Cozy Carrabelle

Carrabelle Florida is about 60 miles south of Tallahassee but is about as back woods as it gets this close to the coast.  Described as a sleepy fishing village it has everything we need.  From our slip we look over the oyster shell parking lot, past the dumpster and there is a Ace Hardware, an IGA and a bank. The next block has a restaurant and a couple other marinas.  The engine stopped on our way here from Apalachicola and it was my intent to have a mechanic look at it so we put our name on his list.  Since we haven't heard from him I took another look at it and put a pressure gauge on the fuel line and did my usual tightening and replacing washers until I know I have the fuel-air problem solved.  How many time have I said that? Anyway, we missed the weather window to cross the Gulf and we are sitting here with a couple other boats that have had maintenance problems and are waiting for a good weather pattern to develop. In the winter the weather stirs up the Gulf to the point that a small boat crossing can get bounced around if not careful. Soooooo, instead of sitting here telling stories with the good ole boys that hang out here at the marina/sporting goods store/boat charter place we decided to rent a car and head home.  This town is so small it doesn't have a taxi but the guy at the hardware store said the girl at the other marina had a son that would take us to Tallahassee, which is the closest car rental.  We fully expect the son to show up in a jacked-up 4WD pickup with a gun rack and a trophy on the hood. It's all part of our grand adventure called "The Loop".  We are all packed and ready except for a few things and should be back home in Murfreesboro, Tennessee by Friday night.  Love to all and have a Blessed Christmas.

White City

It has been 5 days since we posted a blog. But we have an excuse!!  We left Sabine Marina and headed East.  We anchored out behind Spectre Island on the intercoastal and the next night we were beside a bridge going to the beaches. We didn't have any Internet service so we could not send out a blog.  Thursday, we made Panama City.  We were on a mission - to buy fuel filters. Our life is, do laundry, buy fuel filters and look for the next place to park the boat.  We found the filters and walked back to the boat. We were ready to drop by the time we got back.  Denniese thinks we walked about 4 miles round trip. We stayed two days at Panama City. The second day was resting up from the first. Saturday we stopped at White City, Florida. White City offers a free dock and a fishing pier.  We watched the locals fishing and the locals watched us on the boat and the pelicans watched us both. White City is the dividing line for the Eastern and Central time zone. If you live West of the highway you are on Central time, East of the highway you are on Eastern time. The bridge and the fishing pier was about it for White City. No email or cell service.  It was a nice place to spend a couple of days.  Monday we took off for Apalachicola, Florida but along the was we decided to go on to Carrabelle instead.  Carrabelle is about 30 miles east of Apalachicola and has been described as a little sleepy fishing village and that is what it is.  But is does have a grocery, and Ace Hardware, a bank and several restaurants all within a short walk of the boat.  So here we are tied to the dock along with several other Loopers waiting for the weather to be just right for a crossing to the Tampa Bay area. The trip for us is about 30 hours of Gulf exposure so we are wanting a good weather window.  Maybe by Friday the weather will be just what we want.  Till then we are here at the sleepy little fishing village in the big bend of Florida.  

Reveille

Tuesday we departed Sabine Marina and went across the channel and purchased 80 gals of diesel.  I know you will be happy to know we got a $.10  per gallon discount. Diesel is still  near $4.00/gal. Back in the channel we traveled to Specter Island located beside Eglin AFB. We dropped anchor at 2:30.  A short day but with the cold wind and cool temperatures it was all we wanted. At anchor, we were able to watch the unique aircraft doing touch and goes or as we used to call it when I was flying, crash and burn!!  We were within 100 yds of the US Air Force property, so at sundown we were able to hear taps.  Also at sunrise were able to hear reveille. We lifted anchor and traveled another 30-40 miles and dropped anchor beside a bridge, Hwy 331.  Nice place but the traffic is not a good swap for the bugle. We only saw 2 PC's (pleasure crafts) on the water today. Both headed West? The Loop group that we were with at Fairhope are still behind us.  We expect them to catch up with us tomorrow.

We are now three days without a engine failure.  Before leaving Barber Marina I met a diesel mechanic who replaced the main fuel line. So far no stalls. We think he was an angel sent to help us.  His name is John Ford and we thank him for his work and his faith. Tomorrow we will head to Panama City.

We had some friends leave Sabine just before we did and heard a call from them to the Coast Guard. It was a request for the CG to follow them on the radio because of the bad conditions in the Gulf. We have not heard from them but feel they are safe but tired from a couple of days in the spin cycle.

Bubble and squeak

Our day started early this morning with lots of sunshine and more calm winds than the previous days.  So, we left Barber Marina at around 9 o'clock and headed east toward Pensacola.  It wasn't long before the sky clouded over, the wind started blowing and a light mist began to fall.  The closer we got to Pensacola, the colder it became.  By the time we reached the Pensacola cut, the wind was blowing from the northwest at about 20 mph and the tide was against us.  Our speed dropped down to about 4.5 to 5 mph from 7.  The following seas bounced us around and caused the boat to want to go sideways.  We made it to Sabine Inlet and pulled up to the fuel dock only to find it closed until Wednesday.  As we idled at the fuel dock trying to decide where to go next, Maggie began to whimper.  I thought she was just cold, so I unhooked her from the leash on the sun deck and instead of her going down to the cabin where it was warm, she jumped ship and took off running towards the street!  I cursed, loudly, called her a really bad name, and took off running after her.  Meanwhile, back at the boat, Mike was trying to keep the boat off the dock with the winds blowing hard.  He saw Maggie run behind a condo and called me on my cell phone so I would know where to look for her.  I saw her running down the street and I called her and she only ran harder.  Luckily, a kind lady realized what was happening and pulled over and got out of her vehicle and walked over and began to pet Maggie and got her hands on her and held her until I could get there ( out of breath, I might add).

After getting Maggie back on board, we then had to get the boat away from the fuel dock, which was not easy since the wind was blowing us right back onto it.  Captain Mike figured out how to get us off, and we made our way to the small marina which was our destination for the evening.  The owner met us at the slip and told us, "Check or cash only".  After writing him a check, we tackled the laundry which is at the local bar.  Our clean clothes now smell like beer and cigarettes! 

The good part of the day is that we found a restaurant here in Pensacola Beach called Laguna's.  It is just across the street from the marina.  We had a delicious meal of Redfish and Bubble & Squeak.  For those who do not know, Bubble & Squeak is an English dish consisting of mashed potatoes & cabbage.  Laguna's variation is brussel sprouts with an onion & potato broth.  It was very good and it was half price.

Depending on the weather tomorrow, we will anchor out near Mary Esther, FL.  Did I mention it was cold here?  The high temp today was 55 degrees and cloudy.  The low tonight is expected to be in the high 30's.  Not typical Florida weather.

Barber Marina

We left Fairhope Friday morning and 8 hours later, we motored into Barber Marina.  Wow!  This marina is practically brand new.  It has dock space for about 300 boats and there are only 20-25 docked here.  We love it!  The bathrooms are great and for us, that is the single most important service at a marina.  The showers consist of bright, shiny white tiles, strong water pressure and a lot of HOT water.  There is a nicely manicured park surrounding the marina and Maggie has given her approval!

Yesterday, we borrowed the courtesy car and drove around to Pirates Cove.  Pirates Cove is an old, rustic shack which was turned into a restaurant/bar and is surrounded by a protected cove.  There were dogs coming and going at will and it seems the dogs keep the people under control.  The atmosphere was relaxed and the dress code was relaxed, as well.  We saw Mike's old sailboat (Lifestyle I) docked behind the restaurant.  We ate cheeseburgers that were better than Buster's, and that is some kind of compliment.
After lunch, we drove into Gulf Shores looking for West Marine and Walmart.  We found West Marine, but as usual, they did not have the fuel filters we need, nor did any other auto parts store in Gulf Shores or Foley.  Why do we continue to count on West Marine????? Walmart was not a disappointment though.
We got up this morning (Sunday) to rain and clouds.  We can't decide whether to stay here another day and wait out the rain, or continue to Pensacola.  We are watching the radar closely.  The picture provided by Linda on Ericka Lin is of the Thanksgiving Day gathering at Bob & Vicky Riggs home in Fairhope.  They were so kind to open their house to all us Loopers and we had a grand time. Thanks to Bob & Vicky and to Linda for the picture.

Rock your house

We are enjoying the rest and comfort of the Fairhope Yacht Club. Yesterday we rented a car and in one afternoon we bought groceries, found a parts store to sell us new fuel filters, drove to a Bass Pro for a needed item and washed two loads of clothes. By the end of the day we were ready to take advantage of free taco night at the bar at FYC.  We enjoyed the sea stories of the members.  One person was named Plug! He said it was a family name?  We turned in early but at 3AM we had to go outside and adjust the dock lines and add another fender.  Our house was rocking.  A cold front was passing and it was blowing us up against the dock.  We are transients, so we always get the worse dock space.  The wind on the "T" dock was on the port quarter of the boat and all that pretty rub rail that we worked so hard cleaning and waxing was getting scuffed.  It's not bad to go outside and add and adjust in the wee hours as long as you know your home is safe and it is.  We will go to our Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow and then Friday morning we will depart this nice place. Our next leg will take us across the panhandle of Florida.  It will be nice if the weather holds.

This picture was taken Monday evening as the sun was setting over Mobile Bay.

Fairhope, Alabama

We arrived in Fairhope Yacht Club this afternoon about at 1 o'clock.  We are on the East bank of Mobile Bay.  We are sitting on the veranda of the club house over looking the inlet of Fly Creek.  The old club house was destroyed a couple of years ago and the new one is very nice. The restaurant and bar area look to be about 4,000sqft.  The veranda extends all the way around the building and as the sun starts to set we will move to the West side for a great view. 

The trip from Demopolis was long but good.  We have been 5 days without email service and only a few times did we have cell service.  We met up we a couple of boaters traveling south at about the same speed as us and we were able to anchor up with them.  Jeff and Linda aboard Jeremiah have two dogs and like us they had to find a place to take the dogs at the end of the day.  It worked out great because we used Jeff's dinghy to transport the dogs.  Maggie had a great time and may have sparked a romance with their poodle. She even attempted to go swimming with their Lab.  At the end of the day we would raft up with them in a hidden river or inlet off the main river.  Some of the scenery was unbelievable.  I have some pics and hope to send one.  We passed the convention center at downtown Mobile this morning at 11:00.  It is 450 miles from Pickwick to mile zero.  Of course if was not without --------.  The engine stopped a couple of times, but thank the Lord it was not at a difficult time.  We got some trash in the prop and it started vibrating.  We had to stop and back up to clear it.  But one night while rafted up in the middle of nowhere Denniese and I walked on the foredeck and looked up and saw more stars than we have ever seen.  There were no other lights except the stars.  What a wonderful sight.

We will stay here until after Thanksgiving.  We have been invited to have dinner with some other Loopers.  The host just stopped by and said he expected about 25 people.  We will have fun and everyone will have a story to tell.  Happy Thanksgiving.