Indian Key, Marathon, Key Largo, Miami 3/3-3/6/2013

We are on the move and going fast......We sailed from Cape Coral to the mouth of Everglades City at Indian Key on Sunday and put down the anchor in a small protected cove west of the channel. The wind was gusting to 23 knots in the bay but all was quiet in the anchorage. On Monday we set sail at 6:30 and headed across Florida Bay to anchor at 7:10 just outside of Boot Key Harbor which was full to the brim with moored and anchored boats. It was a calm night and we could see the 7-Mile Bridge as well as a beautiful sunset. On Tuesday we took our new dinghy into Marathon, did some shopping and said good-bye to our friends, pulled anchor and headed to Key Largo where we anchored in the dark at 7:20 at Rodriguez Key, an anchorage we know well. This is the sunrise this morning as we head north to Miami. We had a great sail up Hawk Channel today as the winds grew to 26 knots as we entered Biscayne Bay. We are anchored in No Name with a dozen other sailboats. Ranger was pretty excited to go for a walk to the Biscayne lighthouse this afternoon....he's been there before! Winds just won't settle down...supposed to blow 18-20 knots all week....