Friday, February 12, 2016

First Half of February; Miami Beach, Miami, FL

Saturday, January 30

For our final day in Palm Beach, we walked down Worth Avenue.  It is a street full of very high end stores like Tiffany, Gucci, Cartier and Chanel, just to name a few.







The guys were more impressed with the sports cars.





Walking back through town, we stopped at a public garden and walked through it.





We picked up Papa John's Pizza for a late lunch, then went back to the boat and moved back near Peanut Island in preparation for an early departure the next morning.



Sunday, January 31

Caleb and Jacob had the anchor up at 4:15am.  We went out with the tide through the Lake Worth Inlet and spent the next 14 hours going south on the ocean.  There was good wind, so Brian was able to have the sails out while we were motoring. The heeling of the boat was worth it to make better time.


Our little stove is gimbaled, which means it swings back and forth with the motion of the boat and keeps the contents level, even when we are not. 

We were able to watch a beautiful sunrise.









The blue of the ocean was a gorgeous shade of dark cobolt.





We came in the Port of Miami channel that the  large container vessels and cruise ships use.

We arrived just a dusk and got the anchor set just off of Fisher's Island.








Monday, February 1





We woke to a rainy morning. The surroundings were still beautiful.





 The rain let up around noon. We decided to find a better anchorage, due to too much rocking of the boat where we were.  We moved to Marine Stadium, where we spent two nights.  Once settled there, we loaded up to go exploring.



The stadium was originally built in the 60's for watching power boat races.  The races have ended, and graffiti artist have covered almost every inch of it with all kinds of pictures and messages.





Workers were busy getting ready for the upcoming Miami Power Boat Show.

Near the front of the basin is a little Island.  We had fun exploring it after checking out the stadium.













Tuesday, February 2

The boys did school. Later everyone took turns kayaking. In the late afternoon, we watched rowing teams practice.

Wednesday, February 3

The boys did school. Midmorning the police came around informing everyone they had to leave the anchorage. It had to be emptied to make room for the boat show.

We moved to the  outside of the island.  We got to see a water plane take off nearby.









We also watched a power boat with treads go onto the beach of the little island.




We still had an amazing view of the Miami skyline lit up at night.



Thursday, February 4

We decided to move again. Our sailing friend, Doug, had told us of a place he enjoyed over near Miami Beach, so that is where we went next.

Once there the boys did school, while Brian and I went to check out the town.

Later that afternoon we went back and picked up the boys to go to the beach. On the way back we stopped at Publix for ice cream.

To get to land, dinghy's go down a little canal and tie up at a small dock that is just across the street from the Publix grocery store.







Friday, February 5

Where we were anchored was on the north side of a string of small islands. The wind picked up and we decided to move to the other side for more protection.

That afternoon we all went to town.  The boys headed for the free wifi at the library and Brian and I walked around.

Near the library is a high end hotel that always had Lamborghini's parked out front.

 

We stopped in a little grocery market and picked up some fruit. These baby bananas are really good.



We got a fresh coconut to share.




Saturday, February 6

We hung around on the boat then went to the beach in the afternoon.





Sunday, February 7

The boys wanted to go back to the library, so we all went to town. The boys headed their way, and Brian and I walked around town more. 

Miami Beach has a beautiful memorial for those murdered in the Holocaust.


We were surprised to see big iguanas throughout the area.





Later, after meeting back up with the boys, we stopped at Publix to get a movie from the Redbox.  We rented Woodlawn, a movie based on a true story of a football team in Alabama in the early 70's.

Monday, February 8

Brian and Caleb worked on water runs to get our tanks topped off and I returned the Redbox movie.

After lunch, we pulled anchor and went about 6 miles north to be closer to the Aldi grocery store.  Our walk was only a half mile each way!  Much better than the four miles we did in Palm Beach.

We then moved to a more protected anchorage nearby while I put everything away.


Once there Brian and the boys went to explore a nearby island while I made dinner.



Tuesday, February 9

Brian rode his bike five miles to Wal-Mart in the morning to pick up a few things that Aldi did not have.

When he returned, he said he had a surprise for me.  It was a package of Cuban coffee.  I had mentioned I wanted to try some after my friend's sister said how good it was when she was in Miami.



We made a pot in our french press.  It was good. I later learned everyone raves about a special way it is made with a specialty peculator and sugar  mixed in a certain way, but we  are enjoying it plain.

Brian had signed us up to help with the up coming boat show, called Strictly Sail Miami, going on at the same time as the power boat show in Marine Stadium. By volunteering just a few hours, we would get free admission on those days.

So in order to be closer to the show, we moved anchorages once again.

This time we are on the Miami side right near downtown.

Wednesday, February 10

The boys did school on the boat while Brian and I went to get the lay of the land.  We walked to where the boat show would be, then further in town to have Chinese for lunch.  By the time we got back we were bushed.



Thursday, February 11

First day of the boat show!  We got our badges late morning, but did not have to work until 4pm. We spent the day as a family touring all different kinds of boats.








A favorite of everyones was an 80 ft custom carbon fiber boat made in Germany. Who knows how many millions of dollars it is worth, but it sure was beautiful.







A little before 4, we made our way to the tent of booths and took our turn to tell people about the Seven Seas Cruisers Association.





After our shift ended at 6pm, we got a snack of fries and peanuts at Five Guys, then went back to the boat for a late dinner of broccoli cheese soup.

As you can tell we moved around a lot in just two weeks.  Here is a picture of all the places we have been.








We will be staying in the Miami area for the remainder of the month.  Brian's Dad and brother are coming for a visit in a couple weeks.  After that, we may head for the Keys. No set plans have been made.

Thanks for reading and following us on our journey!


























































































































































The high light for the guys was spotting expensive sports cars.