Having a Dog on the Boat and Moving on to Miami!

2/5 to 2/9
     Our dog is a cute little white maltese.  We got her right after we bought this boat, so it was fitting to name her Salty!  She is 11 years old.  She seems to love the boat, probably because she gets a lot of attention!  Karl calls her a "chick magnet" when he walks her around the marinas.   Women are always drawn to her and want to stop and talk.  No wonder Karl does not mind taking her out for walks, especially when we are in the Bahamas!
   

"Pup Head"

Salty's New Haircut

People often ask, where does she go to the bathroom when she can't get off the boat?  We bought what is called a "Pup Head," which is fake grass set up in a tray.  The bathrooms in a boat are called heads. We put it on the cockpit (the back deck) where she has adjusted to using it as often as she wants!  We just hose it down when ever it is necessary.  It works!  Since she is a maltese, she needs to be groomed every few months.  We found a very good groomer in Marathon, the place was called Salty Dog Grooming, so it was meant to be.  It is great having a dog on board, she gets us out to exercise everyday and we meet a lot of friendly people.
     We met up with some friends of Karl's brother and his wife's, Joni and Mark, from Kentucky.  They were staying in Big Pine Key for a month.  It was fun to re-connect with some Kentucky folks and enjoyed a great lunch with them!  Karl and I grew up in Lexington and we both graduated from the University of Kentucky.   Karl attended medical school there.

Corroded Solenoid

   
We had more problems with the solenoid again.  This time, Karl knew exactly what was wrong, tapped on it and the engine started.  Luckily, he bought the part when we were in Stock Island and replaced it.  It was very corroded.  He also put up a  new anchor light, because it was still only working  intermittently.  This has been an ongoing project!  He replaced the corroded wires, but it still seems to not be getting electricity.  We will see, he has some ideas...
   
2/8  Moving on to North Miami!
     We  left Marathon to go to North Miami, our next stop.  We went on the Atlantic side, which started out fairly nice.  The seas were choppy, but after a few hours it started to pick up.  We were heading into the waves and it started to be a little uncomfortable, 4-5 feet waves.  Our trip was a total of 112 miles.  We went in through Government Cut in Miami and headed up the ICW.  This was unfamiliar territory for us, so we had to pay attention to the charts.  There were several bridges to go under, some we had to wait for an opening on the hour or half hour.  This is something we will have to deal with going on the ICW.  We made it to our destination of Williams Island Marina in North Miami around 5:30 pm.  We were pretty worn out, but delighted with the beautiful marina.  It is on an island with canals running all around it.  We are surrounded by tall condominiums, all with lush trees, bushes, flowers and fountains.  It is especially pretty at night when the buildings are lit up.  Again, we are in a nice place with tennis courts, a pool, restaurants, etc.
 

Salty and Karl ready for the games

 We watched basketball on Saturday!  Kentucky beat Louisville in a close game.  Florida State made a great comeback in OT and beat Mississippi State.  It was a good day, both our teams on the winning side.