Happy Dance

It is a rainy day in Miami, foggy too, but not cold. It isn't even cool by Kintala standards, though the people of Miami might disagree. We are still in the Belle Island anchorage. It still gets wake rolled pretty often, limiting the time spent below to keep the inner ear happy. This is a reality to living on a boat neither Deb or I expected. Bigger water on the hook or mooring has the boat moving around a lot more than our years on the lake suggested. It means we spend even more time outside, not a bad thing.

Yesterday we went with friends on a bus ride adventure. The goal was a free concert advertised at the marina / upscale shopping / tourist trap area in town. We try to avoid marinas whenever possible, and the Miami Marina (at $2.75 / foot + electric) fell into the "avoid at all costs" category. We don't care for upscale stores or tourist traps, so hope was the concert would be worthy. Alas, "the concert" turned out to be a solo performer strumming basic cords on a guitar and singing to canned music tracks; enhanced karaoke. He also displayed some modest skill on a steel drum, but any street performer in New Orleans would have put him to shame.

The day would have been a bust but our friends included a three year old, her younger sister, and Mom; a cruising family we met several weeks and hundreds of miles ago. Even karaoke is fun when a three year old takes to the stage to dance and twirl and shake her booty. Suddenly the concert was the highlight of day and smiles broke out in all directions. There was the expected twinge as pictures of my own little ones far away came to mind, but a happy child belongs to anyone with a heart.

Sooner or later Kintala will set sail again, still looking for warm, clear water and daily swimming.