Pensacola to Carabelle, Nov 1 thru Dec 1 midday

Uninvited guest on the bow at Palafox Harbor

Pensacola's Blue Wahoo's baseball stadium downtown.

Thursday, November 21, following our Joe Patti's purchase, Clay and I grilled Cavender (spice)-rubbed Amberjack and romaine for a wonderful dinner and spent our last nite at Palafox Pier in Pensacola before departing for our next port, Ft. Walton Beach. Once again, we awakened Friday morning to a weird noise, this time a throbbing of sorts. On our morning walk, we quickly found the culprit, a newly-docked ship on the far side of the pier. We found downtown Pensacola to offer wonderful opportunities for walking, both in the downtown shopping area and along the coastline on a 'riverwalk' of sorts; thus, I was somewhat disapppointed to leave after establishing a routine and a route. More good trails ahead, I'm sure.

Ship building facility east of Panama City

Ships being built in 3-4 sections, then joined together.

Ship building in sections

Does she look unhappy???

Six hours of cruising on Friday and a final push to beat darkness found us docking at Bluewater Bay Marina, Ft. Walton Beach. We were greeted by a charmer of a marina office gal Jimmie Earle who dockhands and staff called Miss Jimmie; she told us the story of her naming with 2 older brothers named after grandfathers and she, named after her 2 grandmothers, one, Jimmie and one, something Earle. Oh my! No wonder the staff put 'Miss' in front. Sweetheart that she was, she offered use of the courtesy Jeep after-hours so I could make a quick dash to Winn Dixie while Clay stayed onboard to seam seal (leak-proofing) misc spots on the fly bridge canvas needing attention. Dinner Friday eve consisted of grilled gulf grouper (Caribbean grouper was less expensive than the Gulf grouper, but both Randy and Margaret said the Gulf was worth the difference, so we did; wish we'd gotten the Caribbean grouper as well, just for comparison!) and Jim Canella's grilled asparagus, which has become a favorite of ours--thanks, Jim!

Sally showing off her "marriage savers" intercom

Deciding we'd like to try anchoring out for the experience, we left Miss Jimmie around 8:30 a.m. Saturday and motored to Laird Bayou, mm 300, 10 miles east of Panama City. Found a great spot for anchoring, then skewered up the Joe Patti's shrimp we'd purchased. After rubbing the shrimp with olive oil and Cavenders seasoning, we again stoked up the grill and had a good meal, then watched MU beat Ole Miss! Winds were rather 'whippy' overnight, creating much boat movement pivoting around the anchor which held tight. 

Laird Bayou wasn't well sheltered from the 20+ mph wind.

Sally raising the anchor at Laird Bayou--a pro by now!

Yep, this is the inter-coastal 10 mi east of Laird Bayou

Having no land to walk on Sunday morning, I opted to Nordic track on the way to our next port of call, Port St. Joe which had been highly recommended to Clay, who figured, "why not?" Explored the town upon arrival; picked up a few things at the local Piggly Wiggly; walked the roadway to a restaurant touted to be a good one and open for business (things along the coast seem to close up on Sundays), then walked the shortcut back to the marina on the 'bay walk' so we'd be able to recreate the trail in the dark. The restaurant was the Sunset Coastal Grill where Clay tried the shrimp and grits, and I opted for something less adventuresome.

"Cliffs" of sand where the cuts were made

Tall sand cuts

High sand walls on either side of the inter-coastal west of 

We were awakened during the night (seems to be a somewhat regular occurrence, eh?) to a not-readily-identifiable noise (yet again, another something that goes bump in the night!) Clay thought it to be the heater/ac going out; partially right, he found, upon further exploration, that the stern line tied by the dockhand had come untied and the sound was the interrupted power supply to the heater/ac. Never woulda guessed that one! Now we know why the captain most always insists on tying his own lines!

Pine & cypress lined inter-costal near Apalachicola

Unlucky boater along the inter-coastal

Canadian flotilla--good guys

Monday's departure had us cruising to Apalachicola where we fell in line behind 3 Canadian boats whose destination was, as was ours, the Water Street Hotel and Marina. Clay was able to alert the 3 captains to the swift current at this location. Given the conditions, blustery, overcast and quite windy, we were thankful to have the help of the Canadian crew in docking. We got last choice in slips which put us in a slip far too short for our boat, and too shallow for stern-first entry. But we got 'er done!

Recommended as a good oyster bar, Up the Creek served up our supper this Monday night; apparently you can't beat a dozen oysters on the half-shell for $8 (I slurped them down as a kid, but they have little appeal now). This restaurant has their labor figured out...we placed our own orders at the counter, served up our own drinks and salads, sat down at the counter to have our basket dinners set before us. The labor is almost solely in the foreign help shucking oysters, with a few waitresses to accommodate delivery. The atmosphere was lively and family-oriented.

Great sight along the gulf--a bottle nose dauphin jumping.

Winding intercoastal & large lake

Torrential rains and wind started overnight Monday night, well into Tuesday mid-morning. Opportunity knocked when I saw a yoga class offered on Tuesday morning at the Hotel. Hooray! The class gave me some much-needed stretching after a fall bedside Sunday nite (believe me, there's no place to fall in 14" of space with wood on all sides without hitting multiple places on the way down). Plus, nice to have some 'space' (you gals will understand this!) Once back to the boat, a break in the weather gave Clay and me a short period of time to walk this coastal town. All in all, it was a long, boring day stuck inside the boat interior listening to intense rain; don't care to repeat this experience too often!

Yes they hunt ducks 5 mi from Apalachicola

Randy and Margaret arrived Tuesday night for an overnight before toting us with them to their family 

Osprey nest on ICW marker

Thanksgiving in Tallahassee (Randy's daughter Liz and hubby Aaron's hometown) where we enjoyed meeting and greeting the Boyette family and friends en masse at their family home Fair Oaks! How warm and welcoming they all were. It was a treat to have not only turkey but a roast pig; Aaron had earlier commented that his folks said 25 guests justified a 77# hog for roasting! Thanks, Liz, Aaron, and Boyettes one and all for a lovely day!

Apalachicola shrimp boats

Downtown Apalachicola

Sipio River at Apalachicola

Sunrise at Apalachicola

Unfortunately, Randy and Margaret, our hosts, didn't make it to Thanksgiving dinner, having fallen prey to some malady during the night Wednesday. Clay fell prey to the same malady overnight Thursday, rendering the 3 of them sickies this holiday! To top this off, we'd gotten word that Clay's mom had awakened Wednesday morning with a horrible sore throat, and nephew-by-marriage Steve had broken his collarbone Thursday morning during a pick-up game of tag football. Thanksgiving 2013 would be hard to replicate! 

Elizabeth's home (Randy's daughter)

Elizabeth's back yard

Aaron, Randy's son-in-law tending the pig

Hot tub and fire pit

Sally and Elizabeth in Boyette's farm house

Boyette's farmhouse

Mimi's kitchen at the farmhouse

Having no wheels of our own with which to return to  

Apalachicola on Friday (Randy and Margaret were occupied with a doc-in-the-box experience which put Randy on the docket for a Saturday morning procedure), we borrowed Liz' car and returned to Apalach, with Aaron and Liz scheduling lunch on the coast Sunday to retrieve her car. What wonderful friends we are so fortunate to have! Thanks, especially, to Randy and Margaret who have been repeated companions along the way from Fairhope to Apalachicola!

Saturday, November 30 and back at the boat, Clay and I regrouped to depart for Carabelle. Of notable significance, Carabelle is the location from which most Loopers make 'the crossing' (of the Gulf, as in open waters, for approx 170 miles to the Tampa/Tarpon Springs/Dunedin area). Gulp! There are weather windows forecast by gurus of these crossings to predict best opportunites for good and safe travel with minimal winds and waves. Our opportunity starts today, Sunday, Dec 1, at noon and extends thru Tuesday night. We are primed and ready for our big event, starting at 4 a.m. tomorrow (Monday, Dec 2) from our current location, the Moorings Marina in Carabelle. There are only 5-6 of these weather windows per month; this is ours! I WILL be on that SWA flight home on Dec 13!

Florida's destroyer--a "Fish and Game Law Enforcement" boat with resident swat team on board.

Clay and I spent considerable time Saturday afternoon at the pass to the Gulf between the barrier islands laying 'breadcrumbs' to follow at our departure Monday morning 4 a.m. As it will be dark, these breadcrumbs are actually dotted lines on the GPS which will guide us out of the shallow waters and into the Gulf proper. Too, we gassed up and pumped out as we entered the Moorings Marina so as to be ready for Monday's crossing. Today, we will spend time studying maps and charts and wave-proofing our interior cabin and exterior deck. There are Loopers scattered about this Carabelle waterway, many of whom will be leaving simultaneously with us over the next 24 hours, some leaving as early as 2 p.m. today (slower boats who will travel overnight and arrive just ahead of our anticipated 2 p.m.). Clay's anticipation is to travel about 19 mph, which is fast for any Logan!

As I sign off, I ask for prayers for a safe crossing for the SaSea Sally on Monday! Will update our blog post sometime after arrival in Tarpon Springs to tell you, undoubtedly, tales of our adventuresome crossing!