Just got back from a really excellent dinner at the resort restuarant. There are not very many boats here-about 11 or 12, and not many people at the resort. This is the off season but it certainly is a beautiful day. We hope to leave tomorrow and move to Spanish Cay.

Our boat after clearing customs and raising the Bahamian courtesy flag

Oliver and Marina near the beach

Marina and I discovered the dog walk

It IS better in the Bahamas!! Anyway, it's good to be here after an uneventful crossing. We debated on and off and then finally decided this was probably the only day for another week that looked good so we left our slip at 8:35 and went to Newport Cove Marina to fuel up. Left the inlet at 9:35 and arrived here at Old Bahama Bay in West End, Grand Bahama Island, at just before 1 PM.  Oliver is up at Customs and Immigration checking us in. I'll write more later.

Hours traveled today - 4.5

Miles traveled today - 64.9

I'm putting a map of the Bahamas on so My Dad can see where we're going. We'll leave from Palm Beach which is 56 miles west of West End, the first dot on our map. Then we'll cross the Little Bahamas Bank, about 115 miles to Marsh Harbor, on Great Abaco Island. There is a chance we may go tomorrow, as the winds and waves are to calm down overnight. We have heard several boats on the radio planning to leave tomorrow. Our plan is to leave around 7 AM, stop to take on fuel, and then go out and take a look. The Gulf Stream is only about 5 miles offshore, so we'll know pretty quickly whether or not we will go all the way. If not, we'll just motor back and try another day. Will post tomorrow night, if we get internet over there.

After a 4 mile round trip walk up to the mall for a TV cable, we're watching the Packers play!!!! Since we have a satellite, and no local channels, we've been "watching" the games on the computer but decided we'd really like to see this one. Once we figured out how to get the cable channels into the TV, it really works well-we can switch from satellite to cable and have about 300 channels to pick from! Not sure why we didn't do this sooner.

A cold front came roaring through last night and the wind blew at about 25-30 knots all day, with a little rain off and on. It was really cold-only about 58 degrees (I know, I'm just being funny!) Looks like we may not even make it across to the Bahamas this week because of north winds, which make the Gulf Stream too uncomfortable, so we may just change marinas and check out Singer Island for a few days. We'll keep you posted.

Here are the waves working their way into our marina. Glad not to be anchored out there!

The palm trees had quite a ride today too.

Those of you who have your boat safety inspected by either the Power Squadron or the Coast Guard Auxiliary are aware that one of the requirements is a waste management plan for your garbage. In Port Washington, almost all of the plans state that "Oliver will dispose of the trash on Sunday night"! That is because all our friends used our plan as a template but didn't change the name. Don't know who emptied the trash once we left! Anyway, we had our 2008 inspection yesteday and the examiner was kind enough to supply us with a more complete plan so I'm posting it here for anyone who wants to use it. And by the way, if you haven't had a safety inspection, it's a good idea for 2 reasons -one, it's GOOD to be safe and two, we have found on more than one occasion that it kept the Coast Guard from boarding us. When they see a current sticker, they know you are in compliance with all regulations.

We just returned from taking our rental car back to Enterprise. Yesterday we made yet another trip to the grocery store and the liquor store. We now have everything we need for the Bahamas-or at least, we have everything we can fit on the boat!! Now we wait for the weather. It's cloudy and very windy today, although warm. Looks like next Wednesday at the earliest.

Found out today that this boat at the end of the dock - you can only see a bit of it - is Tiger Woods' yacht. It was here for the first 3 or 4 days after we got here and I thought it might be "someone's" boat because the name boards were covered. Sometimes they do that so that you won't recognize the name. We were going to drop the dinghy and go around to look at the name on the transom but never got around to it. Don't know if Tiger was aboard when it left or whether the crew is just moving it, but if they come back before we leave we'll certainly invite him over for cocktails. He'd probably like to hear about our best and worse holes, don't you think?

Just a very quick update, as we are so tired we could cry!! A VERY busy couple of days. Yesterday we walked up to pick up our car, then took Marina to the vet for shots and a health certificate. Back to the boat to meet the hydraulics repairman and the air conditioner guy. Later the hydraulics guy's boss, Captain Bethany, came by to pick up the part which was under warranty. An early dinner and then to bed.

Today, we dropped Marina at the groomer, whizzed by West Marine before meeting the air conditioner guy so he could finish up, then went to Customs and Border Protection. We now have a permit that will enable us to easily clear customs when we come back from the Bahamas-otherwise you must call them and then present yourself in person at their office within 24 hours of arrival. Then a stop at Walgreen's for prescriptions, Wal-Mart for 2 carts full of things which we think are more expensive in the Bahamas, picked up Marina at the groomers and another stop at West Marine! Just got back from Panama Hattie's for an excellent dinner.

Tomorrow we're getting our bottom cleaned - rather, the boat's bottom - and our zincs checked and the Power Squadron safety checker is coming to do our 2008 inspection. One more trip to the grocery store before we turn the car in Thursday morning.

It's cool and windy here-hopefully by early next week it will calm down and we'll be on our way.

Thanks for visiting with us. Come back soon.

We had a quiet day today-just a few little boat chores. I walked around to take a few pictures. We had planned to walk up to the sports bar near by to watch the Packers but we were too lazy. We "watched" it on the internet and ate pizza. Maybe tomorrow we'll be more energetic!!

We have a lot of big neighbors.

We're at Old Port Cove Marina North-this is Old Port Cove Marina South.

The contrasts between Key West and Palm Beach are most interesting. After Pastor Alice left this morning, we walked about 2 miles up Highway 1 to West Marine to replace the microphone for one of our VHF radios. There are lots of restaurants and strip malls all along the way and we didn't even venture down PGA Boulevard, which apparently has even MORE shopping and eating available. On the way back, I stuck my head into the salon located right here in the marina complex and even though I was hot and sweaty, the owner Judy agreed to give me a haircut and, miraculously, I emerged without a gray hair to be seen! Oliver meanwhile talked with mechanic Bethany (is that a great name for a boat mechanic?) about replacing some kind of hydraulic something or other that seems to be leaking. Tucker Thompson at Sabre has been terrific about handling any and all little problems that crop up along the way and this is no exception.

Monday, Marina will see a local vet for shots and a health exam and then she will also get a "do" on Tuesday, while Oliver and I visit Customs and Border protection in order to facilitate our return to the US after our Bahamas visit.

Happy Birthday to my great and good friend Brad today, and to brother-in-law Tom tomorrrow.

Thanks for visiting with us. Come back soon.

We are in North Palm Beach tonight, after a bumpy ride from Miami. We had a wonderful dinner last night at Monty's Raw Bar and then a peaceful night. We saw the Carnival Imagination come through the inlet this morning right before we left. It was a beautiful day but the waves got up to about 4 feet for quite awhile. The shoreline is nothing but condos all the way from Miami to Palm Beach. Pastor Alice had to wrap Marina in a beach towel and hold her all the way, especially after the waves came pouring in through the side window.

This is a wonderful marina. We're in the brand new section, with huge slips, floating docks and moveable cleats. The dockhands are very helpful, tying all our lines, adjusting our fenders and plugging up the electric.

Tonight we walked to Carrabbas for dinner, followed by ice cream. Pastor Alice is leaving tomorrow so we'll turn in early-as usual!

Hours traveled today - 4.5

Miles traveled today - 71

This is the "control tower" at Miami Beach Marina.

This guy was welcoming the dawn

You can see the way the windows are drenched with sea water

This is Peanut Isalnd just inside the Lake Worth Inlet

This Singer Island. Bunny and John (my sister and brother-in-law) will be here in April so we'll stay at this marina and visit with them.

Thanks for visiting. Come back soon.

Goodbye Keys, hello Mainland! We left Marathon in beautiful calm weather this morning at 8:30, headed for Miami. We followed the Hawk Channel and went from smooth to lumpy to flat, before we left the channel and entered the Atlantic, where it became a little rough. The colors of the water were spectacular and we were treated to a visit by a large pod of dolphins. There are numerous shoals and millions of crab pots, so the navigation wasn't automatic but we found our way to Government Cut with no problem. The marina is located right off of the Cut in South Beach (one of my brother Bob's favorite places, I think) and we bought a little VERY expensive fuel and got into our nice slip. We have just retunred from an excellent meal at Monty's, right on the marina premises, and plan to leave about 7:30AM for a 4 hour run to Palm Beach.

Hours traveled today - 5.75    (Total hours traveled to date - 159)

Miles traveled today - 109       (Total miles traveled to date - 2233)

Here are the dolphin visitors

Approaching South Beach

Looking through the Port of Miami

Customs and Border Protection with 1000 horsepower behind each.

No pictures to post tonight. We are in Marathon tonight, after a bumpy ride from Key West. We had planned to leave at about 9 this morning, so we walked Marina, stopped at the market for a few last minute items, loaded the bikes on board and then Oliver started working on the dinghy, only to find that the battery was dead. He needed to put the engine down, so the blades don't stick out and catch when we're docking. After trying to charge it, he finally walked over to West Marine and bought a new one. I had talked to the office about staying another night, but they had someone coming into our slip, although they had another spot to put us. We finally pulled over to the fuel dock at about 11 and after filling both tanks, we tried to check out. After 38 days there, they had a really hard time figuring out our bill. First they came up with a figure based on the daily rate, which is about 160% of the monthly rate we were supposed to get. Then they charged us at the monthly rate, but for two months instead of one month and 8 days. Finally got it straight and we took off at 11:45.

It was blowing between 15-20 knots and went from kind of rough to really rough. Marina insisted on sitting in my lap the whole way and a huge wave came in through the side window and soaked Pastor Alice head to toe! It took us about 3 hours to get here but our slip is huge-60 feet by about 25 feet-and the weather is beautiful. The on-site restaurant was closed but we walked across the street to Porky's and had EXCELLENT ribs. We think we'll stay until Wednesday, when the winds will be light and we should have a good ride for our 100 miles to Miami. I'll post more pictures later. Thanks for visiting.

Total miles traveled - 46

Total hours traveled - 3

Tonight is our last night in Key West. The time has flown by and we can't believe it's time to go but we are looking forward to our next stops. Tomorrow will be Marathon, Tuesday night in Miami, and Wednesday to Palm Beach. Today Pastor Alice went to the Dry Tortugas while Oliver and I ran errands. We'll walk Marina, put the bikes back on the boat, fuel up and leave around 10 AM.

Here was our last tourist picture. We're worried that we may have put on a little weight.

This bird landed on the fish cleaning station, hoping for a hand-out.

Pastor Alice took this picture of the boat on her way back in on the Dry Tortugas Ferry.

I'll post more tomorrow night from Marathon. Thanks for visiting.

Well, Oliver and I both have bad colds again! Second time since we left home-we're kind of wimpy, I guess.

Our friend, Pastor Alice, arrived yesterday and right after, a huge cold front came through. There are gale force warnings today and tomorow and it's really cold-about 58 this afternoon. Should warm up by the week-end but will be windy until at least Monday, so we'll stay til then.

This morning we walked around town a bit and then I went back to bed, Oliver went to buy oil and Pastor Alice went to he Mel Fisher museum. Tonight we're going to dinner at Finnegan's wake, a cozy and nice and CLOSE Irish restaurant.

Here are a couple of banyan trees-Oliver likes these a lot.

Sponge Bob No Pants

This momma chicken was trying to keep he 2 babies warm.

Our friends Bill and June arrived today on the ferry from Marco Island. It's good to see friends from home!! We relaxed on the boat for a few hours and then walked up to Mallory Square for the sunset celebration, then to dinner at the Half Shell Raw Bar. We're now enjoying the Giants-Patriots game, all of us rooting for the Giants.

Here's a magician that Oliver enjoys every time we go to Mallory Square.

Here are Bill and June at the Pirate Museum.

We understand the weather is very nasty at home, so we won't complain about the heat here, but tomorrow we may break a record that goes back to 1926!!

Thanks for visiting us-come back soon.

Just a quick update, with no pictures. After a rest day yesterday, I think I might be recovered from my trip! I hear it is snowy up north again today. Very hot and sunny here. Key West was CRAZY today!! For the first time, all the marinas seem to be filled and the streets are packed. Should be a very busy week-end. We walked to CVS pharmacy for some ear stuff for Oliver, and then decided that a dinner on board was the wisest choice, so we stopped at the Waterfront Market for salad fixings.

We have another visit from friends to look forward to-our great and good friends Renee and Fred will arrive in the Bahamas on March 10 and stay with us until the 17th. We are looking forward to their arrival as we have known them for many years and always have a wonderful time. Other dates remain open, so feel free to visit us.

Thanks for stopping by-come back soon.

Merry Christmas a Happy New Year to all!! We appreciate the messages and cards from so many of you. We had an unusual but wonderful holiday, with a few chills and thrills thrown in.

Planes, trains and automobiles!!!! I flew to Grand Rapids on Sunday and after bumpy rides, arrived in the GR area in a snowstorm to find the runways closed for plowing and the airport suffering a power outage. We finally landed but had to deplane out the back, onto the snowy tarmac and walk several hunderd yards to the terminal. Meanwhile, my sister and brother-in-law, nieces, nephew-in-law and new great niece were making their way via Amtrak through the same blizzard. They finally arrived at 1:30 AM and sister Carol and brother-in-law Tom picked them up at the train station. We were much relieved that everyone arrived safely, even though we didn't get to bed until almost 4AM!!

We had a nice Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, only to begin the whole process in reverse. Sarahs' husband, Eric, had to fly to Vail, CO yesterday for work. His first flight was late, he missed his connection, was finally placed on another flight out of O'Hare but apparently the stress was a bit much for a fellow passenger, who punched a flight attendant. Last I heard, they were waiting for the police to arrive. Eric, hope today finds you in Vail!! My flight was delayed in Detroit because of freezing fog, and my van shuttle to Key West was about 45 minutes late. The train ride for the rest was apparently without incident.

All this while, Oliver and Debbie were celebrating in Key West and she arrived safely home in Charlotte last night. It was a wonderfult treat for us to have her here.

Oliver is off taking his second open water diving lesson and I am preparing for our next visitors. We plan to leave Key West sometime late next week. The time has flown!!!

This is a baby alert-you are hereby warned that most pictures will contain our little angel Norah!! I could not stop taking pictures of her. She is the happiest and best baby ever created!

Oliver, Debbie and Marina

We took a dinghy ride around the area

There were a few interesting vessels anchored out

Great Grandma, Great Grandpa and Norah

Nancy, Sarah, Great Grandpa and Norah

This is Aaron and his girlfriend Stephanie

Carol and Tom with Norah

Ashley and the baby

Daddy and Baby-they look exactly alike!

Aunt Libby and Norah

Super Aunt Sally and Norah (Great Aunt sounding WAY too old!)

I know Nick was there but apparently he never held the baby so didn't make the picture gallery!!!

Thanks for visitng us. Come back soon.

Another couple of days has flown by. Yesterday after our long morning walk with Marina, we took another long walk over to the Monroe County Tax Collector's office to buy a "Sojourner's Pass". There had been a lot of chatter on the Looper blog about the tendency for Florida to try to collect a User's Tax from boaters who remained in Florida waters for more than 90 days. We may or may not-depending upon the weather-be in the state for more than 90 consecutive days but we will definitely be here for 90 out of the next 180 days and I was obsessing over the possibility of "breaking the rules"! So, for $66, we now have a 6 month Florida sticker and I can relax.

Today we walked Marina over to watch 2 cruise ships dock at Mallory Square. Another one came in this afternoon. Then Oliver and I hit two more of my must-dos. We visited the Key west Lighthouse and Museum and then walked over to the Southernmost Point in the US.

We also walked past the pet shop, where a couple of weeks ago I fell in love with a little Schnoodle puppy-part Schnauzer and part Poodle. I would have bought the little guy, except that you can't take a dog under 6 months old into the Bahamas. I wanted Oliver to see him, but happily he was not there-has a new home for Christmas!!

The weather is once again sunny and hot and we're looking forward to Debbie arriving tomorrow night.

From the top of the lighthouse, you can see completely around the island. Here are the ships we watched this morning.

This is Ernest Hemingway's house.

The red roofed house is the southernmost house in the United States.

This is the lens of the light.

Here's the southernmost point in the US-there was a big line of people waiting to take their pictures next to the marker but we trust you'll believe we were here!

This is not a particularly pretty picture but whenever I see an Elks Lodge, I take a picture for my Dad.

Dashing through the snow, with Flamingos in the sleigh....

After another lovely night sleeping with the ports open, we awoke to much lightened winds and warmer weather, so we're back with the air conditioners on again. T-shirts and shorts for our walk this morning. Last evening we ate at Crabby Dick's and with light jackets, were still able to enjoy the deck overlooking Duvall Street.

We have a few errands to run today and wiill start preparing for Debbie to arrive on friday night and my departure Sunday morning for Michigan.

This cemetery looks much like those in New Orleans. It is huge and you must divert around it to get to other parts of Key West. Everything is above ground-including their truth-in-advertising! Note the appropriate signage.

This beautiful dancing couple graces the Key West Art Museum. I read that they will be replaced next month.

This shot shows how huge they are.

Expenses have been high so Oliver has taken a part time job as a server at one of the local restaurants. Tips seem to be a little low.

We had a lot of rain this morning but by late afternoon, it was sunny but VERY windy. We have turned the air conditioners off and we're hoping it will be cool enough for open windows but we'll have to see.

We went to Schooner Wharf Bar tonight for dinner and to see who won the lighted boat parade. We were disappointed that the Wisconsin boat didn't win anything but the Remember Our Troops boat won first place and we were happy about that.

We decorated our Christmas tree. It looks beautiful. Here are a couple of pictures.

Here's the winning boat-from both sides.

We've had a lot of fun the past few days. Our friends MAry and SCOTt - from MASCOT - arrived on Thursday and we have had the opportunity to sample the Mojitos at a few bars with them. Last night there was a lighted boat parade, and MASCOT was a front row seat for the festivities! So close, in fact, that the sailboat from Wisconsin was able to pelt us with the snowballs their snow cone maker was cranking out! Since Mary and Scott are from Ipswich, Massachusetts, they were glad that the snowballs were the only snow they'll be seeing this year!

We had a wonderful surprise in the mail yesterday. A VERY heavy box was delivered to our boat, containing 8 pounds of jelly bellys and 300 Christmas lights. I understood the jelly bellys-I am truly addicted to them and my friend Sandy sent 12 pounds with me when we left in September. I am currently working my way through pound # 6, so it was apparent that at 2 pounds/month, my supply would run out well before we get home next June! Now I should be set for the duration but I really didn't understand the lights. About an hour later, ANOTHER big box was delivered-this one containing a live tree, cut from the Chopin's own property! The perfect tree is now set up on the bridge and today will get decorated. What a special gift and we are truly blessed and grateful to have such thoughtful friends. Thank you, Sandy, Mike and Mac!

Another nice piece of news came when we heard from our Pastor that she will be joining us here in Key West on New Years Day and riding with us up to Miami. We are looking forward to having company on the boat several times over the next few months.

Here are a few pictures from the boat parade. You'll be able to identify the Wisconsin boat.

Marina and I have been driven inside by a sudden rain event, while Oliver is off having his first "pool dive" with the very cute surfer dude who is his instructor. (That's me calling him cute, not Oliver!)

This morning we walked over to the location of the first headquarters of Pan Am, to take a picture for my "flighty" family - 2 pilots and 3 flight attendants. There's also a store called  the Last Flight Out. Story goes that back in the day when tourists visited Key West only by air, instead of Last Call at the bars, it was Last Flight Out. Those who were able to make it to the airport could take the 10 PM flight - all others had to wait til the next day!

We had a wonderful evening last night with Kathy and Buddy. We picked them up in our dinghy, from their anchorage, and had dinner at Alonzo's Oyster Bar. Later we took them back to their boat and had an interesting time getting the dinghy up to their swim platform. We made our way back in the dark and the waves but got here safely. Buddy has Oliver just about talked into a Nordhaven and a joint trip to Europe!! We're looking forward to visiting them in Virginia this spring.

Tonight we watched the sunset celebration at Mallory Square and then enjoyed a good dinner at Two Friends Patio Restaurant. Oliver should be in the pool for his first Scuba lesson tomorrow.

Thanks for visiting!!

We enjoyed dinner at the pool last night with Buddy and Kathy, along with Jeannette and Jerry, and their darling little grandson Cameron. Jerry and Jeannette have been to the Bahamas many, many times so offered us a lot of important information. I'm sure we'll be in touch with them again before we make the trip!

Oliver is at the Dive Center today, taking the tests he needs to complete before starting the in-water part of his training.

Today is Marina's 4th birthday. She really doesn't look a day over 3 1/2! We bought her a squeeky snake and some very specail treats, both of which she enjoyed first thing this morning. There will likely be some other surprises as the day goes along! 

Here's Marina "opening" her presents.

Playing with her new snake

Thanks for visiting. Come back soon.

We continue to eat our way through Key West! The past 3 nights have been Cuban, Jamaican and fried lobster, and we just returned from a wonderful but fattening (for me, anyway) breakfast with our new friends Buddy and Kathy. Be sure to visit the Message Board to see a fabulous picture of their boat, Always Friday, in Alaska. They have cruised over 10,000 miles, from California to Alaska, back down through the Panama Canal and Central America to their current slip next to the 1-O-II. They are on their way to their home port in Virginia Beach. We can't get enough of their story and I am afraid Oliver is already planning our next adventure!! They have 2 wonderful little dogs on board so we are sharing puppy stories, too.

Here's Buddy and Kathy