Key Largo to Fort Lauderdale

So we last left you heading north (east) back up the keys and toward southeast Florida. We spent a few nights back at Faro Blanco in Marathon before hitting uncharted territory. Our plan was to be in Key Largo for a few days but it turned out our friends from Green Turtle Bay, Michele & Russell, were going to be staying at a condo nearby so we stuck around a bit longer. The condo was at the famous Ocean Reef Club and even came with a fishing boat so we gave it a bit of a try....no luck but fun none the less!

It was fun to see how the "other half" live and even more fun to know this place was started by a poor insurance salesman from Cincinnati...go figure!!

After Key Largo we finally headed back toward the "mainland" with a night anchored off Sands Key in Biscayne Bay where we visited Boca Chita National park on Easter morning before heading up to Miami.

It was a pretty easy run up to Miami where we were able to set the anchor before 2:00 and relax for the afternoon. Along the way we passed Stiltsville which has a pretty colorful history if you care to check it out.

Once in Miami we anchored for the night in the old Miami Marine Stadium where they used to have boat racing and concerts in the 60's-80's and there is talk of bringing it back to life. This year the famous Miami Boat Show was held there. It's a well protected anchorage with a great view of the Miami skyline.

The old grandstands

Something you don't see everyday...

Miami at night.

After a peaceful night in Miami we were on the move Monday morning for Hollywood City Marina where we would be staying until Friday. This was a stop we had been looking forward to as it was the first chance to rent a car and do some major re-provisioning at stores we didn't have in the keys. We put a bunch of miles on that rental in 3 days but managed to have some fun in Hollywood as well.

One stop was to check out the new Margaritaville Resort which is like a big Disneyland for Parrotheads...I think Jimmy is doing alright!! There were several nice spots to dinghy to along the wall in Hollywood and I think we could have spent more time there but they needed the slip back...

Margaritaville Resort

 On Friday we left Hollywood for the grueling 8 mile run to Fort Lauderdale. Most loopers bypass downtown Ft. Lauderdale but this was a great stop and we were able to avoid traveling the AICW on the weekend when the crazies come out!! This stop is right downtown where there seems to be something going on every day.

It's amazing how they move the mega-yachts through this narrow waterway as they go upriver to the big boat repair yards. The biggest ones have a tow boat front and back to get them through the twists and turns of this tiny river.

High Priced Yachts.

 I won't say we have the smallest boat in this stretch of the river but I don't worry much about other boats hitting us with the big cats above and below to protect us.

Even with all the Mega Yacht traffic on the river here people have no issues heading out in small boats and taking their chances....I just hope they're not drinking and driving!!

We were also lucky enough to stumble into a Crawfish and Blues festival at the Downtowner restaurant not 100 yards from the boat...what are the chances!?!? I was even talked into entering the mud-bug eating contest which I lost miserably but had fun at and ate well!!

 
Well, it was nice to get an urban fix after 3 months in the keys but tomorrow (4/5) we will start making our way up the east coast moving a bit faster and spending less time hanging out...well, that's the plan anyway. We've lost our chance to get to the Bahamas this year due to weather so we'll head toward the Hudson river without much of a schedule. Tune into the tracker tomorrow to see how far we make.....