Oh what a time we've had!

Oh what a time we've had!  After leaving Marathon with Ondra and Nelson, we anchored at Pumpkin Key for two nights, enjoying a little isolation and peaceful bay time. Silly us, we moved on Sunday afternoon back through the Miami main crossroads to anchor back in Sunset Lake... Traffic like the mall on Christmas Eve...OMG .... With a dead cockpit radio!  No harm but a few more gray hairs.

We did some chores (like sending the radio head for repair) and received Jill, and the next day Bill, Schoonmaker for a quick visit as they went through Miami to Grenada. Fun, fun, fun!  New games, lots of talking, exploring parts of South Beach, and a cocktail or two!

Visiting Art Deco Hotels on South Beach.

Our next week in Fort Lauderdale was grand. After one night on a Las Olas mooring (using their larger facility the next morning to catch up on laundry), we moved to the Bahia Mar Marina. La Di Da!! We plugged into Shore Power for the first time since leaving Brunswick, Georgia on January 3. The house batteries loved the full charge ! We took out the heavy 50 Amp cord and could charge batteries, run two air conditioners and turn on the hot water heater. All at the same time! And take out garbage whenever we wanted. What luxury.

But Bahia Mar was not merely a power grab. It provided a great venue for Katie & Kyle's four day visit from Baltimore. Swimming pool. Access for a morning run. (Their's, not our 's). The Beach. And more. We had a great time all in all, including an ice cream "social" with brother Mike & Sherry and the 3 adorable grands: Akyra, Gaven and Kylie. 

Crazy Selfie.

Fun by day, despite occasional deluges, and by night. We were sorry to see our K&K go on Saturday morning.

Night out on the Town in Old Las Olas.

We had Easter Dinner with George & Diane, Diane's family and close friends. It was a Great dinner, and we felt quite lucky to be near enough family to celebrate the holiday. We left Bahia Mar fully sated, cleaned up and rested (at a cost likely in excess of all our combined mooring fees this season - but well worth it).

Swedish tall Ship in Miami.

Swedish Sailors high up in the rigging!

We are now headed South again. Today's destination is the South side of Pumpkin Key in Card Sound at the end of Biscayne Bay. We hope to meet up with Bill & Jane Exner for part of their stay at the Ocean Reef Club on Key Largo. Getting a day at anchor ahead of time will allow us to scope out the place and plan for a narrow and shallow entrance into the Bayside of Ocean Reef. I also plan on diving on the prop to be sure it's clean enough for the trip North.

We spent last night (Monday) on a mooring at Dinner Key. We arrived at No Name Harbor after a rolly ride down from Fort Lauderdale to find no room to anchor. The inside entrance of the harbor was almost completely taken up by an 85 foot motor yacht. It looked like he had a third of the harbor since no one wanted to risk swinging into him - or more likely being swung into.

Dinner Key was only 30 minutes away. And it was easy to meet Katie, TiAre and Dio for a fun dinner at Coco Walk in Coconut Grove.

After our long anticipated visit with the Exner's, we'll head back to Fort Lauderdale then offshore for Charleston or Oriental, NC with big brother George as crew. That's the plan anyway. But plans are always subject to change.