Thursday, March 31, 2016

March 2016 Miami, Miami Beach, Oleta River State Park, Ft. Lauderdale, Riveria Beach, Melbourne

Tuesday, March 1

Rodger left to drive to Orlando to fly back to Colorado with Brad and Berto.

The day before, on our day trip to the Keys, Brian had gotten some replica pirate coins to add to our boat decorations.




We moved the boat closer to Miami Beach.

Wednesday, March 2

School in the morning, then everyone to the beach for the afternoon. Stopped at the Art Deco store for chicken and bananas.

At the beach, Brian found some coconuts that were thrown out from the sellers who sell them for the water inside.  Caleb worked hard at getting the outer shell off to the nut meat inside.





Thursday, March 3

School in the morning.


It was a boring afternoon. No one wanted to do anything. I had some apples that needed used, so I made a deal with the family. If everyone pitched in a dollar or two,to go towards icecream, they could go buy it while I made apple crisp. They all agreed, and were soon off to the store.

Our icebox did not stay cold enough to keep ice cream, so we had to eat both cartons with the apple crisp.  That was dinner that night.






Later that evening, a couple from another Beneteau, "Blackthorn" stopped by for a visit.

We have since discovered that we needed to leave on one of the batteries and our icebox problems are solved!  This is a huge deal!!  Now food stays cold and the frozen stuff stays frozen.  No need to tear up the counter and get a new system.

Friday, March 4

Brian and I went on a morning date while the boys did school on the boat.

We saw a cool Jeep and took a couple pictures to show the guys.








 We toured the Miami Beach Botanical Garden.









Then we walked on the beach and after that, found a little Cuban place and shared an authentic cuban sandwich.



We went back to the boat and picked up the boys to go to the beach.

Afterward, we picked up a Redbox movie to watch that evening.  We chose The Intern. We were pleasantly surprised at what a good movie it was.

Saturday, March 5

The boys wanted to spend the day at the library, charging their electronics and catching up on things that need wifi.

Brian and I walked the beach all the way down to the channel, then back up through the city.

Sunday, March 6

We did water runs and laundry. That afternoon, Brian and the boys went to the beach, while I enjoyed some quiet time on the boat.

Monday, March 7

The weather for the week was going to be very windy, so we decided to move the boat back to Marine Stadium for better protection.  We pulled anchor at 9:55am.

Once reanchored, Brian and I walked on a nature trail that goes in a horseshoe.

Tuesday, March 8

Brian and I went on an early morning kayak. I did great going with the currant, but coming back against the current and into the wind, about did me in.  Brian took pity and gave me a tow with the Hobie kayak.

Later that afternoon, the family went walking on the nature trail.






  Jacob rescued a huge piece of tow strap that was tangled in a tree.  From it, he made two pouches and a cool pair of sandals.





Inspired by our lunch the other day, I made cuban bread.

Very easy and tasty.  I then made a batch of sour dough starter and with the first rise of bread, it took off like a rocket.



Wednesday, March 9

School and walking on the trail.

Thursday, March 10

Even though the winds were still pretty strong, groceries were getting pretty low, so we pulled anchor and headed north to the 79th st bridge.

Brian rode the bike through the ghetto to get a propane tank refilled and do some exploring on the beach side.

Friday, March 11

The boys did school while Brian and I walked to a mexican supermarket to get a few things he had seen on sale the day before in his exploring.

Back at the boat we moved up river a short distance to anchor close to the Aldi.  We took the dinghy up a canal and had our shortest walk yet to the store.

Back on board, I stored the groceries and we headed for a state park Brian had read about.  Anchor down a t Oleta River State Park at 3:30pm.

Saturday, March 12

This is my Grandma's 88th Birthday.

We were anchored very close to a beach area. We spent the day on kayaks and at the beach.  Caleb and Nathan had found an umbrella someone had thrown away.  They fixed the broken spike and Brain and Nathan set it up for our use.









Sunday, March 13

Another day at the beach and going on the kayak trails.

That afternoon, the wind had picked up, so Caleb took the hobie out for a sail. He got overpowered and the kayak turtled.  He was able to climb on top of it, after being unable to right it.  A powerboat came along and rescued him and brought him back to our boat.

God truly spared him and we are so grateful!

The mast got damaged and the paddles lost, but Brian and Caleb were able to salvage and improve it by cutting down the mast and trimming the sail so it is more manageable.

That night, the college just across the way had a party and the music was the most horrid stuff imagineable. Loud and very crude, cursing, rated x language...  Brian called both the campus police and the north miami police. Neither would do anything. Brian took to blowing the air horn to try and drown it out off and on through out the evening.

We were very disappointed that the police wold not take any action.  To think they would condone the noise let alone the lyrics.  It is no wonder the world is in such a sorry state with people putting that garbage in their minds.  All I can say is come Lord Jesus and pray that You know Him as your personal Savior.

Monday, March 14

After no sleep, Brian could not get out of there soon enough in the morning.

We pulled anchor and went up the ICW to Lake Sylvia in Ft. Lauderdale.



Tuesday, March 15

The boys continue their school work each morning. Brian went exploring in the kayak.



That late afternoon, we all went to shore and picked up 7-11 pizza and ate it at the beach. Brian and I went to CVS and picked up cookies for dessert.

Wednesday, March 16

Brian did water runs in the kayak, going about a mile each way.

Later, he Caleb and I hand cranked the sewing machine to work on the hobie sail.



That evening, Brian and I went to town and had a progressive dinner.  We started at Winn- Dixie with some chicken tenders.  We had to take them back because they were so gross.  We then shared a hamburger at Burger Fi, then a coffee shake at Shula Burger.

Thursday, March 17

St. Patricks Day!

Brian continued water runs.  That afternoon, we all walked to the library. On the way back, we stopped at 7-11 for ice cream. Back on the boat, I made a late dinner.

Friday, March 18

Ready to move on. With an early start of 5:03, we eased our way out onto the ocean for a day of motor sailing to Lake Worth.  We arrived about 2:30pm.

Cloudy sunrise on the ocean.


Luke and Jacob went to shore to pick up a couple movies from Redbox since we had a code for rent one, get one free.

They came back with The Martian and Inside Out. Both pretty good movies.  The Martian had some language, but inspite of that ,was a good story.

Saturday, March 19

Luke and Jacob return the movies.  We walk around on Peanut Island.  Rainy off and on.

Sunday, March 20

Palm Sunday. Bible reading and another day on the Island.

Monday, March 21

Brian and I walk to town to have lunch and go to wal-mart.  To get there we follow google maps and wind our way through a town called Riveria Beach.  We later learn it is not the safest place to walk through, but that's alright. We made it with out any problems.

Once back in familiar territory,where the walmart and aldi are,(we were here before and walked the 4.5 miles each way)  We head for what we thought was a chinese buffet.  It wasn't, so we go a couple doors down to a mexican place.

3/4 of the way through my taco salad, I find a 1 inch piece of metal. I showed it to the waitress, and she apologized profusly and offered a new salad, but as I was almost done, I declined.  When she brought the ticket, she offered a dessert on the house, so we shared a fried ice cream.  On the ticket, she had lowered our bill to only $10.  If we are back in the area again, I would go back to the restaurant.

After lunch we stopped at Aldi for a few things, then on to Walmart.  Our eyes were bigger than our arms, even with a back pack, but we made it back to the shore.  I called Luke and had him come with another kayak to take the stuff back to the boat, while Brian and I rode in the Hobie.  The wind had picked up and it was a damp ride.

One of the purchases at WM was a wheel barrow tire. Ever since we were in the Solomons in the Chesapeake last summer, Brian has wanted to build a pair of tire sandals.

That evening he and Caleb cut out his and there was enough rubber left for them to make me a pair the next morning.














It was chilly, so Nathan put on his track suite. He is happy it finally fits right, he had to grow into it.


Building my sandals







We went to Peanut Island to try them out.  That evening, Brian and I went to town to pick up some pop corn and Popye's Chicken as a surprise dinner for the boys.

Wednesday, March 23

The weather report showed it would be a good day with the right winds for going on the outside, so we decided to head on up to Ft. Pierce.

We got a late start, and unfortunately met with the tide coming in the channel as we were going out.  That means we met with big waves, very close together slamming the bow.

Another mistake was not having  the hatches and windows totally shut before leaving. Poor Nathan was on our bed doing his school work, when a wave dumped a load of salt water down the hatch right on him.  Jacob and I quickly got him sent to the cock pit and set to work shutting everything and beginning to mop up what we could.  Lesson learned!!

The winds were roughly doubled what was fore-casted, so Brian had his hand full, but I think he enjoyed it.  Luke felt poorly, so spent most of the day laying down in the cock pit.  Caleb and Jacob brought up pb&j fixings for lunch.



We arrived in Ft. Pierce a little before 7pm.We anchored near the FP North bridge.

Having already visited Ft. Pierce on the way down, we decided to continue on the next morning.

Thursday, March 24

We had the anchor up at 8:07 and made the next bridge opening.

We planned to stop in Vero Beach for fuel and water, but Brian decided we could wait a bit longer and we came on into Melbourne.  We anchored on the SW side of the causeway.

Friday, March 25

Brian's 43rd Birthday!

Mom came and picked us up and we went to her house to do laundry at the park, while Brian and Mom ran an errand.

Brian wanted chinese for lunch,, so he did that. That evening we had birthday dinner at Mom's house.

Saturday, March 26

We all walked to Publix, then onto Mom's to hard boil eggs for Easter. 

Brian had some fun personalizing some for us.


Mom's neighbor offered bikes for the boys to ride around the park. they have really enjoyed that!

Mom, Brian and I went to the thrift store to get Brian new swim trunks, then we picked up the kids and mom treated us to dinner at Steak and Shake.

Sunday, March 27

Easter Day!

Sunrise over the Indian River

Mom picked us up early to get cleaned up at her house before church. After service, we went back to her place for lunch of ham, baked potatoes, stuffed eggs, and salad.

It was a quiet, restful day.

After she took us back tot he boat, we decided to move to the other side of the bridge and across the river to be better protected from the wind.

Monday, March 28

Being down to half a tank of water, we  moved again up river to Eau Gallie, and got fuel and filled the tanks at Telemar Marina, then anchored in Dragon Point near the Eau Gallie Yacht Club.

Tuesday, March 29

Mom picked me up to go grocery shopping while the boys did school and Brian explored.  That evening, Jacob and Caleb stayed overnight with mom.

Wednesday, March 30

We got permission to keep our dinghy tied up at the yacht club when we come to town.  They are very friendly and have a beautiful facility.



Brian  found a sail maker nearby, and wanted to get a quote on having a replacement sail made for the hobie. So Luke, Nathan, Brian and I set off with a back pack and pic nic lunch.

We walked to Gleason Park and ate our lunch. Back on the boat, Brian took a nap before going to pick up his new sail.

 Mack at South Sails did a great job cutting a new sail from an old one.




Meanwhile, Mom brought Jacob and Caleb back and took Luke and Nathan for their turn to stay over.

After dinner, we went back to the park with Jacob and Caleb.

We enjoyed walking the path and looking at fish and turtles in the lake.  They say there may be alligators in the lake, but we haven't seen one yet.







Thursday, March 31

We are at the library charging electronics and working on this update.
We love being able to spend extra time with Mom!

This evening we are planning to have a pic nic dinner at the park.

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Second Half of February Miami, Miami Beach, Virginia Key, Key Biscayne, Florida Keys and Visitors!

Friday, February 12

That afternoon, after posting the last blog update, Brian took the family to Burger King for dinner.

Back at the boat, we watched the movie Moms Night Out.

Saturday, February 13

Everyone but Luke went to town.  He stayed on the boat and enjoyed a day to himself.

The rest of us hopped on the Metro Mover to say that we had done it.

The Metro Mover is an elevated bus car that goes on rails in a loop with many stops in downtown Miami.

We got off at a random stop and discovered it was right near the library where we had walked the day before.

Brian treated us to a doughnut before starting a big walk in search of a Goodwill store.

Zigzagging through streets following where google maps led us, we finally found the store.  We got Caleb and Nathan some needed items.

The store was in the area of town called Little Havana. English is a second language here. Everyone, even the store clerks just speak Spanish.

We stopped by the river on the way back and ate our PB&J's.

Sunday, February 14

This was my Grandpa's 93rd Birthday.

Brian, Luke and I were scheduled to work at the boat show again in the afternoon, but since we had free admission on the days we work, we went early and sat in on three seminars.  The other three boys stayed on the boat.

In between seminars, we had a long break so we walked to 7-11 and each got a little thing of ice cream. Back at BaySide, we sat down to eat them.  Brian's was so freezer burned, he could barely eat it.  Luke and I had each gotten cookies and cream, but there were only a few tiny cookie crumbs.  Brian called the 800 number and complained.  They emailed back about returning for a refund.  We had to get to our post, so that had to wait a few days.

At 5 O'clock that evening there was a wedding on an old sailing ship tied up at the show.  On one of my FB groups, Women Who Sail,  the bride invited any women to come by and say hello.  Her dress was made by her future Mother-in-Law, who is 90 years old.  It was made out of sail material.



After our shift, the three of us had dinner at Five Guys.  The food was great, but the music was super loud.  Again, Brian called the 800 number and the owner said he would make it right on our next visit.

Monday, February 15

Last day of the boat show. Caleb and Nathan joined us for our final shift. Being the last day, things were pretty slow going.  Brian made a bet that if I sold one membership, he would take the entire family out for a steak dinner.  About an hour before closing, he sold one.  Then at five minutes til closing, I ended up selling one!  The boys loved teasing him and holding his feet to the fire about his offer.

Back at the boat, we pulled anchor and moved back to our favorite area near Miami Beach.

Tuesday, February 16

It was a rainy morning.  The boys worked on school.  That afternoon when the rain stopped, we worked on water runs, laundry, and hair cuts.

We do haircuts on the back of the boat, then when finished, they jump in the water to rinse off.  The water temp was pretty chilly, but better than having stray hair bits itching all over.






Wednesday, February 17

School in the morning, then Brian, Jacob, Caleb and I headed over to the beach.  After that, we walked to a little market we found and got some little bananas and yogurt.  They also had a huge sail on chicken quarters, so we got some of those and went back to the boat to cook them up for dinner.

Thursday, February 18

School in the morning.  then Brian and Luke and Jacob worked on cleaning the hull at the waterline.  Afterward the boys and I went to the library.  I tried to send a big document I had worked for days on, and ended up somehow deleting it. 

Friday, February 19

Brian and an appointment to meet a fuel truck back near the marina where the boat show had been, so the boys pulled anchor and we headed that way.  The truck was there, but they had other boats ahead of us, so we had to circle around for an hour and a half.  We finally got filled up and headed a bit south for a change of scenery.  We ended up anchoring off of Hobe Beach near Virginia Key.

Saturday, February 20

We all went to shore and walked the beach.  Brian and I went on ahead.  The boys scoped out the palm trees, and Caleb climbed up one and cut three coconuts for us.







The beach is really all there is there, so after that, we pulled anchor again and headed 3 miles down to Key Biscayne.

The wind was good, so Brian got a good sail in before anchoring outside the Key Biscayne Yacht Club.

Our sailing club back in NC is part of an organization called Yacht Clubs of America.  If another club is also a member, they offer reciprocal privileges.  We were not wanting to take a slip, but they allowed us to tie up our dinghy there to go to town. 

The dockmaster, Danny, was very friendly and welcoming.  He offered us the use of everything at the club, ice, pool, dining at the restaurant...

We thanked him, and headed to town.

Key Biscayne is called a village, but is really a small town.  People drive both cars and golf carts on the roads.

We ended up at the Winn- Dixie and got a few things to tide us over until our next big shopping.

Sunday, February 21

After breakfast, we went to the park and the boys played Frisbee for a while. 

The park was a very busy place. In the morning, there were fitness classes going on and in the afternoon, the kids were swarming the fields playing rugby and soccer. Not to mention riding bikes, hoover boards, in-line skates... it is a very active place.

Then we went to the beach and hung out.
Near the beach, an iguana was playing hide and seek with us.






 After our picnic lunch, everyone wanted to take Danny up on his offer of the pool, so we headed back to the boat to get changed.










We felt like we were at a resort .

While we swan and lounged, we watched kids racing Opti sail boats out on the Bay.

When everyone was done, we went to 7-11 for pizza for dinner, then walked back to Winn-Dixie for ice cream.  There was a street concert going on, so we ate our ice cream and listened for a while.

Monday, February 22

Brian's Dad, brother and an employee of Brad's were scheduled to come to town for a visit at the end of the week, so it was time to start getting ready for them.

We pulled anchor and sailed back north 12 miles to be near  where Brian could ride the bike and get one of our propane tanks filled.

Tuesday, February 23

We moved the boat a mile or two up and did our big shopping at Aldi. 

It is amazing how much difference just a few blocks makes in a town.  Last time, we walked through almost a ghetto street to get to the highway, this time we walked through a gated community with several tennis courts and beautiful landscaping.

The forecast called for rain, but it held off for our shopping, but the wind did not.  The ride back in the dinghy was pretty splashy.  Back at the boat, Luke had to dry things off before handing them down to me to put away.

With shopping done, we pulled anchor again and headed back to Miami Beach, but not as far in, so we could dinghy over to the Miami side for dinner.

After shooting down Brian's idea of tube steaks for his end of the deal, we compromised and said Five Guys would do.

Remember his phone call with the owner?  Brian got a free meal and the family got free drinks.  The music level was much better and we had a great evening.  The rain hit while we were inside and stopped before we headed back.  God is Good!

Wednesday, February 24

The boys did double school so they could take Friday off.

Thursday, February 25

More water runs, laundry, and last minute cleaning.  Brian took me back to the library to send my document that I had retyped.  We then went to our favorite little supermarket to get a meaty coconut for his dad.

Their plane arrived about 7pm, so we didn't see them, letting them get settled in the hotel after a ling travel day.

Friday, February 26

Rodger, Brad, and Berto arrive and Brian and Caleb pick them up to bring them to the boat.  After hellos and introductions, we decide to take them sailing in Bay.  After a few hours of that, we came back and reanchored.  Brian, Luke, and Nathan took them to the beach, then everyone came back to the boat for dinner.









Saturday, February 27

Brad and Berto had to get up to Orlando for a class they were taking to learn a new form of concrete work for Brad's Landscape business.  Sad to have only had one day with him, but so happy he made the trip down to visit.

Rodger came back over and Brian, Jacob and Caleb rode with him and showed him Key Biscayne, then back to the boat for a Mexican dinner.





Sunday, February 28

Rodger came back tot he boat. We visited and had lunch.  The boys taught him how to play Farkle, a fun dice game.  Them he taught Luke how to play Gin Rummy.



 Later in the afternoon, we all piled into the rental car and went to Wal-Mart for a few things, then out to dinner at a Chinese place, where you really do eat out in back at small tables.






Monday, February 29

The night before we thought it would be fun to drive down to Key Largo and scope things out.  Rodger picked us up at 8:30 in the morning and we rode the hour plus there and stopped at the visitors center.




Since we had made good time, we decided to go on to Marathon.  It is in the middle of the Keys and a huge cruiser hangout.  Many friends have told us we need to go there.  We meant to stop there, but we missed our turn and before we knew it, we were on the Seven Mile Bridge connecting the keys to Key West, we were committed now.  But I don't think anyone minded.  We would catch Marathon on the way back.



We got our picture with the southern Most Point Bouy, drove around town a bit and stopped in a gift shop.


 Back on the road, we did stop at Marathon and after realizing how truly crowed the mooring field is and how far we would have to dinghy to shore from anchoring in the unprotected water on the outside, we don't think we will be going this year.

But they do have this fun sign post and neat mural.





On the edge of Miami coming back to town, we stopped at Little Caesars for dinner.  They of course do not have seating, so Rodger went next door to the Kitchen Grill, and asked if we could sit there, if he bought drinks, they said sure.



 We got back to the park about 8:30pm.  It was a long, but fun day.  We said our good byes and came back to the boat.

Rodger was driving to Orlando to meet up with Brad and Berto to fly back to Colorado Tuesday evening.

So that is the second half of our February in Miami and surrounding areas.

Not sure what our plan is now, but will keep you posted!