Southern Adventure! (Part 1)

We returned from our trip Saturday evening. It proved difficult to blog while we were away so I am catching up now. This first part covers our trip aboard Moor Life from Key West to New Smyrna Beach. Part 2 will include our road trip to St. Augustine (Florida), Savannah (Georgia), and Charleston (South Carolina).

Itinerary:

1/30 Key West

1/31 Marathon Key

2/1 Key Largo

2/2 Ft. Lauderdale

2/3 Vero Beach

2/4 New Smyrna Beach

Not sure exactly but about 300 miles! We were underway for hours each day, sometimes on the outside (Atlantic Ocean) and sometimes in the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). Our speed varied depending on weather/waves and the limits in the ICW. The ICW at some points is quite narrow, so even with higher limits, we needed to slow down for other boat traffic.

So many sights to see! Lots of bridges, cities, birds, boats, palm trees, mangroves, etc. Here are a few (in no particular order):

So many huge boats!

Miami skyline:

Nick at the helm:

Blurry...but scary!...photo of a moray eel off the dock:

Nick as Moor Life departs Key West (Bight Marina):

Pelican at Marathon Key:

Light station:

Waterway to Joe and Kari's place in Marathon:

Approaching Key Largo:

Restaurant in Key Largo:

Gilbert's in Key Largo, where we stayed (great Tiki bar!)

One of Beth's creations. She made three, all different, buoy pillows - awesome!

Drake at the helm:

One of many bridges we went under:

You know you're in Florida...

Beth chillin in the cockpit!

Lots of pelicans and cormorants:

First time I've seen a large shrimp in a Bloody Mary, and it came with a beer chaser!

Beautiful photo Beth took underway:

We spent a couple of days in New Smyrna Beach at Drake and Beth's lovely home, leaving Monday, Feb. 6. Note: NSB is a very nice town with lots to do and see including great restaurants and bars, a lighthouse, and beaches. It is also considered to be the deadliest shore in the U.S. due to shark bites (which Beth assures us is just a little pinch), rip tides, and hurricanes. Can't wait to visit again!

Since we were in that part of the world we decided to see a few more sights that the southern U.S. has to offer. See my next blog for Part 2!