorgeous, what with the high rise condo's on one side and the waterway on the other.  Unfortunately no cruise ships on it while we were there.  We walked down the beach  and then back on "Ocean Drive" the happening place so they could experience it during the day.  They left at 5:00 on Sunday and we were sad to say goodbye, knowing they had to go back to work when we can continue to play!

 Today we went decided we had to "do" the laundromat, one of the joys of cruising.  Load up 10 days worth of laundry, cart it in the dinghy to shore.  Walk a mile to the nearest laundromat, with a back pack a plastic bag and our shopping cart loaded up with the dirty old stuff.  Spend 2 hours washing clothes,( not even any interesting conversations to listen too...everyone but us spoke Spanish).... then reverse the process. I have always disliked doing laundry....now I just dislike it more!

Gary also lugged 50 gallons of water the other day.  We still cannot figure out how we can be using that much water.  We take a "Navy" shower, which is getting wet, turning off the water, soaping up, turning the water back on, total time....about 4 minutes water time about 60 seconds!  That can't use much water.  Then there's the dishes, once a day, fill the sink halfway with water, wash, rinse lightly, and drip dry.  Maybe a bit more water there.  So where is all the darn water going!@%!!  I asked another couple we met how many gallons they carried, she said 35!  My God we have 240 gallons....I just stared at her.  It must be sponge baths and paper plates on that boat.  She said she feels like shes been camping for 38 years.  They are Canadians, who cruise in the winter and go back to Toronto in the summer.

There is so much to do here I don't know whether to stay or head out.  The people watching is SPECTACULAR especially since it is spring break,....which obviously goes on for the entire month and you can walk everywhere. Here is a little glimpse South Miami Beach!

2 Days in South Beach

I must say South Beach is very interesting.  We walked across the island and down Ocean Blvd on Thursday, which resulted in a monsoon type downpour and lunch in one of the overpriced restaurants along the way to get out of the rain.  It seems that not only are we here on "Spring Break" but also for the World Music Conference.  There are lots of young toned bodies roaming around that is for sure, but they all seem to be having a great time.  Many of them are staying in hotels and some in hostels.  We have seen three hostels so far. Don't know much about the music conference but have noticed a lot of young men with their belts nearing their knees!

We have also seen more homeless people here than anywhere in the keys.  Many sitting and staring vacantly, which is sad, and others muttering and singing....whether to themselves or the public in general I haven't a clue.  One woman looked like she was 100 if she was a day, kind of like a shrunken little walnut shell.  She definitely had spent too many days in the sun.  I could only wonder what kind of life she's had.  Another was washing clothes (at the public station where you wash the sand off of your feet at the beach) in a plastic grocery bag.  She had clothes strewn all over.  Must have been wash day, I guess whatever works!  Just makes me thankful for all I have.

Yesterday we started out around 10am and started hoofing it up the bay side of the island.  Saw a completely different side of South Beach life.  All the condos where the d.i.n.k.'s  live and the quieter side streets.  We tried all day to catch the local bus for .25 but it just wasn't happening for us.  The first bus stop we came to we sat  for 20 minutes only to have the bus fly right by us.  We then figured out that since it was a local and a Miami bound stop, you had to jump up for the bus you wanted or they don't stop.  So we walked on hoping to get one at another stop.... we found a stop that was local about 5 blocks away.  We waited, and waited, and well you know.  All the buses that came were Miami bound.  By then I was getting a little testy, after all the only reason we wanted a bus was so we could ride around the entire loop and see where things were.  So we schlepped back a couple of miles to a great Latin American Cafe away from the beach and had lunch.

  

We then decided we would try the bus again.  Walked another mile or 2 on back blocks then decided to make it up to one of the main streets to find a stop.  Found one, waited about 10 minutes and yahoo a local bus!  I jumped up immediately and started for it, when the driver started waving wildly, NO, NO.  The damn bus was full!!!!

That did it....we decided to walk back, by now we were probably about 3 miles from the dock so we got to see most of South Beach yesterday.  Today we are having a moratorium on walking, and bus stops!

BUT...we did have a fabulous lunch, got to see lots of architecture, people and got a great nights sleep.

Cory & Jessica are headed over this afternoon.  They decided they deserve a little break from working 7 days a week during tax season. Cory's never been to South Beach, so we will put our walking shoes back on tomorrow.  It will be good to see them.

The Perils of Dinghy Life

 Gary's Feet...Ankles in water

This is what happens when you leave your dinghy and go to South Beach
.....bail, bail, bail.  but as you can see we were not alone!

We anchored in Key Biscayne on Monday after a 6 hour trip from Key Largo.  Very calm and uneventful, not many boats in our path either way.  We thought we would go to No Name Harbor which had been recommended, but Gary thought it might be too small for our boat so we went around to an area just off of Hurricane harbor.  For some reason the anchorages everyone raves about are very small, so we tend to stay outside "on the fringe" as it may be.  There were 3 sailboats there when we anchored and it was a great place to spend the night. We checked out No Name in the dinghy the next morning and decided that we would try it for the day and see if we wanted to spend the night.  

Long story-short version-   We tied up to the concrete dock, pumped out (main draw free pump out for $2. day wall dockage) and decided to unload the bikes and tour the park.  It was a beautiful state park, and the lighthouse setting was fabulous as it has been refurbished with great pride...It was blowing a steady 15 mph NE wind and when we decided it was just not big enough to accomadate our needs ,we are swingers!!  need lots of room. In this anchorage you have to move off the wall at 6pm and anchor in the small cove, and there were already several boats there so we decided to move on.  Getting off the wall was a challenge,  along with her other "issues" the Sea Angel is not the most manueverable old gal on the seas but with a little coaxing she comes through, and off we motored through a sudden downpour. 

We headed towards the Marine Stadium in Miami which had been recommended to us by a sailor in Key Largo. This stadium was built in the mid 60's as a boat racing venue. It is a long lagoon with bleachers on the South Side.  It hosted  boat races from outboards to unlimited hydroplanes.  It has also seen concerts and boxing (on a barge in front of the stadium) to religious services and political rallies. In 1992 Hurricane Andrew came through and with the ensuing damage it was closed down after city engineers said it was structurally unsound.  In the past few years there has been a grass roots movement to bring it back to its former glory. 

Gary was totally enthralled! It is now covered with graffiti, the seats are mostly still intact, and having raced boats himself he could litteraly hear the thunder of the old V-12 Packards of the unlimited hydroplanes . If he could have transported himself to those days he would have.  It was a very personal experience for him.

Unfortunately there is no way for the cruiser to get ashore here, i.e., no dinghy dock.  So we decided to move on to the Venetian Causeway Anchorage.  It was a little dicey getting in as there are a lot of submerged piling on the charts and once we did get in there was no room with all the boats already there so we decided to explore.  We followed the Sunset Islands around and came upon a great spot between a multi-million neighborhood and the Julia Tuttle Bridge.  No other boats, a great dinghy ride to the secure dinghy dock by the anchorage and so far no sirens blaring....no riff raff allowed!

Tomorrow is my day.....South Beach!!!!

Slide Show - Key Largo to Key Biscayne

New view off the poop deck Tarpon Basin...Key Largo Bayside

Gold Medal State Park....very busy place.

Getting ready to learn about the Mangroves

Under a beautiful White Mangrove Canopy

Boats on the move.  We were following the barge and sailboat and the Cat was
sailing towards us in the Intracoastal just north of Islamorada.

Our nemisis...the Crabbers!!!  There are crab pots EVERYWHERE!!  It's like playing dodgem'

The wind was blowing around 15 out of the North East on our bow, but you can see the calm
water ahead in Baker Cut.  Going through the Mangrove islands is beautiful. 

This is a picture of the bottom in the clear water of Florida Bay in about 6 feet of water.
The dark areas are tall Sea Grass against a sand bottom.

Saturday's Move

Yesterday we hauled anchor (s) at 9am and headed north for Key Largo.  It was windy but there were lots of other boats headed in every direction.  The sailors had on their foul weather gear, we had on shorts and sweatshirts, and the crazies had on bikinis!!  I can't figure out who's nuts here....although now that I think of it the bikinis were headed south and we were headed north...there has to be a correlation there.  

It was a beautiful if uneventful trip.  The water was a turquoise I have only  seen in the water off of Isla Mujares, Mexico and with the shallows deeps and shoals it was a sight to see.  I have heard people liken it to the Bahamas and others say it doesn't even come close.  All I know is it was amazing. 

We continued to dodge crab pots....it's become an eye strengthening skill trying to pick them out with the wave action the sun glare and the myriad different colors they are painted.  The hardest to see when it is rough are the white as they look like the salt scum or waves.  Every once in a while you will see one that is brightly painted and easy to see.  We figure these are the new crabbers..and that within a few years theirs will also be white.  I can't fathom why crab is so expensive with the amount of crab pots we have seen...they obviously aren't doing it for fun.

We arrived in Tarpon Basin at 12:15 and have already met  interesting people.  We try to get as much info as we can from everyone we meet so that our trip will be less filled with surprises.  We have gotten conflicting info on where to anchor in Miami so that will be a try it and see.  I guess everyone has their favorite place. We went to Publix (Florida's favorite and sometimes only grocery) yesterday to stock up on perishables and necessities like snacks. 

That trip brought to mind one of the things we used to take for granted....the trip to the grocery store.  For me it used to be a daily inconvenience when I always tried to get a spot "up close" so I wouldn't have to walk far ....with my grocery cart.  NOW....we untie the dinghy, tie the dinghy back up when I remember we don't have the shopping bags or the list...untie the dinghy again, set off for shore.  Tie the dinghy back up on shore and start the 1/2 to 1 mile walk (the distance of every grocery store so far) only to buy too much to carry back comfortably because we cannot run to the store every day now.  Walk, much slower, back to the dock to load up the dinghy, to get back to the boat, to unload.....etc.etc.etc.   But and this is a major but.....it is a challenge and much more interesting. We met another cruiser along the way yesterday and chatted for quite a while. He gave us valuable information about the area and the amenities here in Tarpon Bay. At home it was eyes ahead and over as quick as possible.  Now I am always looking for opportunity to talk to and learn from people.

Today we walked to John Pennekamp State Park and walked through the mangrove trail, where we learned that the red mangrove is the one we see closest to the water. We also saw a film about the coral reefs and the fish that inhabit them.  After Gary's experience with the Man O War that may be the closest we get to underwater adverture for awhile.

We will now wait for our  meeting tomorrow with the pump out guy and hopefully head for Biscayne Bay.

Life is Good!

This may not look like it but it is howlin' out there!

Hunkered Down

 We did go ashore today, and had lunch at Lorelei's.  I had Conch Chowder, which was excellent.  Lorelei's was not quite what I expected and the picture I took was really bad so let's just say it is in open air bar/restaurant in the Keys tradition, with an imported "beach" out front with lots of table and chairs in the sand.  I think it is very popular with the party crowd as they have entertainment every afternoon and night. We watched a sail boat drift across the harbor as we were eating and Tow Boat US went out to catch it.  It was the boat that had been fairly close to us last night. The owner moved the boat this morning back closer to "the action" at Lorelei's as it is a bit of a dinghy ride from here.  I am all for NEVER moving the boat to another spot if the anchor is holding, it is just asking for trouble.

The wind is supposed to blow like this today tonight and tomorrow.  We still have out the 2 anchors and may put the 3rd out tonight as a backup.  Last night it really calmed down and we got a very good nights sleep.  I was on the futon in the saloon as it is a little less movement there, so all I had to do was pop my head up every hour or so and say "yup, we're still looking at the lights on our target house, all is well" and promptly fall back asleep.  The boat wasn't making the groaning noises she was the night before as the winds are now coming over the land and the water is choppy instead of rolling.

So now it is hunker down and read, hope we have another good night and be ready to do it all over again tomorrow. Bet you're not one bit jealous!! 

Another "Poser"

Finally made it...Bass Pro couldn't find a thing to buy either, what a disappointment!

Heading to shore on a very windy day.

As the sign says : " ONLY IN THE KEYS"!!!

This was an interesting sign about the Keys and how they are the world's
most important feeding grounds for Salt Water Fish

Leaving Matecumbe for a Better Protected Anchorage

Leaving Matecumbe Bight in a NE wind

Cormorants staking their claim for the coming winds

Best to be prepared!

This is a first.  Waves crashing (almost) on the deck

Weather Ready

We had a very uncomfortable night last night.  It was very windy and this was our first real experience in high winds at anchor.  Not much sleep for me but the boat was still intact when I woke up this morning. It sounded like she was breaking apart (natural sounds I have been assured) but I figured even if we went down we were in 6 feet of water so we would just have to wait it out on the bridge!!  This morning we went over all of our options and decided that sooner or later we would experience bad weather so it may as well be now.  This way we could get more experience under our belts and have a plan in place for when it was unexpected.  My first thought of course was to turn tail and run but a calmer psyche explained everything (again) about wind direction and land and shallow water protection I decided might as well give 'er a go.

We have moved about 5 miles to Islamorada in another Bight that is more protected from the North winds that are predicted for the next 3 days.  The real bummer is it is going to be a long 3 days if the winds keep up at this speed because we can't dinghy to shore, unless we want to get soaked.  The REALLY bad part is that there is a Bass Pro Shops store ( that is my very favorite store) a dinghy ride away!!! 

We have 2 anchors set a 45 pound plow and a 35 pound danforth, with another 45 pound danforth at the ready just in case.  We also have our anchor alarm set.  So I guess we have done all we need to do.  We are again in 6' of water, so the bridge is always there, and all the sailboats here are welcome to join us.  There are a couple of power boats here so far.  Maybe more will come in later, we got here around 11am so we are in a primo spot.  Right now the winds have laid down a bit so I think I'll join Gary in checking out the neighbors.

Sounds like tomorrow is going to be even windier, so I am going to suck it up some more and hope that my acupressure wristbands continue to do their job.  As we can only read so much, have no TV , been married 41 years, we are going to learn to play a new card game!

15 MPH NE winds really kicked up the seas but unbelievably the ride was better than yesterday as we were head on to it.

Jet Ski Frolicking just began at 4PM.  They must love waves like surfers do.

This system held us in head on North winds last night so, let's do it again!!

Checking out the new "hood" and the jet skis.

Heading North

Well today we have started our journey north.  We stopped in Marathon for 2 nights to do laundry, get rid of garbage and get water and a pump out.  While there of course, Gary had to fix the head "AGAIN" need I say this is becoming a regular occurrence.  Toilet on back deck....YUCK!!!!!  I must say though, he does not make me participate except for minor cleanup.  All those years of changing diapers have finally paid off.

It has been quite warm and humid so while plumbing ( and sweating buckets) of course the man of war trauma has flared up again with a rash and itching. We are treating it with cortisone cream and Benadryl.  A mild cold front is coming through on Thursday and the temp is starting to drop so hopefully the cooler dryer air will clean it up and we can put it behind us.  One more thing to check off the list.

Ok, back to the move north.  We left at noon today and headed up Hawk Channel (which is the main channel in the Atlantic from Key West to Miami) to Matecumbe Bight which is on the Florida Bay side of Lower Matecumbe Key.  I don't think we will do any exploring here.  The winds are supposed to increase tomorrow and Thursday and we will head North to Islamorada where there is more protection from Northern Winds.  

We still continue to meet great people and have interesting conversations and learn valuable things.  On Sunday we were dinghying around the harbor again in Marathon  and were invited aboard Shibumi a sailboat from Palm Coast Florida.  David and Jill gave us so much great information for our trip to Miami and beyond.  They gave us the best anchorage yet out of the many we have been given for Miami and we can't wait to get there.  Close to South Beach where I have always wanted to go, and with a great view of the Miami skyline and the cruise ships.  

They also told us that there is a night shuttle launch on April 19th.  We plan to be in that area at the time and were thrilled to find this out.  They said it is incredible.  So, with the simple generosity of cruisers, we not only made 2 new friends who gave us valuable information, we go forth with knowledge that will help us on our journey.

And I will hopefully get to cross TWO things off of my bucket list.  Miami Beach and a shuttle launch.   Things I have always wanted to see.  Oh, Joy!

The pictures below are from the last week.

I do work around here....while underway I drive (so I don't get sick) ha,ha.
I just love dodging those crab pots and running over the Man of War....I now have a
"thing" about them.  They are no longer interesting but evil!!!

View aft as we travelled north to Matecumbe Bight today.
It went out to sea south of us
no problems!

This is NOEL.  We met her at the flea market.  She was waving to us and her little paws
were moving so fast it's a blur in the picture.  Very cute little dappled Dachsund.

The island I talked about in Newfound Harbor that reminded us of Sand Island.

Houseboat anchored off of Little Palm Key..."Pandora's Box"
Wonder what the clientele of little Palm thought of the view.
We thought she was adorable.

We got a hoot out of this....what in the heck does Semi-Professional mean
don't know if I'd want him as my dentist.