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| Uninvited guest on the bow at Palafox Harbor |
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| 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.
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| Ship building facility east of Panama City |
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| Ships being built in 3-4 sections, then joined together. |
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| Ship building in sections |
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| 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!
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| 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.
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| Laird Bayou wasn't well sheltered from the 20+ mph wind. |
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| Sally raising the anchor at Laird Bayou--a pro by now! |
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| 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.
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| "Cliffs" of sand where the cuts were made |
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| Tall sand cuts |
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| 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!
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| Pine & cypress lined inter-costal near Apalachicola |
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| Unlucky boater along the inter-coastal |
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| 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.
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| Great sight along the gulf--a bottle nose dauphin jumping. |
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| 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!
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| 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
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| 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!
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| Apalachicola shrimp boats |
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| Downtown Apalachicola |
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| Sipio River at Apalachicola |
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| 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!
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| Elizabeth's home (Randy's daughter) |
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| Elizabeth's back yard |
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| Aaron, Randy's son-in-law tending the pig |
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| Hot tub and fire pit |
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| Sally and Elizabeth in Boyette's farm house |
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| Boyette's farmhouse |
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| 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!
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| 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!
