It’s been a huge SPLASH these last few weeks, but guess we’ll probably be out of touch for a couple of weeks and will return with some colorful and exciting stories and pictures of Junkanoo!

Tom the conch man cleaning his catch

Doesn’t look too appetizing before its prepped

Fish food on left Yummy ingredients for Conch salad on right

Chef preparing the Catch of the day

Fresh and delicious! Billy where were you when we needed a pounder?

Imagine water so clear this is what you see 3 feet down!

It’s been great hanging out with other cruisers and meeting a few locals. Even the sail boaters have been friendly to us trawler folks.

Spent a wonderful day fishing

We won’t say who caught the biggest or the most fish.

After a hot day out on the water, one of our favorite places to cool off and wet our whistle is Pineapples Bar and Grill.

Bright Sunshine and Bright Smiles all around!

You may recognize Debbie Symonette, who has been the pretty face behind  Green Turtle Club bar for 34 years. Reclining in front is Outten Yvonne, the owner of Pineapples, home of the best conch fritters in the Bahamas, Far right is the birthday girl, Laverna Rolle Mcintosh, Kelly Swain and Steve Thompson and I round out the party! Big Fun!

Sage advice at Pineapples

That was Wesley, the most talented and professional Dock master at Green Turtle Club Marina. Merry Christmas all, see you for JUNKANOO !!!

Private Paradise!

 Green Turtle Cay has many beautiful private little places to enjoy. The winds had been blowing too strong to allow enjoyable reef snorkeling or fishing, so we delighted in the calm back waters and beaches of the protected bays.  We had just sat down in the chairs on the beach of this resort that had not yet reopened for the season. At first glance, it looked as if we had the entire beach to ourselves. Tom had set his hat on the beach and a small gust of wind blew it across the sand. A young man, who had previously gone unnoticed by us, got up from his hammock to retrieve the hat and bring it back to us. He was very friendly, and we soon learned he had recently returned from Afganistan. As a small thank you to our serviceman, we offered him a beer and started to chat about how he came to be on this lovely beach, at this moment, with us.  Much to our amazement and as testimony to what incredibly small world we live in, it so happens that he had applied to a”find a crew” site and had taken the position on a boat called Namaste, whose home port is Folly Beach. We later met up with the owner of Namaste and had a good laugh at our lucky coincidence.

Our new friend Riley

Namaste who hails from Folly Beach as well.

Once Southern Trawl’s battery issues were fixed, we decided to pull anchor and venture out to explore a few more of the outlying islands. We enjoy long hikes on the beautiful deserted beaches and discover a few fun treasures that had washed up on shore.

If you remember the Tom Hanks movie “Castaway “, you’ll be pleased to see we’ve found Wilson safely washed up here in the Abacos !

We spent a fantastic hour digging out and unwrapping this coil of rope from a tangled mass of tree roots. Don’t let it be said that children should have all the fun!

Wilson posing with a labyrinth of roots

Is that a tree elbow impersonating Tom?

Often we would have to leave the shore and take a path through the woods where there is an abundance of incredibly unique and beautiful plants.

Palm tree getting a bear hug from his neighbor

Magnificent Frigate Birds can have wings span up to 7 ‘ and snatches food off the surface of the ocean or from other birds

Tiny island doves only about 4″ tall

.

Ready for business!

We retraced our path a bit to revisit our friends and enjoy the fruits of their labors. It is such fun (and delicious ) to learn from those with more experience.

Beautiful Bug!

There is so much more to explore and as the winds have quieted down, we will be heading out to visit few more of the outer islands. Everyday brings new incredible finds if we don’t try to over plan and count on predetermined outcomes.

Sweet Reflections

The sky went from clear to rain and back again in a matter of minutes

And for those of you who are wondering, yes Lizardo is still with us and appears to be calling on the VHF.

Who are you trying to call Lizardo? What more could you possibly want?

Peaceful sunset just before full moon rise

Great place to spend Thanksgiving !

Hello all and Happy Thanksgiving!!! We will be enjoying a traditional Thanksgiving dinner at Harvey’s on Green Turtle Cay. They are the only restaurant on the island that will be honoring our American traditions. I brought provisions to bake a pumpkin pie just in case we didn’t find anyone serving our favorites.

Clear bluuuuue water

Ahoy Teamwork!

Guess I need to do a bit of catching up. Per last blog, we had just safely dropped anchor at ManJack Cay. We were welcomed by Bill and Betty Sue,and Jim,and a few other really nice folks who live on their boat near the island.

All of the palms lovingly planted by owners

We were also privileged to meet a couple and tour their lovely home, farm, and beach front paradise. They can easily get overwhelmed with over enthusiastic visitors.  It is fine to drop anchor in the cove just outside their private beach, but going ashore without invitation, can disturb the peaceful privacy they have created. For 20 years they have lived there and painstakingly carved out and incredible off grid paradise homestead. They are beautifully self sufficient on their organic farm, complete with citrus , breadfruit, and papaya trees, chickens, Palm trees, coconuts etc.

Natural beauty abounds

Free roaming chickens are happy chicks!

We were delighted to spend a few hours with them and enjoyed a glass of fresh squeezed lemonade from the just picked lemons out of their yard. Of course when you add a splash of coconut rum, it makes it even more delicious.

Tom in front of a breadfruit tree.

Ain’t nothin Bill can’t fix!

After our scary experience of being pushed up against the rock bank during the storm 2 nights before, we were delighted that the mangrove bushes cushioned our vessel, and it appears the only damage we sustained was a small puncture in one of our porthole screens and a small tear in our side deck skirting. The dinghy got a bit of chaffing during our rough ride over to Manjack, but Bill helped Tom put it right.

Thank you Bill!

No lobsters yet !

We decided to head on over to Green Turtle Cay. New Plymouth is the settlement, which I would call the town center.  It is a lovely little community with colorful characters and lively politics. It reminds me a lot

Habitats ( you might call them old car hoods) they are put out in the water to lure the bugs (lobsters) also called crawfish.

of our own Funky Folly Beach. The hot issue being discussed here at the moment, is a new 7 1/2 % VAT tax that is going to be imposed on all goods sold beginning January 1st. The locals are not at all happy about it, and lively discussions can be overheard in the streets, the restaurants, and of course in the local hardware store.

We’ve enjoyed learning some of the tricks of the trade. Here are a few habitats photos.

These habitats made from 2x4s with roof tin nailed on.

Yesterday we enjoyed a local delicacy. While we waited, the cook from the restaurant, walked back from across the street, where he had been pounding out the conch to put in our fresh conch salad.

Spicy conch salad goes great with a cold Kalik !

Delivering the freshly “tenderized by pounding” conch .

We are enjoying our stay at the very old, somewhat posh Green Turtle Club and Marina. Here’s a shot of a couple of our neighbors who pulled in today including the 120′ Andrea Cay.

At 120′ The Andrea Cay dwarfs the very beautiful 68′ Nordhaven. Our lovely neighbors!

We decided to rent a golf cart and explore the island.

Incredible beach overlook

Lizardo’s been practicing his yoga. Here he is showing great form in a traditional plank pose.

I’ll leave you with a little video of the lights of the season. As Bahamians do not traditionally celebrate Thanksgiving, a few have gotten an early start on their Christmas decorations.

Sorry for the blog overload, but the winds are gusting and the rains are spitting, and the wifi seems to be working well so, I thought I’d get us all caught up and ready to move on to the next exciting chapter!

Storm clouds rolling through

After a good “post crossing” nights rest, we headed out across the Bahama Bank toward Mangrove Cay. When your vessel draws 4′ and change, it takes a bit of getting used to, to go cruising full steam ahead, when the average depth is 6 feet, even if your “full steam” is 7.5 knots.   Did I mention that the water is spectacular and extremely clear?  This can have a few scary side effects.

The afternoon before, we had enjoyed watching the sportfishing boats come in and clean their catch, dropping the fish heads and carcasses into the water. The difference between watching this here, and at Mariners Cay, Folly Beach, is that while we were looking down in the gin clear waters , we could plainly see an 8 foot nurse shark swimming around, directly beneath our dock. She nudged a fish head, then swam off to go find something a bit more appetizing. It brought back to life all my memories of the recent TV shark week episodes.

Saturday afternoon we arrived at Mangrove Cay, without another boat in sight.  After enjoying  a leisurely dinner, I took a cushion, light blanket, and glass of wine up onto the bow, and relaxed into the rythum of the peaceful sea. I sat staring up into the  star studded sky, listening to the gentle lap of the waves on the side of the boat, and the faint sound of klinking plates and glasses as Tom finished washing up the last of the dinner dishes. BLESS HIS SWEET LITTLE HEART !!!

Tom soon joined me, and began pointing out some of his old friends; Cassiopeia, Taurus the Bull, Pleiades (seven sisters), and everybody’s favorite, Orion. We talked about the chaotic frenzy of preparation that we had been through over the last two years. Selling our home on Little Oak, buying, moving into, and preparing the Folly Cottages for vacation rental, closing on the sale of his business…..  As we talked in hushed tones, in reverence to the quiet night sounds, all of those past trials and tensions seemed to drift away with the outgoing tide. I felt that it was at this very moment, that we had truly arrived.

Even in this great expanse of open water and islands, often with no civilization for many miles around, we had been told it is a very small world indeed, down here in the Bahamas cruising world. Next morning we were surprised to see that another boat had come into the area during the night. Tom recognized the boat as an Albin 27. When she started her engines and prepared to head on with her journey, Tom hailed the captain on the VHF, and said ” Jim is that you?” Sure enough, it was Jim, whom we had met, only via radio, and had wanted to buddy cross with. He had left at daylight Saturday morning and had a very long day, and into the night, across bumpy seas, to make it to this peaceful place. We were glad to know he had made it safely, and we would catch up with him again in the days ahead.

Enjoying a neighborly chat with Jim

Jim said he was heading  to New Plymouth on Green Turtle to check into customs, then back to Manjack to visit with Bill and Betty Sue. We left shortly after Jim, but headed in the direction of Grand Cay. We asked Jim to tell Bill and Betty Sue that we were on the way, but not in any hurry!

We made our way to Grand Cay and enjoy the cracked conch and fried grouper that is Rosie’s claim to fame. We were not disappointed !

Rosie’s famous cracked conch! Simply the best!

If my lovely daughter in law needs a break from Chilly Philly, I know just the place we can go for lunch!

Instead of anchoring out behind the island near the abandoned drilling platform, or in the marina, area we opted for a more scenic and sheltered cove.

I’m sure we are not the first Mariners to be lured into a sunny shallow curvaceous cove with a pretty face, only to be disappointed when the weather had a nasty change of heart. Such was our fate.  That afternoon when we dropped anchor, all was ideal. Soft breezes and clear skies, even though the forecast was for an incoming front. After dinner we stood on the sundeck and enjoyed a dramatic and powerful show of lightening flashes and distant deep rumbling thunder, as somewhere down south in the chain of islands, a few were getting hammered.  Next morning things changed.

Just before daybreak, I took my yoga mat up onto the sundeck wearing shorts and a tank top as the temperature was around 75 degrees. I began moving the furniture around to spread out my mat, when all of a sudden, every inch of uncovered skin came under attack by millions of tiny hypodermic needles. The vicious no-see-ums were out in full force. A few thousand of them followed me as I hurried back inside. We let the sun rise and breezes pick up before daring to venture out again. Later in the day we enjoyed gunkholing in the dinghy and snorkeling around the boat.

As evening drew near, we battened down the hatches against another possible no-see-um invasion, cranked up the generator and began making dinner. Unfortunatly we were not paying close enough attention to hear the winds pick up, or feel the subtle shifts of the boat in the current. Around 7:30, to our horror, we saw mangrove branches pressed up against the galley window. We raced out on deck to find the sky pitch black and rainy and the winds whipping around. Our anchor had given way, and Southern Trawl was wedged up against the rock bank in our very narrow cove. The bottom in this area was mostly covered with grass on top of a very shallow sand and rock base. . We turned on our instruments and were relieved that our depth sounder showed 4′ under our keel.  We had no idea if there were any coral heads or rocks near our propellers. Tom started the engines. He ran up front to untie the anchor snubber line. I was in the flybridge waiting for his direction. He told me to listen carefully as I put the boat in gear. We had to get away from the edge and back into the middle of the passage way.  He told me that if I  heard any loud or unusual sounds, I was to return the engines immediately to neutral. I held my breath and put the port engine into forward gear. We began to inch forward,  so I put the starboard engine into reverse, asking the boat to turn right and forward.

I was steering blind into the black night, only able to see what Toms’ handheld Q beam flash light could point out. I steered with the electronic shifter/throttles as the steering wheel was useless in such tight quarters. We were extremely fortunate to make it away from the coral bank and back into deeper water with no apparent damage to our boat. Tom dropped and secured the anchor once again.

We had no more confidence in this holding than we had in our previous one. We decided that sleep was not an option We began taking inspections every 15 minutes , by going up on deck, shining the flashlight onto the bank behind us and the rock coral head formations in front of us to try to determine if the anchor was secure or if the boat was sliding backwards, in addition to swinging side to side with the wind gusts.  Around 2:30 AM, we decided it might be safe to try to get some sleep, as our position seemed to be stable. Tom got up at 4:15 and began making plans for our exit at first light.  We learned the winds had been 25-30 knots during the night

Even though the winds were forecast to continue gusting, creating rolly seas, we decided to make a break for our next destination. We pulled anchor and headed out for a very rough ride. I would categorize this as much more than riding a pony with a very bouncy trot. I’d compare our day to having signed on for an 8 hour professional bull ride at the rodeo.

Even though Tom had not had any sleep, he got us safely to Manjack Cay where our friends welcomed us, and the sheltered bay provided safe harbor from the winds and choppy seas. The owners of a large portion of this beautiful island, offered us the free use of their mooring, or strong holding for our anchor, just out front of their beautiful palm lined sandy beach.

At the time, we had no idea just how special this island really is, but I’ll stop now and give you those details another day.

Hi, this is Tom, occasional guest writer!  Robin did a great job covering our 55 mile crossing from Florida.  I have just a brief story to tell about two guests who made that Gulf Stream crossing with us.

If you have followed our blog you may recall our stowaway lizard, Lizardo. He was on the boat for a week or more while we were still at Folly Beach, and I was unsuccessful at several attempts to catch him and put him ashore in more suitable reptile habitat. So he came with us, as Robin has described.

Now, what she has not told you is that he was missing for several days after we were in Titusville, FL on the way down the coast. We feared the worst; that he abandoned ship at the marina, or jumped or fell overboard, or was picked off by a passing sea gull.  But no, he reappeared the evening before our departure from Lake Worth, apparently happy and healthy!  We took that as a goodwill sign from Neptune!

Lizardo enjoying the view in West End, Grand Bahama Island

The second guest on board is our Uncle AJ plant.  Uncle AJ was my mom’s oldest brother who passed away long ago.  By rough count maybe a half dozen readers will have the slightest clue what I am talking about here, but I’ll tell the story anyway.  This plant is the last remaining sprig of life from a plant that grew in my uncle’s back yard many many years ago.  Cousin Ron, do you remember bringing small cuttings in little clay pots to a Walton Christmas party, what, 20 years ago, and giving one to each family member? Mine flourished for many years, and then barely survived my moving three times. It sat neglected with a bunch of “stuff” that I had not yet found a place for.  Out of a fairly large pot, there were two or three small sprigs that showed faint signs of life.

We were heading out on our boat for an undetermined time, and I couldn’t just let it die after all those years.  I knew I had to rescue old Uncle AJ.  The day before our departure on October 2nd, I carefully lifted the sprigs, trying to save the roots, put them in a pot, and put it onboard the boat. So far he’s looking good!

I have so many wonderful memories of the Walton farm where my mom was born and raised.  Uncle AJ and Aunt Louise were quite a couple of characters.  They were wonderful, laughing, jolly people, and I miss them and the others very much.  Of the six children, Mom and baby brother Waburn (Pistol) are still going strong.  So here’s to the original Waltons of that small Brunswick County NC family farm; Amos and Carrie, my grandparents, and children AJ, Pearl, Nell (my mom), twins Ray and Rupert,  and Waburn (Pistol)!  And thank you so much Ron for that little Christmas present so long ago.

Uncle AJ on the high seas!  Rock on!

East bound and down, loaded up and trukin

We’re gonna do what they say can’t be done

We’ve got a long way to go and a short time to get there

I’m east bound, watch ole Bandit (S.T) run….

I know you are just dying to hear our off key rendition of this Smokey and the Bandit classic!  That’s how our day started last Friday. Wow has it only been less than a week ago that we said our thank yous and goodbyes to Palm Beach,

Good bye Palm Beach

You might remember seeing this beautiful vessel at Kiawah during the PGA “Privacy”
Tiger Woods Yacht,

and especially Old Port Cove Marina. We cannot say enough about the excellent location, and professional kindness and services that we enjoyed during our stay at this first rate marina. Thank you especially to Mike, in yacht maintenance, his dad in shuttle service and the wonderful ladies in the front office.  We sincerely appreciate the respect and attention that was afforded to us as much as it was to any of our mega yacht neighbors !

As  Southern Trawl, nor I, had ever made an ocean crossing, we really wanted to have a boat crossing buddy. Unfortunately Ulita was delayed with a keel bolt leak, Jim in his Albin 27, decided to leave from Fort Pierce and wait an extra day, so Thursday afternoon we relocated to our anchorage near Lake Worth Inlet. We lowered our dinghy, and set out to inquire, with a few of the 50 or so boats anchored near by, if they were planning to leave next morning. We were pleased to meet the captain of another trawler, Two Scots, who said they were planning to leave at first light.

We agreed to radio each other in the morning.  First light, 0600 we pulled anchor and slowly threaded our way around the still slumbering boats toward the mouth of the inlet. Knowing Two Scots was a faster boat than Southern Trawl, we figured she’d overtake us shortly. About 2 miles out, we received a call on the VHF from Two Scots saying they were not leaving that day, as they had suffered a blown transmission seal. We wished them luck and headed out alone. We had a long way to go and a short time to get there…

The forecast had predicted northerly winds 10-15 mph with 2-3′ seas, with occasional 5′. This was not great, but the best weather window we would have for a while. I’ll try to describe what those conditions felt like.It’s sort of like riding a high strung pony with a very bouncy trot. Quite frequently, the pony spooks, hops sideways, gives a kick and a buck , then resumes his very bouncy trot. Uncomfortable, but doable.  If you’re not braced for it, it can certainly throw you out of your saddle.

When trying to move around, or even when sitting in your seat, we certainly followed the old sailors adage,  ” One hand for yourself, and one hand for the ship! ”

To relieve my anxiety, keep my mind off the rolling seas, and to pass the time, I worked on making a macrame hanger for some store bought fruit baskets. I hadn’t enjoyed the art of macrame since 1978 when I used to earn weekend beer money at Winthrop making and selling wall hangings. You just never know when those latent skills will come in handy!

It was thrilling when West End finally came into view. Tom asked me to go up to the anchor pulpit and let him know when I could first see the bottom through the incredibly gorgeous clear water. Our depth sounder quickly went from unreadable depth, to 1500′, 900′, 300′, 100’… I was delighted to announce that I could actually see the bottom and make out shapes and forms at 65′ deep!!! Tom raised the quarantine flag.

We pulled into Old Bahama Bay marina. After checking in with customs, we hoisted the Bahamas flag and went for a very welcomed icy cold Kalik !

Flying the colors !

We also had a welcome rum drink at Eddies place ! It has been an incredible week since we checked in at West End and much has happened since last Friday’s crossing.  We have lots more exciting details and photos to share. It’s also been a full day and our internet connect is trying to cut out on us, so I’ll stop here and finish getting caught up tomorrow.  Welcome aboard all who have decided to follow along. We are very excited to share this journey with you.

 Someone asked, “On which island I  should join you? ”  Our answer is the same as it has always been, You can tell us where OR when. If you tell us where you’d like to come on board, we’ll let you know when we get there. If you tell us when you like to join us, we’ll let you know where we are at the time! Cheers!

After my last post, I got several very direct and well deserved comments. Thank you Toni, Beth and the rest for basically telling me to Quityerbitchin ! Yes our plans have been altered by the weather, but not our spirit.  We have had the privilege of enjoying almost another full week here in the Palm Beach area.

Typical Florida Pine scrub sand hills

On Veterans Day we rented a car and drove just 12 miles to enjoy the Jonathan Dickinson State Park, where entry was free due to the holiday. Thank you again Ben and all other Veterans!

Looks like Florida has as much trouble controlling their feral hog population as does South Carolina.

First we hiked the scrub pine trail, and were alerted by the high shrill calling  of an osprey to look up. We saw a mother with chicks in the nest , and Dad just coming home carrying a lunchtime fish in his talons.

Next we rented kayaks and paddled the Loxahatchee River and Kitching Creek.

kayaking on the Loxahachee River

This is a pristine mangrove swamp. There were many varieties of ferns, and flowers along the way as well as a few impressive moss draped cypress tress. Unfortunately most of the grand Cypress had been cut down in the 40’s. We didn’t happen to see any alligators, though we are sure they saw us. We did spy a few turtles sunning themselves, and enjoyed the quiet paddle quite undisturbed as there were only a few  other boaters out that early.

Turtle enjoying the sun

Having been here as long as we have, we’ve had the good fortune to stumble upon a ffavorite local dining spot. The Cod and Capers seafood Market also serves lunch and dinner.

Best selection I’ve ever seen of all varieties of fresh seafood.

Menu selection is made from the bountiful fresh seafood that they have for sale. Wednesday night is Stone Crab night, when you can dine in and enjoy sweet fresh stone crab claws, for the same price as the carry out seafood market. They are pre-cracked and can be ordered with a side of sautéed veggies, cole slaw and of course your favorite cold beer or chilled wine.

Game over ! DELICIOUS,

Sweet Stonies!
Sweet Stonies!
All this good eating while listening to island steel drum music!

Stay tuned, we just got an updated forecast that our weather window may be closing!

There go our friends Uli and Lita, originally from Denmark, with whom we had planned to cross over tomorrow. Unfortunatly they discovered a small leak at a keel bolt, so they are taking their boat to be hauled out for repairs. They will be detained at least a day or two, at worst a week or so, if they miss this weather window. Hopefully we will cross paths with them again over in the Abocos! Fair Winds and Following Seas to Ulita! See you soon!

We are leaving the marina in a few minutes to go anchor out just inside the inlet to be ready for a very early departure! Keep your fingers crossed!

that fell off of the truck on the way to my house”. We wanted to leave for the Bahamas yesterday!!!

Predawn sundeck view. Makes for a heck of a yoga studio window.

I’ve come to realize that the only time you really need patience is when you’re holding on tightly to a desired predetermined outcome. If you keep your mind open to other opportunities and possibilities, the waiting isn’t quite so difficult.

First it was high winds offshore, and now it’s a low pressure system, that has us continuing to hang out in North Palm Beach, probably until Friday. Every decision is a compromise of some sort. Also everyone wants their first time to be memorable for all the right reasons! That applies to crossing the Gulf Stream as well. We look forward to arriving at West End, high fiving, and toasting and smiles all around, not green faced, cleaning up broken wine bottles, and other unfortunate messes and mishaps. So we’ll wait.

We’ve been entertaining ourselves by continuing to work on the endless boat chore list, enjoying walks

around the marina, hikes to Publix, the laundromat & of course West Marine!

Hang in there with us. We promise there will be more exciting stories and beautiful pictures to come!

Excellent attitude !

Palm Beach from the dashboard lights!

    Patience is not simply the ability to wait-it’s how we behave while we’re waiting…

Great day for defrosting the frig…

For all of you John D MacDonald & Travis McGee fans, look what Tom spotted!

The question is, “When are we going to cross over to the Bahamas?”  As Murphy’s law had predicted, the balmy flat calm that we had enjoyed all the way down the coast during our journey south, ended just as we were getting to the Lake Worth area where we intend to cross over.  Fortunately we discovered the South Port Cove Marina in North Palm Beach.

Welcome to Palm Beach ! YEE-HAW High rises, big fancy yachts, swimming pools, movie stars! Wee Doggies, Jethro, Southern Trawl sitting pretty in this neighborhood!

This one’s so big, they had to build scaffolding to work on the outside deck!

Seriously, as we made our way through the tight entrance to the marina, which is tucked way back up in the cove, Tom made sure Southern Trawl came to within a only a couple of feet of any of these incredible vessels who call Palm Beach their home port. Piloting with twin screws helps, but maneuvering  the turns and curves with high winds blowing and strong current running, without the benefit of bow or stern thrusters,  was a white knuckle experience, even for a seasoned Captain! I had been piloting the last mile or two, but quickly gave up the helm when the going got tough.

Fair weather Captain!

Lucky for us, we have friends in the area. Frank & Janina, who are my oldest son’s in-laws, graciously allowed us to have a few packages of last minute items, delivered to their home. Saturday afternoon they drove over to bring us our boxes. It looked like Christmas come early for the Bessents! Guess we got a little catelog happy when we started to order. We were then treated to a wonderful over night stay and delicious dinner at their beautiful new home, complete with excellent wine and Janina’s incredible old family recipe of home made Strawberry-rhubarb pie! The next day Janina took me to The Gardens Mall where I got a pedicure and picked up a few more “essentials”. No use taking this boat “roughing it” idea too far! Thank you Frank & Janina for your generous hospitality. We sure do like your neck of the woods!

Realizing the weather was going to keep us in port for a while,  we rented a car and headed out to go see the natural side of things. We drove to Shark Valley in heart of the Everglades, which lies in the western center of the 50 mile wide River of grass. They offer a tram ride tour, or if you’re young,

Woah, this is the Everglades version of a greeter!

athletic, or a bit older and think you are, or just need a good workout, you can  rent bikes and enjoy the 15 mile loop at your own pace.

From the observation tower at the 7 mile marker, we had a 360 degree 18 miles unobstructed view of the ” River of grass” without  a single man made structure in sight!

Snickers makes for good energy while wildlife viewin

Lots of oversized LIZ ARDO’s

Last 8 miles into a head wind were very challenging !

We had such an exciting day, but were very glad to get back to the park station and drive home.  As we drove the more rural route north, towards Lake Okeechobee, the former Everglades had been reclaimed and converted to agriculture. There were stretches of seemingly endless fields of sugar cane. We drove for over  50 miles where, as far as you could see in either direction, were either full green fields ready for harvest, or freshly harvested fields that had been burned black to make ready for the next planting.

The weather forecasters are saying winds should be dying down by Thursday or Friday. The local Dock master says he heard another front is moving in by the weekend??? We are also looking forward to the arrival of Bill and Betty Sue, local Folly Folks who are headed this way in their boat, and plan to arrive in the area by Friday. They have been enjoying this rodeo for many years, and have offered to introduce us to their version of how to enjoy Bahamian Crusing. We plan to enjoy having them show us the ropes of how and where to catch lobster, fish and other local advice you can’t find in a book ! Of course we will NOT be giving away trade secrets or posting any coordinates of where we catch the big one!

We’ve had a diver come by to clean the bottom of the boat and the local computer /TV expert has shown us how to turn on our tv & connect to marina wifi. (Our own wonderful GURU Keith set us up before leaving town, but somehow we lost the skills between Folly and here). Sorry & Thanks again Keith!!! You know we’ll be calling again for reminders!

“A clean boat is a fast boat” or so they say!

We’ve got the rental car for one more day, so it’s off to grab any very last minute necessitates. Hope the boat can swallow one more shopping trip. Think she might be listing just a bit to port already!

Have a great day all!