You know you’re making cruising strides when a productive day means one where you’ve found a place for trash, secured a black water pump out and managed to get the laundry done; by golly, today was productive.
We left the anchorage early this morning to get ahead of potential weekend waterway traffic, and we were indeed alone for much of our multi-bridge passing journey.
More scenic homes to gawk at along the way- a posted police officer and security guards at this particular estate prompted us to look it up- it’s for sale if anyone wants to relocate to warmer climes, FYI (although a more recent listing shows that the price has been INcreased to $159 million instead):
http://www.wsj.com/articles/a-mansion-in-floridas-hillsboro-beach-is-palatially-priced-at-139-million-1409851353
We actually found an empty mooring at Las Olas Marina, two blocks from the beach, and we spent the day reveling partly in our happiness to be supplied with so much people-watching fodder, and partly with the knowledge that we have a multi-day stay planned where we AREN’T waiting for parts for broken systems. (Although it’s a boat, so there will be something before long, I’m sure.) As we keep pointing out to one another, we’re lucky not to have a pressuring schedule, and to have found each ‘situation’ as we did and not when we were in a time or place with fewer options.
Our engine has been completely rewired, our starter is new, we have a new raw water pump at the ready for replacement in our next down time, our spare parts and tool chests are taking better shape, and we’re finally getting an accurate gauge of our fuel, propane, water and holding tank usages, which is quite necessary to know.
We spent the afternoon at the beach with our eyes out on sticks. Â Austin shouldn’t count its chicks before they hatch on the race to weirdom; Ft. Lauderdale might have it beat. While we spent beach time watching tankers and cargo ships anchored off shore waiting for their space in port, and jet skiers, paragliders, helicopters, cigarette boats and catamaran tours whizzing by, we took a walk later in the day on the main drag, and, oh my. I felt so far out of so many loops it was dizzying. There were dogs in a variety of fashion-forward duds, parrots on bikes, bike taxi drivers waxing their dreads while waiting for fares, lots of people able to unironically wear the shirt ‘Sun’s Out, Guns Out’ based on levels of apparent vanity and an actual discussion of reps and weights overheard in passing, thumping music from every passing tricked-out car (why do the passengers always look so bored?), groups of people pulling their mini-amps in small rolling luggage, and the fashion, wow, the fashion range. What’s crazy is that I was in South Beach two months ago, which now seems like Southwest Harbor in comparison. Ah, well, it’s certainly just this particular bumpkin’s take, but I can’t wait to go back tomorrow.
We also bought more junk to riddle the deck with while underway-boogie boards and kadima paddles for further beach time- I hear the sailing Clampetts never leave home without them.
Ah, the sailing Clampetts! Makes my heart sing and reminds me of all the hilarious sights you see while boating. As an old friend once said about camping, “if you have any spare time to do anything but unload and set up, you don’t have enough stuff!” That must be true of cruising as well. xoxo