March 09, 09

Tuesday's winds were still 15mph where we were in Islamarada, but only 5 mph in Miami, where we wanted to go, so at 8:30 am we set off. By 10 o'clock I felt lousy, and so we decided to make it a short day. We crossed Barnes Sound to the west rather than continuing north and found Manatee Bay with a string of three tiny marinas. No manatees. At this time of year, they are further north. By 1:15 pm the boat was tied up for the night and I was down for the count. I slept for many many hours and on Wednesday felt fine and was ready to go. Uffda. The ride through Card Sound and Biscayne Bay was nice and easy.. This time we looked for, and found (but didn't go close to) the remains of Stiltsville, a community of homes built on stilts along the southern tip of Key Biscayne. We could see only five silhouettes on the horizon. These are homes originally built as fishing shacks, but improved and upgraded so they have survived countless hurricanes. Now legal problems may force their destruction in the future. The houses are located in Biscayne Bay National Park, which apparently wants them gone. If you are seeking a cause to support, SOS—Save Old Stiltsville could be just what you are looking for! Our stopover in Miami this time was on the mainland side, and our evening walk was an indoor affair—in the Marriott Hotel adjacent to the marina, where a Mariachi Band did their thing for a United Way group conventioning in the hotel. We got the music without the meetings! Nice. The +/- 30 miles between Miami and Ft. Lauderdale is solid city and on the waterway this time, solid boats. Way more traffic than in December—it is Snow Bird season now and the waterway was filled with boaters of all size and shape. Once again on a Thursday afternoon we docked at the Ft. Lauderdale canal home of Marilyn Markus, my high school classmate. Her daughter Pam was there to meet and greet—and cook! Pam made her first ever veggie lasagna, and it was delicious! The evening flew by with lots of laughter. It was interesting to see that Marilyn's neighbor on the canal is now doing as an emergency (collapse of dock with broken water pipes, etc.) the work on the sea wall that Marilyn did by choice a year and a half ago. Maintenance, maintenance, maintenance! Friday morning I returned to my now familiar stores—Walgreen's, Target and Publix, and armed with fresh food and fresh flowers, we were ready to go! And, let the record show that this Thursday, March 6, 2009, marked our one year anniversary of moving aboard YOUNG AMERICA. We are still not only speaking to one another, but thoroughly enjoying this way of living! Fred has found a new display on the navigation system that measures distance to the next waypoint and spells out an estimated arrival time. Very handy with the many bridges of south Florida—we were able to speed up or slow down in between, and cut the 'hover' time dramatically. Actually, we only went about twenty miles before we were ready to tie up for the night. DelRay Beach has a sea wall by a park, and we paused there to check the town out. Were serenaded by a passing bagpiper, enjoyed the park, and walked down to the town marina and chose a slip for the night. Back to the boat, back under the bridge, and soon we were settled in. I didn't get an early enough start on Saturday for the Farmer's market, but I did enjoy the art show in the park, especially the gentleman pictured at the right who was using his time to create a new work of art, while most of his contemporaries read a book. If I were a painter, I'd paint him. It was a short trip to Palm Beach—all of 16 miles. We'd decided to stop there as a part of our 'Learn about Flagler' campaign, so we pulled into the Municipal Marina—the Brazillian Dock, fairly early in the day. We'd touched base with Helene Schillian, my camp nurse buddy from the Tel Yehudah days, and she and husband Bruce were able to come over from their home in West Palm. We had dinner and spent a most enjoyable evening together. On Sunday, we walked the mile or so to Henry Flagler's winter home, Whitehall. Took a very leisurely tour, including lunch in the Pavillion where now resides Henry's private railroad car #91, which he rode to Key West in 1912 when the East Coast Railroad was completed. Lunch was fun—one choice of items from the menu—a plate of tea sandwiches (you may recall that 'tea sandwiches' means 'no crust'). We were served 2 each of 7 varieties. The top layer of the Lazy Susan held 2 each of 5 bite sized desserts. All served with a pot of tea (or, if you prefer, lemonade). Linda poured. The house was, as one would expect from the founder of Standard Oil, opulent. We found it interesting that it was not as much the 'stuff' Henry accumulated, but the fact that after his and his wife's deaths, the niece who inherited the home couldn't afford the upkeep and gave away or sold most of the furnishings, After several years of existing as a hotel (with a 300 room addition which was ready for demolition after only 25 years) one of Henry's granddaughters was able to purchase the property and restore it. She asked relatives and others to return furniture, dishes, etc., and they did. (That was the interesting part). Today the home as a museum, is as it was when Henry and his wife would come to spend the 6 or 7 worst winter weeks there. Well, there it is, another week gone by. Before any more days pass, it is 'Post it' time! Be well... Linda and Fred