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DATE: Mar. 1, 2006
MILES: 1472 statute miles
ANCHORAGE/MARINA: Lake Sylvia anchorage, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
COMMENTS: We had dinner with Laura Rabb (friend from our days at the Gangplank Marina in DC), Linda & Dave Maner (S/V Sandpiper), and their friend Nancy at a restaurant and tiki bar called Bahia Cabana. After dinner, everyone came over to our boat for more socializing. We had a great time. We hadn’t seen Laura since we left D.C.
DATE: Mar. 2, 2006
MILES: 1482 statute miles
ANCHORAGE/MARINA: South Lake anchorage, Hollywood, FL
COMMENTS: It was a beautiful day, so as soon as we dropped the hook, we headed to the beach. We had a great time and decided to grab a bite to eat before heading back to the boat.
DATE: Mar. 3, 2006
MILES: 1482 statute miles
ANCHORAGE/MARINA: South Lake anchorage, Hollywood, FL
COMMENTS: We had such a nice day yesterday that we decided to stay another day. We spent the day on the beach again. Jo fixed pork chops on the boat and we watched the beautiful sunset.
DATE: Mar. 4, 2006
MILES: 1492 statute miles
ANCHORAGE/MARINA: Haulover Inlet anchorage, North Miami, FL
COMMENTS: This is a great anchorage with a short dinghy ride to a very nice State Park with a beautiful beach. It gave us fond memories of Mattawoman Creek in Maryland. We decided that we would definitely stay here for a few days and most definitely come back next year for a week or more.
DATE: Mar. 5 & 6, 2006
MILES: 1492 statute miles
ANCHORAGE/MARINA: Haulover Inlet anchorage, North Miami, FL
COMMENTS: We spent two more lovely days at the beach. We played Yahtzee all day and just enjoyed the relaxation and beautiful beach. Our good friends Donna & Ray Jackson called us and we made plans to meet the next day in Miami Beach. They couldn’t join us in Haulover Inlet because of their mast. There’s one fixed bridge between Ft. Lauderdale and Haulover that is just too short.
DATE: Mar. 7, 2006
MILES: 1504 statute miles
ANCHORAGE/MARINA: Belle Isle anchorage, Miami Beach, FL
COMMENTS: We headed for the beach at Haulover Inlet early so we could spend a few more hours there. Around 2 p.m. we pulled up the hook and headed for Miami Beach to meet up with the Jackson’s, their grandson, Cory, and their friend, Phil. We had a potluck on our boat. We had such a fun time catching up on the past year. They are headed for Nicaragua. Wonder if I’ll ever have the nerve to travel that far by Moon River? My guess is that I will not!
DATE: Mar. 8, 2006
MILES: 1508 statute miles
ANCHORAGE/MARINA: Mia Marina, Miami Beach, FL
COMMENTS: We said goodbye to our good friends the Jackson’s. They left for the Keys and we went to the marina. It was time to take on water, wash the boat, grocery shop, and do laundry. Marinas are beginning to be more work than pleasure. We did go out to dinner at Bayside. We received an email from our good friends Jim & Liz from Canada that we met in the Abacos three years ago. It seems they are heading for the Keys this weekend. We changed our plans three times in an hour so we could meet up with them. We’ve decided to go to Boca Chita tomorrow and stay for a couple of days. The weather is very windy and we love the anchorage so it’s a win-win situation.
DATE: Mar. 9 & 10, 2006
MILES: 1526 statute miles
ANCHORAGE/MARINA: Boca Chita State Park
COMMENTS: We spent two very nice days at the park taking walks and meeting new boaters. On the 9th we spent a couple of hours with a real nice couple named Kevon & Debbie on S/V Iona. On the 10th, we had 10-12 people on our boat for drinks and snacks.
DATE: Mar. 11, 2006
MILES: 1553 statute miles
ANCHORAGE/MARINA: Pumpkin Island anchorage
COMMENTS: This is a nice little anchorage. It’s quiet and was calm. We just relaxed and enjoyed the beauty.
DATE: Mar. 12, 2006
MILES: 1586 statute miles
ANCHORAGE/MARINA: Islamorada anchorage off Key Largo
COMMENTS: We had a nice ride and soaked in the beautiful array of colors of the water. It reminds us a lot of the Bahamas. We took the dink in to Lorelei’s for dinner and were we ever surprised! It was their grand opening after being destroyed by the hurricanes. They had a great live band but weren’t serving anything but boxed sandwiches, potato salad, and drinks. They said the kitchen wouldn’t be open until the following Tues. Toby had promised to wine & dine me so he made up for it by ordering me Lorelei’s best margaritas.
MILES: 1591 statute miles
ANCHORAGE/MARINA: Lignumvitae State Park anchorage near Key Largo
COMMENTS: We spent two glorious days at this anchorage. We’ve been here before and loved it then too. We went ashore by dinghy to get gas for the dinghy and have dinner. This restaurant had problems with their liquor license and was not serving alcohol. We had a great dinner and thoroughly enjoyed our unsweetened ice tea.
DATE: Mar. 15th-19th, 2006
MILES: 1647 statute miles
ANCHORAGE/MARINA: New Found Harbor anchorage off Little Torch Key
COMMENTS: We had four wonderful days with Leslie & Bryant Welsh. They are great friends that we met in the Abacos 3 years ago. We did everything with them. Leslie took Toby shopping, we went out to dinner, we had them on board for a day of fishing and then we had dinner on our boat. On our last day, we went by dinghy to a small beach and later had dinner at their house.
DATE: Mar. 20, 2006
MILES: 1681 statute miles
ANCHORAGE/MARINA: Bahia Honda anchorage
COMMENTS: We woke up fairly early and decided to get going on our way. The Atlantic was not what NOAA had reported. It was at least 2 times worse. We almost turned back but forged on in five foot seas since it was only 1 ½ hours. We found a nice beach and planted our beach chairs under a palm tree.
DATE: Mar. 21st-23rd, 2006
MILES: 1689 statute miles
ANCHORAGE/MARINA: anchorage between Little Pine Key & Johnson’s Key
COMMENTS: We woke up several times during the night at Bahia Honda. The wind was definitely harder than the 10-15 mph they were reporting on NOAA. A boat was anchored too close to us as well, so off we went to this anchorage. It was a very short ride, and once we arrived, we were totally protected from the wind. The anchorage was so beautiful that we decided to spend three days there (boating is so great when you don’t have a schedule). The view from our boat included nine different islands—it reminded us of the views in the Bahamas. Another special thing about the anchorage—it was not included in any of our cruising guides! Toby found it by studying the charts and navigating some “skinny water” to get to this off the beaten track pristine anchorage.
DATE: Mar. 24th -26, 2006
MILES: 1708 statute miles
ANCHORAGE/MARINA: Sombrero Resort & Lighthouse Marina, Marathon, FL
COMMENTS: We had so much fun on Thurs. at the pool, and then went shopping and cleaned the boat. Our friends, Annette & Kathie drove down from Delray Beach to celebrate Kathie’s birthday on Fri. around 6:30 p.m. On Sat. the ladies drove in to Key West while Toby checked in on his mom and brothers. He also made airline reservations to go visit his mom during Easter. Sat. night, we drove to a great restaurant called Cabana Breeze at Key Colony Beach. Sunday we woke up early and Annette worked with me on the smoking while Toby and Kathie talked and drank coffee on the bridge. They left around 11:00 a.m. to drive back to Delray for Kathie’s birthday party. Toby and I had planned to leave the marina but the weather was windy and we were sandwiched in between two large boats at the dock. We had dinner on board the boat and then had drinks at the bar. Everywhere we went in Marathon, we were entertained by a great musician named Sparky.
DATE: Mar. 27, 2006
MILES: 1766 statute miles
ANCHORAGE/MARINA: Little Shark River in the Everglades National Park
COMMENTS: We passed several beautiful beaches in the Everglades but couldn’t stop as we wanted to make up some time. We’ve decided that the next time we do the FL Keys route to plan to explore the Everglades for at least a month. We enjoyed the sunset on board as there was not a beach at this anchorage.
DATE: Mar. 28, 2006
MILES: 1794 statute miles
ANCHORAGE/MARINA: New Turkey Key anchorage in the Everglades National Park
COMMENTS: We had a beautiful ride today. We stopped early enough to drop the dinghy and hit the beach. We shelled and played Yahtzee on the beach. This key was devastated from the hurricanes. Very few of the trees had leaves on them. We blew the conch at sunset. During dinner, we watched a DVD as the KVH needs refreshing and the Verizon phone service was El Zippo. We weren’t too impressed with the “40 Year Old Virgin” last night but the “Wedding Crasher” was much better. However, we were both so tired that we couldn’t finish the whole DVD.
DATE: Mar. 29, 2006
MILES: 1820 statute miles
ANCHORAGE/MARINA: Panther /Hog Keys anchorage, Everglades National Park
COMMENTS: The phone service worked for a little time while we were underway. We quickly downloaded emails and made calls to our moms. This is a very nice anchorage. Dolphins were jumping completely out of the water. What a beautiful sight!! We did some more shelling and Yahtzee on the beach. There was plenty of vegetation on both the Panther Key & Hog Key. During dinner, we put in the DVD Wedding Crashers-Jo was able to finish watching the whole movie but Toby “crashed” before the Wedding Crashers. There’s always another night! Tee Hee
DATE: Mar. 30 – 31, 2006
MILES: 1850 statute miles
ANCHORAGE/MARINA: Naples, FL docked at Dan & Carmel Stephens home
COMMENTS: Toby and I arrived at Dan and Carmel’s beautiful home around noon and were welcomed with lots of hugs and kisses. We docked our boat behind theirs—M/V Cowheel). We met Dan & Carmel in the Exumas last year. They are a wonderful, witty, kind, and generous couple. We cleaned up and had cocktails at their home and then went out for a lovely dinner both days. Dan took us shopping and showed us downtown Naples. It’s a great city and lots of fun.
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