Moving Forward (aka South)

It's amazing how time passes while living on a boat. We've been back in Dinner Key for nearly 12 days (what?!). With the shocking turn of events of our companion Wyatt, life has been different. The saloon feels much bigger yet lonelier, coming back to an empty boat with no dog wagging his tail anticipating your arrival still saddens us, and some days aren't nearly as entertaining. We've felt a huge outpouring of love from friends, family and new sailing buddies whom Wyatt has befriended so easily. Thank you all so much for the support, we really appreciate it. It's lovely to own a dog. Strangers feel so comfortable flashing you a smile or feel compelled to stop, pet your dog and stick around for a quick story about how you got your pup or how old s/he is. Dogs teach us patience and reliance. Why can't humans connect in this manner more often? Dogs are the link between human interaction.

We are eager to leave this somewhat "tainted" place for new landscapes and fresh sunsets. We crave a different anchorage, seeing new people, and absorbing a renewed energy for ourselves and Aletheia. During our extended period of time in Miami, our Yamaha EF2000iS Inverter Generator also took its last breaths. It started acting up on our trip down from Ft. Lauderdale. After fiddling with the generator, Nate suspects the electronic control board blew out and the generator came to its end-of-life. This Yamaha has a conservative lifespan of 500 hours and, I dare say, we've pushed that limit no doubt! We bought the boat with the gen so who knows how many hours its seen before us. After contemplating fixing the current gen or buying new, we decided to purchase a new generator. Same as how the former generator functioned, we will be able charge our batteries to run our motor or run directly from the generator to the motor. The new gen is scheduled to arrive today. We plan to leave Dinner Key Tuesday morning with the rising sun, head towards Elliott Key and anchor near Sands Key just inside Biscayne Bay. 

In the meantime, we've been keeping busy with boat projects and visiting local landmarks. I'm working on sanding and varnishing toerails (teak wood lining the siderails on deck) which has taken more time than I anticipated. Nate is working on adding moulding around the portholes. We visited Vizcaya Museum & Gardens, an Italian Renaissance home built in Coconut Grove from 1914-23. It reminded me of where Cinderella may have grown old with the Prince. Also, mentioned in 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, the villa was a must see. We followed up the tour with a self-guided visit to South Beach with dinner at a local Cuban eatery and spring breakers abound! Sure brought back moments reminiscing of my HS senior spring break in Daytona Beach with my eight dearest girlfriends (yeah, that's us below ten years later and even more beautiful!) I can't believe our parents let us go so young! LOL!

Love to All!
Jenn