AHHH!!!!! Yesterday I saw DOLPHINS!!!! DOLPHINS!! DOLPHINS!!! DOLPHINS!!!!!!

Jack and I spent two days sailing/motor-sailing from Miami to Key Largo via the Intercoastal Waterway and Biscayne Bay to meet up with James (the person we are going to cross the Gulf Stream with). We stopped the journey to spend the night on the boat because a rainstorm came on. We slept on and off while the boat rocked CONStAnTLy from one side to the other. It was all good though and totally worth it. At the end of the trip, we slowly floated down this little river and each side of the river was overgrown with mangroves! They are the prettiest trees, with roots intertwined and twisting, sticking high out of the water. In the spaces of the roots and branches were the coolest birds! We got real close up to a blue crane, a pelican, and about a dozen white cranes. They were awesome! Super white with long, folding necks and were surprisingly pretty loud.
James is the coolest. His knowledge about sailing is far-reaching and he and his boat are equipped with some of the best and most useful equipment. He has tabs on the weather at all times via XM satellite. He can tap into any weather buoy to measure wave height and gather information on water and air conditions. His advice so far has been really helpful. He's shared a lot of tips and knowledge, and we feel really confident about crossing with him! He just stopped by, in fact, on his dinghy to visit and discuss our crossing details. As it is right now, we are planning to cross Tuesday night at 1am!!!
James is letting us borrow a DVD he has on heavy weather sailing that we are going to watch tonight. He even gave us a packet of fishing hooks that he recommends and packet of minnow hooks (fishing hooks with the fake minnow attached). HIGHLY AWESOME AND HIGHLY THOUGHTFUL!!
So back to the Dolphins! Yesterday, James took us over to Gilberts, a cute outdoor tiki bar and resturant 1/2 mile away. All three of us sat in his dingy and motored over, and when we got toward shore, Jack pointed to this huge fish poking halfway out of the water. As I began to grasp what I was seeing, I looked around and saw 4 or 5 other fins poking out of the water and sinking back down. Haha, the first thing I thought was "Sharks!" Then Jack exclaimed "Those are dolphins!" .....then the thrill and the excitment began....
As we motored slowly up to the dock, a dozen or more dolphins slipped casually in and out of the water! They even rode along beside us in pairs! The experience was heightened by the fact that we were on EVEN PLANE with the water!!! :) :) :) :) :) I even saw a dolphin flip facing toward me so I was able to see its beautiful face. This was, like, 15 feet away! As Jack and James were tying up the dinghy, I couldn't help but ignore them and gawk out into the bay where the dolphins were pleasantly swimming about. It was all I could take from just jumping into the water and swimming alongside one! As I watched, one dolphin LITERALLY jumped five feet into the air! It was one of the most amazing things I've seen EVER IN MY LIFE, let alone on this trip so far. I seriously don't even know what is in store for us over at the Bahamas...but I can't wait to find out!!!

hooked uP

Right now I'm lying on the boat, on our homemade 4 inch cushions, in 82 degree weather. I just finished a Miller High Life, after drinking coconut milk OUT OF THE COCONUT for the first time! Jack squeezed the juice out for me after drilling through it, then he cut the nut in half with his hatchet and scooped out the coconut with a spoon for me!
The ukeleles are hanging on the wall, the clarinet is taped to the ceiling; everything has its place, as random as everything is. The pens are in the same jar as the screwdrivers as the iching cream as the nail clippers--but that's where they belong. I'm surrounded by intensely bright sunshine and palm trees, flocks of seagulls and pelicans, and songs from Steve Earle, Shane MaGowen, and The Cows (from Jack's Ipod).
This boat is equipped to the NINES!!! I must credit Jack with much of the planning, organizing, installing, and inventing that makes this boat what it is. We are running our electronics off of the marina's outlets on the docks right now, but when we are out on the water (which will be a majority of the time) the boat runs off of solar panels and the alternator on the engine. The solar panels work so well, that without having a charge controller, they would OVERPOWER the batteries. That's how badass they are! Shit yeah! So these panels are able to power a mini fridge (with a freezer and a lot of room), a fish/depth finder, a microwave (which, without marina power, can be used with a 1000 watt inverter), a computer, digital camera, VHF radio, fan, radar detector, and radio (which we run our Ipods off of and the XM radio)---we are HOOKED UP!!!