We left Miami Beach after wandering down to the South Beach area and taking a photo or two of a sand castle there. (Photos of the sunbathers do not belong in a family journal such as this.)

This sand castle is, the artist claims, made solely of beach sand and water, and took 2 weeks to complete. It is about 8-9 feet tall at the peak.

We left Miami, where we were anchored north of the city, and went to a protected anchorage called No Name Harbor, at the south tip of Biscayne Key. Although only a few miles from Miami (as you can see from this photo of Miami’s skyline from here), it’s almost impossible to detect much in the way of civilization here! Trails through a lush jungle wind through the area and parallel the beach.

Lots of boats headed to the Bahamas stop here. It’s a quick run from Miami, but only minutes from open ocean, so many boats will come to No Name Harbor once they have bought all the groceries they need and done whatever else they wanted to do in the USA. By getting here the day before they depart for the Bahamas, they cut a couple of hours off the crossing time.

When we arrived in mid-afternoon, there were dozens of boats already anchored, and more arriving. By dawn the next day, all but 3-4 had already departed for the southern islands of the Bahamas.

A few days later (2/28) we arrived at Key Largo. From there we motored to Islamorada, where we stayed for about a week waiting for mail. The beautiful weather made us think of those up north in the record snowfall areas, but somehow we were able to overcome our concerns.