Category: Trips

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Alligators & Airboats

alligators

When you think of the Everglades, you immediately think of alligators and airboats. Living just a short distance from the Everglades, we had to check out Everglades Holiday Park. The Everglades National Park is a subtropical wetland ecosystem that spans 1.5 million acres across south Florida. This park was manmade by the Army Corps of Engineers to help with the torrential rain fall during the summer months. It’s actually the largest and slowest rivers in America, flowing at 1 meter per hour. It’s also the only place on earth where alligators and crocodiles and co-exist.

Everglades Holiday Park

The park was only about a 40 minute drive NW from Fort Lauderdale. It wasn’t too crowded and we were on the boat within 15 minutes of arriving.

When I think of airboats, I was thinking of a smaller version, something like this below.

Instead, we were on a much bigger boat that could occupy up to 30 people.

Our tour guide is very passionate about the Everglades and the alligators. The tour was more educational than I was expecting. If you are wondering if the engines are loud – they are!

Here Alligator

Our airboat took off right away and we headed down the Lilly pad covered river.

Our guide knows each of the alligators and is familiar with their resting spots, so we headed towards one of his favorites. Low and behold, there he was. He had just returned for mating season.

The park is also full of rare plants, mangrove trees and birds. Airboats can easily glide over the water avoiding any fouled props since they use giant “fans” for propulsion.

As we were learning about different plant species, this baby alligator came over to say hi. Isn’t he cute?

In Search of More Alligators

We thought our tour was at the end, when a tourist spotted another alligator. Our airboat headed over to her direction and there she was. Turns out, she’s not a friendly one and headed straight into the mangrove trees.

After the tour, they also have a fifteen minute presentation by an alligator rescue handler. He actually is not employed by the park, but rather he rescues nuisance alligators. Here they are rehabilitated and they use them to study their life cycles.

When the presentation was over, we then got to hold a baby gator. It did not have the feel I expected. The skin was actually very smooth and weird feeling.

I expected the tour to be a little bit hokey, but it was very informative and we learned a lot. You can’t live in South Florida and not have an understanding about what the Everglades are. Be sure to check out the park if you are in the Fort Lauderdale area.

As always, thank you for following our journey and we would love it if you would subscribe to both our blog and our vlog (see below). You can also follow us on social media at @boatingjourney #boatingjourney.

Cheers, Scott and Ally

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Exploring Florida’s Nature Parks

nature parks

Moving from the Pacific Northwest, Scott and I are spoiled coming from an area that is surrounded by nature parks. Our goal was to find some local nature parks that we could enjoy long walks.

The first nature park that we found was the Hugh Taylor Birch State Park. It’s located about 10 minutes from our home, towards Fort Lauderdale Beach.

Hugh Taylor Birch Park

The walking trail in Hugh Taylor Birch Park is about 2 miles long. While you can’t actually “hike” anywhere, we did enjoy the scenery. There is a park fee of $6 per vehicle and plenty of parking lots to choose from. At the gate, they also give you a map of the park so you can navigate easily.

Hugh Taylor Birch moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1893 in search of ocean front property. Eventually, he found an 180 acre parcel with a3.5 mile ocean front that he bought for $1 an acre. In 1940 he built his art stucco home and passed away the following year at the age of 91. He wanted other generations to enjoy his estate, so he donated the park to the city. Learn more about this great park here.

photo credit: broward county parks

The park doesn’t have actual “walking trails”, but the road that loops the park is a one way road. Walkers and bikers seem to share the bike lane with no issues. Scott and I decided to walk clockwise heading to the river first.

Once we got to the river, we realized this is also a water taxi stop. There is also a fairly long dinghy dock for boaters to raft up to.

The trail hugs the river for most of the way on the west side of the park.

Bugs in the Park

As we left the river side, we headed deep into the park. The scenery was beautiful, but be prepared. I had sprayed my legs and arms with bug spray and I was wearing a tank top. I forgot to spray my back and I got eaten alive resulting in GIANT welts. These had to be no see ums, because we didn’t really see any mosquitoes.

Kayak Rentals

The park also offers kayak rentals. You can rent them at the gift shop at the Park & Ocean restaurant, but you can’t go outside of the lagoon.

Park & Ocean Restaurant

Scott and I were starving by the time we reached the Park & Ocean Restaurant. They had indoor and outdoor seating with live music outside. We sat at the bar and ordered some sandwiches, which were delicious! The restaurant also offers moonlit kayak tours, but I don’t know that I want to get into a lagoon in the dark.

Our plan after lunch was to walk through their patio out to the ocean, but unfortunately a huge squall moved in with lightning. Time to head home.

Anne Kolb Nature Center

The following weekend we decided to try out another park. Located in Hollywood, the Anne Kolb Nature Center had great reviews and it looked interesting.

This 1501 acre park opened in 1996 and is the largest in the park system. It features a coastal mangrove wetland rich in plant and animal life, including some threatened and endangered species.

The park is known for having a large variety of butterflies. I tried to capture them on camera, but they were flying everywhere.

Park Trails

There are basically three trails you can take in the Anne Kolb Nature Park. First, we took the Lake Observation Trail, which brings you out to a lookout point. This trail is about a quarter of a mile each way.

Next we headed down the Mud Flat Trail. Part of the trail is gravel and this is where you will find blue land crabs. They dig holes along the trail and you will see them pop in and out of the holes. This trail is about a third of a mile each way.

We saw all kinds of wildlife along this trail.

Fishing Pier Trail

The Mud Flat Trail brings you back to the entrance of the nature center. From there we walked across the parking lot towards the ICW, where we found another couple of lookouts. This seemed like a great fishing spot, as there were quite a few people fishing. This is a very short walk at only 263 feet.

These are both great parks for walking and we plan on going back to explore more.

As always, thank you for following our journey! Next week we’re headed to “gater land” where we explore the Everglades on a jet boat. Please be sure to subscribe to our blog and our vlog (link below). You can also find us on social media @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney

Cheers, Scott and Ally

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Mansions, Yachts & Fort Lauderdale Air & Sea Show

Scott and I took the Fort Lauderdale Water Taxi to Fort Lauderdale Beach, which included a guided tour of mansions along the way. It was our first weekend together after being apart almost two months and luckily for us, Fort Lauderdale was hosting their annual Air & Sea Show at the beach. I bought special event tickets on the water taxi, which picked us up at Stop 1 at the Stranahan house.

Great way to view mansions and yachts

The water taxi is a very affordable and great way to get a tour in Fort Lauderdale. They offer sunset cruises, regular cruises and cruises for special events. On board, they offer water, soda, beer & wine for purchase. Download their app for easy ticket purchases. There are 10 stops for the water taxi. The water trolley is free and only makes a few stops near Las Olas.

Along the way, a guide will tell you facts about the mansions you pass by. The home below, has a great setup with a corner lot and room for all kinds of water toys.

Another great way to tour the canals, is by Tiki Bar boat! Here you bring your own booze and motor along the way. Scott and I are going to try and hop on one next weekend!

This house was built on stilts because the owner wanted to prepare for sea level rise. Read all about that here.

Yachts and more yachts

As we followed the New River toward the beach, we came upon a large sand bar that folks love to party at. Here you can stand waist deep and stay cool in the hot sun. Unfortunately, the restaurant boat you see here in the middle (Jay’s Sandbar Food Boat) sank a few days after we shot this photo.

Luxury living

There is certainly no shortage of luxury along this tour. It’s amazing the amount of money that is sitting along the canal, from the multi-million mansions to luxury yachts.

The river certainly was a hub bub of marine traffic. If you can imagine, that’s a fuel dock on the right. Those boats were bobbin up and down while trying to fuel. No thank you.

Not sure what to make of this yacht? We’re guessing it’s about 75′ long, but the paint job is something else. If you know the story here, be sure to share it with us.

This mansion is known as the Fort Lauderdale White House – you can probably guess why. It recently sold for $24.5 million dollars and is the most iconic mansion in Fort Lauderdale.

You can also take the Jungle Queen Riverboat down the river.

For those of you who know me well, you know I am a die-hard Washington State University Cougar Alum and our biggest rival are the UW Huskies. At first I thought this 190′ Feadship was a UW yacht, but it’s actually owned by David MacNeil, founder of WeatherTech. That’s probably where the W comes from.

Fort Lauderdale Air Show

Scott and I hopped off the water taxi and walked a few blocks to the Las Olas Beach. We couldn’t believe the amount of traffic that lined Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard! We were glad we took the water taxi and walked.

The air show was over the water and the beach, which draws thousands of people both on land and the sea. Check out the line of boats out in the ocean. (Hard to see in this photo – the video does a better job)

The airshow was great, but of course, we’re a bit biased. We love Seafair and the Blue Angels.

This crazy house, was built by Wayne Huizenga who was a very famous entrepreneur and businessman. He owned Auto Nation, Waste Management, the Miami Dolphins and was co-owner of Blockbuster Video. After his death in 2018, the house was sold to Chuck West, founder of a premium pet food chain.

While there’s no home on this lot, they do have a table and a couple of chairs.

A great way to explore

This is just another reason we are glad we moved to Fort Lauderdale. There is so much to see and do, especially on water.

As always, thank you for following our journey. Please be sure to subscribe to our blog and our YouTube channel (video below). It’s exciting to see our channel grow and we’re committed to providing you great content. You can also follow us on social @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney

Cheers, Ally & Scott

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Driving through seven states in three days!

In our last blog Scott and I drove from Seattle to Arizona and now we had to drive through seven states to get to our new home in Fort Lauderdale. We left Phoenix, AZ on Sunday morning before dawn and the desert had a beautiful yet eerie feeling as we began our drive on I-10. Today would be our longest day of the entire drive, with fourteen hours of driving before arriving to San Antonio. Unfortunately, we forgot that they were two hours ahead, so it took up sixteen hours of our day.

As the sun rose, it became obvious that this drive would be flat and boring until we reached San Antonio. When something other than tumble weeds passed by, we had to take a photo!

Five states later, we arrive in San Antonio, TX

By the time we arrived to San Antonio, it as 8pm and we were exhausted. Then we had to empty the truck like we did every night. Thank God the hotel let us keep the luggage cart in our room with all of our belongings on it.

Lucky for us, there was a great restaurant just across the parking lot called 54th Street Grill. The food was fantastic as were the drinks!

Our trip was coming to an end and we couldn’t wait to get to Mobile Alabama! This would be one of the shortest legs, taking us ten hours from San Antonio. It would be a direct shot due east from San Antonio.

It was a bit foggy and hazy when we left San Antonio, making the sunrise calm and beautiful. Since we left before the hotel was open for breakfast, we were on the hunt for a place to stop.

Not wanting to waste time at a sit down restaurant, we decided to stop at Buc-ees convenience store. We had heard that all of the Buc-ees stores are huge, so we had to check it out!

As soon as you walk in, you realize this is no ordinary convenience store or gas station.

Outrunning the storm through three states!

Before Scott and I left the hotel, the news was warning viewers about dangerous storms that were headed our way. It was my turn to drive, so my goal was to try and stay ahead of the storms.

Unfortunately, my luck ran out just as I was driving across the Calcasieu River Bridge. Visibility was zero and most cars around me, slowed down to 5mph and limped across the bridge with their flashers on.

Finally, we broke free of the storm and found sunlight again.

Welcome to Alabama

We passed through Mississippi in about forty-five minutes and soon we were on the Gulf of Mexico! I don’t think I have ever been so excited to see water after days of driving thru the desert.

After about 10 hours, we finally arrived in Mobile, Alabama. Once again we had to unload the truck and by this time, Scott had it down to a science.

Fort Lauderdale – here we come!

We were so excited to get “home” and finish the last leg of our long journey across ten states. The weather was warming up, which created lots of fog along the way.

Soon, the terrain started to change and we started to see lush trees and lots of grass. We were not in the desert anymore!

What we didn’t realize was how buggy this leg of the trip would be. We had to pull over about every 45 minutes to clean the windshield. Before we headed home, we had to go to the car wash. Here we ordered a bug remover wash. LOL!!

Five days and ten states later, we finally made it “home”. While we didn’t have any furniture, we were simply happy to be reunited once again and to begin this journey!

As always, thank you for following our blog and our journey. Be sure to following our channel (link below) and follow us on social media @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney as we begin our search for our next boat. We have a lot to learn about insurance, auctions, hurricane requirements, etc. Next week, we’ll share our first weekend in Fort Lauderdale and we figure out a way to get on the water!

Cheers, Scott and Ally

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Florida or Bust

At the end of April, I flew home to make the cross country trip from Seattle to Florida with Scott. I was only home a couple of days and then we headed out. It was a bit surreal saying goodbye to the our home for the past three years.

The original plan was to not have a lot of possessions in the truck, as we would need to empty the truck every night at the hotel. Why? Thieves love to target hotels along I-5 looking for vehicles with personal possessions. Well, our plan didn’t go accordingly.

Scott and I began our drive to Florida on Friday afternoon taking the I-5 route. Since it was the end of April, we were not sure how the weather would be going across the Rockies or the Plain states. We left Seattle at 4:30am and it was 37 degrees. Goodbye Seattle, hello Florida!

The Long Road Ahead to Florida

I had driven I-5 to Arizona when I was in college and this was Scott’s first time. Driving through Portland, OR is never exciting. It was rush hour when we drove through and as we got closer to the middle of the state, the fog moved in.

We stopped at one rest stop, Cabin Creek and it was actually a historic location.

The Prettiest Part of the Drive to Florida

Probably the prettiest part of the drive was driving thru Oregon’s Grant’s Pass and in Northern California. There was some construction, so going over the passes with huge semi trucks was a bit nerve racking, but after a few hundred miles, we got used it it. We were also surprised to see snow on the passes! Grant’s pass only has an elevation of 960′. our last home was at 825′.

Our biggest shocker was the price of gas in California. It was over $6/gallon and that was painful. We had decided to fill up every time the tank was only half full, just to be safe.

As we drove towards Mount Shasta, it was sad to see the remnants of last year’s forest fire that devastated the area.

Sacramento Bound

Scott and I had made reservations a few weeks prior for each stop. Our first night would be in Sacramento. We chose to stay close to I-5, as we simply needed a place to grab dinner and rest our eyes. The first leg took us 12 hours.

At the hotel, we lucked out as we were able to use the luggage cart and keep it in our room overnight. That really helped us out.

Great Thai Restaurant near the Hotel

We stayed at a Hilton property and just across the road, they recommended the Manaao Thai Restaurant. Though it wasn’t big, it was family owned and the food and service was outstanding.

Day Two Florida Bound via Phoenix

The following morning, we left at dawn and the drive was beautiful. It was also the beginning of our very FLAT drive to Florida.

Our plan was to stop for lunch just outside Pasadena, once we went over the Grapevine. That drive was uneventful and not windy like it normally is.

After stopping for lunch, I took the driver’s seat. Our goal was to get into Phoenix by 6pm. However, once we reached the city limits, I-10 was closed for construction and we were detoured all of the city. Luckily, it didn’t delay us too much and we unloaded the truck quickly. This time, they would not let us keep the luggage cart. Bummer.

The best part of this leg was our good friends from Renton (who now live in Phoenix), Nick and Michelle came and joined us for dinner. It was the perfect way to end the evening and say a proper goodbye.

Tune in next week, as we finish this epic road trip across the US. As always, thank you for following our journey! Be sure to subscribe to our boating blog and also our YouTube Channel (video link below). You can also follow us on social @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney. Cheers, Scott and Ally

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Moving to Fort Lauderdale

moving to fort lauderdale

Moving to Fort Lauderdale sounds amazing (and it has been), but it wasn’t without some hard work, tears and frustration. Scott joined me for my first week in Fort Lauderdale and then I was alone here for the next five weeks. This journey ended up being harder than I expected. During the next five weeks, I would live in two different apartments and stay in four different hotels while traveling on business. My first trip was to Palm Beach for the Palm Beach International Boat Show. I’ll share a blog on that experience soon. Next I drove across the state up to Dunedin. This was quite the driving experience, as I drove across the Everglades and up the west coast of Florida. That’s the longest drive I have made by myself in a very long time.

Moving into our apartment

I was excited to move out of my temporary housing and into our new apartment. Unfortunately, I was moving in with just a few boxes, a blow up bed and chair. Surprisingly, my rental car was packed and it took me ten trips to the apartment. I watched tv on my laptop while sitting in a lawn chair.

With no furniture, the apartment echoed terribly. I did enjoy the view at night, but always ended up closing the shades as I didn’t need people watching me. LOL

Exploring Fort Lauderdale

I spent my weekends walking up and down the Riverwalk and watching all of the boat traffic. There are tons of restaurants and shops in Los Olas and it will be great for Scott and I to explore the area together.

The Riverwalk is always bustling with activity, which makes it a fun place to live.

Heading back to Seattle

After living on my own for five weeks, it was time to fly home. I was only home three days, so I didn’t get to see many people. Finally we packed up the rest of our stuff and headed to Scott’s parents house for the night. The following morning, we left for Sacramento at 4am.

Our original plan was to not have much in the truck, as we would need to empty the contents each night at the hotels. Why? We have been told that thieves target trucks and vans that are full of possessions at hotel parking lots. Unfortunately, our plan didn’t work out and yes, we emptied the truck every night. Stay tuned to find out how our five day road trip went.

As always, thank you for following our journey! Be sure to subscribe to our vlog (video below) and follow us on social @BoatingJourney #boatingjourney.

Cheers, Ally and Scott

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Time to spill the beans

moving to fort lauderdale

We can all agree that the past few years have been a struggle. Who knew in 2018, when Scott and I sold our home to downsize and prep to live on a boat, what the future would look like a couple of years later? So many of you have asked us tons of questions on why we moved to Fort Lauderdale and now it’s time to spill the beans.

ruins

Let’s go back to January 2020. I had forgotten I had applied to a VP role in St. Thomas and suddenly my phone rang one day (I was actually working at the Seattle Boat Show). Right there, I ended up walking around the show interviewing with the VP of Human Resources. We had a delightful conversation which led to many more with other executives. This was a very large company with locations on nine Caribbean Islands. They verbally made me an offer in March 2020 and asked that Scott and I fly down for a weekend to look for housing. At that time, no one really knew what covid-19 was or how long it would be around. What we did know, were countries were shutting down their borders. After talking about it, we decided to take the job site unseen. Just five days later, St Thomas and every other country shut down. If we would have taken the trip, we would have been stuck and lost our current jobs.

people wearing diy masks
Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

So my offer had a TBD start date, which we hoped would be in a month or two. With that said, we began the packing process, which included selling our Bayliner 4087. It sold very quickly and we soon were frustrated being boatless during the pandemic.

Unfortunately my “new company” started to close many of their locations, as they were located at cruise terminals and there were no cruises due to the pandemic.

St Thomas
Notice there are no cruise ships

Fast forward one year

The following April, we decided to keep our trip to St. Thomas (was supposed to be the bare boat charter, but that was still restricted) and while we were there, I met with my “new company”. Scott and I were still on board to make the move and they were figuring out a new way to do things. But by June of 2021, it became obvious that this job wasn’t going to pan out, so both of us parted ways.

Now we had the itch to move to sunnier warmer weather – next option? Florida! I was interviewing with one company in Gainesville and after they flew me out, I knew I couldn’t be land locked. I needed to be near water, so that was not an option. Then I flew back down to Fort Lauderdale in August (no it wasn’t a surprise that Scott planned, it was actually another interview) to meet with a boat dealership. Again, they made me an offer, but unfortunately the current marketing director decided not to retire while I was in mid-air flying to Florida. The offer was not a good fit for my career. After spending that weekend in Fort Lauderdale, we were determined as ever to make the move somehow.

Fast forward to December 2021 when I started talking with OneWater Yacht Group. I was so excited about the opportunity, but I didn’t have my hopes up. Imagine my surprise, when it wall worked out! Like I always say, “things happen for a reason” and I truly believe I was meant to come to work here.

Living in Fort Lauderdale

When Scott and I announced we were moving, we heard the same thing from everyone. “It’s hot and humid there, why”? Well, when you are sick and tired of endless days of gray skies, misty rain and miserable weather, you’ll take a little humidity. This hasn’t been an easy journey either. For starters, I lived alone for almost a month and a half in a city I don’t know at all. Then I traveled up and down the East Coast, moved into our apartment with no furniture and then made the cross country trek with Scott almost two months later. As I am typing this (May 15th), we are still waiting for the movers to arrive with our belongings.

Scott and I are renting an apartment in downtown Fort Lauderdale, in Los Olas. There are so many restaurants and shops within walking distance and we love that! The atmosphere is energized and the streets are clean. Add sunshine and boats and we’re happy as clams. We are just a few blocks from “River Walk” and we get to see lots of boat action regularly.

Are we buying a boat now?

We know that’s the next question and if we find the perfect boat – yes! But there are a few things that have to happen first. First, we are still dealing with a lack of inventory and we are not going to pay 30% over market value just to have a boat. Second, we need to research hurricane policies, insurance, liveaboard marinas, etc. We don’t know the area and we don’t know the boating industry down here yet. For example, we’ve heard if you moor your boat north of I-595, then you’re safe – what does that exactly mean?

In the meantime, if you know of a project boat or a turn-key liveaboard power boat, reach out to us. We are entertaining all options. Until then, we plan on exploring and experiencing all kinds of boating adventures here in Fort Lauderdale. This includes, canal tours, air-jet adventures, private charters, day sailing trips and boating over to the Bahamas. Our blog and vlog is called “Boating Journey”, which doesn’t mean we have to own a boat. It means we are going to spend our time exploring new adventures on a boat.

Over the next few blogs and vlogs, we’ll share with you our adventure of how we got here, what we’re doing here and everything in between.

As always, thank you for following our journey! Be sure to subscribe to both our blog and vlog, and on social media @BoatingJourney #boatingjourney.

Cheers, Scott and Ally

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Staying at Grande Bay Resort in St. John

grande bay resort

Wanting to relax a few days after our charter, Scott and I reserved a condo at Grande Bay Resort in St. John. In our last blog, we returned our Leopard power catamaran to the Moorings base the night before our charter ended. The next morning,  Scott and I jumped on the Fast Ferry  back to St Thomas first thing in the morning.  However,  the ferry we took back, was not the same ferry or company we took to Tortola. 

 Instead of having an upper deck on the ferry, we had an interior seating only. It had three seats on either side and was set up like an airplane (they even played movies!) Unfortunately the weather was terrible and we had about 6 to 7’ swells. To say that it was an uncomfortable ride is an understatement.

To top it off we had to take another ferry from Charlotte Amalie to St John and head back into rough seas.  As you can see by the photo below it was not a fancy ferry.

Grande Bay Resort & Condos

 For this year’s visit we stayed a little closer to town and we reserved a fabulous condo with a wonderful view.  The condo was nice and open with nice appointments.

After checking in,  we headed in to town to grab a cold drink and unwind. Our first stop was the Tap & Still Cruz Bay Pub. They were very friendly and quick with the cocktails!

After a round of drinks, we decided to explore a bit more of St. John that we didn’t see last year. A few blocks later, a huge squall came thru and we had to find shelter quick. Luckily, for us we ran into another bar Meada’s Garden (though it was outdoor!).

The owner was serving cocktails at the bar and we found out that the restaurant was only a few months old. We decided to make dinner reservations for our third and last night in St. John as he was so friendly and fun to talk to.

Best Restaurants in St John

Since Scott and I were here to relax and unwind, we made it our goal to visit the best restaurants on St. John. One of which, we visited last year, The 1864 in the Mongoose Station. Turns out we sat at the exact same table! The food was even better than last year. If you are in St. John, this is a must.

You can’t skip breakfast if you have a full day’s worth of activities. On our first morning, Scott and I headed to High Tide on the beach. We had dinner there last year and this time, we bellied up to the bar for breakfast. The service was fantastic, the drinks were strong and the food was delicious!

On our second night, we made reservations at a very small steakhouse, called Dave & Jerry’s Island Steakhouse , which was walking distance from Grande Bay Resort. It came highly recommended and one of the owners actually greets every guest. It’s a bit tight, as they only have about 9 tables inside, but it’s worth it. Scott and I should have split a steak, as I could barely make a dent. Unfortunately, I didn’t take a photo before I dove in!

Renting Another Dinghy

Last year, Scott and I rented an 11′ dinghy from Wharfside Watersports to explore the shores of St. John. Read that blog here. That dinghy was great, but it wasn’t big enough to handle the big swells through the channel, so this year, we rented a Zodiak for $595 for a full day so we could explore. After breakfast, we headed to the office, where we stumbled upon the broken props they set up outside their office. LOL!!

As we were getting our instructions, we learned that unlike the 11′ Highfield dinghy we rented last year and visited numerous beaches, the Zodiaks were not allowed on the beaches. Uh ho! However, the Zodiak was a great dinghy and handled the swells very well. Our plan was to visit Maho Bay beach to snorkel with the turtles. After we made our way to our destination, we realized that if we jump in the water, we need to be able to pull ourselves back into the boat.

Unfortunately, the boat had a very small swim ladder, big enough for one foot and only one handle to pull yourself up with. It was too risky, so we simply cruised around dodging a rain storm. After a few hours, we were tired of fleeing the rain storms, so we headed back to Grande Bay Resort condo to relax by the pool.

The rain squalls never let up, so we left the pool and decided to enjoy downtown St John and a few local bars.

Time to head home

Our trip to St. John was short, but enjoyable. We highly recommend taking a few days to unwind on land after a boat trip. Though we had a round trip ticket on the private ferry, I refused to get back on it. Instead, we paid $15 each and hopped on the government operated ferry and headed back to Red Hook. Red Hook is on eastern side of St. Thomas, which required us to take a longer taxi ride back to the airport, but it was worth it.

Next on our journey, is our move to Fort Lauderdale, FL! So much is happening in our lives and we’re excited to share it with all of you.

As always, thank you for following our journey! Be sure to subscribe to our blog and vlog (link below). You can also follow us on social @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney. See you next time in Florida!

Cheers, Scott and Ally

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Returning to the Moorings Base

In our last blog, we mention that we decided to head back to the Moorings base the night before we had to return the boat. Our crew had a simple continental breakfast while we enjoyed the serenity of our anchorage.

After breakfast, the garbage and ice boat came along. It is so cool that you can get ice AND get rid of your garbage so easily!

Since we had the boat for the entire day, we decided to cruise a bit and perhaps get in some snorkeling.

We left Norman Island around 10am and headed to Treasure Point.

Once we got out of the bay, we realized the weather was getting rough.

Exploring the British Virgin Islands

Since the weather looked too rough to snorkel at Treasure Point, we headed to the Indians. Once we arrived, we realized there was no way we were going to go snorkeling as the weather was getting worse.

We were surprised that so many boats were moored there and wondered if they were actually snorkeling.

Before heading back to the Moorings base, we headed towards Salt Island for a nice cruise. About five minutes into our cruise, we ran into a major squall!

Returning to the Moorings Base

After battling with squalls for a few hours, we decided to head back to the Moorings base. The Moorings base recommends that you call the base to have a captain come meet you and hop on board to stern dock the boat.

Be sure to watch our YouTube video (link below) to see how easy the process worked. The Moorings give you a check-out sheet, making the process easy.

The Moorings base recommends that you leave behind any provisions for the staff, instead of throwing it out. We did throw out items that were spoiled. After we each took long showers and cleaned up, we headed to Soper’s Hole for a wonderful dinner.

Returning to the base was the best decision we made. The following morning, we were relaxed and not rushed trying to get to the ferry. Tune in next week, as we head to St. John to explore the USVI.

As always, thank you for following our journey! Be sure to subscribe to our blog and vlog (link below). You can also follow us on social media @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney.

Cheers, Scott and Ally

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Relaxing on Norman Island in the BVI

On our last evening of cruising we headed to Norman Island which was about an hour from Jost Van Dyke. It was our first “rolly ride” but the Leopard 433 PC made the trip comfortable.

Our crew pulled into the Bight at Norman Island and we grabbed a mooring ball closest to the beach. There Are plenty of mooring balls to choose from and the Pirate’s restaurant manages them. The cost is $25 per night.

After we grabbed our mooring ball we jumped in the dingy and headed to the restaurant to pay our fee. Here we have another opportunity to put another boating sticker on a piling.

The beach on Norman Island

We decided to relax on the beach for a couple of hours and do some snorkeling before heading off to Willy T bar. One thing to make note of is there are lots of sea urchins and they are large.

Moored right next to us was a really cool cat maran called “Gravity” and it had to be about 70′ long.

The Willy T

The Willie T is a unique floating restaurant and bar anchored in the bite at Norman island. It originated in 1989 and was a decommissioned tanker, named after an inventor from Jost Van Dyke William Thorton. Unfortunately in 2017 hurricane Maria sanks a ship where it now still lies at the bottom near Peter island. Today divers can still dive and support the boat through a number of non profit programs.

In 2019 the owners rebuilt the ship and it was moved back to its original location at Norman island. They serve food and have a full bar.

When our crew arrived there was hardly anyone on the boat and we had the whole upstairs to ourselves. Though the signs say “do not jump” Ben jumped before I could even snap a photo. Turns out everybody jumps off the Willie T.

The Bight

Our crew all decided that the Bight is somewhere where we would come back again and stay multiple days. The water was so beautiful and blue. We all decided to relax and enjoy the calm waters of the bay.

For Scott’s birthday I had bought him a solar powered charger and it sure came in handy on this trip, since our inverter never arrived.

After relaxing for the afternoon we headed to the bite restaurant for sunset cocktails and dinner.

Looking at the top of this hill, there was a tree with a heart shaped head that was waving at us.

The Pirate’s restaurant was open air and had plenty of seating for a large crowd. It was The perfect backdrop for ending our last night on the island. Not to mention the food and lobster were fantastic.

Heading back to The Moorings

Our crew decided to head back to Tortola in the mooring space the following morning to save time for check-out. Tune in next week to see how the process works.

As always thank you for following our blog And be sure to follow our YouTube channel with the link below. Cheers, Scott and Ally