Wednesday, February 22 - Storm

Wednesday, February 22 - Storm 

  

Our good weather streak has ended!  We had planned to leave this morning but we waked to very cloudy skies and high winds.  We went to the office to shower and to try to get my phone fixed.  Showers were quick, phone fix was NOT!  After MANY minutes on the phone with Apple support, they decided I needed a new phone.  I thought it was set up to deliver at this marina tomorrow, but our credit card flagged the charge as possibly fraudulent so it didn't go through.  By this time, a storm had set in, with lots of rain.  We both got soaked on the way to the boat.

Back on the boat, another hour on the phone with Apple support, well 57 minutes, and I think I am finally set up for the replacement phone to be sent to the condo where Robert and Pris are staying.  It feels like I spent the whole day on the phone with Apple support. 

The rain finally stopped late in the afternoon, and we walked to Fresh Market to get bread.  On the way, we took this picture of the Miami City Hall.  The building was the Pan American terminal building for sea planes from 1934 until 1945. 

We are on Dock 5, this is the view from shore.  It's a LONG dock!  

Tomorrow - Ft. Lauderdale, we hope.

Tuesday, February 21 - Generator Repair

Tuesday, February 21 -  Generator Repair

Since we spent the whole day yesterday at the marina, we decided to walk into Coconut Grove for lunch.  Danny found a Mexican restaurant with outside tables, and a view down the avenue. 

My phone is on the fritz.  I spent lots of time on the phone with Apple support, it seemed to be fixed.  We use it for weather, navigation, maps - I need it to work.

Since we were waiting for Bob to check the generator, I decided to do some laundry.  This laundry room had 6 washers and 8 dryers, and were only $1.50 per load.  Nice!  Since there are so many live-aboard in the marina, showers and laundry are top-notch.

When I got back from the laundry, Bob was just leaving.   Good news - he found a loose connection, but nothing was wrong with the generator!  We are good to go!

Monday, February 20 - Another Chill Day

Monday, February 20 - Another Chill Day

Danny talked to a guy on the dock yesterday and he recommended that we talk to Bob about our generator.  Bob's slip is right across from us, he had talked with us yesterday when we pulled.  He and his wife have lived on their boat for 25 years at this marina.  They did The Loop four years ago.  Anyway, Danny stopped at his boat, he said he might could look at the generator this afternoon.  So we waited at the boat all day, Bob never made it.  Again, it's the way boat life runs.  Maybe tomorrow. 

I did get my phone fixed, magically it seems.  We did a little house cleaning, read, and enjoyed the beautiful day.

Sunday, February 19 -- Extending Out Stay in Miami

Sunday, February 19 -- Extending Out Stay in Miami

The generator wouldn't crank this morning, so we headed into the marina itself to charge up and get the generator checked.  

This is Florida'a largest wet slip marina with 582 slips and a jillion mooring balls.  My phone would not work all day, but I took a few pictures with my iPad.

We chilled, watched a movie, and ate dinner.  That's all.

Saturday, February 18 - Coconut Grove Arts Festival

Saturday, February 18 - Coconut Grove Arts Festival

We awoke to another beautiful day.  A little windy, but perfect for walking through an arts festival.    We caught the water shuttle from our boat and headed for the park at the end of the docks.

The Coconut Grove Arts Festival was begun in 1963, and it is still going strong!   Artists come from all over the country, with the most incredibly beautiful art of all kinds.We were blown away by the glass, the jewelry, the sculpture, the wood working, the fabric arts, everything!  We only bought food, a visor and tshirt, things were a little out of our price range, but it was an amazing experience!  And we did enjoy the food. 

We had so much fun, we wore ourselves out and came back to the boat for a rest.  However, we needed milk and ice, and our friend Kevin had told us about a dinghy dock close to Fresh Market, so we headed out.  The water was very choppy, maybe extremely choppy, but Captain Dan did a great job getting us to land.  The place we landed the dinghy was beside a restaurant and marina, and as we were got off the dock a guy came up to tell us we couldn't leave the dinghy.  The dry storage launch was there, and he was afraid we would interfere.  Since I had almost fallen getting onto the dock the first time, I stayed on land and let Danny move the dinghy to a spot on the other side of the landing area.  This little dock was in a corner of the "cove," so we there was quite a bit of trash, including a twin mattress.  Nice.  And there was a constant flow of boats being put into the water.  People going somewhere for dinner, we guessed. 

We walked to Fresh Market, made our purchases, and returned to the dinghy.  The second dock was higher than the first, and we had to sit on the dock and step down into the dinghy.  I made it and didn't even get a splinter!  The ride back to the boat was exciting.  The waves were even rougher and higher.  Since I sit in the front, I got sprayed several times,  We passed this island on the way out, saw a family with two young boys who had kayaked out.  I hope they had a good time.

In addition to waves this afternoon, we heard boats racing, cigarette boats we guessed.  We could see the spray - they are fast boats!

The generator wouldn't start, so we used headlamps and our lantern to get around.  Danny grilled steak and vegetables, even in the rocking water. 

We hope that cruising tomorrow will charge the house battery and we'll be good to go.

Friday, February 17 - Miami Boat Show!

Friday, February 17 - Miami Boat Show!

 I have always wanted to go to a major boat show.  We have enjoyed the ones in Knoxville, but I wanted to see one of the really big ones.   Although we didn't plan our trip around the Miami show, we were delighted that they coincided.  

We took our dinghy in, in case we were late and missed the last water taxi.  Their dinghy dock is smaller than the one in Key West, but still a popular place. 

Transportation to the boat show is a major issue, so we took a taxi with Kevin, whom we had met in the marina office.  It took a long time to get there, traffic was horrible.  This is the second year the event has been held at Marine Stadium, a boat racing venue that has been closed for years.  There is no way to adequately describe the size of this venue. Huge tent buildings, elaborate transportation set-ups, docks built and brought in just for the event, boats and people everywhere!  I was overwhelmed from the time we got out of the taxi!  We made it through every building and most of the docks - wore ourselves out!  I have to mention the lunch.  There were food trucks and booths, we chose the Mediterranean food truck because the line was shorter.  I ordered Chicken Schwarma and Danny ordered a Kafka platter.  Weren't we adventurous?  Both were excellent!

Here are some pictures from the show. 

Thursday, February 16 - Coconut Grove

Thursday, February 16 - Coconut Grove

The marina here runs a water taxi every hour, so we took it in to the office to register and find breakfast. 

(PIC ON BOAT). The office is in a three story building quite a distance from the water taxi dock.  It's very nice with a terrace overlooking the marina, mailboxes for live-aboards, laundry and shower facilities, and a lounge with internet hookups, television, and a take-one, leave-one library.  But it is a major trip from our boat!  About a half mile to shore, then a nice walk to the office.

The only place the people in the office could suggest for breakfast was Fresh Market.  For breakfast, really?  We walked several blocks to get there only to find that the options for breakfast were bakery items.  Not Danny's idea of the perfect breakfast. Wednesday chose blueberry muffins and sat outside to eat.

The marina office had no tourist information at all, not even a map, so we went into the Courtyard Marriott to see what we could find.  Armed with a map, we headed out for "historic" Coconut Grove.  It was definitely an interesting area. 

We found a great little park right in the middle of town, Barnacle Historic State Park.  The house was built by was Ralph Monroe, one of the settlers of Coconut Grove and a leading designer of sailing yachts.  It is the oldest house in Miami still in its original location, and on the grounds is one of the last remnants of the Miami Hammock, a tropical hardwood hammock.  The house is an interesting design and has incredible woodwork.

Back at the marina, the water taxi, which normally runs on the hour, did not run at 2:00 due to rough seas, so we walked to the Grove Bay Grill for lunch.  We had planned to go there by dinghy for dinner, but we are always flexible. The view was nice and the food OK. 

Waiting for the next taxi at the marina office, we met some interesting people.  Sherrie, who had witnessed our approach yesterday and called people on the VHF to help, introduced herself.  She lives on a sailboat by herself, and even races it.  I am in awe.  Kevin, who also witnessed our approach (I think we created a spectacle) chatted with us, and we made plans to share transportation to the boat show tomorrow.  It's so easy to get to know boat people.  Here we are headed back to the boat with our new boat friends. 

We forgot to get ice, so Danny took the dinghy back to the office to get some  It's at least a half mile, and the dinghy is not speedy!

Another great Miami sunset!

Wednesday, February 15 - On to Miami

Wednesday, February 15 - On to Miami

Once again, Jane and David picked us up, this time for breakfast.  Their rental car only holds four people, so when the six of us go anywhere, they have to play shuttle bus.  The restaurant was wonderful, and had some great signs.  

Then we shopped for bargain t-shirts, and said goodbye on the docks.  It was so wonderful to see these dear friends after almost five months.

The wind was brisk, but we decided to head out anyway.  When we got into the canals, things smoothed out, but when we hit Biscayne Bay, things picked up again!  The Intracoastal Waterway goes up the middle of the very large bay, and it had large waves.  We could see Miami in the far distance, but were miles from either shore.

We called Dinner Key Marina, a city of Miami facility, and they had space in their mooring ball field, so we headed that way.  The wind  had really picked up by the time we pulled in and the waves were rough!  We took FIVE passes at the mooring ball and still didn't get it, and I lost the boat hook.  Two boaters got in their dinghies and came to help us, thank goodness.  I was ready to head to the middle of the bay and wait until the waves calmed down.  We made it, thanks to our friends, and had a rocking night! 

Tuesday, February 14 - Goofing Off

Tuesday, February 14 - Goofing Off

We started the day with time in the hot tub and pool.  I stayed and read a while, it was luxurious!

Jane and David and Betty and Hume came to take a cruise with us.  We ate lunch at the tiki bar before we left, and Danny surprised me with a dolphin bracelet bracelet for Valentine's Day.  (Remember, the dolphins are my cousins.). A lady had a booth set up beside the tiki hut and Danny found this bracelet.  I was very touched. 

We went out  a couple of miles into the Gulf, then came back into the cut. The weather was beautiful.  We saw a few birds, but didn't get good pictures of them.

Another wonderful day in paradise!