HAPPY 2015!

Ahoy! After our “Great Western Loop” road trip this summer we settled back in Florida back on Pura Vida and started preparing for another sailing season. We also did some catching-up with our old friends at Cocoa Village Marina for BBQ’s and golf with Joe & Margaret.

Back on Pura Vida

       

Joe & Margaret Barnes

Basheers in New Smyrna

We also drove up to New Smyrna Beach to see Jay & Pam our friends from Kansas City.  Off course   when we were ready to set sail for southern waters we couldn’t leave until the Royals had completed their baseball season and what a great one it was. This probably wasn’t our best decision because that placed us going down the coast with a little bad weather.  So we took the intracoastal waterway (ICW) down to Vero Beach then outside to the big blue at Fort Pierce but the weather turned ugly so we went back in ICW at Port St. Lucie and stayed in the ICW all the way to Lake Worth.  It was the first time we’ve been through all those bridges.  The next day wasn’t better and it didn’t look good for awhile so we headed down the ICW all the way to Middle River in Fort Lauderdale.  We won’t ever do that again, I think we went through at least 19 bridge openings.  WOW.  We probably would have waited for better weather but we had a schedule.  Boaters all know how that can get you in trouble.  

Boca Chita Island

We had to meet up with Michael’s brother John and his wife Cindy, the “Omaha Kings” in Fort Lauderdale.  They came down for  Michael’s big 60 B-day!  We all sailed down to Miami once the weather cleared.   John & Cindy really enjoyed our stops at Boca Chita Island, No Name Harbor and other anchorages in and around Key Biscayne .  We kept the nighttime dancing on the boat to low roar and enjoyed a great visit. 

After the Omaha Kings left we met up with my cousin and her family Megan, Scott, Jayden and Tegan.  We always have a great time with them and their girls are great sailors.  They remind of us when our kids were babies.

Omaha Kings in Boca Chita

John & Cindy in Middle River

Full moon on King's 60th!

Maddie Kammerer

Barrows in Marathon

We finally arrived down south in Marathon and stayed on the mooring ball at first and met up with friends Alex, Andrea, Hillary and Charles as well so many more at the Tiki Hut parties.  Eventually we ended up at Dockside Marina so King could have a TV hookup for football. There we met up with our “Dock Dynasty” friends coming down for the winter.  Plus caught up with those living permantly down in Marathon now.

The following week we went down to Key West to see our nephew Pete and his better half Pong and their daughter Maddie.  She is a cutie.  Good thing we got to Marathon early this year because the northerlies set in and the wind blew stiff for weeks.  We know our friends Mike and Twyla were caught in it for a while up north but they finally made it down in time for Thanksgiving!  We had a great Thanksgiving Day thanks to Karen who hosted the celebration at her house this year.  Nice day!

Dock Dynasty Bash

Ladies night quarter beers.  Anything for a cheap beer!

Then the Christmas celebrating came up fast with the boat parade and Dock Dynasty BBQ parties with Rick smoking some good pork butts! Before we knew it we were off to Miami to meet the girls but not before the Barrrow’s once again had a visit to Marathon.  

Boat parade elves

Marathon Boat Parade

Dancing the night away in Marathon

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Part of the Dock Dynasty gang!

Sunset in the Keys

Thanksgiving with our host Karen Just

Thanksgiving Rick & Terese carving the turkey

Great Food!

Working off all that turkey with Patty & Karen

Turkey Coma

Sunset off Rodriquez Key

Miami

Stilltsville 

The night the girls came it was going to blow about 25 knots so we decided to get a slip for the night and set sail the next day for No Name Harbor which was Christmas day.  On Christmas eve we picked them both up a two different airports then settle in for a great dinner at the Cabana Beach Club on Miami Beach.  The time flew by when the girls where down here but it was one of our better Christmas’ on the boat.  We went to No Name Harbor, Boca Chita as well as off Elliott Key to anchor.  Lots of beautiful sunsets, paddle boarding, and making merry, we sure miss them since when they left.

All together again!

No Name Harbor

Boca Chita

Human or Animal???

Boca Chita

Cubana for lunch

Cousins in Miami

 Michael & I rang in the New Year with a 360 degree fireworks shown the water off of Miami at Dinner Key and now we are provisioning to go over to the Bahamas by the end of this month.

We hope you all have a very good 2015 and we will  post again after we get wifi somewhere in the Bahamas. Bon-voyage! 

New Years Eve fireworks from the boat in Miami