11/9 - 11/17, from Fairhope, AL. thru Panama City, Florida
11/8/21 Fairhope, Alabama, just across the Mobile Bay. We stayed at Fly Creek Marina.
There was a very good restaurant right on the grounds, so we took the easy path and had dinner there. Good food, good drinks, fair prices.
Next morning, we got out our new E-bikes and rode into town. We were really glad to have the e-bikes – it was probably 1-1/2 miles to town, up and down hills. Fortunately, there was a nice paved path all the way – those bikes are fun! We walked around town, taking pictures of the quaint storefronts and flowers. We had a great breakfast, then hustled back to the marina to get underway.
Cool sculpture in downtown Fairhope, AL
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| street and old style pharmacy in downtown Fairhope |
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| lovely flowers all over downtown |
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| lovely park and flowers |
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| downtown street with more flowers... |
11/9/21 The Wharf, in Orange Beach, Alabama
Beautiful marina that is part of a whole complex of stores, movie theatre, ferris wheel, restaurants and bars! The marina facilities were the nicest we’ve seen.
To get from Fairhope, Alabama to Orange Beach, we were back on the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). The last time we experienced the ICW was on the east coast when we first bought the boat. This part of the ICW is well marked, but is twisty/turny, sometimes no wake zones. We try to be especially conscious of that, but locals don’t really pay attention and just cruise through quickly. The only boat that waked us, though, was a Coast Guard RIB! And, they came by three times! Things that had been on our counter in the galley for weeks ended up on the floor. I couldn’t believe that behavior! Dan had a conversation with some ‘Coasties’ once we arrived in the NAS Pensacola marina. Their story was “It wasn’t us!” Hmmm.
The ICW is interesting – the Corps of Engineers constructed it during WWII to keep our ships protected. Parts of it use naturally occurring waterways, rivers and lakes, and the rest is dug/created by man. There were miles and miles twisting and turning with absolutely no stopping spots – it is plenty wide for large and small boats to pass, but nothing more! Occasionally, we’d see a little fish camp, or even a chair or something small. But, mostly, just scrubby growth, lots of pine trees with no lower branches. This part of the country was devastated three years ago by the hurricane Michael, and is still recovering.
The Wharf is a very nice place! street view at The Wharf, lots of stores, movie house Interesting sculptures...
11/10 thru 11/16, Pensacola, Florida, at the NAS Pensacola’s Bayou Grande Marina
The Bayou Grande Marina on the NAS base was great. They have only a few transient slips, and there were several other Loopers already there. It’s always fun to talk and compare stories. The laundry is FREE!! Woohoo! We had a couple of occasions to use Uber from the base – they aren’t allowed to come on base, so we drove our e-bikes to the front gate, locked them up, and met the Uber driver.
The downside of this marina is that there are not good walking opportunities. I got spoiled last year when we were camped at the Navy campground – it was on Perdito Bay, with literally miles of walking trails, on the beach and through the woods.
While we were in Pensacola, Dan used the opportunity to get some past due maintenance done. The oil change was done, changed the fuel filters, reinstall our battery charger. I’m Dan’s gofer and ‘hand it to me’ and hold that light for me. We also gave the boat a good washing – from our time on the rivers, it was filthy! The next part of our trip will involve quite a long trip over the Gulf of Mexico – Dan wanted to make sure the engines and systems were in perfect running order.
Also, while we were in Pensacola, we rented a car and met my daughter, Laura and her son, Brody in Montgomery. I hadn’t seen them for almost a year. Montgomery was about half way from their home in Dahlonega, Georgia to Pensacola. We enjoyed some conversation, some meals, a trip to the Montgomery Zoo. I taught Brody to play Go Fish – then, I beat him 2 hands out of 3! I was so glad to have seen them. Brody gave me the longest hug of my life as they were leaving.
Next, we thought we could get all the way to Panama City, but, turns out that’s almost 100 miles! So, we stopped at a marina called Two Georges Marina, in Shalimar, Florida.
While we were in Pensacola, we got to meet my daughter, Laura and grandson, Brody in Montgomery. My spider broom - I use it daily! sunset from the marina on the Navy base in Pensacola lovely sunset sunset looking over the bath house/laundry at the marina Kittiwake on the dock in Pensacola This lighthouse is on the base - we have toured it and the grounds long view of the lighthouse as we come into the marina sad to see boats on the ground, since the last hurricane another grounded boat
11/16/21 Two Georges Marina, Shalimar, Florida
Here, we came upon some people we had met before on this Loop journey. That keeps happening! Mary Hanson and Jeff (last name I can’t remember) on Many Moons was there, along with another couple from Harbor Beach, Michigan – amazing that three boats from Michigan landed in the same marina in Florida! The marina wasn’t much, but was adequate. They had built a two story deck, with seating and tables, and had not put it to use very much. The three boat couples gathered just before sunset to enjoy a wide view of the sunset – we weren’t disappointed! We just spent the one night there, and moved on to Panama City, to the Lighthouse Marina. We were lucky to find a dock, since many marinas are still rebuilding, or possibly not going to rebuild, after that last big hurricane.
Coming in to the Marina sunset almost gone! Going down!
11/17/21 Lighthouse Marina, Panama City.
This marina was in the Grand Lagoon – to get there, we had to cruise almost into the Gulf, turning at the last mile back into the Grand Lagoon. Again, we only spent one night here.
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| Lighthouse Marina, Panama City, Florida |
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| view of the sunset from the marina |
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| Our neighbors at the marina |
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