Back on land

Seafever
Mon 12 Apr 2010 23:35
We moved the boat up to Hobie Beach near the Rickenbacker Causeway last night just as the sun was setting. The rain had let up and we discovered that No Name Harbor is home to a large population of vicious no-see-ums. So we motored about 5 miles up to the beach where we started out. The Miami skyline was all lit up in a dazzling array of colors. We were dazzled by it as if we were new immigrants.

I was a bit worried that we might have traumatized the girls with the rough crossing yesterday. But no worries -- first thing today after the rain stopped, they asked, "Can we go out and sail Amazon around?" Yes, yes, three times yes! We put Amazon in the water and rigged her up and spent a happy hour tacking around the quiet waters of Biscayne Bay. One last sail. It was a beauty.

Lilly's brother Andrew arrived around 3:00 (after he was done teaching at FIU) and after shuttling back and forth to get the trailer, we had the boat out by 5:30 and now we are in a real home, Lilly's dad's home, on dry land for the first time in almost two months. What a strange feeling.

The girls oohed and ahhed at the comfortable appointments of our car. On the way here they said it felt like I was going insanely fast. We all got used to 5-6 knots, and 40 mph takes a bit of getting used to.

Waiting here at the house was a birthday gift from my parents, a large reef fish field guide. The girls memorized every fish in the abridged field guides that we had onboard and we were all excited by the unabridged, far more detailed book. The girls are poring over it now, exclaiming "How cute!" about the juveniles. And learning new fish names. Throughout our time snorkeling, the girls were captivated by the baby fish. In so many cases, they pointed out, the juveniles are more colorful and interesting than the adults. How true of so many species, including our own.

We now have a couple of a hectic days ahead to get unpacked and repacked and headed home. The girls each have a blog enrty they'd like to post in due time. And I hope to post a final batch of photos soon, and maybe a few final bits about our trip, if we can collect our thoughts. . . .