Tuesday February 8th 2011

Believe it or not, we are still in Miami. We are still waiting for a good weather window to cross to the Bahamas, and the winds have not been favorable. In the meantime, we’ve been having a ball!!

We are in Dinner Key Marina, in Coconut Grove, the southern most part of Miami. It is a pretty upscale part of Miami; beautiful homes and high end shops. The downtown area is called “the Grove”, and includes many restaurants and clothing boutiques, a bookstore and movie theater. We have enjoyed many meals in the restaurants, and even went to see “The King’s Speech” at the theater. It was a good movie, but I’m not sure it is Best Picture worthy. It didn’t have enough action for Dave.

Because we don’t have a car, we have become very good bus riders. If you take the bus going north, you end up at Crook & Crook Marine (they aim not to live up to their name!). When you go south, you end up at West Marine. Each ride is 25 cents. We have been back and forth many times, and are thankful for the transportation.

However, we wanted to broaden our horizons a bit, so on the weekends, we take advantage of the $9.99 per day special at Enterprise. The one we use doesn’t have very many compact cars, so each weekend, we have ended up with a mini-van. This has led to some great outings with our new friends.

Speaking of new friends, we found a couple from Ontario, Canada, on another Whitby 42 like ours, Dave and Renee on “Lunar Sea”. It is their first year living aboard, also. We also met a couple from Virginia, Dave and Kathy, on “Orion”. They have been living aboard and cruising for the last 5 years. (Seem to be a lot of Daves!) One day, we loaded up the van and headed for South Beach, Miami. What a crazy place!! Lots of neon, tons of restaurants, and outrageous people everywhere!! We walked up and down the waterfront, then had dinner at a sidewalk restaurant. As you walk through the myriad of sidewalk establishments, each one tries to outdo the others, to get your business. The one we settled on, offered us 20 percent off our meal, and the first round of drinks, free. We had a very nice meal, and enjoyed our first drinks, then Dave decided he wanted a second. When the bill came, that second Mai Tai cost $19.00. Couldn’t believe it! It’s been the source of a lot of jokes lately!!

We spent one day on a day sail, on Cort and Carolyn’s catamaran. The huge beast took up the whole channel, as we made our way out. They are new to the boat this year, and had never had the chance to actually sail the boat, so it was fun being in on the inaugural sail. When the sails were unfurled, we couldn’t believe all of the silt, salt, and old wasps nests that rained down on us. They had been furled for quite awhile. We were then in for a nice sail, enjoying the sunshine the whole time.

After the first week here, Cort and Carolyn decided to move their catamaran across the bay, to No Name Harbor. So, last Saturday we drove over to see them and took Dave and Kathy along. We ended up driving to Hollywood (Florida, that is) to walk the boardwalk there. Not quite as entertaining as South Beach, but we still had a great time. Afterward, we drove to Fort Lauderdale and did a drive-by of the beach, then cruised through the mansions lining the canals throughout town. Pretty amazing!!

Sunday we drove back to No Name, and took Cort and Carolyn to a burger joint to watch the Super Bowl. They had about 20 different burgers on the menu. While we ate, we rooted for Green Bay. It was one of the better Super Bowls, since it became a close game, in the second half. I knew our friends, Kathy and Norm, back in Longview, were ecstatic!! They are the biggest Packer fans we know.

Earlier, we found a great sports bar here called “Monty’s”, where we watched the play-off games. They have an outdoor area, under thatched roofs, that easily seats about 300 people, and hosts about 50 big screen TVs. We were fortunate, one afternoon, to have live Reggae music. Really quite good!

Our days are mainly spent doing boat maintenance and running errands. Since we are on a mooring ball, we have a 10 minute dinghy ride to get to the dock. Sometimes, it can be pretty tricky, if the wind and waves are high. It seems as though we are usually going out to the boat after dark, making it even more challenging. The ride back and forth gives us the chance to see what boats have moved on, and which new ones have arrived.

We have also been having an infestation of Portuguese Man of War jellyfish. They are really strange looking. The top looks like a clear pot sticker, with a blue bottom, and then blue tentacles hanging down into the water. It floats along on top of the water, being blown by the breeze. They have a very painful sting. So, no swimming!

Not too much else happening here. We did get a call from Austin last week, telling us that he has a new job. The Marriott in Crystal City, Virginia, right across the border from Washington, DC, needed a Supervisor of Operations, so they contacted the Wardman Park Marriott for a recommendation, and they sent them Austin. He was hired on the spot, after his interview. He starts on February 11th. He will hold this job until this summer, when Austin and Cindy move to New York City!! That’s right, the big apple! Cindy graduates from Georgetown Law this May, and was recruited for and landed a job with the Justice Department in Newark. They will make their home there for a couple of years, and then hope to relocate to Seattle. So exciting!!

Meanwhile, back in Olympia, Matt is celebrating his 6th year with Empire Office Equipment, as an Internet and Copier Technician. Wow, where did the time go?? We are so proud of both our boys! Matt and Jacinda are planning to go back to Hawaii this spring, and we are hoping to accompany them and James, on a trip to Disneyland, next Fall.

So, here we sit, waiting, still. Looks like maybe this weekend, or the first part of next week, will be good for crossing. We need a good 3 days to get all the way to Nassau. It’s hard to wait, but this is a pretty good place to hang out. At least we’re finally back to wearing shorts and flip flops every day! (I know, I know, quit bragging!)

Have a Happy Valentine’s Day, and maybe when I write the next post, it will be from the Bahamas!

Love & hugs,

The Admiral