In the last blog post we were sitting out rain in Fairhope, AL. Monday the 26th was a total washout, but things improved quite a bit by Tuesday, October 27, and we were able to make our way into Fairhope for some sightseeing. Fairhope was founded in 1894 by Iowans living a real-life utopian experiment in property ownership and taxation. It later became a favorite winter destination of artists and intellectuals, and is currently a resort destination and affluent suburb of Mobile. Unlike so many of the small towns on our Great Loop route which are struggling with downtown decay, Fairhope was almost surreal in its cleanliness and lack of vacant storefronts. Something is going right here.
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| Still grey at Eastern Shore Marine, but at least the rain decreased on the 27th |
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| Sidewalk "fish art" near the local elementary school |
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| One of MANY antique and art-related shops in Fairhope |
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| Lon and ice cream cone in Fairhope. Just OK. |
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| Downtown Fairhope decked out for Halloween |
On Wednesday, October 28 we were able to get moving again. A red letter day--after leaving Mobile Bay we entered the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) for the first time since leaving it in northern Virginia in May 2014. And, later that morning, we entered Florida!
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| A pelican greets us as we enter the ICW at Red 120 |
Our stop for October 28 and 29 was Pensacola, FL. There we met up with good friends from the St. Paul Yacht Club, Ron and Barb Hilson, who have a winter home in Pensacola. The city is the site of the Pensacola Naval Air Station. Ron is a retired naval aviator, so it makes perfect sense that he and Barb would choose to spend their winters there. Ron is a very skilled volunteer tour guide at the National Naval Aviation Museum, and on Thursday, October 29 we were treated to an all-day tour at the museum. Fascinating!
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| Former Blue Angel aircraft in the museum atrium. The Pensacola NAS is the home of the Blue Angels |
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| Ron Hilson and Lon in the Naval Aviation Museum |
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| Lon and Pat on the steps of the "Air Force One" helicopter used by President Nixon to leave the White House after his resignation in 1974 |
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| NC-4: In 1919, this became the first aircraft to cross the Atlantic Ocean (with several stops) |
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| Aircraft awaiting restoration |
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| Lon and Pat at dinner with Ron and Barb Hilson |
On Friday, October 30 we left Pensacola and cruised about 60 miles to the Baytowne Marina at the Sandestin Resort complex near Destin, Florida. The tidal currents were not kind to us that day, so we arrived at the marina later than we would have liked--and definitely too late to take advantage of all of the resort amenities that went along with staying at the marina.
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| Our dinnertime view from the Marina Grill, Baytowne Marina |
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| Restaurant mascot Mary Ann the Macaw looked over our shoulders while we ate |
On Saturday, October 31, we made an early departure from the Baytowne Marina with hopes of getting to the St. Andrews Marina in Panama City before the winds strengthened ahead of a significant storm system moving east from Texas and Louisiana. The last 15 miles on West Bay and St. Andrews Bay were somewhat choppy, but fortunately we were moving into the waves, so aside from some splash on the boat, the ride wasn't too bad.
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| Florida's version of "white cliffs": sand (not chalk) lines the ICW canal between Choctawhatchee Bay and West Bay |
We are currently in the St. Andrews Marina in the '"Historic St. Andrews" neighborhood of Panama City. It's feeling very tropical at the moment--not a bad thing as far as we are concerned.
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| Four-headed Pindo Palm in the city park. Said to be the only such palm tree in the world. |
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| Pat finding white sand in St. Andrews. It was a tiny beach, and it wasn't on the Gulf, but it was the best we could do without a car. |
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| The Pelican Tree: carved from an oak killed in a 1995 hurricane and created as a symbol of urban renewal in St. Andrews |
It now becomes a waiting game for the right weather conditions that will allow us to complete the Great Loop via a long, overnight passage across the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. Patience is the operative word.
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