We had an exciting day today!! Woke up to watching a guy work in his water jet skills next to us. I never thought about how hard it is to balance and control water jets. More time spent hitting the water than above it. Steve and I decided to bike around the city of Miami today. Since we are able to leave our bikes locked up at the sailing club it’s easy to just unlock and ride! So we loaded up on our electric “ hog” bikes😂 and took off for an exciting adventure! Out through the manned gated entrance to the sailing club and out onto the sidewalks and well manicured park trails. We discovered a couple of parks one with cool sculptures and a neat workout playground area, and the other we found riding from that park over a quaint little bridge to a dog park. I was tickled to see a lady with a Rhodesian Ridgeback , such a cool dog. It has a dark streak down its back. She was very friendly. We found out by riding past the city courthouse by the ocean that there was a Christmas parade tonight. So we went to eat at Fresh market and headed back to the parade area. It was so cool to see all the children and other parade participants getting ready. Dancers fire trucks mounted police and many others. It was nice until the college students from hell showed up with bloody rags made to look like babies. And signs protesting everything from Israel to open borders to lgbtqxyz issues. It was supposed to be a silent protest behind the stage by the road but they moved to the side of the parade route and screamed so loud you couldn’t hear the parade singers music or enjoy the parade! We were informed by the police that they ignore them because liberal college professors pay them with good grades if they go protest! Oh the ignorance of the young. We tried our best to ignore them and enjoy the free pizza and cokes😃. The tree was beautiful and the girls singing was so much fun. Fake snow ended the evening and the beautiful lighting of the Christmas tree.! Good night and stay tuned for more adventures.

Ok walking exploring and enjoying Coconut Grove checking out all the cool clothes ice cream gelato movie theatre and the cool areas. Sorry I didn’t take many pics I spent most of my time keeping up with Steve on his bike.

Out with the bicycles today to explore Miami! Plus we need to hit boat store for parts. Get this it’s called Crook and Crook( what could be more fitting for boat parts store). I loved all the stuff they had though, found a cool shirt there on clearance whoo hoo! Oh man and a huge hardware store like Ace!

Up and into the dinghy to go exploring Miami by water today. We started out going through our unique mooring field filled with so many cool sailboats just waiting to hit the bay for some refreshing sailing. Out to Dinner key anchorages and mooring field, with around 200+ sailboats and a few trawlers. These boats are in a completely unprotected area when the winds kick up. Most of these boats are people that live in their boats and some are transients just traveling through town. The Miami skyline is beautiful. The bridge we have to go under will lead us to the area where the mega yachts and cruise ships are docked. Skyscrapers are still being built everyday, Miami is still growing. As we traveled along we decided to retrace our old trail from when we were here in 2012 on our way to the Bahamas. It was not much different actually except for the increase in boats anchored out. I couldn’t wait to get to Collin’s canal that goes under several roads and bridges and walkways to the Publix dock and runs behind the convention center. It was exhilarating to see the old areas from our first trip! I ten years though things had changed. Some of the cool houses and buildings have become dilapidated. We had to go under a roadway across the canal and we hadn’t counted in high tide😆we barely made it under but we did! There were iguanas hanging out on the fences empty lots and in the trees. 🌴 Like guardians protecting their territory. After we explored the canal, we decided to head back to the area where we first anchored out in 2012 and the boats anchored out looked like ghosts of their former selves. Slowly wasting away no longer loved and cared for like they used to be. It’s very sad seeing the amount of boats slowly dying in the marinas and anchorages as well as mooring fields here. I think there should be a huge tract of land where these boats can stabilized and be used as houses for those on a budget without paying taxes! But that’s just me. We decided to make a run and check out no name harbor. As well as check out the empty stadium area where we staged for Bimini in 2012. The restaurant at no name was not worth the money but the scenery was great!! I have a lot of pics for you! Enjoy!!

Hello friends! Alright let’s jump right into this day! Made a strawberry refrigerator cake for us today to enjoy as our most excellent dessert as we head to Biscayne Bay with the sails luffing and then trimmed tight as a drum into the wind. Entering into the bay the wind was perfect for sailing our new headsail! We turned off our motor and sailed wonderfully effortlessly across Biscayne Bay. The sun shining down on us with the warmth of a gentle smile. We sailed into Miami looking for a place to anchor. After a frustrating search the young man at Coconut Grove Sailing Club said he had a mooring ball!! My heart lept out of my chest almost! Yes the search was that frustrating. We had a wonderful spot close to the dock with very good protection, actually awesome protection. With a concierge taxi to and from the main dock!. So Steve and I head out to see what we could see. That included a very upscale Coconut Grove town, with neat restaurants, clothing shops, gelato stands, and a very cool movie theatre. Just to tell you of a few. We had a half price happy hour pizza 🍕 which was handmade and most excellent! What a great day!

Up and at em early this AM headed to Miami and leaving Islamorada behind. Here we go playing the dodge em if you can crab pod markers! We are headed up the ICW which is always cool and lots of things to see. We passed the toilet seat inlet but it was too low tide to go that way today☹️. Maybe next time. On down the waterway with its mangroves sudden vast openings and many birds we go! What a beautiful day for a boat ride😃. We came upon a cool little marina / restaurant/ bar/ local hangout. Not a good place to stay with our boat. Not kept up very well seemed a little dilapidated. Walking along the marina walkway /docks we saw a huge manatee just hanging out by the marina buildings. There was a little beach packed with families enjoying the sunshine! There was one type of music playing loudly by the beach tables and another type playing loudly at the bar area. Too loud and the mixture wasn’t good😂 A large sailboat half sunken by the mangroves. Several other boats anchored here and there. We finally got gas here, the attendant was great! And decided to anchor out near the end of key largo at The Ocean Reef Club. Now the ORC is a gated self sufficient neighborhood with an airstrip/ airport for the occupants. We anchored out by the private island associated or owned by the ORC, pretty cool little place with a private marina, gazebo and looks like a welcome building or shop? It’s called Pumpkin Key.

We had some company come out to see the sunset in what was an old boat style from the 50s/60s looked like. Watched a few private jets take off and land at the ORC and watched as the sun sank into the horizon leaving that beautiful fire glow slowly spread across the horizon.

Great anchorage, the lights are bright from the houses on the ORC. Very peaceful night.

Laundry day today. Maybe weird but I love laundry day. I head out to find the laundromat dragging by loaded bags in my wheeled cart through the town of Islamorada, down the cracked sidewalks, across the road of death over to the cutest little laundromat. I walked in taking in the cool beach decorations on the walls the cute sitting area with the tv above the comfy beach furniture calling my name! So I put the clothes in to wash buying my little bottles of tide and Downy, then went to sit and relax pluggging my phone into the wall behind the settee and enjoyed my time washing drying and folding! Always fun in paradise! The cool walk back with my little wagon of clothes was great. Looking to my right and left seeing the small gated rental condos, the bright beautiful blooms of the pink Azalea bushes along the walk, and the little lizards running to and fro at the speed of Speedy Gonzales( for my gen folks haha). 😂 Met Captain Steve at our favorite restaurant and enjoyed watching the private plane bringing in customers to Lorelei’s. Watched a beautiful sunset and said goodnight for a peaceful nights sleep.😴

Took the dinghy out to check on the boats stuck in the mangroves and stuck on the beach. Such a beautiful calm day today. Enjoying the sun water and just plain relaxation time! Admiring the lounging manatee and speedy nurse sharks all around the dinghy. The nurse sharks hang out mostly by the Bass Pro Shop. Lounging back on the boat watching the birds and the fish oh and the humans come and go during the day. There are lots of tours on sunny days here. Some snorkeling, some in mini boats and diving too! Great music and a funny rock n roll magician at the restaurant. I am signing off for now. Enjoy the pics and

Our anchor is the bomb. No dragging and a great hold here.

Used today to catch up on some much needed rest!

Well the wind started picking up yesterday evening and continued to climb throughout the night. With the strongest winds clocked at 76 knots! Wow! The wind sounded like the continued low roar of a grizzly all night. You could feel the power of the wind pushing our boat to a heeled over position then release it only to push the front or opposite side! Mother Nature can pack a punch people! We stayed up most of the night watching the movement of the boat and boats around us. It was so actually good sleeping motion. The boat swung 360 degrees on our anchor, and luckily the anchor reset so we only dragged about 20 yards. Way luckier than a lot of other boats around us. We watched as the sun rose in the overcast sky to boats washed ashore and in the mangroves! “ oh what a night”!