Waterblogged: River to Gulf and Beyond: Nov. 19- Dec. 6 and Beyond

Two reflections before I blog about our journey:

As we begin this leg of our journey on the Intercoastal Waterway on the Gulf of Mexico, I think of our car trips to Florida as we would look down crossing over the ICW: "Someday that will be us." Now it is! Amazing!

First time that I am blogging while we cruise on the ICW towards St. Joe's. I remember crossing Lake Michigan and this would never be possible. Fun!

My last blog ended while we were in Demopolis, Alabama. The Marina became our home for 10 days while we waited for the river to recede. We occupied our time with the boys doing never ending work on their boats ( which they secretly enjoy), taking walks, shopping at Walmart - our least favorite activity and me trying Facetime with Grandkids for Thanksgiving. For some reason I talk very loud with Facetime. Harley and Ann can hear me on their boat.

Spatchcocking

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner complete with turkey, mashed potatoes and a homemade apple pie courtesy of Ann. Perhaps Ann's cooking expertise will rub off on me!?? The 10 lb.turkey needed to be modified to fit our boat grill so Harley "spatchcocked" her/him. It's a process we learned through the great research of Harley and Ann's daughter, Amy. Harley cut the spine out of the turkey and no problem fitting on the grill! Very moist and tasty. Happy Thanksgiving in Demopolis.

Thanksgivinng Meal

We pulled out of our 10 day stay on Black Friday with no problems at the Lock. Our anchorage that evening at Bashi Creek was a new experience. We were together stern to stern. Hopping from each other's boats requires an amount of manuevering. Harley, Ann, and Rod are not as klutsy as I am.

Leaving an anchorage

Anchoring Stern to Stern

Following Bobby's Fish camp and their famous catfish dinner we again anchored stern to stern at Alabama River Cutoff. But first we completed our LAST lock and dam at Coffeeville. Finally! We get a break until we are on the East Coast in the Spring. We also had one more anchorage on the Tensas River. We are becoming very adept at our stern to stern anchoring.

As we travel to Dog River on Mobile Bay, our fresh water boats are now in Brackish water: a combination of the fresh water and salt water. The captains clean off the salt as often as they can. The Dog River Marina included a pontoon ride to a restaurant across from us. Great food and the new owners were very accomodating. I hope they do well.

Another successful stern to stern anchor

Good dinghy ride day

Fairhope, Alabama Marina is the last marina before beginning the Intercoastal Waterway on the Gulf. In spite of the fact that is a very quaint, busy, tourist area, the marina was pretty scary. We were next to each other with a fixed finger pier the size of my finger. We or mainly I experienced the frustration of getting on and off the boat with the tide changes. We did have fun shopping in Fairhope and had our first shopping at NOT Walmart - Publix! "Where shopping is a pleasure..." Feels like home.

Now this is where Ann ended her blog and I was planning to but because I am so behind, I will go a little beyond. We left Fairhope to begin our Intercoastal leg of our journey and arrived at The Wharf in Orange Beach, Alabama which is fondly known as Gulf Shores. What a beautiful Marina with great shops, restaurants etc. We did not have access to a courtesy car and Rod had to solve a minor/major boat issue so we did not get to the beach. I had a wonderful pedicure, did some sight seeing shopping= no purchases. And we met a couple doing the loop - she is an acupuncturist! Woo!Hoo! Had a treatment! Loved it!!

Ok, I wasn't going to take you to Pensicola and beyond but I just have to. We were in Pensicola for one night but it was a great stay. After using the DockMaster's nice car and shopping at West Marine, we walked to the downtown and ate a wonderful meal at a Topas Restaurant. Yummy! Rod has escargot! Could have stayed in Pensicola longer but we need to keep moving toward our goal - Key West.

We left for Panama City with the understanding that it was 60 miles from Pensicola. Went on plane a few times, thank goodness because it truly was about 100 miles. Now from a car that isn't a big deal but in a boat when you have to go 7-8 mph sometimes and then our fast speed is around 20 mph, it was a big deal. But the best part was Roger and Kathy Behling meeting us as we pulled in. Kathy and I grew up together. They rent a condo in Panama City Beach. They learned about the ICW for the first time. We had a nice meal at a restaurant. Kathy was kind enough to pick us up the next day, take us shopping at Winn Dixie! She was amazed at how we store our supplies. Rod and I spent the day at their condo and enjoyed a walk on the beach, swimming in their pool. Thank you so much, Roger and Kathy for a great visit. It was so much fun and I love our video. I know we are older but when we are together I feel like a kid again.

I close for now as we continue on the ICW with dolphins popping up from time to time. Please make sure you read Ann's blog as well as mine. She is quite the photographer. Her explanations and photos compliment my blog. Gives you a great overall of our awesome adventure. Till next time...