Ft Lauderdale-Michigan-Ft Lauderdale - Mar 17-26

On Tuesday morning, Reg & Vicki went on a supplies run while we walked over to see Captain Dan and Toni on Freedom. (The 151 ft yacht we met in Orange Beach is now in Ft Lauderdale) Dan & Toni gave us some great advice on what to expect while cruising up the East Coast. By noon we pulled the lines and headed out. Our destination was Brian Keenan's house only a couple of miles away. Brian is the owner of Keenan Marina, our home marina in Grand Haven. Brian has offered to let us dock by his home. We had a great afternoon enjoying his lovely pool.

From here we took a side trip home to Michigan! We decided it would be great to go home to visit our moms (Sheli's mom was celebrating a birthday) and get taxes taken care of. Wednesday morning, Brian took the 4 of us to the airport as Reg & Vicki were returning back to Michigan also. It was sad to bid Reg & Vicki farewell as they were an awesome crew. We shared many laughs and adventures over the past 10 days.

It was great to be home for a few days, and the weather wasn't too bad! We had sunshine and mid 40 degree weather.  (Not the 80s like we are used to, but we couldn't complain for Michigan.) Sheli and her mom spent lots of time together catching up and running errands. Steve visited his shop, spent time with his mom, worked on taxes and took care of boat and car registrations. On Thursday night we went to Rod & Jill's house for mom's birthday dinner. Yum! On Saturday Sheli had coffee with Deb Deters while Steve met Paul Takken as his shop for Saturday morning project time. In the afternoon we went to visit our dear friends Nelson and Karen Dupy. On Sunday Steve attended Woodhaven where he enjoyed seeing so many our church friends. Sheli stayed home to nurse a cold she caught on the plane. (Bummer!) We had a yummy home cooked Sunday dinner with Steve's family in the afternoon.  It was great to see everyone and share stories from our adventure so far.

Monday morning we flew back to Ft Lauderdale and back to our home on the Pura Vida. Our personal chauffeur, Brian Keenan was there to pick us up at the airport. Such service!  We were very happy to be back!

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we spent provisioning, doing boat maintenance (oil changes, etc) and touring Ft Lauderdale's fabulous homes and mega yachts by dinghy. Wow! Hey Toto, we aren't in Kansas anymore!  

From here we will head north on the Intracoastal waterways of Florida. We are looking forward to joining back up with the other Loopers. Since the Panhandle of Florida, we have all gone our separate ways, but now we should meet again as we begin our trek up the East Coast.

 

 Wow!

 Double wow!

 Triple wow!

 Ft Lauderdale Marina.

 Ice on Lake Michigan (from airplane) Brrrr!

 No shorts? No flip flops? Argh!

 Pura Vida at Brian's house.

Islamorada - Ft Lauderdale - Mar 7-16

Our home while in Islamorada was a small marina at LoreLei's Beach restaurant. We were docked overlooking the sandy beach dining area with tons a palm trees. In the evening we could enjoy live music right from our boat. (and lucky for us the music stops at 9pm and the restaurant closes at 10pm so we are still able to get our beauty rest)

On Saturday we went with Bob & Camie and their friends Dave & Roberta from another sailboat to the sandbar. Big fun! In the evening they took their dinghies in to LoreLei's to join us for dinner. Loren and Gerry from a third sailboat joined us also. Lots of great sailing stories were shared.

Sunday morning we went back to the United Methodist Church and heard the Island Quartet. In the afternoon our friends Reg & Vicki Stroven arrived and will be crewing with us as far as Ft Lauderdale.

On Monday the four of us walked over to the weekly fresh market and loaded up on lots of fun food. In the afternoon we took them by dinghy to our new favorite spot....the sandbar. Another great time standing knee deep in the Atlantic Ocean a half mile off shore.

On Tuesday morning a manatee came to visit our boat and stayed for quite some time. We think he liked us!  The Captain has named him Wally. After our show we all jumped in the dinghy and headed 5 miles in the other direction to Robbie's of Islamorada for lunch. The water was awesome turquoise! 

Wednesday morning, Wally came back to visit and this time he brought along his friend a 4 ft bull-shark.  It was a National Geographic moment. After the show was over the 4 of us took our daily power walk which included some stops in local stores. In the afternoon we hiked across the island (about 1/8 of a mile....whew) to the Islander Resort which has a great beach and pool. At night Bob and Camie joined us for dinner after which we bid them farewell and safe travels.

Time to move on. On Thursday with our additional crew of Reg & Vicki we pulled lines and made way for Key Largo. Our cruise for the day was 25 miles. We dropped anchor off shore of Key Largo and took the dinghy to shore to explore and have a late lunch. Back on the boat, the captain decided we should move a mile north to a more protected spot. 

Friday our float plan for the day, was to get to near Miami. After calling many marinas we finally secured a slip in Coconut Grove. The day was sunny and warm, however very windy. Biscayne Bay proved to be very choppy which lead to a salty boat and crew. We were very happy to settle in at the marina and get the salt of the day off us as well as the Pura Vida. Coconut Grove is a cute area with fun shops and restaurants. Captain Courageous ate octopus for dinner! Eww!

Saturday morning after loading up on supplies at Fresh Market as well as fuel we continued 5 miles up to Miami. We dropped to hook at Miami Marine Stadium. This bay and stadium were created in 1963 to be used for powerboat races and concerts. It was declared unsafe after Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

We enjoyed a beautiful afternoon hanging on the bow, swimming and taking a dinghy ride around the area. In the evening we grilled awesome steaks on the bow and had a wonderful dinner while looking at the Miami skyline. 

Sunday we traveled 22 miles through Miami harbor and the Intracoastal Waterway amidst cruise ships and ocean freighters. Sunny, hot and calm waters! Our marina for the evening was Dania Beach Marina. Brand new facility! Very nice stop. For dinner Reg and Vicki recommended we go the Saloon Le Tub. They have been here before and informed us that it's is said to be Oprah's favorite restaurant.

Steve had the best burger ever....it was huge! 

Monday we traveled 4 miles to Ft Lauderdale. We are now a very small fish in the pond! Super mega yachts everywhere! Our marina for the night was Hall of Fame Marina. The four of us took a walk on the beach and did some shopping in the afternoon. It's Spring Break so you can imagine how crazy the beach was. At night Reg and Vicki treated to an awesome dinner at Coconuts, a very popular restaurant in Ft Lauderdale. Yum!! 

 

 Our view at LoreLei Marina.

 Reg, Vicki and Sheli watching the manatee.

 Manatee watching us!

 Great dinner spot!

 Our crew Reg & Vicki!

 Octopus dinner!

 Dinner in Coconut Grove.

 View of Miami from Stadium Marina anchorage.

 Awesome night view!

 Goodbye Miami!

 Crew all cleaned up for dinner at Coconuts.

Key West - Islamorada - Feb 23-Mar 6

It was a beautiful, calm morning on Monday so we fueled up and headed out of Key West. We traveled via the Gulf side rather than the Atlantic as it has more options for exploring. Our destination for the evening was again anchoring at Tarpon Belly Key. This time we wound our way around different islands and channels.  Once again we had a gorgeous, calm evening on the hook.

Tuesday morning we woke up to dense fog so we delayed our departure a couple hours to see if it would lift. But it didn't. The captain decided it was time to move on, so we left in the fog and relied on our GPS and radar for navigation. About noon the fog lifted and it was another beautiful day for traveling. 

We had read about the pizza at the No Name Pub on Big Pine Key, so we dropped the anchor and took the dinghy over to the island for lunch. It was a great stop. Back on board, we crossed under a bridge to the Atlantic side and anchored off of Molasses Key near Marathon. 

Wednesday morning, once again we woke up to thick fog. We had wanted to dinghy over to a cute little island named Money Key. (When viewing Money Key from 7 Mile Bridge it looks like Gilligan's Island) The fog did not deter us, so we grabbed our IPad and plotted a course to and from the island.

We soon lost sight of the boat as we headed out into the fog. We found Money Key but the best part was all the sea life we saw in the clear shallow waters.  Boy was Sheli happy when the Pura Vida came back in sight!  By the time we got back onboard, the fog had still not lifted, so we again had to use our instruments to find our way to and through 7 Mile Bridge taking us back to the Gulf side.  We passed by Marathon Key and continued our way up the keys to Islamorada. By noon, the fog lifted again and we had a great cruise with many dolphin sightings.  We dropped the hook in Barley Basin for the evening and took the dinghy in for dinner. 

Due to the predicted increasing winds, on Thursday we moved to a marina at Islamorada. 

Since we are pacing ourselves for a March 16 arrival in Ft Lauderdale, we decided to spend the week here. The weather has turned hot and sunny so it's been perfect for exploring the clear shallow waters via dinghy.  An amazing spot we have discovered is through the next pass and an 1/8 of a mile out on the Atlantic. Here there is a sandbar where the water is from zero to a foot deep depending on tide. Many locals take their boats out here to enjoy the shallow clear waters. We have been there a couple times on our dinghy and love it. We have seen horseshoe crabs, man-o-war, fish as well as some great shells.  

On Sunday, we attended the local United Methodist Church. In the afternoon we walked to a resort on the oceanside as they were having a pig roast on the beach. 

On Friday, Dave and Linda Tuls, dock mates from our home marina stopped to visit and have lunch.

Dave & Linda did the Loop several years ago, so we had many experiences to compare. 

Our friends Bob & Camie on the sailboat Eclipse sailed up from Marathon Friday afternoon. We were the welcome wagon on our dinghy as they pulled in to their anchorage. We look forward to spending time with them here as we most likely won't see them again as they plan to live aboard their sailboat and continue on down to the Caribbean. 

 Another awesome sunset at Tarpon Belly Key.

 Great pizza!

 Leaving the Pura Vida in the fog.

 First Mate navigating dinghy back to the Pura Vida in the fog.

 Can you see the pass in the bridge?

 Dolphins!!!!

 Check out the size of this lobster!

 Sandbar in the Atlantic.

 Making friends at the sandbar.

 Pig roast.

 Tarpon!

 Another Pura Vida!

 Dave & Linda 

Month Six Stats

FEBRUARY 2015

Number of days:                           28       Trip to date:               180

Miles traveled:                             114                                         2742

Engine hours:                                15                                          353

Locks:                                             0                                             32                             

Gallons of gas:                         Not much this month!

Nights on anchor:                            3                                             25

Nights on free wall/marina:              0                                             36

Nights at marinas:                          25                                            119

States covered:  Florida (Keys)

Cruise ships, Coast Guard ships with gun turrets, peel and eat shrimp, juggling acts, windy days, pelicans, tarpon, miles walked, miles biked, palm trees, beautiful sunsets - too many to count.

Friends and family from home - 13

Manatees - 5

Bull sharks - 3

Snowy pictures sent from people back home - it's gotta end soon?

Highlights: Sights and sounds of Key West with friends. Southern most point of our trip.