5:30 am start in order to leave for Miami by 7. Boat to dinghy to car in garage. The traffic was heavy but steady on I-95. We found our extra package easily at the marina and had time for a quick coffee and pastry run at fresh market. We returned the car and walked the two miles back with motor and package opting to save our uber dollars for happy hour.
I was so glad we walked because we stumbled onto Flamingo Park. No pink birds around but these beautiful banyan trees were here.
Laci’s leftover bread made our lunch special and after lunch we returned to town to walk around. We are enjoying the murals on the buildings here. The woman holding up the bridge is probably my favorite just because I never expected to see her there. The blue lipped Eve is pretty cool too. I also love the one celebrating vision. I am collecting photos of “The Eves of West Palm Beach.”
Our friends Erin and Kevin had told us of a boater’s gathering on Friday nights at O’Sheas Pub. It was organized by a famous cruising couple Carolyn and Dave Shearlock. Carolyn is the founder of TheBoatGalley.com, with troves of information for boaters including a cookbook, cruising guides, a podcast and other boat life necessities. She and Dave are retired now , living in West Palm Beach and they organized the Friday night event to stay in contact with and offer advice to boaters passing through. She and Dave were so nice. She is going to meet me at the dinghy dock so I can purchase her Bahamas guide. I had looked at her cookbook and provisioning guide before the trip. She is a really good cook, and takes boat meals to a new level.
There were 23 cruisers at the gathering. Laci and Mike came, and Erin and Kevin. We also met three really nice guys. Two guys were from Boston and own a 26 foot Catalina. They are doing some work on her. They just moved to West Palm Beach. We talked about I-95 and they were very interested. One was originally from Northern Virginia so he had a special bond with all roads 95. A quick Wikipedia session revealed that route 1 is still the longest road north to south and formed the basis for much of 95. When 95 ends in Miami, it reverts to route1 and continues to Key West. The origin of both roads is at the Canadian border in Maine.
The third guy does not own a boat but is a boat manager for about 9 clients. He helps them coordinate maintenance and repairs, hires crew and short term captains if needed and delivers boats from time to time.
On the way home there was a band and salsa dancing in the square. Going to practice our moves. Higher winds predicted for tonight.