Another great stop on the GS. We have come to really enjoy the longer stops - it really gives you a chance to know the area more like a local than a tourist. We visited many of the familiar Key West haunts and came to love many new ones.
Christmas & New Years were a blast and very different that we've ever experienced. Oh, and that crazy bike ride was one for the books.
Marina was great - just a short walk from everywhere and just outside of the coast guard/naval facility where every morning they played the star spangled banner @ 8:00 am and taps each evening accompanied by several folks in the marna blowing conch shells.
Now it's time to start heading home, so we are looking for some good weather windows. The plan is to hit Marathon, Biscayne Bay and then back up the ICW to Daytona.
Well, we learned that Key West is the 2nd largest New Years celebration in the US, right behind New York City. There are, in fact, several celebrations around town, mostly centered around Duval St. I'm pretty sure that I'm not interested in fighting the NYC crowds after experiencing this crowd. Very polite, well behaved, but just too many dang people for my liking. Give me a bon fire, some good beer and a dozen of my closest peeps and I'm a very happy girl.
The Weather is Here, I Wish You Were Beautiful....
What fabulous weather we have had for Christmas! Big blue skies with temps in the upper 80's....
We had a great time with the Bourque's, who joined us for the long weekend, which we kicked off with the annual Santa run on Christmas Eve, a Christmas Day filled with "A Christmas Story" and much wandering through the streets of Key West. Although it was kind of weird being away from the kids for Christmas this year.
The weather on this leg of the trip was a little tricky. Picking up a mooring ball in Titusville in 30+ MPH winds was not for the timid, but once tied up it wasn't too bad. The field is pretty wide open so we were at the mercy of the winds all night and that leads to a noisy nights sleep. From Titusville, we stopped @ Vero Municipal and then West Palm, where we had an fantastic dinner with Marty and Andy. From West Palm we made way for Bahia Mar Marina in Ft. Lauderdale and another weather window that needed to be dealt with. Seems like the good travel days come in 2-day increments, so we decided to stay in Lauderdale an extra day.
Our plans to make it to Key Largo were again cut short by the almighty wind creating some rough water conditions and an unexpected stop in Miami at Miamarina. Which actually ended up being a pretty good stop. Located at the base of the American Airlines Arena (Miami Heat) and a very active promenade with shops, restaurants and night clubs.
Leaving Miami, the wind was still blowing pretty hard with 3-5 footers in Hawks Channel, we opted to stay inside Biscayne Bay and take our chances through Angelfish Creek to Hawks Channel tomorrow which is forecasted to be much nicer. We have heard lots of stories about making the transition from the Bay to the Channel @ Angelfish Creek, some ok and some pretty nerve racking. As it turned out, the anchorage just outside the cut was awesome; clear green protected water, another gorgeous sunset, and a billion stars.
A couple hours after low tide the next day, a very easy pass through the cut. We were worried for nothing, and we have said that if we get to do this again, we would use Angelfish Creek by choice and not because of conditions.
Ride down Hawks Channel, dodging the lobster pots, watching the water get greener and greener as the day went on, was real nice and we made Key West in 2 days with a stop-over in Marathon.
Enjoyed several days fishing with Cowboy Charters
