Elliott Key! We left yesterday, quite late (I was up 'til 3 Friday night!). It was raining, but we decided to forge ahead.

The ride down was alright, until um.. towards the end. It was quite rough and raining. I ended up hiding under this a huge tarp. A huge, stinky tarp. But at least I was dry. Every time I heard a splash of water on the back of my head, hitting the tarp, I could see the same water splashing poor Chris's face.


Nice day for a ride.





We left at 1 p.m., got to Elliott Key at 7:30 or 8 or so - just enough time to unload our gear and set up for the night.


Notice the camping essentials (marshmallows, marshmallow fluff).

Chris slept as I watched a movie for class, Angels and Insects.

Today, it was up for a cold shower and then on the road (water) again - we left Elliott Key at 10.

We got here at 8:30! p.m.!

We decided to take our time today - yesterday, trying to go fast, wasn't so fun. So today we went slow. It was really nice, especially down by Elliott Key. We saw some rays in the water and lots of birds.




The water there is such a pretty color.


Ahh - warmth!


Chris looking at one of the houses in Stiltsville.

You'll notice he has more and more clothing on as the pictures go. We started out HOT on Elliott Key, but it quickly got very, very cool over the water. By the end of the trip, I was wearing a swimsuit, a shirt, capri pants, a jacket, a raincoat, and a throw blanket wrapped around my lap.

Cap'n Bob had been playing his guitar at a place we passed in Hollywood yesterday, then today we heard him again.. and discovered we were passing by Squid's party! We had been invited, but I didn't think we'd made it seeing as how I had no idea what time we'd be getting home. We didn't stay for long, but it was nice to see them anyhow.

At around Port Everglades, the engine shut off. We both said, "Uh oh." Even though this trip had been nicknamed the Kill-the-Engine trip -- Chris really wants a new Yamaha, but doesn't see spending the dough on one when he has a perfectly functioning engine already -- I don't think either of us expected it to actually die.

Luckily, Chris pays Tow Boat U.S. a $100 annual membership fee, so help was a quick phone call away. They showed up within five minutes.


We had to paddle over to a sign to tie up to it while we waited so we wouldn't go crashing into rocks or a big cargo ship


Namely, this one.


Yay, Tow Boat U.S.!

It was a nice, romantic sunset cruise back to the house, albeit with the scent of diesel in the air.

Bad things about this trip:
1. It was raining
2. The tarp I had on my head smelled like cat puke
3. Mosquitos suck
4. Chris's engine dying

Good things about this trip:
1. We laughed about and through all of the above
2. It was an adventure
3. Florida is gorgeous
4. Chris finally has an excuse to buy a new engine (and a back-up engine, too!)
5. Romantic sunset cruise home, courtesy of Tow Boat U.S.

:)  ¶ 9:41 PM