Sweet Home Alabama

Friday morning we departed Panama City Marina.  We had arrived the night before and were surprised to meet Mary at the fuel dock who just started working there and is a cousin to Karen Jones at 3BC.  Small world!  From there we had supper at a local spot that I have been eating at each time I sail into Panama City.  It is called Bayou Joe's and some years back it was a fuel stop.  Fuel prices got high and they found selling fish to the tourist offered a better profit.  Besides if they continued to sell fuel they would have clean and fix the place up.  It's not much to look at and it is hard to find but the food is good and the ambiance is the best.  We sat on a floating dock under a shaded extension from the building which itself was on floats.  One wrong step and you could be in the water. By 1130 Friday morning we had already made the canal west of Panama City.  Traffic was light and we were in the rural part of the Florida pan handle.  By two we were on Choctwatchache Bay.  The bay runs almost to Destin but we saw very little traffic.  One tow boat and two airboats and some local fishermen. At 1730 we dropped anchor off Cobb point near Destin.  We had covered 62 miles today, which is a hard day.  We then had to mount the motor on the dinghy and take Maggie ashore.  Denniese had found a cove for our anchor and a local park was just a dinghy ride away.  Maggie found some new grass and even a chicken bone which Denniese had to pry from her jaws.  Back on board we were rewarded with a beautiful sunset.  With no AC at anchor we depended on the breeze from the Gulf to cool us down.  About midnight it finally got cool enough to sleep.  Saturday we got an early start and brought up a muddy anchor at 0700.  Denniese drove the boat while I washed the mud off the anchor and the bow of Lifestyle II.  After that we had a good day on the water and stopped for the day off a sandy beach not far from Pensacola.  We dinghyed over to the sand dunes and walked to the Gulf.  Denniese took her last swim in the Gulf for awhile. Maggie does not like water and would have no part in the a/n swim.  Maggie took the attached picture but had trouble with the focus and just took a picture of Denniese leaving me out completely.  I guess its because she doesn't have thumbs. Back on board we had veggie burgers and were in bed by 9pm.  It was still light outside but we were ready for bed. The boat cooled off by 11pm and we were able to get some sleep.  Sunday morning we started off the day with lots of prayers.  The engine has been slow to start and I have it narrowed down to a bad battery or a bad starter. A diesel only needs electricity for the starter.  After it starts it is self contained. When I pushed the starter button it ground very slowly.  I stopped and let it rest.  Thank you Lord, it started on the third try. We raised the anchor and  by 1100 we were at the marina we had planned for a stopover.  We have some friends that live here (Bob and Norma) and they have been moving our car for us.  Bob is also an excellent mechanic and he came aboard and diagnosed the problem as a weak starter.  Tomorrow is maintenance day and I will evaluate our options. We will most likely press on but with lots of trepidation.  But tonight is supper at Lulu's the restaurant here at the marina. We will keep you up dated.
Mike Denniese and Maggie Mae.