We made it!

This blog is intended to be the memoir of our trip. Some of you may be bored by what we had for dinner or what time we went to bed. English teachers – please forgive mixed tenses, sentence fragments and misplaced or missing commas. To those who are following us vicariously, I hope you enjoy our trip as much as we are!
6-16
Up at 5:45 for coffee. Shirley called shortly after 6 to say she and Judy and Ralph were down the street. We flew into action to disconnect the shore power and loosen the lines. By 6:20 we were off the dock and on our way. We had the water to ourselves. We had just called for Mathers Bridge to open when we heard another boat hail “Indian Harbor Bridge”. Mathers Bridge hailed him and he didn’t know where he was and what bridge he was hailing (need I say it was a sailboat?). After a few more exchanges they figured out that he was at the Lansing Island bridge and that guard was going to go see whether or not the bridge was even operational It was very hazy and smoky all the way to Stuart. The wind picked up all day long. Once you get past St. Lucie Inlet you are plagued with slow speed zones, but it was too windy to go outside. We had to have two bridges open in west Palm and finally made the dock at Loggerhead South at 4:15. Hal and Kim were there to meet us along with a very helpful dockmaster. It was hotter than Hades! By the time we got lines and electricity on, I had packed my bag and headed to the marina shower. It was wonderful! Harold showered and shaved on board, and after a couple of beers/wines, we headed to Outback for dinner with Holly and her boyfriend Pete. We were impressed with Pete – he is a keeper. Back to the boat for more drinks (badly needed by that point), we called Sue and had a good chat, and bid good night to Hal and Kim. Collapsed!!! 105 nautical miles
6-17
Up about 7 for coffee and the morning news. Puttered about a bit, then Harold got busy washing the outside and I got busy cleaning inside. There are always chores – just the venue changes About 10:45 we cast off from the marina and by 12:30 we had fueled up and were fully under way. We had already planned to go all the way to Miami inside, to see how the other half lives. Let me report they are living very well, thank you! And it was quite rough in the ocean, so we were just happy to putter along through slow speed zones and waiting for bridges to open. The latest slow speed scam in South Florida is that when you get in an area where you are allowed to go fast, you can make no more than a 15” wake. Late day we got a bit anxious when we heard a report from the Coast Guard that the Venetian Causeway in downtown Miami was stuck in the down position. Oops! A 12 foot bridge that we HAVE to get through! Not hearing any further reports we forged ahead and, bona fortuna, she opened for us on schedule. About 7:30 we anchored off south Key Biscayne with about a dozen other boats, mix of power and sail. After cocktails and a couple of phone calls, an evening meal of red beans and rice was it before bed time. 60 nautical miles

6-18
Rocking from fishing boats going out the channel to the ocean woke me up about 6:30. Harold was already up and after a cup of coffee, we were under way at 7:10 out the Key Biscayne Channel into Hawk Channel headed south. By 11 am we were at Tavernier where we had planned to anchor out again. We motored in to where the charts and guides suggested and it did not look friendly, so we pushed on. By the time we were at the end of Islamorada we were both pretty tired of bouncing, as the wind had come up pretty good. We came in Channel Five just north of Long Key and navigated the shallow inside water down to Grassy Key where we came in close to land and anchored. We could have easily made it to Banana Bay today, but it is very peaceful here and we are getting ready to go swimming, grill some burgers, and crash. We had our swim and a meal of salmon burgers and steamed veggies on the sundeck, then lit up the generator and the A/C and watched a little TV before an early bed time. I awoke at 1 am in a puddle of sweat so grabbed my flashlight and went to investigate the A/C situation. The forward unit was running and the saloon unit was not. I turned off the forward and turned on the saloon and it immediately kicked off. By this time Harold was awake and, after investigating in the engine room, thinks it must be the pump. So we are A/C less until that can get remedied. I tried to sleep on the sun deck in the lounge chair, but too much sinus action going on. Harold slept on the couch and I finally gave up and went back to bed, where I was able to get back to sleep. Smart money would have gone to the forward stateroom where there is a breeze. Live and learn!! 88 nautical miles
6-19
Happy Father’s Day! Up about 6:45 with Father’s Day cards and Irish coffee. Sky is completely overcast and it is sprinkling on and off. We are in no hurry to leave, since we are only about 15 miles from our destination. We hauled anchor about 10 am and navigated the very shallow water to Banana Bay Marina for about an hour and a half. We were greeted by Larry, the dockmaster, and his girlfriend, Bonnie, and Ken and Diane from the next slip. Ken and Diane are on a boat about the same size as ours and they have a great Dane named Bob on board with them! Just shoot me! The marina is neat and seems well-kept. The resort has a few years on it, and just from outside observation, I can probably believe some of the reviews I have read of it Once we got tied up, Larry walked us around the property so we could get the lay of the land. It is completely overcast today and even so we are sweating our a*%$# off. Shore power is hooked up and we are enjoying a noon Father’s Day cocktail on the sun deck before heading for the pool. We did take a dip in the pool - very warm, although Randy from Alabama said it was cooler that yesterday. Came back to the boat to shower, Harold checked out the A/C situation. We turned everything on and it seemed to work. Perhaps we just picked up some crap in the water intake which loosened on the way here. We left everything on and walked next door to the Hurricane for our Father's Day meal. John likened it to Bizzarro's, but it seems much more fun. Golf and bowling video games and sports TV's, and Harold's cheeseburger and my cajun fried snapper were excellent. We'll be back! Back at theboat, all A/C seems to be in order, and I can tell you that is a very good thing, both monetarily and comfort-wise!