Miami Days

We’re here in Miami and I would say we definitely have what my nephew-in-law calls “the Florida attitude”. I’m not quite sure how I’d define that, so I’ll just say we’re enjoying the weather, the tropical scenery and our surroundings in general.

The natives are very accommodating! 

The marina here is small and not fancy, sitting just off the ICW on the western shore of Biscayne Bay, where the breezes come up every afternoon. Unlike our previous two marinas, transient cruisers and live aboard couples predominate, with only a few sportsfish. The atmosphere is low key and friendly, set by the very accommodating staff of two. Our complex includes three high rise condos on wooded grounds with a nice pool area and fitness room, which are available for our use. 

The complex sits on the edge of MiMo, the recently designated Miami Modern neighborhood. While the side streets have many small renovated 50’s style homes, Biscayne Boulevard (US Route 1) is a little iffy, although the best restaurant in Miami, according to Zagat’s, is at the end of our block. There are numerous 50’s style hotels, some more attractive than others, but we couldn’t resist photographing Wishes-- yes, it is actually in operation-- we have a laugh every time we drive by!

South Beach Sunday

We see Manatees almost daily here, and sometimes a congregation of them heaving under the sea grass which blows in and out with the tides and wind. We also see dolphin feeding off our stern on occasion, and last week, there were incredible moonrises.

We spent our first Sunday afternoon here walking the board walk at South Beach with our niece and her husband who had joined us for a long weekend. We also explored Coconut Grove with them and went back again ourselves last weekend to the 49th annual Coconut Grove Arts Festival. There was a huge number of artists and skilled crafts people, food vendors and many fellow visitors, a fun afternoon. There are many, many things to do here and I’m afraid we’ll run out of time and energy before we’ve scratched the surface.

Moon Over Miami (Beach)

Miami has become a center for the art and design markets and the Design District is about 20 blocks away, home to several restaurants on our list. We are often struck by the feeling that we’re in another country, not just from the diversity of the population and the multiple languages, but by the look and feel of the buildings and streets, the elevated trains. We have been seduced and Miami is again high on our list for next winter.

Going back to our trip here over two weeks ago, I’ve included a photo of Carry On underway coming down from Jupiter, approaching the Donald Ross bridge. It was taken by friends from the eastern shore of the ICW as we transited-- we had no idea they were there. We really got a kick out of this photo and the others they took, as we never see ourselves underway!

We have two more weeks here and I know it will go fast. More later---

"Carry On" southbound at Palm Beach Gardens

Home Again

So Happy Together

Yes, it’s been a while since I sat down to blogspot.com. We’re in Miami today, having arrived yesterday afternoon after an early start, transiting 29 bridges, 26 of which required a draw. While we had beautiful weather to travel, it was an intense day, calculating speeds required to make timed openings, sometimes treading water waiting for a bridge tender to stop traffic and sometimes needing to giddyup. We’re pleased with what we’ve seen of our new marina and the 10+ acres surrounding it, but more about that later.

The trip back home to Carry On from Sun Valley was a long one—a car, three buses, three planes and then the ride home the next morning from the cat sitter’s with a very vocal and unhappy beastie. Once back on board, Bubba was fine, but stayed pretty close to me for a couple of days!

We really enjoyed our stay in the Palm Beach area and it’s definitely on the agenda for next year. Thinking about the appeal beyond the weather and the golf that so many enjoy there, we loved the beautiful beaches and paths for long walks, the availability of good and reasonable restaurants, the shopping-- for marine supplies and everything else—a good fish store, the citrus stand, the stone crab truck on the highway, and of course the Sunday morning Farmers Market in Palm Beach Gardens. 

Pickles Anyone?

Operating from October to May, the market ranged beyond the usual array of produce to the family run pickle stand, the olive stand, Mr. Mycelium and the Mushrooms, a couple of olive oil vendors, a woman selling custom painted pointy toed shoes and high heeled sandals, orchid specialists, “Sisters in the Pot”-- two large ladies selling Bahamian conch specialties, barbeque and Jamaican jerk stands, a burrito and empanada stand, even huge funky flowers made from recycled plastic. I’m sure I’ve missed a few. As interesting as the vendors is the people watching—especially with a cup of coffee and a treat from Mr. Bread!

There were so many other things that we didn’t quite have time to do this year, but key to our happiness and well-being are the friends in the area, both old and some new. 

Paul's Favorite Stop

I never thought much about palms before our extended stays in Florida, but I’ve become an aficionado-- so many varieties and while I have my favorite species, I know the names of few. The Palm Beach area is beautifully landscaped for the most part, accented with tropical plants that we struggle to grow indoors in New England and colorful plants and flowers. The hibiscus have been in bloom and sun tolerant impatiens are abundant, and the banyan trees provide lovely shade. It all feels very tropical and exotic, and a very nice way to spend the winter months. A little scary to these two confirmed New Englanders!

More technical difficulties with the “SPOT” so you won’t be able to see our location for a few more days. The problem will be solved with 3 new lithium batteries from Amazon.com—we’ve discovered leaving it on while running all day goes through battery life quickly! 

Banyan Tree Near marina

High and Dry at 43°41.1859’ N, 114°24.0475’ W

Gondola View of Ketchum & Sun Valley Resort

It’s quite a different morning here in Sun Valley—the temperature is 59 degrees cooler and we look out on a snowy landscape. We’re nearing the end of our two weeks skiing vacation here and have enjoyed ourselves thoroughly, despite the hard rain that fell all over the mountain the day before we arrived. Our first day out felt more like New England skiing, particularly one large ice cube of a run on our way back to the base at the end of an otherwise enjoyable day!

The skiing has gotten better and better each day and with the exception of one day with high winds which felt like a sandblasting on the mountain top, the weather has been very comfortable and sunny—as one would expect in Sun Valley. We’ve been away from the area for three years and a new gondola now provides a high speed connection and fabulous views of Ketchum and the Sun Valley resort area. I’d be remiss not to mention John, our incredibly observant ski instructor and excellent coach, who always makes our skiing experience a great one. In return, Paul and I provide him job security!

Snowy Day in Marblehead Harbor

We spent our first week away from the boat—and Bubba—in Marblehead, doing our biannual round of doctor and dentist appointments and catching up with friends. We accomplished most of what we had planned, even with the rude mid-week interruption of 16 inches of snow. Our flight to Hailey, Idaho was easy, with settled weather and planes that had open seats and elbow room.

We leave for Florida next Monday, arriving late evening. After spending the night in Ft Lauderdale and picking up Bubba the following morning, we’ll be back on board Carry On,  which has been washed and buffed during our absence. We’re crossing our fingers that Bubba won’t be too angry with us—at last report from his caregiver, he is still spending most of his time under several layers of covers on his queen size bed. 

For those of you who have attempted to use our “Spot” link, we have discovered that the location information expires after some period of time. As we don’t leave the beacon out when we’re on a dock, there is presently no new data-- we’ll correct that next week when we’re back on board and beginning our run to Miami.

Seattle Ridge Lodge from the top of Baldy (Elevation 9,150 Ft.)

Happy New Year!

Jupiter Inlet on a Calm Morning

A friend called Paul last week and said it had been so long since the blog and SPOT had been updated, that he wondered if we’d sunk! We reassured him that no, we had been in the Marina at Admiral’s Cove for three weeks, but had just moved to a slip in Jonathan’s Landing  about a mile away, still in Jupiter. You can see us again using the link-- although I have to say, from a bird’s eye view, our new slip doesn’t look strikingly different. The boats are a bit smaller, without crew for the most part, surroundings less landscaped and manicured—and no wonderful fitness club that we so enjoyed at Admiral’s Cove—but still very pleasant and pretty. My favorite thing at Jonathan’s Landing is a large pond near the 7th hole which is completely surrounded by pelicans, herons, egrets and wood storks. The storks are odd enough creatures, but I’m really waiting to see one of the three sandhill cranes that live in the community.

But back to our friend—his call did wake me up to how long it’s been since I put out an update. No good excuses other than holiday preparations, some varnishing work done on our interior and exterior, Scotty being here for a couple of days (among other things we now have wind speed and direction so we can tell you just how bad it really was) seeing friends, trying  out some local restaurants, even going to the movies—you get the picture, it’s just life—on a boat! 

Mangroves off the ICW

We have enjoyed our time in the Palm Beach area even though we don’t play golf or tennis or fish, the primary preoccupations here. The weather was lovely for walking or exploring, mostly sunny and warm, even near 80 for a couple of days. On Christmas day, we put the dinghy in the water and went out for a ride down the ICW and through some of the canals looking at houses and the boats on the docks. The photo of the mangroves was taken that day and I wanted to include it because I have been fascinated by the peculiar arching aerial roots that provide desalinated water to the plants. They are ubiquitous here, used for erosion control along the banks of rivers, canals and the ICW.

It was a busy weekend of tying up loose ends and packing for cold weather. Early Sunday morning we flew back to Marblehead for a week’s worth of doctors and dentist appointments and catching up with friends. From here we’re flying out to Sun Valley for two weeks skiing-- we are excited about our vacation and crossing our fingers that muscle memory will kick in when we get those ski boots on. It’s been three years since we last skied and we couldn’t put it off any longer.

Night Heron at Dawn

The boat is in a safe place in Jupiter visible to us by marina web cams and Bubba is at kitty camp just north of Ft Lauderdale. We felt very good after meeting his caregiver and seeing his bedroom full of climbing gear, catnip toys and places to hide, as well as a patio view of plants and birds. As of yesterday Bubba is still in hiding under the covers despite all efforts to make him feel at home. I’m sure all will be better in time.

That’s the update for now-- we’ll be back in Florida February 1, regroup and reprovision, then head a bit further south! We’ve booked a marina just north of Miami that has been getting rave reviews from the cruising community. It will be a good base for a short car trip to the Everglades, the Miami Boat Show and exploring South Beach. We’re there until early March and after that, no plans—yet!

Statute Mile 1007.6

Off-duty watch relaxing underway

When last I left you-- 10 days ago-- we were anchored at Pine Island, taking a short day so the captain could perform the 350 hour oil change on our engines. As all good plans go, this one also went astray for want of a quarter inch hex wrench, so the next morning we found ourselves in St. Augustine, walking to a hardware store for same. Mission accomplished toolwise, and after several hours in the engine room, the captain also proclaimed the oil change accomplished. My more extensive walk around town made me rethink my previously rather negative attitude towards St. Augustine-- probably due to a truly awful dinner with surly service after a too long walk too late one night last year. We’ll stay over in the spring on our way north and perhaps give you a revised opinion!

Frosty morning in Ft. Pierce

Our trip went smoothly the following days despite gale warnings and rainy forecasts. We proceeded down the long stretch of the Indian River, a wide open body of water with a narrow channel of navigable water. 

We’ve always found this stretch difficult because it 

requires close attention to stay in the not always obvious channel, yet there is little scenery and after the first day, it can get pretty boring. Luckily the dolphins seemed unusually active, amusing us by surfacing and diving in our bow wave and swimming in groups of up to a half dozen under the bow for a mile or two at a time. Besides the usual herons and egrets, pelicans plunging head first into the water for fish also provided entertainment for the action starved!

On the last day of this stretch--a gray, very windy and rainy day--  we left our anchorage in Daytona, traversing the Mosquito Lagoon past Port Canaveral and Cocoa  with salt spray splashing over the bow as far as the aft deck. With the chop continuing to develop in the shallow waters, we tucked into the Banana River through the swing bridge at dusk and immediately found ourselves completely protected and cozy, with Christmas lights twinkling in the houses around us.

Sunset arrival behind Dragon Point, Banana River

Still in the Indian River, we made our way through beautiful Hobe Sound to Fort Pierce, suddenly finding ourselves in gorgeous aqua water and despite the frosty weather overnight, we began to feel like we were in Florida. We saw the first manatees that we’ve ever seen while underway as we were navigating the three Jupiter bridge openings, controlled by the grumpiest bridge tenders on the waterway. After that frustrating experience, it was a short trip to our marina at Admiral’s Cove, statute mile 1007.6, according to our cruising guide-- that is,1007.6 land miles from Norfolk, where the ICW mile markers start at 0.

Over 887 nautical miles logged since passing through Norfolk on November 2-- Now that feels like an accomplishment!

Pelicans at Day Break

Another Shrimper

Laundry Day

In Florida in Fleece

Cumberland Island National Seashore

What a week. I had planned in my mind that our week in Fernandina Beach was going to be a time to catch up on some exterior projects-- the eternal stainless steel cleaning and polishing, cleaning the dinghy and finally painting its numbers on, etc. If you’ve been watching the weather almost anywhere in the country, you’ll know none of that happened!

We did enjoy our stay, despite the winds and whitecaps in the harbor. We were very grateful for our trusty reverse cycle A/C, the big Army Corps of Engineers boat across the dock that blocked the wind on a couple of wild nights, fleece blankets, fleece jackets and a warm cat in bed at night. Next year we’ll start the journey south a bit earlier!

On our way from Savannah to Fernandina, we anchored one last night in Georgia at the Cumberland National Seashore, one of my very favorite anchorages. The island is  beautiful and unspoiled, with huge live oaks lining the path across the island to the Atlantic beach where wild ponies can sometimes be seen running on the beach. We missed the ponies this trip, but saw an armadillo, deer, many shore birds and even a few hardy campers. 

Critter in the Underbrush

We left Fernandina this morning, making our way past Jacksonville and it’s shipbyard and the Mayport Naval Station. It’s been slightly warmer today and pleasant to be underway. Tomorrow and Saturday are forecast to approach the normal range before temps plummet again on Monday, but by Tuesday we’ll be at our marina in Jupiter, near our friends in Palm Beach Gardens, where we’ll stay until after the New Year.

We are anchored for the night off the Tolomato River behind PIne Island, though if you look at the terrain on our Spot link, you’ll notice there aren’t too many pines.

To the Beach

Deer in the Dunes

"Low Country"

A week has passed since we left Charleston and we have slowly made our way down the ICW to our anchorage for last night in Jove Creek, near Brunswick, GA. We’ve passed through varied terrain since leaving our spot on the City Marina Megadock, but we are constantly reminded why this area is called low country. The banks are marshy or muddy depending on the tide state and the horizon extends out as far as the eye can see. Finding a protected anchorage on a day like yesterday when the wind is howling can be difficult as there are few high places to tuck behind and few areas with the necessities of swinging room, suitable depth and bottom, plus a stand of trees that might serve as a wind break.

Once again our plans to go outside and enjoy less intense piloting were preempted by high seas. Instead we have twisted and turned through the Stono, Wadmalaw, Dawho, Ashepoo and Coosaw Rivers among others, sometimes feeling we are going more east and west than south. The winding rivers are connected by land cuts which at least straighten out the course for some distance. No-wake zones abound in populated areas and shifting shoals await the unwatchful.

Bald Eagle

We spent Thanksgiving in Hilton Head--a balmy, sunny 75 degree day perfect for a long walk on the pleasant trails near our marina. We were joined by local friends on Saturday, who made the short run down to Savannah with us. They know their way around Savannah well and had positioned a car at our marina, so we had a great time exploring and enjoyed some wonderful meals. What a lovely city with its’ canopy of ancient live oaks and palm trees! 

One note on our marina there and its famous tradition-- every morning a box of still warm Krispy Kreme donuts is delivered to each boat. Not exactly what one needs after Charleston, Savannah, both of our birthdays, our anniversary and Thanksgiving all in the same month, but still pretty much delicious. And when will we have such an offering again? 

One of the things that always surprises and delights us is discovering that friends are near our path on the waterway and with a phone call or a VHF hail we can arrange a rendezvous for that evening. So it happened a couple of days ago and we had friends from Ft Lauderdale join us for dinner that night. We said goodbye yesterday morning at first light, hoping for another such encounter in Florida waters. 

Next port --Fernandina Beach, a favorite spot where we’ll spend a week-- more later from there.

Impromptu Raftup at Walburg Creek