Lettuce Lake, Pompano Beach, Fl

One of the prettier bridges along the way

We had another bridge day today.  Eleven bridges in 22 miles.  It went rather well, however, since we had the tide with us most of the time and the bridges were timed in such a manner that we were able to make the distance between them in just the right amount of time, without having to wait longer than about 8 minutes.  There were interesting houses to look at along the way, some old, some new, some small and some HUGE.

The bridgetenders are not all equally skilled at their job we have found.  There are some that open the bridge way too early for you and others that tell you to "bring it on up, captain", then make you wait for the opening.  Occasionally we found one that opened exactly right and we never had to alter our speed to cruise right through.  We liked those the best.

Yesterday we made it to Lantana and anchored just south of the bridge and beside a restaurant that was hopping at happy hour on a Friday afternoon.  We took the dingy in and were met by a dock boy who directed us where to park and helped us tie up.  Never had that happen at a restaurant before.  There was live music and half priced margaritas.  They even let us leave the dinghy there while we walked a few miles to buy oil for the engine oil change.

Lantana anchorage

 

 

 

 

Today we made it close to the place we are hoping to leave our boat while we come home for Christmas.  There is a small cove just off the ICW where we have dropped the hook.  Tomorrow we go meet the woman who has what sounds like the perfect place for us at a private dock at her house.  Meanwhile we are anchored in Lettuce Lake.  Lots of houses around but we can't be too choosy here. Availability is limited.

Lettuce Lake

There has been a lot of wind the last few days.  Gusty, especially at night.  Two nights ago Tom saw 26 knots at 4:00 am when he was up checking things out.  Last night I was up much of the night listening to the wind howl.  Didn't even want to look at the gauge but I'm sure gusts were in the upper 20's.  It's becoming annoying.  I would just like to sleep peacefully for our last few nights.

Please note the Michigan glass in his hand

After we anchored today, Tom set up his new navigation monitor AKA television in the cockpit so he could watch the Michigan/Ohio State game.  The outcome was much to his liking  Go Blue!  Eat your heart out, Steve.