Our New Home For Now
26 November 2014 | Ft. Lauderdale, Lake Sylvia
Elizabeth
I've updated our lat/lon for Google Earth if you want to see where we are exactly. We are happily at anchor in a quiet little "lake" within dinghy distance to the ocean and in another direction, a fish market and oyster bar. We'll wait for our packages/documents to arrive at out mail service and then look for a weather window to depart to the Bahamas. We're still figuring out where exactly in the Bahamas we'll go; the only reason it matters is we hope some of our family will visit once we're there. I'll be able to swim here once the wind dissipates--right now the current is ripping and wind howling and it looks like I'd be swept off to Miami if I tried to do much in the water.
It's been a struggle finding places to land our dinghy but we've found a couple and that will do. With the big houses occupying the entire waterfront and putting up security gates on every corner, including on the bridge corners where I might scoot up for a walk with Luna, our options are limited. When I did trespass long enough to make my way from the dinghy to a road climbing a bridge and traipsing though the privacy hedges (Really? Do you have to do this to keep the riffraff out of everywhere within spitting distance of your property line?) I felt sad and then pissed off that Florida makes life easy for those with money and impossible to enjoy the water from land for those with less. And now Florida is considering stiff anchoring laws which will protect the rich homeowners from boats like us watching them from the water. It just isn't very friendly for anyone other than the people who own the houses. Forget glimpsing a peek at the water from any road that is residential. Between privacy fences and hedgerows, you can't see anything. I am not exaggerating. Not even a quick peek at the water unless there's a vacant lot, which are not that common. The canals run on either side of the streets but the houses on both sides block all views. It just doesn't seem right. Along the beach, even on the sidewalk there are signs that NO DOGS are allowed anywhere. There are joggers and walkers and bikers and NO DOGS. Something wrong with that picture if you ask me. it makes this whole area rather unappealing to us personally.
That's the Hyatt at Pier 66 in the photo and they supposedly have a rotating bar/restaurant at the top but we've yet to see it moving.