Last week in Key Largo to Ft. Lauderdale

We have been having nice weather no rain but still too choppy to take the dinghy to the reefs.  Did explore a third set of canals and found a swim with the dolphin place right next to the canal. We did  some bike riding and got the boat ready for Kelly and family’s arrival on Saturday.  We did have a couple of visitors by our slip, a barracuda and another manatee.  

Barracuda in the harbor

Our friend the Mannatee

Saturday morning we got the mini van and ran a few errands before picking everyone up at the airport. It was sure nice to see everyone, my how Owen and Izzy have grown.  Stopped at a Cuban restaurant in Homestead on the way back to the boat,  It was quite good.

Grandma is very happy to have Izzy and Owen by her side.

On Sunday we went to the Everglades and stopped at the large fruit / vegetable stand that we had visited with Rob and Dixie  Kelly really got a kick out of it and we all tried some very exotic fruits.  Some good and some not so good.   With all the rain last week the alligator sunning area was smaller and not as many were out.  The kids got a kick out of seeing them along with lots of birds and turtles. It was a warm day and when we returned we all went to the pool, much to Izzy’s delight as she had a new yellow polka dot bikini to wear and she was very excited. 

Vultures sizing Izzy up

Movie star 

Owen had not seen the alligator to his right

Not quiet the elevation the Crandall's are used to.

Don lost his sunglasses and Izzy was kind enough to share hers

Examining Grandpa's "musmatch"

It was quite windy on Monday so we decided to keep the car and went to the Theater of the Sea in Islamorada.  It is a Mom & Pop run business that was built on an old borrow pit from when the railroad came through the area.  There were all sorts of marine life most of which have either been born there or were rescued because of some problems which would prevent their ability to survive in the wild.  We saw two dolphin shows and a sea lion show.  We also saw parrots, sea turtles, sting rays, sharks,  and many other varieties of fish.  It was well worth the price of admission.  On the way back to Key Largo we stopped at Plantation Key Marina and the kids played on the beach.

Izzy and Owen seeing the Dolphins for the first time

Yellow polka dot bikinie

A good day!

Tuesday Kelly & Don decided to go on a snorkel tour,  they said it was fantastic and  had a great time.  Grandpa and Owen spent some time looking for Owens’s new swim trunks which had blown off the boat the day before.  They were able to find them but because the water was 18” deep they were unable to  grab them with the dinghy anchor but were able to leave a marker where they were.  We then hit the pool with Owen and Izzy.  When Don and Kelly returned Grandpa and Don went to get the swim trunks while Kelly and Grandma continued to play with the kids in the pool.  Don had a great idea which was to tie a line between two pilings which allowed easy maneuvering of the dinghy.  We used a long rescue pole from the pool and were able to retrieve the trunks, we even got a round of applause from the patrons of Coconuts who were up above watching the rescue process.

Grandpa and Owen

Looking for Owen's swim trunks

Wednesday it was time to leave or home in slip 9, we had been their  for the past month, without starting the engine once.   As we left we did go back to one of the reefs Don and Kelly had been on the day before and other than getting waked by one of the dive boats had a great time snorkeling.  Even thought it was a bit choppy with lots of rollers on the way to the reef it was quite calm at the mooring ball.  After all the snorkeling we packed up and continued on to Boca Chita Key which is in Biscayne Bay National Park.  It is a nice harbor with a circular wall for about 25 boats. It was developed by the founder of Honeywell Controls back in the 1930’s.  There was to be a large estate on the island but his wife died a few years after he started work on the island and all that was ever built was the harbor a lighthouse and a few small utility buildings.  It was quite peaceful with grassy areas, picnic tables and nice sandy beach for the kids to play at.  Owen and Kelly went exploring and came back with all sorts of treasures which they turned into a center piece for our picnic table.  Sid and Evelyn from Something Special was also there, they are one of  boats we will be crossing over to the Bahamas with next week.  Evelyn made Owen and Izzy a beaded bracelet. The kids really liked that.

Beautiful water as we were leaving Key Biscayne

Grandma and Grandpa

Friday after two wonderful (except for the misquotes) days on the island we set off for Dinner Key Marina in Miami.  We had planned on another marina but had some difficulties with getting a rental car from that location.  All turned out well as we were able to find a rental mini van close to the marina and will be able return it on Sunday instead of waiting until Monday. Kelly and Dons flight did not leave until 7 pm Saturday evening so we packed a picnic lunch and headed to Bill Bags State Park for a tour of a light house and some time for the kids to play at the park. We then took a car tour of the South Beach area.  The week with the grand kids went all too fast , it sure  was fun to have them on board .  We hope that they will be able to come again some time in June.

Owen helping Grandpa

Sunday morning after dropping the rental car off we departed for Fort Lauderdale.  We had some choppy waters in Biscayne Bay but one we were in the ICW it was a little smoother. It was fun to go through Miami with all the cruise ships, we probably saw about six of them in the harbor.  As we came in to Fort Lauderdale we found at least another 6-8 cruise ships along with a very busy harbor with tons of very large mega yachts. 

Reportably Stephen Spielberg's mega Yacht.

We will be staying at Las Olas Marina along with four other Loopers while we await a good weather window to cross the Gulf Stream to the harbor at West End, Abacos Island Bahamas.  We have been told that we need a window of weather with no northerly winds, so we will give it a week and if it doesn’t happen we will go to Plan B.  Not sure what that will be but we will come up with some thing.

Monday we took the Trolley Bus to a shopping area with a Publix we needed some oil from West Marine and had to walk an additional mile to get to there.  On the way back we came across a Publix shopping cart which helped John’s shoulders a bit. Once back at the shopping area we had some lunch, picked up a Bahamas chart and Mary found a nail salon.  While she had her toes done John made the final Publix run before we leave.

On Tuesday we needed to exchange a one of the Stateroom fans that was acting up.  This time we rode our bikes to West Marine.  We also were having an outlet problem and needed to stop at Ace for a replacement.  On the way back we took a route along the beach and found a Starbucks. As we were sitting in Starbucks looking out at the blue ocean with warm tropical breezes we had to remind ourselves that it is still February.  On the way back just as we going over a bridge John’s rear tire went flat.  Luckily we were told of a bike shop just over the bridge.  So John walked the bike keeping the rear tire elevated.  We had a new tube installed, it only lasted about 500 feet, so back to the bike shop for a second one.  Back at the boat John installed the replacement outlet.  We also made copies of all our documents we will need for customs in the Bahamas.  We also had a chance to Skype with Christy and the kids which was nice as the last time we Skyped was before Kelly and family arrived. We were able to see Will with his one front tooth missing as he had it pulled on Monday after breaking it off half way last year.  The tooth fairy came after he had it pulled and he seemed to not have any problems with it gone.

If all goes well we will leave early Thursday morning for the Bahamas. We are keeping our fingers crossed for good weather.   We have heard form another boater that you can get a Bahama sim card for the Ipad with unlimited data.  We have an unlocked phones ( Thanks to Christy and Kelly )which we need to get another Bahama sim card for.  Hopefully we can find them in West End and stay connected.  If not we will blog / email when we can. We are excited!

Later 
John & Mary