Islamorada March 13th & 14th

Saturday morning Nana and Nandad were very excited to be heading out cruising the upper Keys. NH needed 250 gals of diesel before setting off and Nana decided it was her turn to take the boat from the dock. With our new intercom headset devices and of course an audience at the fuel dock, Nana was successful  (under  Nandads direction).  Finally on our way again and heading towards Cowpens Anchorage at Plantation Key. NH headed out into the Hawk Channel where the seas were 4 to 5 feet with wind 15 to 20 so a very uncomfortable ride. Just as Nandad was deciding to take an alternative route we received a NEBO message from Seneca, so we changed our course  to join them at Lignumvitae Key. This brought NH into the Florida Bay which was much more pleasant , although we had to watch the shallow waters. We picked up a free mooring ( a first for NH ) , watched another perfect sunset  with Maureen and Ross from Seneca. 

Now Islamorada is a village of six islands nestled between the Everglades and the Florida Strait. Lignumvitae Key, Indian Key, and Plantation Key are three of those islands. The picture above are the adventurous four who took a three mile dingy ride to visit Indian Key - which was well worth the visit. The island is the subject of an archaeological project to uncover the historic building foundations. The island was attacked and destroyed by the Indians in 1840. On our way back to NH we saw a Nurse Shark and several Stingray - this is why Nana likes to stay inside the dingy/ boat ! 
Nana and Nandad did not visit Lignumvitae State Park and made the decision to move on to Cowpens Anchorage - due to daylight change there is now an extra hour and sunset is not until 7.30pm.

The street signs on Indian Key were especially interesting. 

Sunset at Plantation Key. The cruise to Cowpens Anchorage was approximately 9 NM so we decided to drag the dingy instead of putting it up on the platform. It is a really lovely spot and after a wonderful sunset dinner Nana was surprised by the sight of the Moon. The Moon’s current phase is a Waxing Crescent Phase. A Waxing  Crescent is the first Phase after the New Moon. 

How cool is that. Tomorrow NH will continue cruising heading towards Key Largo.