Thursday & Friday 23-24 Dec, Anchored in Lake Sylvia, Fort Lauderdale, cruising day 26-27: Shopping and more dining with friends, and Christmas Eve dinghy tootle.
Thursday:
Christian had kindly offered to lend us his car to go shopping today, before they leave Gale to have Christmas with family. But in the end, Christian chauffeurs us everywhere, just to give their 18-month-old daughter some entertainment, and Mum some peace.
Our first stop is West Marine. Now, we are not normally a big fan of the West Marine chain of marine stores. They tend to be very expensive and not always stocked with what you actually need. But here in Fort Lauderdale, the West Marine store is reputed to be the largest marine store in all of USA. And indeed, it is HUGE! I only have a short shopping list, but as I walk up and down each isle, all manner of things catch my eye. “Well, Glen, it is Christmas you know” Oana tells me. And on that queue, I probably went a bit wild! A comfort seat for the cockpit, a pole snare for lobsters, new flip-flops and lots of other goodies for Cloudy Bay.
Our next stop is Costco. We don’t have a Costco membership, but Christian does. So it’s a first for us. This warehouse-like store is absolutely crammed with people just 2 days before Christmas. While the prices are very cheap, we really struggle to buy our standard fridge items simply because of the packaging size. For instance, smoked salmon smallest pack is 680g! We normally only eat 100g in a meal. But we still manage to come out with a nearly full shopping trolly (cart). Oh … and even the trollies seem super-sized. We joke that it looks like each trolly is being pushed by a small child with the appearance of an adult. Like “honey, I slightly shrunk the adults…”.
With all our shopping back at the marina the dinghy gets filled to the brim, and we head off to pack it all away on the boat. Then in the evening we again dine onboard Gale, this time with Thai take-away. And yet more wine and stories are shared before we retire back to our own boat for an early night.
Friday – Christmas Eve:
Today was a very relaxing day after the last few running around here and there. We spend most of the day on the boat, waiting for the heat of the sun to go before our planned dinghy ride through the water ways to view the houses with their decorations.
After breakfast, in the shade of our cockpit, our various Christmas calls and communications begin, starting with a 3-way video call with Australia and France. Two daughters and new granddaughter in Perth and the other new grandparents in Normandy. We really are a fully global family, on all different time zones. Us just waking up in Florida’s wonderful climate, midafternoon in France all hugged around a roaring fire, and late evening in Australia at the end of a roasting hot summers day. Tomorrow, Christmas day, the forecast for Perth is 43degC! (110 degF), a tad too hot for Christmas celebrations I’d say.
Being on the boat at Christmas time, away from family, has a certain element of sadness to it. But with modern technology of video chats, it really feels like we live our life with them all, as if they are just in the next village. Not so many years ago, I would be lucky even to have just a 5-minute Christmas phone call from an oil rig in some godforsaken remote corner of the world. And then only just managing to hear what each other was saying. Compared to this, what we have now is amazing. The wonders of the modern world, that we all take for granted.
Late afternoon, we hop into the dinghy and head off for our waterways tour of Fort Lauderdale. First, we head out of Lake Sylvia, across the ICW and enter North River that winds its way into the main downtown city. We had thought the houses lining the ICW were mansion-like, but the ones on North River were even more superb. With their professionally installed Christmas lights and decorations we have the feeling of being in the fantasy scene of “It’s a small world” in Disneyland … but in Florida, this is a reality!
We are not surprised about the ostentatiousness of most houses, but we are surprised none of them have any privacy blinds or curtains. And with most properties having all their internal lights on, we get a clear view into not only their houses but also their lives. Quite a few have Christmas gatherings, but most are just normal (albeit very wealthy) families, enjoying Christmas together. We hate to put it in writing, but we did rather enjoy all our voyeurism!
We made our way right into the downtown area where the river is surrounded by hi-rise condominium tower blocks, fancy restaurants and several other boats cruising up and down with a party-like atmosphere all around us. We did think about mooring the dinghy and having a walk on Las Olas Boulevard, but unfortunately, I forgot to bring the dinghy pad-lock.
On our way back we head off into the smaller waterways, where things quieten down and we manage to tootle on very gentle water. But away from the glitzy lights of town and the bigger houses, it is almost spooky going down these small channels. One thing is very apparent. Where the properties are located on prime real-estate land, 90% are modern builds. But down these quieter lower-key channels, we find most of the properties are the original small one-story designs dating from the 1950s and 60s. Not yet in that real-estate bracket where they will be purchased, demolished and then replaced with a larger modern dwelling.
By 7pm it’s starting to get a bit chilly, so we head back to Cloudy Bay. We have a few Christmas Eve drinks and enjoy a quiet evening in the cockpit, looking at all the Christmas lights on the other boats.
Now we need to get to bed, before Santa arrives!
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