Onward north, we passed downtown Miami, with its crowded skyline and busy Miami River.
The bustle of the city was in marked contrast to our quiet time in Marathon.
The local artwork exemplified the character of the area: this fellow was perpetually blowing down the sunset in the courtyard of an exclusive high-rise.
Janet, this one’s for you! We had enjoyed cocktails here years ago; Gloria and Emilio Estephan own the establishment.
We passed through another large port, Port Everglades, at Fort Lauderdale. Here, the really big ocean-going ships berth to load and unload cargo.
Sometimes, the cargo is pleasure yachts, driven onto a partially submerged freighter and secured aboard. Then the freighter is re-floated for transport, often across the Atlantic to Europe, the Mediterranean or South America.
Few places on earth offer such an incredible concentration of marine facilities and such a population of pleasure boats as Fort Lauderdale. The area boasts an estimated 25,000 resident and 10,000 annual transient boats - and some very large boats indeed!
Our berth for the night was Lauderdale Yacht Club. Friend Bob Hommel, past Commodore of Detroit Yacht Club, joined us for dinner at the Club, after kindly taking us to Publix. Bob winters in Fort Lauderdale.
Monarch felt right a home here, with kids sailing Optos right off our bow, just like the Detroit Yacht Club.
The next morning, the Intracoastal Waterway was lined with mansions and impressive yachts.
Our stop for the night was Coral Ridge Yacht Club.
We walked to a nearby high-end shopping mall, then relaxed by the beautiful pool with an up-close view of the Intracoastal Waterway traffic.
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