We arrived on February 5th in Dinner Key Marina in Miami, FL...walking distance to Coconut Grove and were fortunate enough to have access to a mooring ball. Friends Tom & Sue, being on a larger boat, have to anchor in the harbor because there's no mooring ball available to accommodate their boat. We are VERY fortunate to have gotten a mooring ball because seas have been rough, even in the harbor. Yesterday and today have been especially rough, with the boat rocking and rolling but we are securely tied to the mooring ball so no worries.
We have been to shore several times in the dinghy, exploring the surrounding areas of Miami Flats (not the greatest area) and Coconut Grove, a very nice yuppy type community within walking distance of the marina. A shuttle service is available in the mooring field, which runs on the hour and takes passengers to shore and back to the boat. However, because of rough seas nearly every day, the shuttle wasn't running much of the time. Thankfully, we had our dinghy so we didn't feel stranded to endure the constant rocking of the boat.
Tom Hamel drove from Spring Hill yesterday, with plans to join us for two nights. We met him at the dock and then walked downtown Coconut Grove for dinner. We very much enjoyed his visit and took the rocky ride back to the boat in our dinghy only to spend a very uncomfortable night trying to sleep on the rocking boat. Poor Tom had a miserable night, unable to sleep, so decided this morning that he would feel better leaving a day early. It turned out to be a good decision, as seas were rocky all day and still tonight.
This morning we got sad news that friends Tom and Sue had their dinghy destroyed in last night's wind so they won't be able to make the Bahama trip with us. We were SO sad for them, and sad for us that we won't be traveling together. However, they will be in Bear Lake for the summer so it's not good-bye, but "see you later". It has been a lot of fun traveling with them, and we know we'll have many good times ahead.
Sue, her friend Julie, and I took the shuttle to shore at 10:00 and Julie drove us to the laundromat, to a great lunch, and then to Trader Joe's. It was a great day, and a relief to be off the boat onto solid land.
While I was gone, Jim worked hard at trying to find other "buddy" boats to cross with to the Bahamas. He found that there are many boats waiting to make the crossing from Ft. Lauderdale, so it appears that we will have plenty of company on our anticipated crossing on Monday. Thus, tomorrow we will leave Miami to go to Ft. Lauderdale and, if the weather still holds, will make the crossing to West End, Grand Bahama Island on Monday. Yahoo!!
I will plan to do another posting tomorrow night from Ft. Lauderdale and update our loyal followers on the latest plans. Hopefully I will be able to post some pictures also, so please stay tuned....hugs to you all!
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