Downtown Ft. Lauderdale

We had initially planned a 2 night stay at the New River Downtown Marina in Ft. Lauderdale to have our water maker doubled in capacity and to collect the final donations for the Humane Society Exuma. But upon arrival we noticed the long-range weather forecast wasn’t showing a good day for crossing the gulf stream for a while so we decided to stay four nights, which wasn’t so bad since this marina is in a great location on the river walk. This gave Scott an opportunity to complete more projects and some time for both of us to explore the city.

There was an extraordinary amount of boxes waiting for us and the marina wasn’t very happy with us. We are overwhelmed by the generosity of our many friends that donated to this worthwhile organization. The folks at the Humane Society are super appreciative! Thank you so very much for helping us help the stray dogs and cats of the Exumas.

Luckily we were docked close to a Publix, so on our first day Scott and I walked to the store to stock up on more fruits and vegetables. On the 4th day I made 3 more trips to Publix and was totally loaded down each time. I don’t know how we manage to fit so much into this vessel.

We met Lisa and Mark from Tapestry at Beehive Kitchen which is a vegan restaurant and proved to be quite tasty. We then followed their recommendation and had “date night” at Coconuts, an extremely popular seafood restaurant located on the ICW. Scott would have “date night” most every night if he could get away with it because it always involves beer, food, and my undivided attention!

Although Best Buy was 3.8 mi. away we took a vigorous walk there to purchase an inexpensive underwater camera. We couldn’t decide between the camera and a GoPro but finally decided that we wanted better quality photos rather than quality videos which the GoPro would produce. I also wanted something basic that doesn’t require a great amount of effort or attachments to operate. I have mixed feelings about the underwater camera…I want pictures of the beautiful sea creatures but I don’t want to get close to them! They probably don’t make one that zooms as much as I would like!

Riverwalk views

I hit the stores on Los Olas and found some cute colorful attire but there were mostly restaurants or art galleries. I wish we had more time here to visit the NSU Art Museum and the International Swimming Hall of Fame. There were 8 huge cranes building skyscrapers in the city telling us the area is booming with growth. We loved the energy of the city and the peace and quiet of the river walk where hundreds of people walk their adorable dogs every day. We would have enjoyed a much longer stay to explore the town.

On our final day we got up early to walk to West Marina to purchase a filter for Lisa and Greg on Privateer already in the Exumas. Of course we managed to find several filters and other items and we could use as well. We rushed back in order to be at the fuel dock in time for the fuel truck to top off the fuel tanks and noticed that there was a marine warning in the Miami/Key Biscayne area where we were heading. Hmmmm, Plan B was necessary. We did not need to go into bad weather since we couldn’t cross for a few days anyway.

It does take a bit of effort to bring in the water hose, power cords and all the lines to leave a marina and move a couple of blocks to the fuel dock, all while there is a strong current (even at slack tide). Upon evaluating the weather we surmised that staying another night tied up would be the safest alternative, so, back to a different area to re-tie all the lines, power cord and water hose, all while dealing with the current. I must brag that Scott has become quite smooth at handling this slow boat that is designed for long distance, not intricate maneuvering.

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The following morning, truly our final day, we had an uneventful departure and enjoyed the ride to Biscayne Bay.  It took 5.5 hrs to go 31 miles under 14  bridges.

 Not a good picture of our traveling companions. A family of 4 stayed with us for a long time. They never cease to delight me!

We had planned to anchor in No Name Harbor in Biscayne Bay but it was packed with boats waiting for that perfect weather window to cross into the Bahamas. Which was okay with us, as we anchored in the bay where the water was clear, the weather was warm, the sun was bright and the sunsets were stunning.  Okay, it was a bit rough due to all the fishing and speed boats flying by but we felt it was preparing us for the Bahamas where the winds would do the same.

Tomorrow we are Bahamas bound!  Wish us luck in our crossing of the gulf stream!