There was a long list of things to take care of. I started with laundry while David washed all the salt off the boat. We straightened down below and washed the bathroom where water had come in the shower port that initially was not closed properly for the sail. Luckily, just the shower stall got wet.
I started on the refrigerator, a cleaning and defrosting before we leave for the holiday. David adjusted some lines with the tide. Then he used pad eyes to secure our solar panel wires so they would not get caught on the boom or lines. We serviced our new toilet for the first time, easily.
Our next task was fuel. The marina does not have a fuel dock and we did not want to move the boat after getting it all adjusted so we filled from our jugs and then walked with a cart and jugs to Grove Harbor Marina next door to refill them. It was about a 10 minute walk mostly through the waterfront park.
Roosters and hens roam the park, some beautifully colored. They prompted David to take this video.
The chickens and roosters were eating the blooms of the small purple flowers growing amongst the grass.
At the dinghy dock, we spotted a Fatty Knees Dinghy (one of Fat Tuesday’s relatives). We found she was in a bit of disrepair as we walked to get a closer look.
We decided to explore the city a bit. The marina is in an area called Coconut Grove. It has some streets with shops and restaurants, some parks and tall apartments/condos some with rooftop palms.
We wandered around, looking at art, people and shops. There were lots of stores selling glasses and make up. Finally we found a book store to browse. It was a really fun independent store called Books and Books.
We walked back to the boat and planned dinner at Bayshore Bar and Grill, a Jeff and Deb recommendation. It is an open air restaurant on the water near the marina. They have multiple spaces in the restaurant and during the holidays especially, groups rent the sections for party’s. We were seated above a patio that was hosting a Christmas cocktail party. There was another party, a group of women, in the smaller section next to us.
We got to see most of the items on the menu go down to the cocktail party and decided a rib appetizer and a shrimp and potato appetizer for our meal. Everything was delicious. The small potatoes were baked in their skin, then smashed slightly into a disc, then very lightly fried so they were crisp on the outside. Something to try. The spicy mango margarita was pretty good too.
After dinner, we walked back to the shopping area and watched people, kids and dogs. We revisited the bookstore before returning to the boat.