On the eve of the New Year, we begin a new phase in our travels. We have escaped the madness and congestion of southern Florida, we are off of the Intracoastal Waterway, we are no longer pushing to stay ahead of the cold winter. We have arrived in warm, turquoise blue waters and we are SAILING!

We are now in the Florida Keys. Yesterday we escaped from Miami and headed across the Biscayne Bay to Key Biscayne, the first of the Keys. Navigating through Miami was absolutely stressful. Every mile or two is a bridge that requires waiting for an opening. All around are speeding power boats and mega yachts. The waterway is narrow and congested. It was fabulous seeing all the high rise buildings towering above — Miami has some of the most unique architecture of any big city I’ve been to in the U.S. It was fun to see so many creative interpretations of the rectangular skyscraper: bright pink ones, blue ones, ones with curved archways on the top featuring gardens and patios and sculptured accents. After 3 failed attempts to get gasoline at crazy and crowded Miami marinas, we made a dash for the open waters of Biscayne Bay and had a gorgeous sail to Key Biscayne, where we tucked into a sweet but very crowded anchorage in No Name Harbor. (yes, that is actually the name). If we had been in a different mood, it may have been wonderful to spend some time exploring the city of Miami, but instead we got out as fast as possible. Here is our travel companion Good Goose dashing under the bridge from the Miami Madness:

After 1400 miles of the Intracoastal Waterway, here is what we are in the mood for:
SAILING!
Sailing on wide open water. Sailing at whatever speed we happen to go. Sailing without the motor. Sailing in the warm sunshine.
And finally, after 3 MONTHS of non-stop traveling, this is what we are doing! It’s been a full time job getting our boat down here. We are pretty fried and ready for a break! Today we are enjoying a relaxing, smooth afternoon of sailing to Elliot Key, where we will be celebrating New Year’s with our friends on Good Goose by snorkeling in coral reefs and taking it EASY!

Smooth sailing

Goodbye Babylon, Hello Islands!

Several of my friends and family “back home” have asked me recently “what is our plan”? What is our plan?
Well, our plan upon departure was to head for Florida and then see what happened from there. Our plan has always intentionally been left open. That was the whole point: open the door to allow God to work His plan. Meet the mystery of the world without a major agenda of our own. So now we made it to Florida and our “plan” looks like this: enjoy where we are. Because we worked really hard to get this far and it’s time to sit back and chill out for a little while until the next phase of our travels presents itself. So Florida Keys, here we are!