The marina we were in had fixed docks, and with an almost 2 foot tidal swing, we had to time getting the dog off and back on the boat strategically. So at high tide Sunday morning we took her for a walk. We then took ourselves for a walk to a local farmers market near the ocean side. I know I’ve been spoiled all my life with North Tonawanda’s farmers market, but this one was quite lack luster.

On the way back we went into Morelia Ice Cream. They had some interesting flavors, all on a stick, that you could customize with your choice of dip and toppings.

Monday we took Skia for a walk in the morning again and then went to hang out on the beach. We rented an umbrella and relaxed. It was a beautiful day.

We had wanted to go to this one other place in the Keys, but couldn’t get there with the boat. Don also wanted to go see the Miami Dolphins Stadium. So Tuesday we picked up a rental car. We first drove to the stadium but it was closed to the public due to construction. Kind of a bummer, so we went an had an early lunch at this local sports bar chain, Bokampers, that is a Dolphins backer bar. They had pretty good food and it definitely would be a good place to watch a game.

On the way back we stopped at a few stores and ran some errands. That evening, Food Truck Tuesday was happening in the park next to the marina. We walked down there to check it out. It was quite the set up. The whole park was lined with trucks of every different type of cuisine, picnic tables, bounce houses and even a DJ.

Don had a bigger lunch and wasn’t too hungry. He decided to just get dessert, which still ended up being quite the feast. I got these absolutely amazing pork belly bao buns! 😋 I’d say they were a very close second to the pork belly tacos I lost from Smoke On The Water closing in NT.

Wednesday we drove back down to John Pennekamp State Park on Key Largo. We went out on a snorkel tour to a beautiful coral reef off shore. There were tons of really cool fish and coral. A huge spotted ray swam right by us!

While under water you could hear the crackling of pistol shrimp, but we couldn’t spot them though. Afterwards we went to lunch at Senor Frijoles. It was right along the water and had very good food!

Thursday morning I dropped the rental car back off while Don got the boat ready to leave. We intended on going to West Palm Beach but it was slow going through the ICW with mostly slow or no wake zones. We only made it to Delray Beach. Along the way we passed a major shipping port that had several cargo ships unloading. It was pretty neat to see. We got fuel from the marina and then anchored just across from it.

Friday we were up early and made it to West Palm Beach. The anchorage we were planning on going to was closed for an upcoming boat show. So were the city day docks 🫤. Luckily there was a corner of sand right along the bridge we could take Skia to. Don actually dropped Skia and I off to take a walk. We went to see the popular Worth Ave Clock Tower.

Saturday marks day 200 that we’ve been on the Loop! Which is crazy to think about! We moved on again. Don had an anchorage in mind but when we got there it was too busy and the water was very choppy. We went a little ways further and found a spot that seemed okay. It was right along the channel a good distance away from the markers, but we knew we’d still have boat wakes to deal with for the rest of the day. Even though the area was a no wake zone, we’ve noticed that Florida boaters don’t seem to be the most courteous. Actually many downright don’t seem to give a flying fart about anyone else around them.

Still, this location had a day use dock which made taking Skia to shore easier, and a floating hot dog stand.

Fisherman are just a different breed. At 6 am on a daylight savings change over night, which makes it actually like 5am, how is anyone so hyped up to be blasting and singing old school Nelly?? 🤫😴

Needless to say we were up early on Sunday. We headed for a place Looper friends of ours told us about, Peck Lake. It was a nice spot, a good amount of space with room for many boats to anchor here. We got set up and took a path along the barrier island to the ocean side. The waves were really crashing!

Today we took our chairs over to hang out on the beach for a while. The waves were considerably smaller but you still had to time your entry into the water to keep from getting barreled over.

The wind kicked up considerably and after getting blasted with sand, we decided to head back to the boat. I got in the calmer water by the boat to rinse off and had quite the surprise.

And this was close to high tide. Good thing our boat has a shallow draft! The wind had turned the boat a different direction and Don wasn’t particularly comfortable being in such shallow water, especially knowing it was still dropping. So we pulled up the anchor and scooted a little further out.

Tomorrow we will be going to Fort Pierce for a few days as we continue on our Northern trajectory.