Crawling Westward

We waited for the first cold front to pass before we departed Apalachicola on Thursday.  Besides, the Admiral had eaten plenty enough oysters by then!

Instead of "Red, right, return", it must be
"white, right, return" with all the pelican crap

Our travel that day was very easy & relaxing.  No low bridges to open, no locks to pass through, no tows with barges to negotiate passing, no 95 degrees with no breeze on the helm.  Just a winding river through the Florida cypress swamps and a bit of open water.  We’re looking forward to cruising in this cool weather, after spending all summer in south Florida.  We want to anchor for a couple nights next to Pensacola Beach & the sand dunes, but we don’t want to join the crowds on weekends.  So we’re taking our time heading west, which is unusual for us; we are usually pushing to get somewhere.

We wanted to go into Panama City marina for fuel – they are selling ValvTect diesel fuel for only $2.09 if you spend the night with them (for which they offer another discount for BoatUS).  But we didn’t want to get to the marina late in the day, so we chose an anchorage in a cove just south of town, which we had heard about 4 years ago.  Turned in to a great spot, surrounded by Tyndall AFB, so it was deserted.

A pelican feeding frenzy right in front of our boat.
Note the pelican diving into the water at top of photo.
(click to enlarge)

And then, after a big breakfast and a late start today, we traveled a whole 1.6 miles across the bay to the marina.  Last week we traveled 162 miles crossing the Gulf in one day, so I think today wins the prize for least miles traveled.

We’ll anchor for 3 more nights before arriving at The Wharf Marina in Orange Beach AL.  We kinda hate to end our cruising for the year, so we’ll try to enjoy the next few days.