Pensacola Bay to Fort Walton Beach

Each week that I post to my blog I want to take the time to tell stories about our adventures.  It seems that every time I sit down and actually find time to do it....I run out of time for long stories and details.  So hear I am on a Saturday night working on the kids school curriculum for this week.

My favorite part about this adventure is that everyday is something new.  After our fun day seeing dolphins and swimming in salt water last week we were faced head on with a huge storm, including strong winds/waves.  Before the brunt of the storm we found an anchorage and were hoping to secure ourselves before the onset.  However, plan B took effect when the front cleat (that holds the anchor chain) broke off and ended up in the water.  God was telling us to get to a safe dock, and boy are we glad we did.  For two days the wind howled through the canvas and waves slapped the hull.  Luckily we were still able to take in the sites around Sabine Bay Harbor, south of the Pensacola area.    


Kids played center stage at Quietwater Beach.

 Clean up crews for the BP oil spill lined the beach on the Gulf of Mexico....the high winds and "danger/red flags" didn't stop them.

 A great view of the action, but very windy day.

 We were amazed to see so many jellyfish and stingrays every day.  It's only solidifying Ryanns desire to not enter the water again. 

 Fort Walton Beach Park was next to the city dock we stayed at for many days.  The kids were overjoyed to have a playground, kids to play with, sand, trees to climb and grass to run in!

 A fun visit with Great Grandpa Wes and Great Grandma Toni (who is celebrating her 90th bday this week).  We were all excited to seer family and enjoyed good conversations, dinner and a couple days with them.   

 I'm quite sure Morgan got her blue eyes from Great Grandpa Wes and Grandma Yvonne.

 The water temperature read 63 degrees, but that wasn't going to stop Morgan from going in the water with her dad.  Craig wanted to check out the "damage" done from running aground (luckily there wasn't any!)

 The anticipation of swimming with all the swim creatures in freezing water made for a giggle fest prior to jumping in.  Needless to say, it was short lived and he encouraged fearless Morgan not to join in.  

 Bike rides every day lead us to new and fun places.  We were able to provision at a nearby Publix, by some new educational things for the kids and went to the largest West Marine store to replace the cleat.  This playground was in the middle of shopping center!

A local band played at the City Park next to our boat one evening and there was a bounce machine and more kids to meet!  Two of our boating friends Ed and Lucy from "I Love Lucy" and Stacy and Paul from "Sea Sea" joined for the fun. 

 This particular boat was flooded from the rain and since the battery was dead the bilge stopped working and down went the vessel. 

 The scooters are a hit when you enter a flat town!

 I was on the phone with my mom one night and she said "can you see the beautiful sunset"?  It was fun to watch it go down together and feel like we're much closer than what we are. 

A local antique store was selling a crab cage so we took the opportunity to catch some "blue crab" for dinner.  

The kids are pictured here with their new friends Lucas and Nolan making dirt cakes!  We met their sweet parents, David and Ana, a few days before and all got together at the park to play and have some adult conversation!  Fun for the whole family!  They've been contemplating doing a cruising adventure too.

 Biking a few miles to do laundry on the bikes.  Ryann can't reach the peddles anyways, so she ended up holding the laundry, some groceries, etc.  After taking the kids out to dinner (which is a rare treat for us) at our favorite spot "Five Guys Burgers and Fries," Ryann and Jaxon acted like my sister Michelle and I did after dinner out when I was little.....giggling like crazy, singing, hugging and holding hands laughing the whole way home.  It made me laugh and miss my sister....  

 

 Our first Blue Crab was quite big and very aggressive!

 He clamped on to the dock pole and would not let go.  It was amazing how strong he was.

One full crab boiled and ready to eat......well then you have to scrub the slime off him and pull his legs and shell off and in the end you get about 15% of the meat to eat.  After one bite Morgan said "now I have crab breath" and Ryann said "that was disgusting."  Anyone want to buy a crab cage?  No, Craig and I liked it and want to get creative with our new purchase!

Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, Alabama

We left Dog River Marina in Mobile, Alabama on Sunday and had a fun first day in salt water! Upon leaving you could smell the change in the air and it was interesting to see passing shrimp boats loaded with birds preying around and dolphins falling behind searching for escapees.
In the middle of Mobile Bay stood this 'home' that was abandoned (land was around ten miles away).  

 Morgan's first jump into salt water.  No hesitation, happy as could be to jump....and then came up spitting out the salty taste!

 Ryann was hoping to swim with some dolphins.  No luck there and the swim didn't last too long.  75 degrees and sunny all day.

We saw around two dozen dolphins our first day.  We saw them jumping and playing in front of the boat and when we went up for a closer look we could see them swimming under the bow.  Four of them stayed there for around 15 minutes.

 It made the whole boat scream with excitement, great videos and tons of laughter!

 The fun day ended with a cozy anchorage in a quiet cove with a great sunset.

Black Warrior to Mobile, Alabama

In one week we traveled over 500 miles, traversed through locks, met new people, and witnessed a beautiful part of America’s scenery and wildlife!  With two exceptions we did not walk on land for a week. The kids never even asked or bothered to care.  They are the best little crew I could ever ask for.

Beautiful white cliffs filled the waterway for quite a distance.

 

A stop at Demopolis Yacht Basin is very popular for Loopers. Laundry, provisioning and a secure rest stop for a cold evening on the water.  Morgan is enjoying her canoe ride in the air!

 

Ryann and Jaxon love to play pretend and got a real kick out of the alligators.

 

Each morning the fog was thick and visibility was at a minimum.  This particular morning was crucial that we depart in the early hours to make it to a popular anchorage down the waterway.  We managed to go around 4 miles per hour as we crawled to the lock a few miles away.

 Leaving the lock with the bright sun shining!

 

Bashi Creek was a very narrow inlet, but fairly deep for us anchor in.  We managed to squeeze 7 boats in (there were 10 the night before).  With a bow and stern anchor we were still five feet from shore.

 When Daddy's grilling and Jaxons hungry, there's always a great helper onboard!

 

A 65 foot boat called “Summer Place” was taking their dogs for a morning walk and offered to take everyone’s trash to the dumpster at the local park. 

Our last lock that kids named "Grandma Yvonne's Lock" as the name of it was "Coffeeville"!!  We could feel what felt like the tide going out and it was the first time that our had felt saltwater in her life!  We won't see another lock system until we enter up the northern part of the east coast.  What a change from doing 4 locks a day!

 This is just a snapshot of the winding narrow river.  This photo is of our Lowrance screen (GPS on the water)!

 Craig doesn't get razzed very easily, but when he saw this low flying helicopter with a man hanging out the side of it waving to us, he was screaming for the kids to watch.  It's amazing that I have my mothers "quick grab my camera" action...like a knee jerk thing that I grew up with. 

 Trying to catch an alligator. Although it seems far fetched we did spot some in the area.  What we would've done with the alligator if we caught it...I don't know?

 One of the many "tows" that push barges through the narrow waterway here.  This one reminded me of my dad....see the name on the side, "Mr. Lewis"!

 Alligator siting at mile marker 92....ahhhhhh, our first siting of a wild alligator.  Ryann is insistent that she won't be swimming anytime soon.  Wait till she sees the sharks in the ocean :-(

 Downtown Mobile with the convention center on the left and cruise terminal on the right.  We were able to dock our boat right next to it all.  As soon as we hit land the kids were off the boat and ready to run around.

 Since we arrived at dinnertime, a taste of the local peanut shop was a must.  We tried the creole peanuts and Jaxon jumped around fanning his mouth for 10 minutes laughing. 

 It was amazing to see how industrialized the harbor was in Mobile.

 We stayed at Dog River Marina and took the courtesy car to get the dinghy motor fixed, Walmart and Subway!

 Morgan Marie (M&M's) favorite boat!

 John and Zita Winn with their cute kitty Paul from Charlevoix, Michigan.  They own Four Winns and were fun to talk to.  The kids played with Paul who was so fluffy and had two different colored eyes.

Tombigbee Waterway

After a one month 60 mile side-trip to Joe Wheeler we were back on the Tennessee River heading to the Tombigbee Waterway.  The first day took us through two locks, 30 mph winds and up river 60 miles to the junction of the Tombigbee Waterway where we stayed at a very popular Zippy Branch anchorage with 4 other boats. 

Day two was our first experience on the Tenn-Tom.  Very narrow, hairpin turns and shallow waterway made it feel very different than the Tennessee River. We awoke early and were excited about our venture down.  As we turned a corner and saw an oncoming tow, we called on the VHF for instructions on how to pass.  He told us to pass on the “2” and sit tight due to the narrow channel, size of the barge and strong wind.  No problem with the “2” (starboard to starboard) but immediately after stopping we ran aground (11 feet to 0 within a five foot area).  Stunned by the sound it made we looked ahead to see another boat named Destination, ran aground in front of us.  Luckily, we were bow in and the wind took us off after 30 minutes.  However, the boat in front of us wasn’t so lucky with her stern hung up.

Craig kept a great attitude through the “grounding” and when our cruising looper friends, Lazy Dolphin passed us, Craig radioed him to say we took this anchorage! When I wanted to cry, he made me laugh!!

The next day we made it through three locks, covered many miles and went to a local marina called Midway as the temperature that night was down to the low twenties. The cold evenings were a great chance to cuddle up with dad and a movie!  It feels like Autumn. 

The twenty degree nights at anchorages with no heat allowed for a great time for a camp out in the salon.  It was cozy and comfy and they slept great.  It was cute to see how excited they were to sleep somewhere new.   

We stocked up on art supplies at the last stop and the girls love getting back into painting with non-washable acrylic paints! 

Heading to Aberdeen Marina was a half a mile channel into the swamp! 

This week it's suppose to warm up and we'll be cruising down the Black Warrior Waterway.  Looks like it'll be very scenic without any places to stop, cell phone tower, marinas, etc.

Tom Kerkstra, my parents friend, loaned me some great books. I'm currently reading Black Wave and love it...thank you Tom!!!!