Riding the Bus, Miami

Day 173, January 29th, 2010

Today's excursion involved a trip to Walmart and KMart!!! I know, we lead such an exciting life! However, Walmart was about 20 miles away. Funny really - when we looked up on our Garmin Nuvi where the nearest Walmart was - it was right by Maule Lake!!! Paul and Sue wanted to look at Memory Mattresses and we wanted a shower bag.

So, the four of us set off around 10:00 a.m. and walked down Washington Avenue till we came to a funny little place where we could buy a $5.00 Transit Day Pass each. Then we caught the bus that goes all the way up the outer islands of Miami to Sunny Isle Boulevard. En route we passed where they are setting up for the Miami Boat Show in two weeks time. There were lots of gorgeous hotels on the beach front including Trump Towers. At Sunny Isle we got off the one bus and transferred to the next which went West across the waterway and up Oleta Drive all the way to Walmart. It took a couple of hours but we were happy sitting there watching the sites. There was always someone on the bus to help and show us where to go, except the very unfriendly bus driver, that is!! They didn't have the right mattress there is Walmart but John and I did find our shower bag (we bought two because we know they don't last very long). The boys wanted to go to McDs for lunch but I wouldn't let them - we'd already eaten in McDs once this week! So we walked a little further into the mall and found a Caribbean Cafe. Much more interesting. Variety is the spice of life!! I had chicken, rice and peas and beans!!! Ooh I ate too much and then had a belly ache. Sue complained of the same problem. Then we caught another bus which took us all the way down Biscayne Blvd. to downtown Miami. The bus was busy and we had to split up. I ended up talking to this fella from Chicago who had lived in Miami for the last 6 years. Strange conversation - he told he was on Social Assistance. I rather put my foot in it when I told him I was sorry to hear that and hoped things would improve for him. "Oh No! I'm happy. I'm not looking for work - its like being retired!" I didn't quite know how to reply to that one so I just smiled and nodded!! Then he went on to say he didn't realise you could go swimming in Miami and didn't realise there was a beach in Fort Lauderdale. Extraordinary!!

We arrived at the bus terminal close to 4:00 p.m.and then caught the bus along Venetian Causeway to home. Passed the boats at the anchorage and took a picture. It was a long day but fun. You sure meet some characters on the bus!

Back at the anchorage, we joined Paul and Sue for a drink and a piece of pie and chatted about our day!!

Maule Lake

Day 172, January 28th, 2010

We had a hard time getting Chris Parker this morning. Very poor reception on the radio so that we missed the first half of his forecast and were only able to get him clearly when he started talking to his sponsoring boats.

John was called over to our immediate neighbours first thing, "Aquavit". They told John they were dropping down to No Name Harbour today and would be crossing to the Bimini Islands tomorrow morning , starting at 5:00 a.m. They wanted to know if we would like to join them.
The forecast on NOAA was winds out of the NE, up to 10 knots, with seas of 2ft or less. John was still leery. "Nothing with an N in it" is a common rule of thumb. I radioed Pea Soup and asked for their input. They agreed that the window would be very short and although they had crossed once with a north wind, they advised it might be better to wait. That made us feel more settled. We will stay in Miami until we feel confident to go. Aquavit is considerably larger than Periwinkle too, and it would have a much bigger engine. They would be able to push harder if conditions were uncomfortable but that would not be so easy for us!!

So John and I continued with our original plan for the day. We had looked and looked for somewhere around here to fill our empty propane tank, without success. There are places where you can exchange tanks but nowhere where you can get a small 10 lb. tank filled. We remembered though that there had been a place right by the anchorage in Maule Lake, so we decided to go back there and get both tanks filled. We left at 9:00 a.m. only doing about 4.6 - 5.0 knots against a north wind and the tide. It took us 3 hours to do a little more than 12 miles!
However, we reached Maule Lake around 12:00, gobbled down a peanut butter and honey sandwich and set off to walk up to the propane place. It wasn't very far but those tanks get heavy, especially on the way back! Good thing I'd furnished us both with a pair of gloves!
We didn't stick around at Maule Lake. As soon as we'd got back to the boat we brought the anchor up and set off back to the Venetian Causeway again. This time we anchored on the north side again, with Suncast and Twice 's Nice. Very cosy! Barbecued a steak for supper, with baked potatos and cole slaw. Yummy.

Once we'd cleared up, John got busy with the wifi booster and tried to hook us up with the internet. Its a good thing he's a persistent kind of fella. It took him 2 hours! The silly thing would get so far and then spit him out. We couldn't get connected at all when we were anchored on the south side. However, he was finally successful!! And now I'm up to date again!

The Movies!!!

Day 171, January 27th, 2010

Went over to Suncast in the morning for a cup of coffee with Barb. Another couple we'd met in 2006 were there too - Sharon and Reg from "Pea Soup". We'd met them in Marsh Harbour, in the Abacos. They have a place in Manitoulin where they spend their summers, cuise the Caribbean in the winters. Its was so nice to meet up with them again! John and Bill returned from a couple of chores after a short time and we had lunch together aboard Suncast.

In the afternoon, Sue and Paul joined us and we walked to the movie theatre. We saw Meryl Streep and Alex Baldwin in "Its Complicated". What a wonderful movie. We laughed ourselves silly. She really deserves an Oscar for her role in this one. We all agreed you pretty much have to be at this stage in life to really appreciate the dialogue!!! It was great fun.

Sue and Paul joined us for a drink and munchies after the movie before we settled in for the night.

Miami

Day 170, January 26th, 2010

We woke up to lovely sunshine, and decided we should go for a nice walk in the afternoon.

Paul and Sue joined us, so we walked down Lincoln Road Mall again to South Beach. It was windy but quite warm. We sat on the beach and watched the comings and goings. There were a few people swimming but not many. Walked along the beach a little and then home via Washington Ave., stopping at McD's for supper. It was a lovely afternoon.

Miami

Day 168, January 24th, 2010

Time to go to the library again. We left around 10:30 but when we got there the sign on the door said it didn't open till 1:00 p.m. We had some time to waste. There was a lovely farmers' market set up in the street where we bought some yummy French pastries and some Avocado Honey!!! There were lovely veggies and fruit too, but that just looked too healthy, and besides I had lots on the boat!!!

Then John and I walked up to the beach and along the promenade to Ocean Drive. Its a lovely walk, all along the back entrances to the hotels. Gorgeous swimming pools and patio areas, opening onto the beach. It would be fun to stay in any one of them. Windy but a lovely sunny day.

We spent all afternoon in the library, catching up with stuff, and then went home for supper.


Day 169, January 25th, 2010

We're going to be here a while it sounds. Chris Parker still reckons on one cold front following another!! No good for crossing to the Bahamas.

Miserable day today. It rained heavily. I was chicken and stayed on the boat all day, reading my excellent book. John went off to buy us a wifi booster so we could pick up wifi from the boat instead of having to go to the library all the time. He tried to order a really good one on line but they were all back ordered. So, instead he went to Radio Shack and bought a different kind. He was able to get us hooked up in the evening though. We're hoping this will be better and more convenient.

Around 5:00 p.m. after he got back, there was quite a north wind so we decided to move the boat around the causeway to the south side of the bridge. It was more sheltered there and we were glad. Probably would have been just fine where we were though since it was quite difficult to get the anchor up. Paul and Sue decided to stay put.

"Its my Birthday!!!"

Day 167, January 23rd, 2010

60 today!! Bit scary!!! My dear husband cooked me scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast which was a nice treat. Didn't only do the cooking but all the cleaning up too, while I had another cup of coffee and read my book. Pretty nice way to start the day.

Lovely day, warm with the sun shining. Paul and Sue joined us and we dinghied up the canal a little way, then walked down Lincoln Road Mall to the beach. We were able to sit on the beach and suntan for a while. John watched the scenery and I read my book. Was sorely tempted to try paragliding but these big black clouds rolled in and it seemed better to wait for a clearer day.
We were able to stay there for a couple of hours though and it was lovely before we found a restaurant on Ocean Drive. Just as we sat down on the patio it started to rain heavily. They were able to find us a table inside and had a nice meal. No birthday cake but a shared piece of Key Lime Pie seemed appropriate!!!

On the way back to the dinghy, you can see a picture of me by my new car - a Lamborghini!!! Don't you love the beautiful sunny orange colour!!!! Vroom Vroom!!!! It didn't fit in the dinghy though so I thought I'd leave it right there!

We finished off our lovely day with a drink aboard Twice 's Nice. Good to be together again.

Twice 's Nice!!!

Day 166, January 22, 2010

Twice 's Nice is in town!!!! We left the marina this morning and Twice 's Nice caught up with us just north of the Rickenbauker Bridge where they'd anchored for the night. Two little ducks in a row again!!! We motored back up to the Venetian Causeway and dropped our anchors. The wind was out of the SW though and no soon had we set the anchor when an old boat beside us dragged its anchor and was headed for the concrete wall - fortunately the fella was on board, thought quickly and dropped another anchor, stopping just before he wiped out!!!! That was enough for us, we up anchored again and moved through the East Venetian Causeway bridge to anchor again where it was a little more sheltered on the other side. Hopefully we'll be good there. No real sign of good weather for a crossing yet. It looks as if we may be here for a while.

Its good to be together again. We visited the Post Office this afternoon and then came here to the library to get connected!! We'll have supper together tonight and catch up with all the news. John and I were delighted to hear all about the New Year's Day party at CYC!!! Hi, you guys!!!