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January 20, 2013
Got up at a liesurely pace this morning, took the dog for his walk, dumped the garbage. Back on board, I did a quick system check, which revealed we're in need of a pump out, and we're pretty low on water. Wow - I can't believe we've been anchored here for a whole week already! Where the heck did that week go??? Weighed our options and chose to move along today, going in search of a marina. Got a hold of one with room for us over in Tavernier - right on our way to Key Largo and the West Marine store that has our part scheduled to be delivered on Tuesday. Works for me! Pulled out at 10:30, and took a slow cruise, and a short one at that (11 miles), northeast brought us to the Mangrove Marina at Tavernier. Pleasant little place, very protected in here (nice to be non-bumpy for a change!) - were able to pump out and fill up the water tanks. We're now settled in for some football (yeah cable tv!!!!) - guess it'll be chicken wings for dinner (appropriate football food!). There are stores close by, and the marina manager said he'd be happy to drive us over to the local Winn Dixie tomorrow. Hanging out in our slip, Matt noticed what appeared to be a "B-Cat" sailing into the little harbor. It got closer, and sure enough, it was a B-Cat from Bayhead, NJ, the "Puffin". Once more - it's a small world!!! January 21, 2013 Todd from Mangrove Marina dropped us off at the Winn Dixie, where we proceeded to spend some serious money! Probably our biggest re-provisioning trip yet since we left home - but we're pretty well set for heading on to the Bahamas. Just need to do a last minute beer and produce run before we leave, and good to go. We pulled out of Mangrove Marina shortly after noon, only heading out about 10 miles to Tarpon Basin (at Key Largo). Anchored there about quarter to two - we'll be hanging out here today and tomorrow before heading to Miami on Wednesday. This was a great anchorage - we're right in front of a dog park with a dinghy dock! Perfect for ol' whatshisname! And it's only about a mile and a half down the highway from the West Marine, where we need to pick up the part we ordered for the dinghy hoist. Hung out, had dinner and a movie on board, and headed off to catch some zzzzzz's. January 22, 2013 Played at the dog park, had a liesurely day of doing not much more. Went for my bike ride to West Marine late in the afternoon and picked up our boat part. Found a decent calendar too - the one I've been using is so small I have to get to within about 6 inches of it to be able to read anything!! The little things in life. . . . Ok - chow on board again, and of course a movie before bed. Uneventful day, but ya need them now and then!! January 23, 2013 Departed Key Largo at 8 this morning, logging in 44 miles and tying up at Miamiami Marina in Miami a 1:45. Great location (and, boy, are we paying for it!) right at the edge of town. We can see the Hard Rock Cafe from our boat, and from there the whole Bayside walk with tons of tourist shops. Hung out at the boat, enjoying a quiet afternoon - had dinner on board before bed. January 24, 2013 Got up this morning and got some boat cleaning done (once more badly needed!!). Went into the shopping area at the Bayside walk, and hit the food court for a great lunch! Not too much else today, just hanging out waiting to hear from our son, Daniel, who is flying into Miami today to join us. He landed about half an hour early, at 3, then faced the challenge to find a cab to get himself over to the Miamiami Marina. He managed that and arrived at the boat by about 4 pm. Got him over the travel blues, and walked about town for a bit, then hit the Hard Rock Cafe for a beer and moved over to Hooters for some wings (and sights) for dinner. Hit the hay kind of early, in spite of the local LOUD music that played almost all night long (finally let up around 3 or 4 a.m.!). January 25, 2013 Daniel and I did a little shopping today (his flip flops from last season are falling apart!), then we all did lunch at the food court (once more, very yummy - we all got stuffed!). Cruised about town, hit Walreens to pick up a prescription, and just kind of checked out the sights and the local commercial sightseeing boats. Daniel wants to adopt a 2 masted catamaran that he spied. . . . Tonight for dinner, we opted to go to a raw bar and "just" do some apps, since we were still stuffed from dinner. And great apps they were! Ceviche, oysters, and a lobster spring roll - all fantastic!!! Stuffed again, we retreated to the boat for a movie before rolling ourselves into bed. . . . January 26, 2013 We're moving along today, mainly because this marina is very expensive. Pulled out by noon and traveled all of 9 miles north to the Keystone Point Marina in North Miami. Tied up there about 1:15 - fueled up the boat and the dinghy, pumped out the holding tank. Sounds like we might be stuck in this vicinity for about a week waiting for a good weather window to be able to do the crossing over to the Bahamas. Daniel and I did a "re-con" bike ride, and very fortunately found a barbershop (if you looked at his pic at Hooters, you will know he was BADLY overgrown!!!). Got that taken care of, and got the lay of the land, to include finding "Flanigans" where we intend to have dinner. And what a really great dinner it was! And much cheaper than anything at central Miami! Everthing was marvelous, the dessert we all shared was out of this world! Apple pie, topped with ice cream, drizzled with caramel and sprinkled with crushed Heath Bars! Thank God we split it 3 ways - and we got their 3 specialty martinis to accompany it. Wow!!! Back on board, I'm getting my log up to date. We'll finish up a movie and go off to dreamland. My "MiFi" (internet) is due to expire in a couple of days, and I don't think I'm gonna renew it, because it'll be useless over in the Bahamas. So will our phones. So any and all communications will be spotty at best - subject to us finding wi-fi spots (few and far between) over there. So if you don't here from us, that's why. I'll do my best - but sorry - no guarantees!!! |
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