Heading to the Keys

We spent 10 days in Manatee Pocket and it was just enough time to accomplish everything on our to-do lists. From our annual physicals and vet visits for the dogs, to coffee dates with friends and dinners with family, it was a very busy 10 days.

On Thanksgiving, we hopped down to West Palm Beach for a quick stopover. While we missed out on the traditional Thanksgiving dinner with family this year, we made our favorite feta and basil stuffed turkey burgers just to say we had a turkey dinner. Per usual, they were incredible!

The next day started early. The anchor was up by 4:30 a.m. and we headed out the inlet and toward Miami. It was a perfect Florida winter day and since most people were off work and out of school, the ocean was absolutely packed with boats. We motor/sailed to Hurricane Harbor and dropped anchor in Biscayne Bay just before dark. As expected, Miami was loud and crowded. Luckily, we didn’t plan on staying long and just needed a good night’s sleep.

After a slow and easy Saturday morning, we sailed off anchor toward Elliot Key. With a strong wind out of the north, we sailed downwind with just the genoa. It was only a 15 NM trip, so we were happy to go slow and enjoy the views along the way.

Knowing the weather was going to pick up with even more wind from the north, we only spent one night anchored at Elliot Key. On Sunday, we set off on another downwind sail to look for some wind protection. We ended up south of Gold Key, which is basically just a few little mangrove islands in Card Sound, but it set us up to be perfectly out of the fetch in the main channel.

For the first time since the Bahamas, we found ourselves completely alone in a remote anchorage. The first night felt a bit eerie but then we realized how much we missed the peace of being alone with nowhere to go.

We spent the work week in our little remote spot and other than the boats passing through the channel a mile away, we didn’t see another human during our stay. When’s the last time you spent a week without people, cars, shopping or other distractions?

Slowing down is hard at first but when you take away those external interactions, you find better ways to occupy your mind. We try to fill our time outside of work with books, exercise, chores, new recipes and lots of sleep!

This little stay was exactly what we needed to recharge. The goal was always to spend December in the Keys and we made it!