Dave and Kelly's Boat Trip: Saturday, March 10

Good morning Boca Chita!!!🌞

We have had such a wonderful stay on this beautiful island,

but now it is time to move on.

"Unruly" and "Rambunctious" follow behind us.

Goodbye Boca Chita!

Since the seas are relatively calm, we all put our boats on plane until we reach Miami

(about 15 miles).

Off our starboard side, we see fishing huts like we saw near Caya Costa on the ICW.

And here we are . . .

MIAMI!!!

"Johnson & Johnson" in the front with "Unruly" behind.

Thanks, "Rambunctious", for the photo!😁

In the distance we can see the port of many cruise ships.

We will pass under 15 bridges today.

One bridge down, 14 to go!

Cruise ships are plentiful here!

In the bay in front of all the cruise ships you can see many "sticks".

I ask Dave what he thinks those might be, and turns out the last time

he was in Miami he took a water taxi around the area and was told

the city of Miami was trying to grow mangroves. They started a little

over ten years ago; how do you think it's coming along?😉

Cruise ship city!!!

Our second bridge only has a clearance of 16 feet, so we need to call for a lift.

This time we thank "Unruly" for the photo!😄

Downtown Miami doesn't have a lot to offer tourists, but this is one fun area. Jacqui and Dave met Pete and Sis Hanson (neighboring boaters from the Miss Croix Marina) here for cocktails and dinner last spring during Jacqui's spring break.

Onto our next bridge right in the heart of downtown.

There are some very art deco styles in Miami.

Some of the homes have unique sculptures as part of their landscape.

Of course many homes are on canals that connect to the ICW.

And where there are canals, there are boats; many of them

are very large yachts in marinas like this one.

When out on the water, you just don't know exactly what you will see!

This is a tow boat?

Oops . . . I don't think this guy is having a very good day!😟

Ditto for this guy!

What?! It takes TWO Tow Boat U.S. boats to tow this guy?!!!

As we venture further up the Intracoastal Waterway, we come to Hollywood.

One year ago Dave and I stayed in Hollywood, the city between Miami and Fort Lauderdale. We took this picture from the park in Hollywood hoping that someday that would be us out on that beautiful water.

Well, dreams really do come true!!! Here we are passing the spot where we stood last year;

this time enjoying the view from the ICW!

The guy with the munchie cart is even back!

The homes, of course, are AMAZING!!! This one has its own water garage!

And the neighbor has quite a nice spot for his/her boat, too!

Of course if you get a condo, you can just keep your boat out front!

Soon we pass Trump Towers and then . . .

The hotel where Dave and I stayed last year. If you've never been to Hollywood, Florida,

it's a great stop that I would recommend!

The homes just get more and more beautiful the further up the ICW we go!

After Hollywood we come to the busy port of Fort Lauderdale.

Again, we see many cruise ships in port.

Testing out the life boats (or maybe the crew just playing boats)!

After the port of Fort Lauderdale, we see the pass out to the Atlantic Ocean.

Continuing straight on the ICW, we see many familiar places since this spot is a favorite of ours that we have visited many times in the past. Hard to believe we're actually here by boat!!!