Hurry Up and Wait

We left the nice little anchorage about 6 am because we knew this was "bridge day" Thirteen bridges that had to open for us and they open on their schedule, not ours.

We made the first one right on time but we had to wait on most to if the others. Some we missed by 2 minutes...if you're not very near the fender system when the bridge opens most of the time you're not going to make it. Guess the bridge tenders have strict rules about opening early, late or holding. Most of them follow the rules but some will give you a little slack. The only time they're required to deviate from the schedule is for commercial traffic or an emergency. I'll spare you a blow by blow description but it took us 10 hours to travel 40 miles.

We anchored in Lake Worth along with 17 other boats. Had a brisk wind and a moderate chop but Phil again did a good job of setting the anchor.

Here's a few pictures in the anchorage.

Sun setting over Lake Worth.

This is a moon shot. Had to get a good one.

Skyline to the west.

That's all folks. Upload is taking too long.

Good as New

The hotel has a continental breakfast for it's guests so the gal who signed us in for the marina told us we were included. Not the best we've ever had but the price was right.

True to their word, West Marine had our part by 10:30 am. We rode our bikes to pick it up. Not a bad ride but we had to cross a bridge over the ICW. It's better for old folks like us to push the bike up the steep side and ride it down the other.

After lunch when we got back to the boat it didn't take 5 minutes to put the lever on and we were ready to ride. The trick was how to get the boat out of the slip with a very strong current and wind blowing us sideways. A couple of the guys working there used our lines to get us out without hitting any of those million dollar yachts.

Since it was already 2 pm we backtracked a couple of miles to an anchorage. We needed the practice anyway using the new anchor and windlass that we've added since we left home. Phil did a great job getting it set on the first try. The boat ran as good as new when we made this short run. Tomorrow will be the real test.

We're in a small lake right off the ICW and here's a picture of one of the houses. Eleven thousand square feet with a price tag of 2.7 mil. Maybe in our next life.

The chef tells me that dinner is ready...tuna salad, sliced tomatoes and crackers.

Battle with a Plastic Bag

Wednesday morning we took our time leaving Ft. Lauderdale because we were planning to go only 17 miles to Boca Raton. But the best laid plans... Within 2 miles we hit something in the middle of the channel and it caused a serious vibration. We limped into Sands Harbor Marina to check it out. As soon as we stopped the boat a plastic bag floated up behind us. Just to be on the safe side, we had a diver go down and check the prop and shaft. Once again, God was looking after us because there was no damage to either.

We did discover that the forward/reverse shifter on the steering column had cracked. Seahawk is an old gal so getting parts for her can be a challenge. The local West Marine didn't have the lever in stock but assured us they could get it in by noon on Thursday. Once more we found ourselves in the best place to be in a bad situation. Since we had a broken shifter we decided we'd better stay put for the night.

Sands Harbor is a resort hotel and marina. We signed in at the marina office to spend the night. They gave us a “happy bag” full of lots of useless stuff but it did have one complementary meal at their restaurant. We used it for a late lunch/early dinner then called it a day.

Since the weather was quite pleasant we sat outside until well after dark. Caught a shot of the Goodyear blimp.

Here's s shot of the hotel with a few boats in the foreground.

And here's one of a neighboring boat. By the way, out boat was the smallest in the marina.

Back on the Wi-fi Trail

Sunday night after we got back from the beach our wi-fi wouldn't pick up. Another round in this heavy weight fight. Virgin Mobile couldn't correct the problem and told us we'd have to take the device back to the store where we bought it. Remember now, we're in Hollywood and the store is in South Beach. I explained to the tech rep that wasn't possible but to no avail. So on Monday morning I called the store. They said I could take it back to any Radio Shack for exchange. No problem except no store in the area had the device. Another day without wi-fi because the marina didn't have it either.

Tueday morning we continue our search for the elusive "stick". We left Hollywood and made our way to Ft. Lauderdale. As soon as we docked I went to the marina guest room and logged on to find Radio Shack. I hit the jackpot, or so I thought, with the one nearest the marina. When I called the saleperson said they had plenty in stock. Back to public transit and figuring out which bus to catch. We had learned in Hollywood to buy a senior one day pass then we could jump on and off as often as we liked.

Made it to the store fairly easy but that's where the fight began all over.
They didn't have a single one of the stick in stock. After going a couple of rounds I finally gave in and bought a hot spot that isn't installed on a pc. In fact, it will connect up to 5 pc that are within 30 feet of the device. Not sure if I won or lost this fight but at least for the time being we have wi-fi on the boat.

On our trip back to the marina the bus route runs along Ft. Lauderdale beach. In fact, we had to get off on the beach road and walk back to the marina. It's not even spring break yet and the beach and broadwalk was mobbed. Imagine what it'll be like when all the college kids and the wannabes get down here.

To celebrate the end of our wi-fi mission we treated ourselves to dinner in a real sit down restaurant. That's one of the few times we've been out at night but it was nice. And we were up after 9pm!!

Heading to Hollywood

We stopped in Dinner Key for the night and stayed a week but we finally left Saturday about 8am. Had a nice leisure cruise up the ICW through Miami. Here are a few pictures along the way.

We arrived in Hollywood (no, we're not trying to become stars) about noon. The marina had fixed docks, swift currents, and a 2 foot tide variation. It took us a while to get into the slip and secure all the lines to accommodate the tide. By the time we settled in and took a shower it was time for dinner. The ICW is lined with restaurants, bars and hotels for much of the way through Miami and northward to Palm Beach. In Hollywood the ICW is very narrow so the smell of food cooking is very tantalizing. We resisted on Saturday night because we had food on the boat that needed to be used.

Phil worked at the Swap Shop about 20 years ago so he wanted to go back and see if it had changed. It's the largest indoor/outdoor flea market in the country and the second largest tourist attraction in Florida. During the day it's a flea market and at night it's a drive-in theater with 14 screens. So Sunday morning we jump on a bus and check it out. There's probably nothing that can't be purchased there. The indoor vendors had a hugh variety of new merchandise and the outdoor vendors had lots of used stuff. We must have walked 5 miles in the heat and the crowd. Sorry we take any pictures but it was just too hot and too busy.

The Keys have very few public beaches that we saw so we hadn't been to the beach since we got down here. Hollywood has a very nice beach so Monday afternoon we checked it out. The water was too rough and there was a rip current so we just sat on the sand and watched the people.

Got an email from my friend in Marathon. She has a pregnant manatee in the canal behind her house. Every time she goes out to water her plants it rolls over on it's back begging for a fresh water bath. How can you ignore something so innocent? Knowing Patricia, she doesn't even though fresh water is a precious commodity in the Keys. Thought you might like to see a picture.

Patricia begging mama manatee.

In Search of Wi-fi

Since our accomodations at Dinner Key don't include wi-fi it became a challenge to find a source. We can walk to the library that doesn't open until 10 and not at all on Fridays. Or walk a few blocks further to Starbucks, buy expensive coffee, and use the battery up on the pc.

Then our Canadian friend Marilyn told us about her wi-fi with Virgin Mobile. She even brought her pc on the boat to show us how it worked. Being the skeptic that I am, I went on-line (at library) to check it out...cost, coverage, contract, etc. Seemed to be the answer so then we had to find a supplier. Radio Shack was the largest retailer given and there are no stores in Coconut Grove. So it's off to Miami and we have to figure out the public transit system. Numerous buses run numerous routes from Coconut Grove both north and south and the marina office doesn't have schedules. Not wanting to trek back to the library to get on-line, we decided to wing it.

When we got to the bus stop there was a phone number to call for info. To get help, you have to have a beginning and ending address which we didn't have. But we did find out which bus would take us to the metro rail station. Talking about country come to town, we didn't have a clue how to even purchase a ticket.

Here's one view of the station.

When we got off at Government Center in Miami, we thought we needed to get on the metro mover to get to the store. Got off where we thought we needed to be just to find that we were further away than when we left the station. So we walked back. End of story...by no means. This Radio Shack didn't have the magic stick that we were chasing but the store in South Beach did.

So another bus ride and an hour later we finally got to the store. South Beach is another whole story but let's just say I've been in foreign countries that weren't as strange. We made our purchase and got directions on how to get back to Coconut Grove. It's now 3 pm and we have to be back by 5 to catch the last water taxi back to the boat.

Now comes the fun of installing the device on the pc. To make a long story short, it wasn't a walk in the park but mission accomplished. We started out on this venture about 11am and got on line about 9pm.

Wonder if it's going to be worth it!!

Presidents Day in the City

Presidents Day was sunny but cool...which was great after yesterday's heat wave. We spent the morning on the boat; Phil did minor repair jobs and I helped when I could but mostly kept out of the way.

The water taxi picked us up about 1:00. We needed to get to a wi-fi hot spot, pick up gas for the generator, and grab some lunch. This marina doesn't offer wi-fi and the office staff couldn't tell us any place except Starbuck's in CocoWalk to pick it up. We knew the library was a good spot but the Art Festival had that area blocked off. In fact they had about a square mile blocked off. On Sunday we had to go around the area to get out but today a security guard led us through it. Saved us a lot of walking.

As we were leaving the marina office we ran into a Canadian couple who had been in Marathon. We didn't meet them there but they knew our boat and saw us here in the harbor. So we had a nice conversation with them. They convinced us that we needed to stay here for another day and they'd show us around. So tomorrow we'll take the tour with them and then decide how much longer we want to stay.

Phil wanted you to know that he stayed at the Ritz-Carlton in Coconut Grove (for 5 minutes) and here's proof.

CocoWalk is in the heart of the business district in Coconut Grove. As you might expect, most of the businesses are upscale and on the pricey side. But it's a “must see” for tourists and there were thousands of them here for the Art Festival. Starbuck's was so crowded that we gave up on wi-fi and went to Johnny Rocket's for lunch. They claim to be the home of the “original hamburger” so of course we had to try one. When the waitress brought the fries she made a happy face with the catsup in a small bowl.

Sorry it started to run together in the picture.

Phil chillin' out at Johnny Rocket's.

We had to get back to the marina by 5:00 to catch the last shuttle back to the boat but we also had to go the opposite direction to get gas. This marina doesn't have fuel which is not unusual for a government-owned facility. Guess they aren't allowed to compete with local merchants. We made it with time to spare.