Happy New Year!

Greetings all - hope 2012 has started off great for you!  Paul and I are back in Stuart and we had a wonderful last part of our trip!

When I last blogged, we were at a mooring in Marathon and enjoying some stunning weather!  We explored the harbor on our dinghy and ran a few errands Thursday afternoon.  We also got our mail - which is always great fun - lots of wonderful holiday cards and cool stuff.  On Friday morning, we went over to the Turtle Hospital which is amazing.  Located very close to the marina - they had a 90-minute tour and the guide was excellent.  It is a non-profit organization that rescues turtles who have been injured either by being hit by a boat or swallowing something bad (like a plastic bag).  We were really impressed with the great work they do.

At the Turtle Hospital, there are lots of iguanas nearby - this one was beautiful - lots of orange color!

Here are some of the patients at the hospital - they converted a former hotel swimming pool and filled it with salt water. Turtles with more serious injuries are in individual smaller pools.

Sunset in Marathon in the mooring field  . . .

From MP's Fly Bridge overlooking the mooring field looking the other way.  The lighting was amazing.

On Saturday morning, we left Marathon (Boot Key Harbor) early and headed for Miami - last day of 2011!  We really enjoyed our stay in Marathon and look forward to returning!

Sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean - we headed to Miami on the "outside" - so south of the keys along the Hawk Channel - it was a beautiful day and very calm. 

Approaching Government Cut which is the entrance point to the Port of Miami.  The buildings of Miami Beach are on the right.

A Carnival Cruise ship was coming out as we were going in - what an experience!  Master Plan felt pretty tiny by comparison - there were hundreds of people on the decks waving at us!

Another view of the cruise ship out the back of the fly bridge . . .

We continue up the channel and another HUGE cruise ship is heading out (dead center of the photo).  But we would go left and would not pass this ship . . .

We veered left around Fisher Island and went by a cargo ship whose lines were lifted as we went by and it too started heading out of the port along with the cruise ships.  You can see another cruise ship leaving to the left of this one in the channel behind it.

We anchored just off of Fisher Island - a very affluent and ritzy area that is between Miami Beach and Miami - there are no bridges to this island, so all vehicles come and go via ferry.  I believe Oprah has (or had) a house here.  You can see the cruise ship heading out of the channel in the middle of the photo.

Our anchorage area in Fisher Island was perfect - it was very protected and although there were several boats there when we first arrived, all but one left.  It was a long day (about 100 miles), so we enjoyed a quiet evening on board - cooked some dinner and watched TV.  We had heard there were fireworks displays in Miami at midnight, but once midnight approached - we were in the front row for six different fireworks shows - unbelievable!  A great way to start a new year - but once they were done, we hit the hay as it would be another early morning departure on Sunday.  Our plan was to leave Miami and run the "outside" and be in Stuart in the afternoon.

The city of Miami early Sunday morning - the first day of 2012!  Very quiet after a big night!

Sunrise as we head out of Government Cut and depart the Port of Miami . . .

A TON of jelly fish in the Palm Beach area - there were hundreds of them!

The Breakers Hotel with downtown West Palm Beach in the background.

We had a great run up the coast - the conditions were perfect - and it was cool to see all the various towns as we headed north.  Miami and Ft. Lauderdale are all really active ports and we saw a ton of freighters.  We went "inside" just north of Palm Beach and spent the last 30 miles of our trip on the InterCoastal Waterway through Jupiter and then into Stuart.  It was a beautiful day so lots of boats on the waterway, but there are some beautiful homes along this stretch.

We pulled into Stuart at about 4pm on Sunday afternoon and it was nice to be back.  We were gone for two weeks and looped around the southern tip of Florida - it was amazing!  So great to disconnect from work and truly enjoy time on the boat exploring an area we had never been before on Master Plan.

We wish everyone a very happy and healthy new year ahead - thanks for following along!

Love, Jen & Paul

Today's Quote:

You are one individual on a small planet in a little solar system in one of the far-flung galaxies...but you can still make a difference.

~ Unknown