Today we are headed to Ft. Lauderdale and do we have some adventures to share since our last post!
Leaving Marco Island lead us to calm seas in the Gulf where we spent 5 hours underway with no land or people in sight. The kids had a giggling screaming contest (how many other opportunities does one have to absolutely scream at the top of their lungs with no negative ramifications?). We saw one (maybe two) sharks swimming, a few dolphins but otherwise little sealife.
We ended the day in Little Shark River . . . an absolutely horrible yet beautiful, peaceful place. As we got close to our anchorage, Eileen remarked "there's a big bug out there" which was only the beginning. During our anchor setting in Little Shark, we were bombarded with huge horseflies (big enough to carry the kids away) with stingers at least 5 feet long (hyperbole is one of my best friends). We had to completely shut up all windows/doors and stay locked in our boatcave all night where the kids got the binoculars and spotted alligators and turtles. In the middle of the night, Nick and I woke up and saw millions of stars - something you don't get to see in glare of city lights. The sounds of frogs, crickets and who knows what else lulled us. Admittedly, it was beautiful! The next morning, those darn horseflies stayed with our boat and Nicholas spent the day 'whacking' them. We won't be going back there. :-)
The next morning, we scooted out quickly. After rounding the tip of Florida, we picked up the Yacht Channel and went from the west to the east coast of the keys via Channel Five and then turned north into the Hawk Channel for a 20 mile ride to Tavenier. The Hawk Channel was mesmerizingly beautiful - in 20 foot depths, we could see the bottom of the ocean! Along the way, we had a truly once in a lifetime experience - we saw sea turtles mating in the wild! What a sight!
Anchoring at Tavenier, we spent the evening with our friends Susan and Ian Holtzworth (John was out of town). Ian, John and Susan's son, is an incredible person who is just at the start of a distinguished career once he completes his degree from King's Point, US Merchant Marine Academy. He will do well, and we wish him all the best!
The rest of our time in Tavenier, we swam, explored and enjoyed the crystal clear water (now I know where that cliche comes from!) where we also saw a spotted eagle ray jump completely out of the water! Both kids want to live here . . . I don't blame them! Life is good at the end of an anchor!
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