Lantana to Peck Lake, Florida

 We got up early and took the dinghy into the Old Key Lime Restaurant and tied up and then went around the corner to Kona Coffee Café. We got there before it opened at 7 am and were seated outside with the best waitress waiting on so many tables as the regulars poured in. We both enjoyed omelets and then walked across the street to check out the rest of the waterfront park. We then took off for the multitude of bridges with the Southern Bridge under construction and on pause when we got there for Trump's motorcade to cross which held us up for 12 minutes after the scheduled bridge opening. Except for the boat wakes reverberating off the concrete canyon seawalls, it was an uneventful trip to Peck Lake. We have always wanted to stop here and they were dredging the last time through. There were power boats pulled up on the beach as it is a short walk to the Atlantic side beach. We walked the beach to the south looking at the high tide line in the seaweed for sea beans and did find a hamburger bean. We found several pieces of sea glass and a few interesting shells. We spotted turtle tracks and there were half a dozen orange taped off turtle nests and plenty of ATV tracks. We headed out in the the dinghy for a cruise with a bottle of wine only having to paddle back as the dinghy engine was acting up.

Crowded anchorage at Lake Worth at West Palm Beach

Busy port at Palm Beach

Jupiter Inlet light house

Atlantic Beach near St. Lucie Inlet

Turtle tracks

Turtle nests roped off

Portuguese Man of War

Osprey with fish

National Wildlife Preserve at Hobe Sound

Glenn worked this morning to get the dinghy engine running again and then we were off to the beach. We landed at another spot and headed north to St. Lucie Inlet. We walked the jetty and then headed up a trail where we saw a bench. We ran into a ranger taking down the green flag and he offered us a ride in his golf cart so we took him up on in. He told us of the tram service and the dock and cove on the other side so we'll be back to explore. We did close to 9 mile hike. The seaweed came in so the ocean was not as inviting as Hobe Sound so we jumped in.

Pelicans wading

Green heron hiking

Finding some shade

Off station sea buoy

St. Lucie Inlet

The jetties

Tent at the jetties

Friendly ranger who gave us a ride

Pelican brigade

We headed out in the dinghy north to the dock at St. Lucie Inlet State Park. They have an extensive dock out into a cove off the intracoastal and a long boardwalk about 3/4 mile that heads out through the mangrove forest to the Atlantic Ocean. We met the ranger driving the tram as we walked out and he gave us a ride. He also invited us to anchor out in the cove. We brought our fishing rod and a picnic lunch and grabbed one of their hand baskets meant for picking up trash as we did our beach walk. We walked out to the St. Lucie inlet and then walked the asphalt sea wall that used to be almost like a pier with the remnants of handrails. We walked as far as we could to the granite monument as the path through the mangroves is now overgrown. It was a beautiful day for a picnic and the ranger caught up with us and gave us a ride back to the dock. The wind had picked up and blowing against the current so it was a rough wet ride back to the boat.

Great dock and the only way to get to the park

Kayak trail

Boardwalk to the beach

Our picnic lunch and trash basket

Monument captures history of being open and closed

The seawall jetty walkway

Oleta River State Park to Lantana, Florida

 We were awakened by thunder and then rain around 5 am and rushed to close all the windows. We then left at daybreak to get a head start on all the drawbridges. Even with our vertical height of 16 feet with the radar arch down, we still had to wait for several timed openings. We followed another power catamaran through three in a row until we were able to continue under the next one he was too tall for. We stopped before the Lantana drawbridge and anchored in front of the Old Key Lime House Restaurant which has a dinghy dock. They have redone the Sportsman Park docks and boat ramp across from the Bicentennial Park across the street. There is one sailboat anchored with us and one on the other side of the bridge. We had a late lunch of fish and chips and blackened Mahi fish tacos along with draft beers on the outside deck. Then for the first time we walked across the bridge to the public park at the beach. On the way back we walked the nature trail and stopped at the Publix grocery store. We have a nice breeze blowing this evening.

Cruise ship coming into Port Everglades

The port at Fort Lauderdale

Fancy painted bridge at Pompano Beach

Drone flew up to our fly bridge and around our boat

Castle like drawbridge

Boat bar in front of Old Key Lime House looking out to our boat

Surfers at Lantana Atlantic Ocean beach

Developed with senior facility

Butterfly garden was busy

Lush vegetation and benches to stop and enjoy

The view from the Lantana drawbridge

Nixon Harbor to University Cove at Oleta River State Park, Florida

 We had the most enjoyable evening sitting in the heavy breeze with jackets on on the flybridge until sunset with no bugs. It was a peaceful night and we left the next morning heading to Crandon State Park for diesel, water pump out and to dump garbage. The dock guy there was amazing and made it easy to walk the boat around from the fuel station to the pump out. The Customs and Border Patrol Boat followed us in and asked us friendly questions and then headed on. We made it under three drawbridges and followed a sailing catamaran under one more until we finally made it to Oleta River State Park. There is a sandbar on the other side of the channel where we always saw boats beached and wondered about this park so finally decided to check it out. There are no real cruisers, a few liveaboards and mostly stored boats filling up the huge anchorage. The kayak rentals were out and about. We dinghied around as one side is Florida International University campus. To reach the Oleta River you have to go back out on the intracoastal and turn in three miles later to reach the Blue Marlin Fish House which was too far to walk. With so much boat traffic in Miami, we are ready to move on.

Pink moon emerging

Miami skyline at night from Nixon Harbor

Heading under Rickenbacker Causeway

Two cruise ships in port

Ferris wheel at Hard Rock Cafe

Sea plane landed looking towards our usual anchorage

Slacker crew with no paddles

Sandy beach but no spot to tie up dinghy

Overlooking the anchorage

Elliott Key to outside No Name Harbour on Key Biscayne and then to Nixon Harbor, Florida

 We headed out after breakfast and even though no rain was predicted we could see the rain move over Miami as we headed towards No Name Harbor. There were a dozen or so boats anchored outside the harbor and we went ashore to Boater's Grill for lunch. We enjoyed cold Presidente beers and a tostones or fried plantain appetizer and then a cheese burger in paradise and fries. Then we headed along the bike path in Bill Baggs State Park on our way to the grocery store. A shady sidewalk take you past the Ace Hardware store and CVS Pharmacy and many restaurants with sidewalk dining. We loaded up with groceries and headed back to the breezy anchorage. We pulled anchor and headed around to Nixon Harbor and there are fewer boats and less wave action so a nice spot for the evening. On a weekend the nearby sandbar would be crowded with boats.

Rain over Miami

Stiltsville houses still there at Cape Florida

New landscaping and chickee huts around harbor dock seawall

Bike path through the park

Iguana crossing the trail

Land entrance to the park

Richy rich neighborhoods