Oct & Nov 2016

Crossing the mouth of Mobile Bay, with the oil/gas
production platforms in the distance.  Back in
familiar territory.

So, we landed at the Wharf Marina in Orange Beach for the winter.  Now what?

Well, just a few days later, we jumped back on a ferry boat that runs across the mouth of Mobile Bay, on our way to New Orleans to retrieve our car, and to visit our son & his family.  Our car had been left for the summer with a good friend in the Power Squadron, and he did a good job of washing it every week.

I could look at this all day.

We made our drive up to Chattanooga to care for Sue’s mother, who is a spry 94 years young.  She’s already looking forward to the week of Thanksgiving, when we have a family reunion in the area, so she can see her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren (5 generations!).

Back at the boat, this Wharf Marina is located amongst a condo complex, a shopping area, outdoor amphitheater, movie theaters, restaurants, and a small amusement area which includes a big big ferris wheel.  Their “main street” has a line of palm trees down the length, which is the center of the nightly light & sound show.  Three times each night, a 15-minute show stops everyone in their tracks to gawk at the professionally-done presentation.  “We’re not in Kansas any more, Toto!”

At the BBQ competition, these smokers were huge,
and the pecan wood was sliced carefully into
wafers & cured carefully.

The Wharf also becomes the location of major events, like the World Food Championship this past weekend.  Over 400 cooking teams came from all around the country, as well as Canada, to compete in cooking various dishes.  Their “kitchens” were set up under a giant tent, with each kitchen (about 40 of them) containing a refrig, microwave oven, electric oven, electric grill, charcoal grill, warming oven, plus a multitude of small electric appliances.  Having been an engineer, I wondered how the heck they’re providing power to all these appliances out here in the middle of a field.  So I just had to find all the generators, distribution panels, and huge power cables leading into the tent (some good traits are hard to leave behind).

At the exit of the Food Festival was this huge box of,
appropriately, Tums antacid.

Two Great Blue Herons have taken over whatever they
want in this marina.  This one is drying its wings
in the morning sun.

Now we pack up for a 10-day trip back to Chattanooga, to take care of dentist appointments, take care of personal family issues, and to list all the things for which we are thankful.  Sue is on her way back from a week trip into Texas, to take care of some other family issues.  This is one of those months where the boat is enjoying its stay at a very nice marina, yet we’re actually home only 10 days out of the month!