11/22/16
Stuart, FL
Position 27 11.820N, 080 15.740W
Posted by Bill

We left Vero Beach on the 20th and went down the Indian River in some high winds all day. They were out of the north and the river flows north-south, so we had some rapids-like waves most of the day. At the Saint Lucie Inlet, we turned and went up the Saint Lucie River and went 8 miles up to the town of Stuart. Friends Kurt and Sharon on Byrd Ketcher were there and said that there was a great mooring field with lots of places to eat and shop in walking distance. We decided to change our plan of spending Thanksgiving in West Palm/Lake Worth and check out the mooring field. This place is really nice. Not only did we have a union of the 2015 Keys/Bahamas travel group, but we found friends Hayden and Radeen from Island Spirit! We booked a mooring for a week, the first time we have stopped for more than a couple days since we left. It is difficult to keep moving every day without a break we were ready for one. Yesterday we slept to almost 9 AM, and then walked to the grocery store, took a long dinghy ride to check out the shoreline. Today we caught the marina shuttle and went to the liquor store and West Marine, then came back to the boat for a nap in the cockpit. It was a beautiful day, warm with a nice breeze, and we have a fantastic water view. The marina here is extremely clean and well appointed. There is a great captains lounge with a popcorn machine, and really nice sitting areas surrounding the marina. Tomorrow we expect to make another run to the grocery (you can only carry so much stuff on foot…lol). The nearest grocery is a Publix and is just less than a mile. The liquor store is about 2 miles and West Marine is 3. The marina shuttle only runs a couple times a week, but you can use their bikes any time, and it is not really that far of a walk to any of those. I also took a 2 day break from boat work…wow, is that nice! Back on it tomorrow. We hear that the Thanksgiving feast at the marina is really nice and we are looking forward to checking it out. This is one of those times of year that we really miss our old family traditions, and seeing everyone, so we need something to keep our spirits up!!! Here are some pictures of our view from the mooring we are on: