Dinner Key (catching up)

I was thinking that since we are so close to Miami the wifi would not be an issue.  That isn’t the case so I’ll play catch up now.


We left Key Largo on December 23rd early to catch the high tide. It was a pretty uneventful trip with a few really shallow spots until we got past Key Largo.  We actually managed to get our jib out for a few hours and were making really good time at over 6 knots.

Gilbert's.  This is where we had planned
to stay during the cold front

Nasty!

Miami

We reached Dinner Key Marina and I’d like to say that we just casually grabbed a mooring ball.  It wasn’t quite that easy this time.  We were told we could take any ball number 91 and up and the higher the number, the farther out they are.  I guess these balls don’t get a lot of use because the eyes that you thread your lines through were totally crusted with barnacles.  We don’t as a rule keep a hammer on deck and it took a bit of digging to find one.  Gloves also are a really good idea because the barnacles will just shred anything they touch.

the big boats in the marina

The marina here has over 500 slips and lots of mooring balls.  The ball is $22 a night and a slip is $2.80 per foot per night.  I think we’ll stick with a ball.  There are showers and laundry and a shuttle service to take you into shore.  We did take advantage of it yesterday but there are signs everywhere warning you that if they have a breakdown, or the wind gets over 15 knots, it’s up to you to find a way back to your boat.  I’m not sure what you would do in this case.  Maybe hang out at the dinghy dock and beg for a ride.

Miami at night

On Christmas Eve we biked to the grocery store to replenish what we had used up so far.  You know what a grocery store is like on Christmas Eve!  Crazy!  The one thing I was particularly looking for was pizza crust mix.  It would be really great if Pappa John’s delivered to the boat, but they don’t.  We think my pizza is just as good.  Top it with whatever is on hand, some sauce, some cheese and whatever is in the fridge…Voila!  We had pastrami, colby, onions and tomatoes the other night.  Apparently this is a very spanish speaking Publix store because it took me a while to find someone who spoke english to ask for what I wanted.  Miami is not as bike friendly as Marathon.  Sometimes there are sidewalks, mostly there aren’t.  We often found ourselves four wheeling over grass and gravel.
The wifi does not reach out as far as the boat so we took the IPad up to the office so Brian could Skype his sister and brother in law Kim & Bill.  The signal was good as long as he propped the Ipad up against the office window.

Christmas morning was beautiful here.  The water was flat like a mirror and so quiet. 

this was our view Christmas morning

We made lots of phone calls to wish family and friends a Merry Christmas and mostly our cell phone did not play nicely. It dropped so many calls that I swear once we reach the Bahamas it’s going to be a sacrifice to the sea gods.  (this story to be continued)


Cricket hanging her Christmas decorations

Brian did a little fishing for bait fish, we relaxed on the boat and then we had a delicious dinner of ham, mashed potatoes and fresh green beans.

bait fish 6 at a time

Today first thing I called the closest vet because Cricket needs a healthy pet certificate to enter the Bahamas.  Another $55 and they don’t make appointments.  That’s on the schedule for tomorrow.  I’m not sure she’s going to be impressed with a ride in the dinghy.
Next.  Get the phone fixed and pick up some oil filters.  Back in St. Petersburg we bought an unlocked, used Iphone and I was ready to change our service over to AT&T and get a mobile hotspot.  $85 for the cell service and $125 for the hotspot.  Brian said to just do it!.  Except….because we are Canadian and don’t have a social security number they want a $500 deposit.   I almost agreed (desperate) but you need an address for them to send back the deposit. 
Metro PCS (who we now have our cell service with) was about 4 miles away.  The agent at AT&T told us to hop on the trolley, it’s only 25 cents.  Yay!  No.  the next stop was miles past where we needed to get off.  So we walked.  We’re OK with walking but the route on my phone (battery going dead at this point) sent us through some questionable neighbourhoods.  Metro, when we found them was a combination phone store, notary public and adult education office. The languarge barrier was a bit of a challenge but we ended up with a new, bigger battery and a bigger SD card. So far, so good but no hotspot and still no wifi on the boat.

are we still in the US?


Last night we were treated to some company. CJ (our friend and sailing instructor from 2-1/2 years ago) and his students came into the mooring field for the night.  It was great having someone new to talk to.  We had a couple of beers and they shared their burgers with us.  Nice!


Brian, Sally & CJ

The crew of Gitana

They were off first thing this morning to head back to Fort Lauderdale and write their exams.

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