Florida: Panama City

Day 152
NM Today: 58 (67 statute miles)
NM Total: 3216 (3700 statute miles)

Cold!!! So very cold!!!  The temperature outside this morning when we woke read 34 degrees with the temp in the salon of the boat at 48 and our state room a brisk 45!  Cold air sinks and the state room is down three steps.  We had four blankets on the bed, but still the sheets felt like ice.  I wrapped the sheets around my head during the night to simulate one of those mummy sleeping bags. I really needed one of those old-time sleep caps to keep my head warm.  My nose felt like an ice cube because I left my nose and mouth exposed so I could breathe.  I told Clark today that I never want to be that cold again when I am trying to sleep!

Because the sun was shining brightly, it actually felt warmer outside than it did in our state room. After we made our visit to the park washrooms, Clark decided to wander the park grounds and found some interesting photo ops.

Girl and Her Dog Statue on Park Bench

He also found a preservation area remembering an Inn that once occupied this area as well as an Indian Midden Mound dating back to 500 B.C. to 1000 A.D. built on that site and cannons dating from the Civil War.

Remains of Indianola Inn, An Indian Midden Mound,
& Civil War Cannons

After picture taking, Clark chatted with Elizabear before we said our farewells and pulled in our lines.  They left just about an hour before us headed in the same direction but to a different endpoint for today's travels. Our agenda took us a bit further east to Panama City.

As noted in the daily stats above, today was a long travel day.  It must have been a math error because the estimated travel time calculated out last night as 5.5 hours, but at 4 hours into the trip, we recalculated and still had over 3 hours to go to reach our destination.  It started looking like we would arrive after sunset and that just did not cut it, so Clark ran up on plane at 15 knots for a while and took about 2 hours travel time off our trip before dropping the speed back to our fuel-usage-friendly numbers of around 8.5 knots.

I set way points on the chart plotter to assist with the open-water portion of the trip today.  Once we reached the GICW the markers were more frequent and much closer together. On the open waters Clark spied more dolphins.  (I did not look up in time.) When we entered the "Grand Canyon" of the ICW as it is called, the view along this 20 mile stretch changed drastically from the open waters we had just crossed.

Sandy Shores of the "Grand Canyon" in the GICW

Opposite Sandy Shore

Like yesterday, we spied another bridge that appeared to be a tall replacement for an older drawbridge with the remains transformed into a fishing pier.  Note that the old bridge sits between the twin spans of the new bridge.

Old Bridge - New Bridge Combo

After the narrow passage of the "Grand Canyon", we once again came out into open waters where the channel markers make excellent perches for birds as they fish for their dinners.

A Trio of Birds on Their Marker Perch

A Bird Convention on a GICW Marker
(Note: the gold square indicates this marker as belonging to the GICW)

 Thanks to Clark taking the boat up on plane earlier, we arrived at the Panama City Marina at 3:45 with plenty of daylight remaining.  Since the docks here are the worst ever to tie a line to, it was a very good thing that we could see what we were doing.  The docks are fixed at a very tall height, and cement pillars are the only object that a line can be tied to since there are no cleats.

The finger dock that is the means to go ashore has a cement pillar sticking up in the middle with just a few inches on either side to walk around.  Each time I get on or off the boat I worry I will trip and end up in the water.  Our friends on Always Home told us that they have been here for a week and have seen fluctuations in tide ranging anywhere from 1.5 feet to 4 feet depending on wind direction. We had to borrow chafe guards for a couple of our lines so that they won't be worn from being dragged across the wooden dock repeatedly from the pulling and pushing caused by the wind and tide.

The best part of this marina so far was the sunset we could see from our boat.  The second best part of being in a marina is that we have electricity which means we have heat for tonight! Yay!

Sunset Seen From the Panama City Marina

Florida: Fort Walton Beach Municipal Dock

Day 151

NM Today: 38

NM Total: 3158

We woke this morning to strong winds and chilly temperatures in the high 40 degrees.  I told Clark I was uncomfortable leaving the comfort of the protected dock to get blown around on the exposed waters.   When we walked up to the head, he took a slight detour to go look at the water to see how turbulent it might be out there.  He came back with a satisfactory report that the waters were mostly flat since the wind was coming from the land.   With my last ditch effort to eek out one more night in Pensacola, I helped him prepare the boat for leaving port for our next destination.  We pulled out into the cold windy day just after 9:30.

As Clark had confirmed, the waters were not turbulent, but the wind was strong and gusty.  Since it was pushing us along, it made steering a bit interesting.  The only surprise came when we turned direction to follow our designated route and got a change in wind direction as a result.  We got a big splash of water that managed to wet Clark on the upper helm and everything on the starboard bench seat.  Thankfully I was seated on the port bench seat and avoided a dousing.

Clark’s view of the day is so different from mine.  Where I thought the day was basically cold and miserable, he told me he found it quite a pleasant day to be out boating. Where I saw the splash as a dousing of him and the starboard side bench seat, he saw it as a little splash of no real consequence that was easily wiped dry. As we deliberated the merits of the day, I told him that I especially liked the part of the trip where he got a face full of water!

Each time we have gone out here in Florida waters, we have seen dolphins.  Today was no different.  We wonder about their safety as they appear and dive in front of the boat.  Clark says it supports the theory of “natural selection” since if they are not smart enough to get out of the way, they don’t survive.

Dolphins by Boat

 As we approached the Pensacola Beach Bridge, Clark wondered about the two additional bridge spans that did not meet in the middle.  I looked up the story on Wikipedia and found out that a new, fixed bridge was built around 1960 to replace the drawbridge which was constructed in 1931.  Since the new bridge allows a vertical clearance of 65 feet, there was no need to provide a means of opening the bridge to boat traffic. With completion of the replacement bridge, the original bridge was converted into two fishing piers.  Unfortunately the area is highly susceptible to hurricanes.  Although they are still standing, Hurricane Ivan, in 2004, essentially destroyed both fishing piers.

As we passed Eglin Air Force Base on Santa Rosa Island, we spied a tall tower.  Clark was curious as to its purpose, so I looked it up on Wikipedia as well.  Aren’t cell phones and the internet just marvelous?!  We learned that the tall tower is used for military operations testing for precision guided weapons.  Before I could even read the description of the tower to Clark, he had guessed that its purpose had something to do with radar.

Santa Rosa Island Tower

Although the sun shone brightly today, the air had a cold chill to it with a strong wind.  As we approached our target destination of Fort Walton Beach free city dock, Clark started to have second thoughts about whether we should stop there or continue on to a marina in Destin for the night.  The big issue with the free dock is no electricity and therefore no heat without running the boat generator which Clark does not like to do all night long. 

The trip had made me sleepy, and I was just nodding off into “la-la land” when he started talking to me about where we should stay.  Heat sounded nice but stopping sounded better.  He moved the boat in for a closer look and then decided he liked what he saw well enough that we should stay.  Little did I know that the ICW part of the trip had also made Clark sleepy, and he too wanted today’s trip to come to an end. 

A boater on a docked sailboat jumped up and grabbed our lines making it easy to pull into one of the many available slips. We tied up, pulled out the bicycles, and hit the road for a trip into town.  A few last minute items showed up on my grocery list after our provisioning trip yesterday, so we stopped at both Publix and West Marine in town to get these essentials.  Although I did not really feel like going anywhere except in for a nap, the bike ride served multiple purposes – it woke me up, gave me a good workout, and made me happy since I enjoy my bike very much.

The dock is situated by a very nice park on the edge of town.  We biked up through the park and then up to the stores. 

Christmas Tree and Pelican in Park near Docks

View From Park at Fort Walton Beach 

Fort Walton Beach

We biked mainly on sidewalks that ran alongside a major highway to get to Publix and West Marine.  Although there was a lot of traffic, the sidewalks were well-maintained and we enjoyed the ride.  Unfortunately I did not manage to get a picture of it, but I got a kick out of one drive-through beer-on-tap distributor and restaurant called “Robinson’s Cruse Thru” advertising Tacos Beer and Fun.  Crusethru.com The customers drive through the building and buy their beer without ever getting out of their cars.

The bike ride was pretty quick.  When we got back to the boat, Clark made some phone calls to make reservations for our stays at marinas leading up to our crossing of the Gulf to the west coast of Florida.  For Thanksgiving we will be in Carabelle where we found out they have a pot luck dinner planned for the holiday, so we won’t be celebrating alone after all.

We had an early dinner tonight to get that out of the way while there was still some twilight to cook and eat by.  When Clark went out to turn on the propane gas for me, he saw Jane from Elizabear whom we have not seen for a while.  She said she was happy to see a familiar face.

I had left over meat sauce from last night’s dinner so I used that to make chili dogs for dinner as a quick and easy dish.  After dinner we relaxed by watching television – Madam Secretary and The Good Wife are favorites.

Sleeping tonight should prove interesting as the master state room is already like a refrigerator.  We may need to run that generator for a while to warm things up before climbing into a freezing cold bed!

Florida: Pensacola (Day 3)

Day 150
No Boat Travel

The Turkey Trot 5K walk / run race started at 8:00 today.  Since we had not pre-registered, Faith from Third Degree and I met at 7:30 to walk up to the starting point. The weather was ideal for a race (from my point of view) not too hot and not too cold.  The sun even came out for a while for the event with a cool breeze to keep it comfortable.  We paid our money for our race spots and each got a t-shirt and our number tags.  The funds raised from the races will be used to provide food to families in need for the holidays.

My Race Tag

The race started at 8:02, and Faith and I completed the race 54 minutes and 28 seconds later.  For a 5K race that translates into a speed of just over three miles per hour.  We were both okay with that as our finishing time since we were not trying to win anything.

Although bread, fruit, and Wild Turkey Punch were available to race participants, Faith and I left the race area immediately after crossing the finish line.  In fact we just kept right on walking. Yesterday Faith suggested we go to The Ruby Slipper restaurant for breakfast after the race, and that is just what we did.  She ordered one of their house specialty Mimosas to go with her breakfast. I went with water!  We enjoyed a delicious breakfast that included Fried Green Tomatoes and great conversation.

Since the farmer's market was happening just at the other end of Palafox Street from where we sat, we decided to walk up there after breakfast to see what we could find in the way of vegetables.  The answer ... not much!  Booths were lined up as far as we could see, but the selection of vegetables was sadly lacking.  The availability of items to buy for gifts as well as an assortment of baked goods appeared endless.

Faith from Third Degree
with the booths from the market lined up down the walkway

Besides items for sale entertainers played instruments and sang some great country / blue grass tunes.

Toe-tapping Fiddle Music at the Market

In spite of the limited choices, I did buy myself some broccoli and green peppers.  I also found a vendor with a large variety of scone flavors.  I bought two of the orange and cranberry variety - my second favorite after the more traditional raisin.  Faith bought herself a lovely bouquet of hothouse flowers including some beautiful lilies.

By the time we got back to our boats, the time was already 11:30.  My Fitbit read 14,000 steps completed and it was not even lunch time yet!  My feet certainly were talking to me after all the walking.  Unfortunately when I got back to my boat, it was very wet.  While I was gone, Clark decided to wash the boat and the job was still in progress.  He told me he hoped I would be gone longer and suggested I go up to the restroom to kill more time.  Well I had already been there, so I ended up standing and waiting for him to complete the job for almost an hour before I could climb on board to sit down and rest my feet.

After lunch I convinced Clark that we should go to the local Publix grocery store to get ready to move to our next stop.  We are leaving here tomorrow (Sunday). Unlike the folks on Jammin Jane, Knot Sew Easy, and Third Degree, we are moving on tomorrow whereas they are all staying here for a full week.  I guess the expression "all good things must end" is true because Clark and I have to go with hopes of finding a crossing window to get across the Gulf before the baby shower trip in December.  I have thoroughly enjoyed the town of Pensacola and the time spent here with our boating friends.

We asked Jim and Faith if they would like to join us for our excursion to Publix, and since they needed to buy groceries too, they came with us.  I called Uber for a ride.  While we waited for the car, Clark wandered around with his camera and came back with a couple of interesting photos.

In 1559 a Spanish expedition of 11 ships and 1500 people came to Florida to form a settlement.

Commerative Plaque

Statue of Spanish Explorer

We both bought a bunch of groceries including supplies to prepare and have our Thanksgiving dinners on the boat come Thursday.  Faith went so far as to buy a turkey.  I decided to opt for chicken as a close proximity and easier boat-cooking option.  I have no idea where we will be for Thanksgiving.  That all depends on that Gulf-crossing weather window and whether or not it actually materializes.  I am assuming for now that the two of us will be on our own for dinner that day.

Besides restocking the fridge, I also ran the laundry through the washer / dryer to get that out of the way as well.  By the time I got all the food put up and the laundry folded and put away, it was already 7:30.  Jane and Ben from Jammin Jane said they would come over at 8:00, so I had one-half hour for us to cook and eat dinner before they arrived. That was the fastest spaghetti dinner I have ever thrown together.

By the time I was done with today's chores on top of this morning's race, I found my Fitbit had recorded 23,044 steps for today!  That is my record.  Man-o-man did my feet hurt.  Those last trips up to the washer / dryer were agonizing with my oh-so-tired feet.

Ben and Jane arrived right at 8:00 as planned and we had a lovely last evening with them before we move on tomorrow.  We thought we might play some cards, but instead we just spent the time getting to know each other better and making some more great memories of our time spent with wonderful people on the Great Loop.

Florida: Pensacola (Day 2)

Day 149
NM Today: 2
NM Total: 3119

No, the number shown for the nautical miles traveled today is not in error.  We moved Sea Moss from one marina in Pensacola near the Naval Aviation Museum to another Pensacola marina within easy walking distance of downtown.  It took longer to untie and retie the boat than it did to navigate the 2 NM to get from one site to another.  We left one marina at 10:15 and were already docked at the other by 10:45.

All three of us (Sea Moss, Jammin Jane, and Not Sew Easy) moved to the new location.  Before moving, however, the guys decided to accept a ride from a local boater who offered to drive them to the marina for a look around before moving the boats over to see if the move was worth the effort. When they came back to Bahia Mar marina, they said with no hesitation, "We're going!"  

I was on Jammin Jane helping Jane correct an error in her knitting when the guys got back.  She is just learning to knit, and I have been knitting for many years.  I felt the pressure though when I was still on their boat, and Ben started up their engines to relocate their boat.  I had to pick and knit in a hurry and get out of there to get on my own boat before I got an unplanned trip on Jammin Jane or Sea Moss left without me.

The move was definitely a good decision.  We took advantage of the proximity of the marina to town and walked into town twice today.  by the end of the day my Fitbit registered around 18,000 steps for today.  Oh my aching feet!

When we arrived at the Palafox Marina, we found Third Degree here.  I had met Jim twice previously but not his wife Faith.  We finally met today when we walked by their boat to check into the marina. Faith and I hit it off right away.  I told her that we planned on walking into town after lunch, and so she and Jim joined the rest of us on our explorations.

A nearby ice cream shop became our important first stop.  Jane had noticed the place earlier and suggested we stop for a treat, so when we ate lunch on the boat, we left room for dessert.  The choice of flavors was somewhat disappointing since neither Clark nor I are chocolate fans.  We both played it safe with vanilla.

On our path from the marina to the ice cream shop, we passed by a huge ship.  Clark said its purpose is to work on servicing oil rigs out in the Gulf.

Big Ship near Marina to Service Oil Rigs in the Gulf
(picture taken from our boat earlier)

After ice cream we strolled into town and checked out some of the local shops and parks. One odd sight we found was trees wearing knitted sweaters.

Knitted Sweaters for Trees????
Not just one tree but many!

 We passed by just a few shops and then saw the "World of Beer" pub, so of course we had to go in to check it out.  I had heard from Faith that they had a huge selection of beer to choose from.  She was not kidding.  I never saw so many different beer bottles before.  Besides a wall full of refrigerated beer in bottles in all sorts of shapes and sizes and brands, they had a menu that changes daily with 'on tap' selections.

I do not normally drink any form of alcohol, but I decided that today I would try a brew.  I got the "Full Sail Session Lager" which said it was light and crisp.  I thoroughly enjoyed that beer.  With the ice cream not even an hour earlier followed by the beer, Faith and I agreed that it brought new meaning to a root Beer Float.  However, Clark said, "There was no root involved."

After our libation stop, we continued our stroll through town and passed by many more shops and eventually found our way to a park.

Fountain in Park in Pensacola

 As we walked along we noticed individuals all over town busily decorating the streets for the holidays.  Each lamp post received a wreath, and several trees appeared at key locations around town. Somehow though, when wearing shorts, it does not feel like Christmas is right around the corner and Thanksgiving is right next door!

Christmas Decorating

Just does not feel like the Christmas season

As we waited to cross one of the side streets, we found painted pelican statues on the opposite side of the street.

Navy Pelican Statue in Pensacola, FL

Army and Coast Guard Pelican Statues in Pensacola, FL

As we walked around town, we saw signs up on every block restricting parking after 4:00 due to a big street festival planned for the evening.  We decided we needed to go back our respective boats for a few hours and then come back into town again later.  When we got back to the marina, we saw a tiny salamander walking on the edge of one of the docks.

An escapee from a Geico commercial
on the docks of the marina

 After dinner we collected Faith and Jim from Third Degree and walked back into town.  The streets had been transformed while we were gone and no longer resembled their earlier appearance.

Palafox Street Early in Afternoon

The mostly empty streets from earlier in the day were packed with stalls with people selling everything from jewelry and artwork to food and beer.  Very talented musicians performed along the street - far enough away from each other to not interfere.  In one case we even saw two performers on opposite sides of the street taking turns playing songs so as not to step on each other.  One family of musicians performed and had Faith and I memorized while twin boys, who looked to be about seven years old, sang, danced, and played trumpets. They were very talented and not the least bit shy in performing!!!

In addition to all the above activities, we also found other forms of entertainment.  For example, people on one block tried their hand at life-sized Jenga using bricks advertising Starbucks.  Sadly (or maybe not) we did not get a picture of the over six-foot-tall, pot-bellied Puss In Boots in tights standing on a chair to reach the top of one pile of bricks. Actually it was a pretty ugly sight!  We also saw impressive jugglers juggling bowling pins and a woman doing acrobatics.

Earlier in the day I spied a 1965 Ford Mustang and had Clark capture a shot.

Ford Mustang c. 1965

Then during the festival we saw an antique fire truck on display and Clark wanted it captured on camera.

Old-time Fire Truck

While looking on the internet earlier in the day, Jim from Third Degree noticed that the town is having a Turkey Trot 5K run / walk tomorrow morning.  When she found out I was wearing a Fitbit, Faith asked me if I would like to do the walk (not run) with her.  I agreed that I will join her tomorrow at 7:30 as the race begins at 8:00.  I hope my aching feet are ready by 7:30 a.m. to go for another long walk and rack up some more steps on my Fitbit!

Faith suggested that we grab breakfast after our exercise.  It will be just the two of us since our husbands both declined the invite to join us at 7:30 in the morning for our walk.  Also in town tomorrow morning is a farmer's market, so we plan to hit that for a fresh supply of good food.  Looks like it will be a very busy day!

Clark and I have not decided how long we are staying here at this marina, but the town is great so we are definitely staying more than just one night.  If we stay long enough, we get a discounted rate-per-foot for our stay.  We have to weigh that against our desire to be in position to cross the Gulf when a "window" opens.  Jammin Jane and Third Degree have both already extended their stays to a full week here.  We will need to pay close attention to the weather forecast and recommendations on Gulf-crossing travel to see how long we can / should stay.

Florida: Pensacola

Day 148
NM Today: 26
NM Total: 3117

We left The Wharf marina in Orange Beach, Alabama at 8:30 this morning.  What a treat it is to no longer have locks to deal with when calculating time to the next location.  As we moved to our next venue, we traveled with Not Sew Easy in the lead followed by Jammin Jane and then us in the rear.   Our VHF radios were tuned to allow us to talk if we saw sites of interest such as the sign saying "Welcome to Florida" which we passed today.

Welcome to Florida - Keep Our Waters Clean Sign

We definitely saw a difference in the terrain from the river system - blue waters and white sands!

Blue Waters of Florida

White Beaches!

We arrived at the Bahia Mar marina right at noon.  Ben and Jane on Jammin Jane suggested we use Uber to visit the National Museum of Naval Aviation.  When Clark heard the museum was free of charge, he was all in.  The museum was magnificent.

National Museum of Naval Aviation (entrance)

 When we were traveling the ICW this morning, four Blue Angel jets went right overhead.  Unfortunately none of us could get a good picture as they went by.  Later, at the museum, we saw some that we could capture on our cameras.

Blue Angel Jets 1 -2-3-4

 Planes - planes - planes!  So many planes on display in all shapes and sizes and designs.

Planes Everywhere We Looked

Even Helicopters

The display was very well done.  Architects were hired to design the building and the display areas. They did a marvelous job of presenting the history of Naval Aviation including war scenes from World War I through Desert Storm.  Many of the scenes were profound and sobering especially those related to loss of life and prisoners of war.  Thankfully some scenes showed the humorous side of the naval troops.

Thumbing Nose at Tokyo

Harley Not For Sale - Don't Even Ask

Wing Decorated With Wolf
(We also saw one with Felix the Cat)

Several displays included old vehicles like old jeeps and cars.

1940 Plymouth for High-Ranking Officers

1941 Ford V8 Raffled Off During War

One display was dedicated to the USS Enterprise - the most decorated ship of World War II.  Since the aircraft carrier itself would not fit in the room, a to-scale model had a place of honor in the center of the room.

Model of USS Enterprise

In addition to all the displays the museum offered IMAX movies and hands-on 4D simulators.  Neither Clark nor I took advantage of these options, but Clark did decide to climb into the driver's seat of one of the planes.

Clark - the Pilot

With everything there is to see at the museum, I would have liked to spend more time reading the stories provided about war heroes and historically noteworthy events.  Unfortunately we needed to keep it a relatively short visit due to the late hour of the day when we arrived.  I never realized I was so interested in wars until this Great Loop trip - particularly the Civil War and World War II.

The Uber driver suggested that we make a stop at the fish market before heading back to the boat.  I did not need any fish but agreed that it made sense to stop by.

Outside the Fish Market

Inside the Fish Market

To not leave empty handed, I bought a loaf of Rosemary Olive Oil Bread to add to tonight's dinner menu.  Ben and Jane more than made up for my lack of interest in buying seafood by buying a nice assortment of crab claws and oysters.

Later, after dinner, we got together with our traveling companions to learn a dice game called "Farkle".  Last night they taught us a card game called "Sevens".  Neither game requires intense concentration and so they allow for relaxed chit-chat while playing.  Clark won one round of Sevens last night and won one round of Farkle tonight.  I failed to win a round of either game.

The crews on Jammin Jane, Not Sew Easy, and
Sea Moss (missing the captain)
Note I have the dice for my turn at Farkle

After a rousing good time at the Farkle table, we returned to the boat so that I could work on my blog updates and Clark could look into more information related to planning our next stop on our way to crossing the Gulf when a weather window allows.

Alabama: Crossing Mobile Bay in Choppy Seas

Day 146
NM Today: 69
NM Total: 3091
Locks Total: 102

We returned to Dog River in Alabama late Sunday night from our Texas / Louisiana side trip and turned our focus to the upcoming weather system and our travel plans for the next few days.  Weather reports called for a severe storm system to hit the Mobile area sometime on Tuesday into Wednesday. We needed to provision the boat and return the rental car on Monday, so it looked like we would be destined to remain at Turner Marine on Dog River until at least Thursday.

Turner Marine served its purpose well - a place to leave the boat on the west side of Mobile Bay while we visited Texas.  Now, however, staying at Turner Marine did not appeal to either of us.  We even toyed with the idea of trying to get out Monday after grocery shopping and fueling up, but with the shortened daylight hours, we failed to have enough time to reach a safe harbor before dark.  We resigned ourselves to a few more days without forward movement in our travels.

Monday we defrosted the fridge in preparation for buying food then took care of the shopping, and after we were done, returned the rental car and threw in a couple of loads of wash.  On Tuesday Clark planned on changing the zincs on his engines and perhaps changing a fuel filter.  I planned on laying back and reading a romance novel.

After returning to our boat from our morning showers, we stopped to assist a sailboat that was just pulling out from the dock.  Clark made a passing comment about them leaving and they said, "Yeah, we're trying to get across the bay ahead of this coming weather".  Hmmm!  I immediately knew what was clicking in Clark's head ... maybe we should do the same.  Clark asked what reports the sailor had heard on wave heights and received a favorable response regarding the weather and wave heights being okay until late in the day.

In that brief moment of time our plans changed drastically.  Suddenly we were both prepping the boat to cast off for the east side of Mobile Bay.  After all we had nothing holding us back except the weather forecast.  We decided that if conditions proved to be unacceptable, we could always turn around and come back until Thursday.  The folks on LeeLoo, docked in front of us, came and helped us with our lines and saw us on our way.

I knew the water would be a little rough, or at least I planned on it being a little rough.  Until you get out there you really do not know what conditions will be presented, so I assumed the worst.  For example, we latched the doors to stop them from banging around, closed the windows (to ward off splash from waves),  lowered the dinette table to prevent it from falling over and getting chipped (again), securely tied up the bicycles to prevent them from "walking around" the cabin, placed any small, loose objects either onto non-skid surfaces, into the sink, or onto the floor. Because I expected salt-water splash I pulled all the fenders to the inside of the boat and brought all the lines in under cover to keep them as dry as possible.  I checked and checked again to be sure I had not forgotten anything before heading up to the upper helm to enjoy the trip.

We definitely got rocky waters and splash.  Before I even got up top I saw and heard the water spraying up over the starboard side and hitting the windows.  I peaked into the front berth and discovered that water was coming in through our covered portholes where we do not usually get any water, so even they had to be closed down.  I securely fastened the portholes on the port side as well since I did not know if the route would at some point cause the splash to be coming from the opposite direction.

Finally, I called up to Clark on the boat's intercom system to find out if he needed anything before I came up.  He asked for his hat and his cellphone, so I added those items to my carry bags to bring up top with me.  I knew that once I got up there I would not be in a hurry to return below decks.

Wave forecasts in Mobile Bay do not come in wave heights; they come in as "slightly choppy", "choppy", "choppy-to-rough".  Those of us used to "two-foot seas" have no idea what "choppy" means.  As I held on tight to the railing next to my bench seat I asked Captain Clark, "So, what was today's wave forecast?"  The answer - "Choppy to rough!"  So now I knew what 'choppy to rough' meant.  It meant no one else was out there on the water with us (yet again).  Just like when we were crazy enough to go out on the North Channel when no other boaters were out there, and here we were on Mobile Bay without another boat in sight.  Oh, but wait, there was another boat out there.

Using the AIS system, Clark identified the sailboat that had left the marina before us.  He said, "I see the boat that left Turner Marine an hour or so before we did.  They are coming towards us."  Towards us???  That was definitely interesting.  We can only assume, because we did not call them on VHF and ask them, that they found the seas too rough and decided to head back to the west coast of the bay to try again another day.  Clark and I puzzled over this decision since it seemed that it was no less rough going back than going forward, and by the time we saw them, it was close enough to halfway across the bay to wonder "why not keep going".

With the rough waters and wind blowing into the fully-enclosed upper helm, it was hard to keep items on the seat including myself.  I normally sit on a cushion for a little extra height and comfort, but I could not keep my seat that way and had to sit directly on the bench seat.  I lashed down my spare life jacket and my bag of towels and treats to keep them from wandering and held on tight to keep my own seat.  I asked Clark if he thought we should be wearing our life jackets and he said, "It is never a bad idea to where a PFD", and so, we put on our life jackets to be safe and keep the wind from whistling through our coats.

I knew I had not done too much walking around and thought it might be fun to check out my Fitbit stats for the day to see what it had to say about the day's exercise.  It would seem that my arm "walked" about two miles by being pulled back and forth while trying to hold onto my seat since the number of steps recorded far exceeded what I had actually walked using my feet!

We followed the 'big ship channel' until the cut off pointing us to the Gulf's intra-coastal waterway. At that point we no longer had buoys / markers pointing the way, so  I programmed our destination into the chart plotter for Clark to follow.  With a bearing of 132 degrees, we had just over 5 nautical miles to go.  We had hoped for calmer waters once we got behind a tip of land that we thought would offer protection from the wind, but truly we saw no significant difference in "chop" until we got onto the intra-coastal waterway itself.

Once we reached the Gulf ICW the buoys showed the way inland like a green picket fence.

Line of Green Buoys Point the Way to the Gulf ICW

 Finally, about 2:00, we reached the safety of the ICW.

Off the Bay!

We had heard that a "must see" stop was LuLu's Restaurant owned by Lucy Buffet who is related to the famous musician - Jimmy Buffet.  We were told that when it first opened it was a small place to grab a bite to eat, but over the years it has become famous and more elaborate in its decor.  We tied up to the fixed dock alongside without any assistance from the numerous gawkers who watched us arrive.

LuLu's

By the time we docked and found a table, the time was getting on for 3:00, so this was a very late lunch for us.  After eating far too much food (I had nachos with guacamole, and Clark had a very large fish sandwich), we decided to walk around the grounds before departing.

LuLu's Courtyard

Besides shopping boutiques, we saw a sandy playground for kids and a closed-for-the-season ice cream shop.  Like many of our other Looper experiences, it was worthwhile stopping just to say we had been there.  We needed to arrive at our marina before dark so we dared not dawdle too long.  We cast off and continued on our way.  Along the way we passed a marina that had some interesting boats up out of the water.

Interesting Assortment of Boats "on the hard"

 Since our planned marina stop was only 3 miles from LuLu's, we reached there before dark as hoped.  After staying at Turner Marine which is a boat repair marina, we found ourselves amazed at the appearance of The Wharf.  In addition to the docks at the marina, The Wharf complex offers a large variety of stores for shopping and restaurants for dining as well as a covered ice skating rink for entertainment.  When we checked in, the marina representative took us to the Boater's Lounge to show us around.  The washroom facilities were more spa-like than any we have seen recently.

The Wharf Complex at Night

 I did not get to see it, but another boater showed me a video of the light show done to music on the grounds of the Wharf complex.

The Wharf Palm Trees

 Besides a wonderful venue for relaxing, we found the unexpected treat of several Looper friends who arrived here before us.  Even as we entered the marina trying to find our hard-to-locate slip, we saw Eady and Mark from Sailvation waving to us.  Clark had played guitar with Mark back in Demopolis.  Later we discovered our friends from Jammin Jane, Knot Sew Easy, Third Degree, No Zip Code, Red Eagle, and Nuclear Fishin' were also here.

We had no specific plans for the evening other than just relaxing after the hard work of crossing the bay.  Mark and Eady convinced us to join them for a walk over to one of the restaurants / pubs to listen to their nightly entertainment which turned out to be a top-notch guitar player.  Over the course of the evening, all the folks from the boats listed above came in and joined our group for some amount of time.

At 8:50 Clark remembered that neither of us had eaten dinner.  I had thought about it about an hour earlier but was still so full of nachos that I decided to forget about it.  However, if Clark remembered then he must have been hungry, so we had two choices - leave and cook on the boat (boo!) or buy something in the pub.  The reason I know it was 8:50 was because when Clark talked to the waitress, she said the kitchen closed in ten minutes so "decide in a hurry".  I grabbed a salad and Clark selected a burger with fries.  I really had no desire to cook at 9:00 at night!

The decor of The Hot Spot Music & Grub restaurant was interesting.  Clark always seems to see picture-worthy items before I do like the guitar wall display over a fountain which is made from beer taps.  When Ben saw the display, he said, "What an awful waste of beer".  Jane pointed out to him that no beer was coming from the taps - only water.

Water Fountain at The Hot Spot Music & Grub

We stayed at the pub until quite late - some time after 10:00 which is late for loopers.  That predicted bad weather had not yet arrived in Orange Beach.  When we walked back to the boat, the air was balmy - warm and humid. We made the right decision to venture across the bay.  We would have missed the time spent with a great group of friends had we been more timid.  Besides one of the joys of being slightly crazy boaters is having everyone gawk in disbelieve and say "you actually crossed today??"  It definitely is a conversation opener.

The rains came sometime during the night but gave us a reprieve in the morning so that we could go enjoy the spa-like luxury of the showers.  We heard and saw weather warnings that included high winds and a potential for tornadoes.  Clark added a couple extra lines to the boat to hold it in case of stronger winds.  Eventually the winds and the rain came back again.  At the peak the rain was coming down so hard that visibility was severely restricted.  I think the rain was sideways for a while.  

Clark and I spent the rainy day in the boat with him working on the engines - replacing a fuel filter (again) and updating his engine zincs.  I planned to work on my blog but sadly found my laptop had received a saltwater bath during our crossing.  Apparently one of our hatches - the one over the laptop - has developed a leak.  I have to find a new place for my laptop or a better means of protecting it from water damage.  Clark suggested I wait several hours with a fan blowing on the laptop to dry it out before starting it up.  I did and so far things look normal with the laptop.  I can only hope nothing weird shows up at some later point in time.

I still have not ventured out now that the storm has passed, but the temperature is predicted to be a chilly 60 degrees now that the front has gone through.  Being from New Jersey, I love a "chilly" 60 degrees in November which is so much warmer than a chilly day in New Jersey in November.