Oct 20-21, Panama City, FL

We left Destin and went back into the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway and headed east in the wide Choctawhatchee Bay toward Panama City. We have not seen any barges since leaving the Tenn-Tom but know that they travel these waters. We are suprised that we see two barges on our cruise today.

A tug pushing two barges passes us on the 'one' in the wide Intercoastal Waterway. We are heading in opposite directions.

A bridge over the wide Choctawhatchee Bay connects the mainland (right) to the barrier island east of Destin.

We leave the Choctawhatchee Bay and enter a cut channel with the banks reaching as high as forty feet above the water on both sides. Known locally as the 'Grand Canyon' of the Intercoastal Waterwaay.

Almost no development along this whole stretch of waterway.

As we leave the cut channel we overtake a tug and four barges in a narrow shallow portion of the West Bay near Panama City. We called the tug on vhf channel 16 and requested a pass as he is going 5 knots and we are going 8 knots. At the tug's request, we have just passed him on the 'two'.

A 'waterman' is harvesting oysters in the bay. First we have seen.

We pass the port of Panama City and see several large tankers here. The KOPERSAND heads out the main channel at the same time we are going past and so we go right along and make sure to stay clear. He is heading for the Gulf of Mexico.

Dolphin jump out of the water boosted by his bow wake as he gains speed. 'Click' on any picture to enlarge.
Beautiful!

Bay Point Marina in Panama City is a first class facility associated with a Marriott Hotel and large housing project.

We are staying at the Bay Point Marina in Panama City Beach. This is a large marina with a nice restaurant and most of the other facilities and services we like (but no free internet and no loaner car). Bay Point is a popular stop for 'loopers' and others who like to stay longer periods of time. There is a special rate for 'loopers' of $400 per month. Great deal for such a nice place.

We need to head home to take care of some personal business and will celebrate Chuck's daughter, Maggie's, wedding so we will leave KOKOMO II here for about three weeks before returning to finish our trip. October 22nd, we rented a Hertz car and returned to Stuart. We will suspend the 'blog' until we return to the boat.

Oct 19, Destin, FL

We left Pensacola Bay and moved through more of the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway to Ft Walton and then on to the fishing harbor at Destin. Most of the Intercoastal Waterway here is wide water such as bays and rivers. There is a barrier island of Santa Rosa is on the south side and beyond the barrier island is the Gulf of Mexico.

High rise condominiums at Pensacola Beach.

The bays here are very beautiful and we see lots of dolphin as we motor along. Many small pods come in to take a look at us as we motor along and play in our wake.. We see one pod of over 50 dolphin swimming together.

There are several dolphin playing here.
They stayed with us for an hour.

Some jump almost completely out of the water.
They seem to be enjoying being 'pushed' along by KOKOMO II and play in the biggest part of our wake.

The barrier island is part military base and part State Park here.
Interesting tower. Maybe a military aircraft control tower?

This portion of the barrier island is very narrow.
The Gulf of Mexico is just over the small ridge.

The channel here is very close to the barrier island.

Approaching Ft Walton Beach.
The bridge is from the barrier island (right) to Ft Walton (left).

Approaching Destin.
The bridge is from the barrier island at Ft Walton Beach (right) to the barrier Island at Destin and spans the inlet to the Gulf of Mexico.

High rise condominiums at the Harborwalk Marina at Destin.

Harborwalk village has restaurants and shops.

Newer buildings of shops and restaurants seem pretty well occupied.

Our marina office. There are many commercial fishing, diving and sightseeing boats based here.

We are at the Harborwalk Marina in Destin where the docks are fixed and have no finger piers. We find it difficult for us to get on and off the boat. There is no internet. However, we are among the fishing fleet and very near the restaurants so this is the kind of marina we like in spite of the lack of easy docks and other facilities.

We did find the fishing boats left very early in the morning and some did not mind giving us some 'wake' as they left the harbor. This has been about our most active marina since Chicago. I think this would be a fun place to spend some time. We see boats based in Destin when we are in Mexico fishing for sailfish in Isla Mujeres. Interesting that Destin and Stuart are both fishing and boating centers.

This well protected harbor is large (almost two miles long by 1/2 mile wide) and is very close to inlet leading to the Gulf of Mexico. The harbor is home to the large Destin charter fishing fleet.

We have heard and read about the high rise development that has occurred on the barrier island at Destin and now we see the development around the harbor waterfront. This harbor is rated one of the 10 best in Florida and we can see that it is well protected and attractive from a boating standpoint. Destin is said to be the center of the 'Redneck Riviera'.

Oct 17-18, Pensicola, FL

We moved from the Grand Mariner Marina in Dog River near Mobile, Alabama, across Mobile Bay in a 15 mph north wind to the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway that runs along the Gulf of Mexico from Brownsville,Texas through southern Louisiana and Alabama and the Gulf coast of Florida, to Flamingo, Florida (near the southwestern tip of the Florida mainland). There is a gap of open water between Carrabelle, Florida and Tarpon Springs, Florida.

Mullet Point Light in Mobile Bay.
Muddy water. Eastern shore in the background.

We make our way down Mobile Bay in 7-8 feet of water and the birds are looking to see what we have stirred up as we motor along.

We have never seen this before.
Must be 200 birds back there.

We left the open water of Mobile Bay and entered the sheltered Gulf Interccoastal Waterway where we will travel from Mobile Bay, Alabama, through Pensacola, Ft Walton, Destin, Panama City, Pt St Joe and Apalachacola to Carrabelle, Florida.

Leaving Mobile Bay and entering the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway.

Lulu's Restaurant as seen from the water.
Lulu is Jimmy Buffett's 'crazy' sister.

We passed through the communities of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, (very prosperous) and through Perdido Bay, Alabama. All these communities were badly damaged in Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and have largely been rebuilt and seem prosperous now. There are signs of overbuilding as some condominium and marina projects look relatively unoccupied. A few projects have stopped construction.

A pretty stretch of the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway east of the bridge over
Lulu's Restaurant.

New condominiums on the Intercoastal near Orange Beach
look more occupied than most.

Once we left Perdido bay we passed into Florida where we cruised by the Pensacola Naval Air Station, then left the intercoastal and went up into Pensacola Bay and finally arrived in the town of Pensacola. We traveled about 45 miles today.

Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon came ashore on the beach here in 1513 and named it Penzacola after the local Indians who lived here (now extinct).

Plaque in Pensacola commemorates the Luna Expedition of 1559.
'Click' on photo to enlarge.

In August 1559, the Spanish King sent an eleven ship fleet, carrying 1500 people to settle here. The settlement failed two years later, but this settlement was the first European settlement in North America. It predated the settlements of Jamestown, Quebec, St Augustine and Plymouth, Massachusetts. Pensacola has had five national flags; Spanish, French, English, United States and Confederate States and changed hands 17 times.

Palafox Marina destroyed by Hurricane Ivan in 2004.
Now rebuilt with floating docks. First class.

KOKOMO II and other boats at the Palafox Marina in downtown Pensacola.

New building look attractive but appear unoccupied.
All the restaurants and nightlife that was in this downtown area are now gone.

We are staying at the Palafox Marina at the foot of downtown Pensacola. Much of this downtown area was also badly damaged by Hurricane Ivan and was then torn down and the area redeveloped. Our marina is new, as are the nearby buildings, and look nice but there are few people here.

National Museum of Naval Aviation.

'Flying Tiger' aircraft from WW II.

Navy 'Blue Angel's' have performed at airshows and events worldwide.

Grumman G-21 'Goose' dates from 1937.
Doesn't Jimmy Buffett have one of these?

Mock-up of an aircraft carrier flight deck.

On Sunday, we decided to see the National Naval Aviation Museum and spent most of the day there. There are great displays of real aircraft both inside and outside the museum, with a large number of local retired navy people volunteering their time and skills for preservation and restoration. There are many dioramas and displays featuring the Navy planes and Navy men at war. There are several interactive simulators where you can experience (simulated) flight and combat. AAA rates the place a GEM and we agree. We think it is better than the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington. And that says a lot.

Entering the 'Cubi Bar' officers club.

Lots of Plaques commemorating assignments and crews.
Great they can be preserved.

One of our favorite parts of the museum was the Cubi Bar Cafe where we ate lunch. This part of the museum duplicates the layout and decor of the famous Officers Club located at the Naval Air Station Cubi Point in the Philippines. It was famous for it's Plaques Bar where air and sea crews retired their old plaques for display. This practice began during the Vietnam War and continued until 1992 when the base and club were closed as a result of the damage suffered after the eruption of Mt Pinatubo. After the base and the club closed, more than 1100 plaques along with the bar and tables and chairs were shipped to Pensacola where the museum has recreated the layout and decoration of the bar. The plaques and legends survive and we can enjoy the mementos of this colorful bygone era of Naval Aviation. We felt like we were in a real Officers Club.

Linda at a forward air squad base camp during WW II.

Owen with a WW II aircraft with camouflage netting over the plane.

The Naval Aviator Museum brings back personal memories for both Linda and Owen. Linda's father, Arthur Kennith (Jack) Horner, was a Navy Officer and Pilot in WW II (on loan from Braniff Airlines) who flew supplies from California to the Philippines. Owen's father, Clark James Schwaderer, was a Navy Officer (LtJG) based in Corpus Christi where the Navy had a big presence in WW II. Linda's brother, Michael James Horner, served aboard the Aircraft Carrier INDEPENDENCE during the Vietnam War. Owen's brother, Charles Bayne Schwaderer, was an Army Officer (Lt) during the Vietnam War and was transported and resupplied by Army and Navy helicopters. We ended our day watching the movie 'Top Gun' on TV. Seemed appropriate.

Oct 15-16, Mobile, AL

We left our anchorage at first light and headed south (downstream) on the Tenn-Tom for our last 100 mile day. No more locks today as we are nearing sea level.

A bit of fog as we leave early in the morning.

The river is still up (about 15 feet above normal) and there is still some flooding. We think the worst of the flooding is still upstream and will work it's way south later in the week. There is a lot of trash in the water again today but not as much as yesterday, as we have moved south ahead of the trash. It will move downstream during the next several days and we will be out of the river by then and not impacted.

Logs being harvested and kept wet for processing by Boise Cascade.

We dodge the trash all morning.

The most interesting tow of our trip.
Three tugs being taken to New Orleans for finishing.
This tug Captain was from Ft Walton and we had a long conversation on the radio this morning.
Nice guy.

Cypress trees with spanish moss.
We are getting back to the deep south.

Again we are traveling faster than normal because of the current going our way. We over travel 100 miles today to Mobile, Alabama, which is at sea level and the end of the Tenn-Tom Waterway.

Highway bridge over the lower Tenn-Tom.

Another modern bridge as we near Mobile.
Interstate I-10 runs under Mobile Bay in a tunnel just south of this bridge.

Mobile is pretty as we travel through town. The ship channel runs right through downtown Mobile and there are several large shipyards here.

Downtown Mobile.

Cruise ship HOLIDAY defended by local police boat.

Modern stealth warship in drydock.

We follow the CATHERINE KNUTSEN from Haugesund, a petroleum carrier, out of Mobile Bay.

There are no marinas in downtown Mobile, so we head eight miles further south and find Dog River on the west side of Mobile Bay. There are still lots of floating debris in the water as we pass through Mobile and even large logs which have been washed down the river. We watched the CATHERINE KNUTSEN leaving Mobile just power right over some of the large logs. We go around them.

Grand Mariner Marina in Dog River.

Our choice tonight is Grand Mariner Marina in Dog River and we are glad to be off the waterway after two long days. We are greeted at our marina by an 80 year old gal who helps us with our dock lines and then checks us in. We are back in the salt water and into the open waters of Mobile Bay. We see banana trees and dolphin (porpoise) playing in the bay. We have now logged 7000 miles on our great loop trip. So far, so good!

We check the tide information with the 'old salts' at our marina because we are concerned about the shallow river and bay conditions and want to time our departure so we are not at low tide. We are amazed to find that the Dog River and Mobile Bay area only has one tide in and out every 24 hours and not two tides in and out as we have at home in Stuart and have had everywhere else on the saltwater portion of our trip. Interesting. I will have to do more research and find out why that condition exists here.

Today (16th) the wind is blowing 15-20 out of the NW and the bay is rough with small craft warning posted. So we stay in port in Mobile and go exploring in a rental car. Our first stop is to check out the eastern shore of Mobile Bay and the town of Fairhope, Alabama.

Yardarm Restaurant on the Fairhope Pier.
The pier was severly damaged by Hurricanes Ivan on 2004 and Katrina in 2005 and rebuilt in 2006. The pier is exposed to the west and north and probably will be damaged in any future hurricane.

Our boating destination in Fairhope was to be the marina at the Fairhope Pier next to the Yardarm Restaurant. So that was the first place we went to visit. The wind was blowing every bit of 20 mph when we got to the Yardarm Restaurant for lunch and we decided we are glad we made the choice not to come here in the boat today. Waves look rough and the boats in the marina are bouncing around.

Downtown Fairhope.

Interesting shops. Few vacancy's in town.

The town of Fairhope is a very nice place with upscale homes and shops throughout the area. We compare Fairhope to Winter Park, Florida with the nice downtown, the homes that are attractive and well cared for and the large numbers of oak trees with the spanish moss.

Pelican in carpenters clothes.

Pelican with a newspaper theme. Must be another program where artists decorate an object which is then auctioned for charity.
Pelicans are a great idea for this area.

There are art shops and an interesting map and coin store where the owner wanted to talk about gold coins washing up on the beach in Ft Pierce after a hurricane.

Lulu's does a big business.

We ended our day with a trip to Lulu's Restaurant in Gulf Shores, Alabama, and enjoyed Lulu's good cajin food. Lulu calls herself Jimmy Buffet's 'crazy sister'. She really is Jimmy Buffet's sister and she may be crazy but she's got a big restaurant on the water with good food and live entertainment, sells t-shirts and hats and even has a cookbook. Her restaurant is a landmark in Gulfport, Alabama. Doesn't sound too crazy to me. While we were there, Lulu's photographer was shooting some photo's of Lulu for her future ad program/brochure and asked us to be in the background. We agreed and she bought us a drink to go with our dinner. Very exciting!