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| Between Panama City & Ft Walton Beach the cypress stumps are evidence of salt water intrusion |
Hide all the young children and small pets!!! We have arrived in Orange Beach AL at our
winter marina – The Wharf Marina!
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| The canal is a narrow cut through sand dunes. Boaters call it the "grand canyon" of Florida |
After spending our one night in Panama City Marina, our
fantastic weather continued as we motored west.
The cool temperatures were low enough that, for the first time this
summer, we were able to shut off the genset and air conditioning, in favor of
opening windows to catch the cool breeze.
We wanted to anchor for a couple nights before we put the boat to bed
for the winter, trying out some anchorages to which we haven’t been. In Choctawhatchee Bay, we took a detour a
couple miles off the ICW to anchor in a nice cove next to Niceville FL and
Eglin AFB. It would have offered good
wind & wave protection in a storm, as it was surrounded by homes and
private boat docks.
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| This big boy wanted to pass before we got into the narrow channel passing Ft Walton Beach |
The next day we had another uneventful trip (the best
kind of trip to have on a boat!) to an anchorage on the east end of Perdido
Key, just west of Pensacola Inlet. We
were able to get within 300’ of the shore of the barrier island, which
consisted of a National Park area covered by sand dunes and scrub brush. We were so close that we could see a couple
hundred yards across the island to the Gulf of Mexico on the other side. It was a fantastic anchorage, except for the
15-20 mph north wind, which caused a moderate chop and prevented us from
swimming to shore.
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| Near Navarre Beach, we see a water park set up along the ICW shore. When you click to enlarge the photo, you'll be pleased to see the McDonalds's in the center of the picture. |
But we did find ourselves firing up the grill, listening
to some Jimmy Buffet music, and mixing some dynamite frozen mango
daiquiris. We spent two nights at that
anchorage, partly because we enjoyed it so much, and partly because we knew
that it was our last night of cruising for this year.
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| View from our last anchorage. You can see the Gulf waters across the dunes. |
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| Sunset at our anchorage |
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| Grilling redfish, listening to Buffet, enjoying a glass of wine. Don't get much mo' betta. |
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| Approaching Perdido Pass, the pirate ship comes towards us. I thought we were in trouble, until I saw all the tourists on deck! |
So finally on October 4, we went west a bit more to The
Wharf Marina where we’ll stay for this winter.
This marina is part of a large complex which includes condos, shopping,
restaurants, amusements and a large movie complex. The marina is offering a super deal for
members of AGLCA (the “Loopers”) to spend the winter. It’s close enough to New Orleans for us to
see our family there, and close to Pensacola for us to see what the Navy is up
to.
Adding up all our travels this season, we traveled just
over 2200 miles – all at 10 mph! We’re
glad to be here in Orange Beach, but our concern now is that bad guy named
Hurricane Matthew. It’s headed for our
friends on Florida’s east coast, and looks like it will do considerable damage
to the places that we were at, just a short month ago. We’re hoping for the best for them.
And then, next week we drive to New Orleans to retrieve
our car, to tend to doctor appointments, and to let the Admiral get her “Oma
fix” with our granddaughter. The week
after that, we head north to Chattanooga for dental appointments and to tend to
Sue’s mother. We obviously need to keep
moving so we can stay ahead of all our mistakes!
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| My sentiments exactly! |
