We made a mad dash to Ft. Lauderdale. We loved the Keys so much and wanted to spend as much time there as we could. We really enjoyed Islamorada where we found a very interesting small marina to stay for a week. Coral Bay Marina is old and small but with a ton of character, and full of characters. There were several boats with single guys who are living permanently on their boat. Every day they would gather on the small dock and talk about just about anything in life. There were very handy guys to know, and readily help me fix some of the items on our boat. They were nice folks, who were truly living the low key, low cost, slow life of boating. There is something to be said about that.
We anchored one night just north of Gilbert's Marina on Key Largo. We spent an interesting night there two years ago with Charlie and Cait. This was our first trip on Rock Chalk, so we were very much the rookie. Gilbert's is pretty rough and I had no desire to stay there again. So we found a nice quiet anchorage to spend the night before the madness of South Florida. We needed that.
Miami is just nuts. There are a gazillion boats everywhere. Some with some pretty girls. I am pretty tolerant, but these folks are not your typical boaters. The more the merrier in their world and they don't mind crowding in, whether its in the ICW, or waiting on a bridge. But we made it without anyone crashing into us, although I thought we were toast several times. North of Miami you hit the more affluent suburbs, and the costs and boat size goes way up. The houses get bigger, and the yachts become Superyachts, and the marinas make you pay for it. This too was definitely not our class, but its fun to look at.
We left the boat at a friend's house in Ft. Lauderdale last week to come home for Easter. Dave Newman is a guy we met through our friends who live in the Abaco's. Dave has a house over there as well, but lives on the canals of the Middle River in Ft. Lauderdale. He was kind enough to let us tie into his dock for our 3 week trip back to Austin. Free is good anytime you are boating. Thanks Dave.
Shelley and I have figured out that we spend around 2 months at a time before we get the itch to come back to see family and friends. We just can't stay away too long with her parents in their mid 80's, and the grandkids changing daily. So we enjoy and want to come back to see everyone, even though all our boating friends are in the Bahamas already, or are headed back north. But everyone has their own priorities, and that is the beauty of this lifestyle. Our friends in Miami Beach on Muddy Waters completed the Loop this December and returned to MB to get the kids back into school this semester. Our other friends on Cruisin Cat from Louisville, decided that two years to do the Loop was enough and sold their boat this week. Now they are on to even more and different travels. There is something that appeals to all of us, and it is always different.
Shelley and I have not quite figured out what we are going to do yet. The Loop was a major goal for us, and to complete that was a huge challenge. Now we have explored the Keys, and we will spend another couple of months exploring the Bahamas. Then what????? Not sure yet.
That is what makes this so fun. Don't plan...just live day to day or month to month and explore the waters to which our wonderful boat can take us. There is so much to see or re-explore, and we are excited about the possibilities. We miss our Looper friends, but hope to see them on the water in the next year. But for now... Here come the Bahamas. As always, come see us. The water is beautiful and warm. Marc
