The weather leading up to Christmas was windy and rainy. We took walks when there were breaks in the weather, and hit the gym at the adjacent hotel. The Sunday night/Monday morning before Christmas brought tornado warnings and torrential rain and wind. Fort Lauderdale Airport was shut down for a few hours.

That said, there were breaks in the rain giving us some pretty skies.

Mike and I were entertained by the charter boats across from us going out in gale conditions and rain with sunburned tourists. Apparently, if you live in cold climes and have booked your snorkeling trip in Florida, you are going on that damn trip weather notwithstanding!

There were some super swanky boats here. Forever Friday was the smallest vessel at Bahia Mar by a bit.

Christmas morning, we walked to our favorite French bakery, had quiche and picked up dessert.

Kent and Heather from Heartbeat joined us for Christmas dinner on Forever Friday. I failed to get a picture, but we had a great evening and yummy turkey dinner.

We even had a Christmas tree.

They day after Christmas brought better weather. We hopped on a Brightline train from Fort Lauderdale to Miami. Awesome new trains and train stations that were bought by Virgin. Took an Uber to Little Havana and had a walkabout. First stop…Ball and Chain for a mojito.

Walked around looking for a place to do lunch. The smells and music coming out of Old’s Havana were incredible. Place was packed, but we bellied up to the bar. Great atmosphere and live music.

Food was so good.

Walked around the colorful streets of Calle Ocho (8th Street).

Our last stop was Arahi’s Bakery. Holy moly this place smelled heavenly. Mike got a traditional Cuban guava pastry. I declined one until I took a bite of his. Then, I had to get one. Then, I bought 4 more to take with us. Apparently, I was too high on sugar to think to snap a photo.

After spending a month’s mortgage on the lovely Bahia Mar Marina, we pulled out of there during another windy day, went a few miles north, and dropped the hook in Sunrise Anchorage. We had wind and more rain, but enough breaks to get out and off the boat.

There is a state park across the ICW with a long dinghy dock we go to every day to stretch our legs, or walk to Publix. The park has a 2 mile loop through beautiful trees and fauna. There is also a really cool bar across from the ocean.

Where there is beauty in Florida, there are *&@#$ing no-seeums. Yep, those little bastards struck again. I hate biting bugs.

New Years Eve, we walked to the W where Chris & Katie stayed last year before their cruise. Had a really expensive margarita and enjoyed the gorgeous views. Was the prettiest day we had had in weeks.

Our anchorage was packed New Years Eve. There were fireworks and parties all around. We broke out the party power ball on Forever Friday.

We had champagne and a yummy dinner. I was in bed by 10:30. Mike stayed up reading until midnight. Thankfully, I slept through the hoots and hollering. New Year Day, I made scrumptious burgers on the grill and fresh cut baked french fries. More champagne to start off the new year correctly.

We’ve done a lot of dinghy trips where we see a myriad of cool iguanas.

After a week at anchor, we needed to hit a marina to pump out, get water and do laundry. After a bit of research, we found a great sounding yacht club that allows boat trash like us to stay on a transient basis. Thursday, we ventured up to Lighthouse Point, in between Pompano Beach and Boca Raton. Lovely place with a jr. olympic pool!

They had a beautiful gym, tiki bar and gorgeous restaurant. The staff and members could not have been more welcoming and cool. Took a walk around the neighborhood checking out the mansions. Came across one that had a Lamborghini SUV in the driveway. Had never seen one before.

Spent one night at the yacht club and ventured back south to Sunrise Anchorage. Trying to build up the cruising kitty a bit. And, the sunsets here aren’t awful.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and holiday season. Was bittersweet for me. December 28 would have been my parents’ 60th wedding anniversary. My mom is super missed by all.

Till next time. Cheers! M&M