Ft Lauderdale to Ft Pierce

Ft Lauderdale beach was just gorgeous, honey!

Lots of forts in this neck of the woods.

The city marina we stayed at in Ft Lauderdale was in a terrific location – only 4 blocks from the main road A1A and the ocean beaches.  And the price, even for a city marina, was surprisingly low.  All the shops, stores and activity were happening along a beautiful palm-tree-lined beach.  I guess that when Sue & I were college kids, we never made it down to Ft Lauderdale for spring break, but I can see why it’s so popular.

View from our restaurant, all open to the ocean

We walked the area & ate at some good restaurants.  One pleasant surprise was a free Friday night show, right on the beach, by a Samba group, all dressed up in costume.  We listened & watched for over an hour, amazed at the high energy of the dancing.  Most of the locals joined in, and it seemed they couldn’t stop dancing.  We got tired just watching.

The Samba dancing went on & on, at the end of Las Olas Blvd,
right on the beach

More mansions & mega-yachts along the ICW

We departed on Saturday for the two-day trip north to Ft Pierce.  The wind was blowing out on the ocean, so we defaulted to traveling the ICW.  But the day turned looong, hot, & almost tortuous.  We ran the 50 miles all at idle speed (or slower), passing under bridge after bridge after bridge (Clint, you would have gone insane on that route).  We had to wait for 8 of the bridges to open for us (either they were too low or we were too tall), and they all were on a timed schedule.  We had to calculate 60D=ST (or, for you non-USPS types, time-distance-speed) all day to adjust our speed to try to make the next opening.  It was frustrating when we’d miss the opening by mere minutes, then have to wait 30 minutes for the next one.

This mansion made me smile!  Read the sign carefully.
(click on photo to enlarge)

And yes, it’s hot in Florida in the summer.  On our helm, in the shade, it was normally 94-97 degrees.  The engine room measured 126 degrees, so when I did my engine room checks, I didn’t dally, Dilly.  We were sweating all day, and totally drained (pun intended) by the end of the day.  We decided to stay at Ft Pierce for several days, partly to let the air conditioning cool the boat down for a while.

Leaving our anchorage near Palm Beach, we find
an obstacle blocking the ICW

We saw big boats & little boats

So that’s where we is, doing a bit of sightseeing & enjoying the local craft beers.  Also doing lots of paperwork relating to the passing of Sue’s uncle.  We had agreed to be trustees of his trust, and you’d be amazed at all the paperwork that is needed.  Gives us something to do in our spare time!