Maybe we are being too cautious? I don't know, but it seems that every window so far that we have considered for crossing to the Bahamas has fizzled out before our eyes. Then, once we blink a few times, we turn around and see that others took advantage of those windows and made it. Well CRAP! We want to go too! So that leads me to the title of this entry. There is/was a possible window for Wednesday night/Thursday morning to cross. However, it is short and we are far enough South that the crossing will be a bit longer so we feel it is not wide enough for us...yet again. So we have paid for one week here in the mooring field at Boot Key Harbor, City Marina. This is not a bad thing at all. We will now have time to meet some people, do laundry, take showers (ahem!), access the internet every day, exchange our books, walk to the grocery...etc. So at this point, no Key West. We will stay here for New Year's and after once again cross our fingers for another window.

Last week we were anchored in No Name Harbor, Key Biscayne, FL. It was a nice little anchorage, packed with boats. It was really beautiful there. We spent one day exploring around the park and touring the lighthouse. I have uploaded some photos and video to our SmugMug page. Check out the new gallery "Key Biscayne & Marathon, FL."

Something I have observed on this trip is weather's direct effect on mood. Even though my college degree is that of the fine arts nature, I am still quick enough to pick up on these primal weather-related behaviors and reactions Maxwell and I seem to display. Up until a point, I think it was Cape Canaveral, FL, the weather was consistently cold and wet. Or, that is how I remember it. During this cold and wet weather it was not uncommon to find us in bed at 6PM. We spent NO time in the cockpit unless underway. And whichever unlucky soul drew the short straw in the middle of the night (8:30PM) and had to go topside to remedy a slapping halyard, always woke up on the wrong side of the bunk the next morning. Looking at the water was uneventful because it was cloudy and on the ICW always brown. We chose to push hard on our Journey South not spending any more time in an anchorage than needed.

After Cape Canaveral, it was a completely different analysis. Bedtimes slowly crept to a later hour. The cockpit was the new hang-out for drinks AND dinner. The water began to clear; there was so much to see! We tended to linger in an anchorage for days.

My conclusion is this: The environment and climate directly effect our moods. What will we do about this in the future? We will leave much earlier and take more outside hops to speed the trip South.