"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in
its net of wonder forever."—Jacques Cousteau

Feb. 1 – Islamorada, FL

Barley Basin – Anchorage

“Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.” – Seneca

We’ve had a hard time deciding whether we'll go to the Bahamas or not…one day we say yes and the next we are thinking we’ll just move up the coast enjoying some of the places on the east coast of Florida we haven’t visited before. Our apprehension about going has more to do with the weather than anything else. We’d love to meet our friends in the Exumas to explore the beautiful beaches, small cays and fantastic snorkeling spots, but we really don’t want to spend six weeks or more just hiding out on our boat from high winds and rain as cold fronts move through that area of the Bahamas. It’s been a very strange winter here in the Keys and in the Bahamas. Cold fronts normally don’t come this far south in the Keys and they seldom go as far south as Georgetown in the Exumas…it’s the reason cruisers enjoy spending winters in these spots. But this year has been an exception...every few days a strong front has moved through, dropping the temperature, large amounts of rain and creating heavy winds.

One of the best things about cruising is not having a set plan. We don't have a schedule we need to keep and we don't have anywhere we really need to be...we are very flexible. We left Marathon this morning and have decided to slowly move north. Our car is in Jacksonville...so at the moment our plan is to see a few new places and a few favorite places along the coast as we make our way back to our car. Unlike many of our friends who are hiding out from the cold winter of the north, the weather at our home is about the same as it is in southern Florida...so we've decided to head home a little early to enjoy a visit with our little ones and maybe spend a few days cruising on Texas Pearl.

In early spring we'll be back on The Pearl and head north. Our plan is to spend the summer in New England, Maine and maybe even make it to Nova Scotia...but it's just a loose plan and by no means carved in stone. We can change our minds at any time and that's just another reason we enjoy cruising...the freedom to go where we want, do what makes us happy and to be able to change our minds at anytime.

Dinner with a view and fun friends at Lorelei's

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