July 5 We knew we wanted to leave today, but needed 2 things: slack tide in the river & to get fuel somewhere. Wayne called around for a fuel truck delivery - they were all booked up. Hey, I thought we were in a recession?? The Peterson fuel barge
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DELIVERANCE is the name of the barge
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was going to be stationed at the Dania cut until 12 noon good news, that’s on our way South…It was 9:30 & as luck remained - we had a slack tide. In keeping with our usual last minute departures we both ran around the boat like crazy people getting ready to depart. We got 270 gal. of diesel fuel @$3.71/gal. but with tax it came to $3.93/gal. We really took 
our time cruising down the ICW. We anchored fairly close to Beer Can island, (as the locals named it & near where Stephanie & Bob live) launched the dinghy & took the girls to the beach. Wayne proclaimed, with a Sprite & rum in hand (huh?), "It's the 1st day of our vacation & the 1st day of the rest of our lives". AMEN to that! We had a tough time keeping the dogs from eating the rib & chicken bones that the July 4th partiers left behind.Wayne gave the girls a much needed bath on the swim platform & we settled in for the 1st day without A/C in over 3 weeks. As long as the wind & current were from the same direction, we enjoyed a brisk breeze right thru the boat, However, in the middle of the night that changed & we woke up in a sweat. ...out came the fan. Wednesday & Thursday 7/6 & 7/7 Rain, Rain & more rain - more rain than we've seen in 7 months! but S. FL needs it badly. At least we were comfortable-did odds & ends going out only between the rain drops.There must have
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| Beer Can Island - Fire vessel on the right |
been 100 kids who paddled & played on the island, probably some summer program. They had a great time & wished I could have been one of them. The Miami/Dade fire boat went ashore & the guys showed the kids around too. Friday, 7/8 The final shuttle launch was scheduled for today - It was doubtful it would be “a go” because of the weather. However, in the final few moments of the count down, the weather cleared and off she went. It was a exciting time even though we only heard it on the radio. We pulled anchor @ 12:00 & headed slowly south on the ICW. We took a dock @ Dinner Key’s huge marina in Coconut Grove - why were we
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Dinner Key Marina - Coconut Grove
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here? Because Wayne wants to go to Home Depot to get a new hose & florescent light bulbs! We had dinner @ Scotty's, a close-by, water-front, out door restaurant. Saturday, 7/9 We walked miles & miles to Home Depot and West Marine - we could have (should have) taken the bus for $.25 but NO, I wanted to walk. (somebody slap some sense into me next time) On our return, we took a much needed break at Flanagan’s, split a Philly cheese steak, beer & wine. 7/10 After verifying that we were actually going to leave today, I quickly changed & went to the New Market, a short walk from the marina. Fabulous store with tiny isles & chock full of unusual items, some I’ve never seen or knew about. I then hiked it many blocks to Flanagan’s liquor store only to find out they didn’t have box wine. We left the dock about 2pm & crossed over to the sand bar @ Key Biscayne where there was a ‘happening’ going on. Someone should tell the people of Miami about the recession going on in this country. We gravitated to the action - hundreds of people & amazing boats lined up around the sand bar, most with multiple outboard
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Boat with the DJ on the upper level
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| You can see the famous 'Stiltsville' in the background |
engines on them, some had 8-10 boats rafted together…one boat even had a DJ on board (1st picture of the boats above)! Reminded us of the Columbus Day Regatta we attended in 2008 at Elliot Key (except no one here was naked). Everyone trying to play their music the loudest - My wish was that they’d all play the same music, now that would have been neat. We sat on the swim platform to keep cool & take it all in. here was a significant chop & the water would hit the stern & be forced up the slats in the platform - sure kept us cool but freaked the pups out. Just before dark, we anchored in Hurricane Harbor, a pleasant, protected are surrounded by amazingly huge homes. 7/11 Hot, Hot, Hot, Hot - upper 90’s. We returned to the sand bar - sans the partiers…Lovely, relaxing day in the water. Key Biscayne is the home to some of the most famous & infamous characters of our time & was also the Winter home of President Nixon - the first of 3 water-front properties he purchased. We anchored in front of his property that night. Actually, his property was bought by Edgard Defortuna & the home was razed in 2004 but they kept the helipad built by 'we, the taxpayers'. I was interested in the history & they filmed part
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Nixon's property & helipad on the right on Key Biscayne
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of 1983' Scarface here & was the home of the character, Frank Lopez (played by Robert Loggia- no I’m not smart but I do have Google) they also filmed several episodes of Miami Vice using the helipad. The helipad, on the right, houses a large yacht. 7/12 HOT, HOT, HOT! The parts arrived for the Navigation system that links all systems together such as the radar, auto pilot, GPS, depth sounder, weather radio, collision avoidance. Hooked it up & with assistance from the company, think it's working - FINALLY! Plan to leave for Bimini in the morning so tying up loose ends today. HUGE storm on the mainland during rush hour. We go some much appreciated wind but according to the news, traffic was a mess...here's a picture of Miami's skyline during the storm - it was awesome.
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