Pensecola, Sandestin, Panama City

We spent a good couple of days in Pensecola in a great marina and a very nice city. It is full of history and beautiful old buildings so we took a walk the afternoon we came in. The next morning we took a cab to breakfast and then on to the Pensecola Navy Air Museum. The museum is on the Navy base and our ID's were checked at the gate. I broke my $10 tee shirt rule and paid $18 for a shirt so I will have to wear it twice as long.

We left Pensecola on Thanksgiving Day and went 60 miles to Sandestin. We left early so we got in pretty early. Bob and Patti decided to go to a local restaurant and have a turkey buffet. They said it was good. We stayed on the boat and then we went to eat pizza for dinner with "FREE TO B" and "Something Special". This was the first time we have ever been away from the family for Thanksgiving and it was a little sad.

We really liked Sandestin and decided to stay another day. When we got up Sid and Evelyn on "Something Special" decided to move on without us. They wanted to get Apalachicola, leave the boat and visit New Orleans. I can't tell you how much we will miss them and hopefully we will see them down the line. An old friend of mine, Bill (and his wife Carol) keeps his boat at the marina and he let us use his golf cart to tour the property which is huge (4,500 acres). Bill and Carol met us for breakfast and gave us the lay of the land which was really nice. We took the golf cart to the grocery store and then the beach.

We left Sandestin early this morning headed for Panama City. The wind was up and was supposed to get worse - which it did in spades. By the time we got to the marina it was gusting to 30MPH. Getting into the marina was a little dicey. We were lined up to dock on the starboard side but by the time we spun around in the wind (without hitting any of the nearby boats) we ended up on the port side into the wind. We have a lot of lines and fenders out so we should be alright. It is supposed to be windy the next few days so we will see if we run tomorrow or not. With any luck we will be able to cross the Gulf early next week but that is up to the weather gods.  Panama city has a 25 year tradition of a lighted boat parade.  There were about 15 boats decorated with christmas lights and they went by the marina where the judges were.  I don't know who won but it was good fun.

Ginny, Bob and Patti

Pensecola Air Museum

Pensecola is the home of the Blue Angles

Leaving Pensacola

Some sort of government tracking device

Sandestin

Bill and Carol's boat

This is for Kenny and Monte from Indiana

Obstacle course in Sandestin

Something Special leaving without us (:-

Bill and Carole

There is always laundry to do

White sand beaches

Don't we look cute

 Panama City Marina

 Panama City Marina Office

Houseboat with lights

I liked the sailboat the best

Sunshine, Sunsets, Saltwater and Florida

I didn't think I was too old to appreciate the young but maybe I am. In my last post I commented on a young couple on a homemade raft. (There was a young couple (Michael and Faith) there in a home built raft with a small outboard motor. They started in Pittsburgh and had two chickens with them. Michael is 25 and Faith is 20. I can't possibly imagine doing what they are and I am sure their parents are pretty worried too). I was reminded by a friend (Steve) that I would have done the same thing given the opportunity (Reading your post yousound like an old man talking about the raft people. If you or John wouldhave thought about that 40 years ago you would be doing it. The only differenceis that neither Ginny or Diane would be stupid enough to do it with you). Steve is right and I promise to be more tolerant of others in the future and try to keep in mind that the youth of today will be the leaders of the world tomorrow :-)

Well we made it out of the rivers (YEA)!!! I know, I know that many of the Loopers love the rivers and I respect their opinions but I am much happier now that we done. We got to Mobile on Friday and the last part of the river was very industrial with a ton of tows. We came into Mobile Bay about noon and it was dead calm which was great. We had to leave the ship channel to head over to Eastern Shore Marina where we were going to stay for 3 nights. The channel was about 20' deep but the rest of the bay is anywhere from 6-8 feet deep so we were a little nervous but everything was fine. "Something Special" led the way with "FREE TO B" next and then us. We got to Eastern Shore Marina, pumped out, filled with fuel and settled into our slips by late afternoon. The weather was great and there were other Loopers there that we hadn't seen since the rendezvous in October. The marina is near the city of Fairhope, Alabama but not really within walking distance so we used the courtesy car quite often. Fairhope is a beautiful city with many shops and restaurants and they had just lit all of the trees in town for Christmas. We saw our first sunset since leaving Lake Michigan and it was fantastic.

Our friends Bob and Patty from Florida were kind enough to agree to cross the Gulf with us and we had agreed to meet in Carabelle before we crossed. They were visiting their daughter in New Orleans and after talking we thought it would great if they could join us in Fairhope and then ride with through the crossing. We had traveled together to the North Channel in 2005 and we had a great time so we knew this would be great - we are so happy to have them with us. We got all of the stuff stored on the boat on Sunday and we left Monday morning for a short ride to the Wharf Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama. We went South across Mobile Bay and got to the Intracoastal where we headed East towards Florida. This was our first time in the Intracoastal and we were a little nervous but we stayed in the channel and everything was fine. We saw our first dolphins but they didn't pose for pictures so you will have to take my word for it.

We decided to stop at LuLu's for lunch on the way to the marina. LuLu's is owned by Jimmy Buffet's sister and was a nice place to stop. The Wharf Marina is part of a high rise condo complex with a large shopping center and a number of restaurants We had happy hour on "Once Around" and then ate on the boat so we didn't get to sample any of the local places, but we were tired and Bob and Patty brought steaks so it was better than eating out. On Tuesday we got up early and left the dock by 8 so we could get to Pensacola by noon because a storm was expected. The ride was great and time goes fast with others on board. We are at Palafox Marina which is at the North end of Pensacola Bay. It is a new and modern marina with a restaurant on site and withing walking distance of town. We are going to be here two nights so we are going to get some needed R&R.

FREE TO B leaving the Tensas river after our last night at anchor

Seagulls in case you were wondering

The Dolly Parton bridge in Mobile

Austral shipbuilding plant

Refurbishing an aluminum ship

Ships everywhere in Mobile

Entering Mobile bay

First sunset since the Great Lakes

One of the many trees lit up in Fairhope, AL

Fairhope Yacht Club

Guess which state we are in?

This was a residence on Fly Creek

I think he is asleep

Leaving Fairhope headed for the Gulf

An oyster bar in Fairhope

Another sunset

Moble Bay

LuLu's

Patty and Bob

The Wharf Marina

Happy hour on "Once Around"

Finally in Florida where we will be for the next few months

Pensacola light house

Palofox Marina from the bay

Almost to Mobile Bay

In the last post we were at Demopolis but there were a few pictures on the way of the White Cliffs of Epes so I posted them first. Demopolis has built a brand new section of their marina and it is very nice. The docks are wide and long, plenty of water and a fabulous new building with laundry and showers. It was a great place to have happy hour. There were many Loopers for the two nights of happy hours that we were there. We topped off our fuel and did a final pump out for our next few days at anchor. We took the courtesy car into town, went to WalMart and took a few pictures of the downtown. The first night we ate dinner at the restaurant on site which was mostly fried food so we decided to eat on the boat the second night. Demopolis is place where many of the tow boats get fuel. After we got back from the store we saw a large tow and asked if we could take a tour. The captain said we could in about 15 minutes but is was about 1/2 hour by the time we got back and they were leaving so we missed it. They said there was another tow coming in at 6 and we could try then. Unfortunately for me I missed it but Ginny on the "Free To B" went to fuel dock and was given a long tour of the boat and she said it was one of the highlights of the trip.

We left Demopolis on Monday and were planning on going to an anchorage called Bashi Creek but when we got there we decided that it was not suitable for us to anchor in so we decided to go to Bobby's Fish Camp. It was getting late so we put the boats on plane and got to Bobby's right before dark. Bobby's Fish Camp is a long dock on the river with limited services and we had to raft off which was fine. Since there were about 8 boats they decided to open the restaurant for us which was great. They had fried catfish, chicken and shrimp. The meal came with french fries, cole slaw and hush puppies so we had our fill of fried food for a while. There was a young couple (Michael and Faith) there in a home built raft with a small outboard motor. They started in Pittsburgh and had two chickens with them. Michael is 25 and Faith is 20. I can't possibly imagine doing what they are and I am sure their parents are pretty worried too.

We left Bobby's the next morning and went to an anchorage about 65 miles North of Mobile called Three Rivers Lake. There were four boats so we all rafted together in the channel which wasn't very wide but the depth was good. The wind was strong so we put out long lines around trees on the shore in case the anchors failed. The first night was pretty nice but the next day there were tornado warnings all around us so we decided to stay put and ride it out. We put out some more lines and another anchor and made plans in case we saw a tornado. Tom and Linda on "Raydiance" had weather radar so they kept us informed and we stayed on high alert but all was well in the end.

Today we decided to go about 25 miles to another anchorage in the Tensas River because Mobile Bay had small craft warnings and Friday was supposed to be better for out trip to the bay. "Raydiance" decided to move closer to Mobile, so it is just the three boats rafted together. Ginny and Gene on "Free To B" have been the anchor experts and they have always gone first but their windlass broke so we said we would anchor first. It took us two tries but we got anchored and then "Something Special" anchored in the other direction and rafted to us and then "Free To B" then rafted to "Something Special". We are planning on going to Eastern Shore Marina in Fairhope, Alabama tomorrow for some R&R.

The White Cliffs

More White Cliffs

Happy Hour at Demopolis

The new marina at Demopols

New Orleans Restaurant at the Marina

One of the tows getting fuel at Demopolis

This is a Confederate statue in Demopolis

Leaving Demopolis

The last lock we will go through until we get to Canada

This boat came from Pittsburgh

Bobby's Fish Camp

Faith and Michael

Bob, Brenda, Marsha and John on "Kadadi"

We enjoyed a dinner of fried food at Bobby's

The decor

The first alligators that I have seen

Early in the morning before leaving Bobby's

I was elected to take a line to shore in the anchorage

Sid and Tom taking a ride in the dinghy

Notice all of the lines

I don't see any tornadoes but the sky is dark