At Least There's a Spa

Day 2 at Panama City

Bombay Lady, along with her outstanding yet sodden crew, finally arrived in Panama City on Dec. 10. In case you forgot, which I did, we departed Mobile Bay went on to Pensacola (I always forget we went to Pensacola) then to Destin and finally to Panama City. We had intended to continue to Port St. Joe so that we would be well positioned for a Gulf Crossing when we came back after the holidays. Not to be. Ms. fate and her fog fairies had other plans. The good news bit is, however, that the Bay Point Marina is a fantastic facility complete with spa, well protected harbor, restaurants, great shopping nearby and did I mention a fabulous spa?

Day 4 at Panama City
After 4 days of on again, off again rain and fog, Captain John and I agreed that we would be better off leaving the Lady at Bay Point Marina and driving back to Ky. a few days earlier than planned.

We were excited to see our friends from Chattanooga also staying at the Marina and had dinner at a wonderful oyster bar. This will probably be the last blog until after the beginning of Jan. I thought it might be a good time to show a map of just where we plan to go on this 6,000 to 7,000 mile adventure. I know we will get around the loop eventually. We have planned on taking a few years to do it and at this rate that's a good thing. So here's the official loop map!

Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!!

Gulf Intercoastal Waterway--Phase II

Sunset at Destin


When we entered Mobile Bay we embarked upon what Captain John and I consider a new phase of our trip. First we experienced the rivers and lakes, which we were use to navigating. Now we are navigating the large bays and" ditches "of the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway.

We had a relatively uneventful trip from Mobile to Pensacola, although the Bay had a medium chop and we had a brief moment of (not actually being lost) disorientation. We improved our capability of reading coastal charts and look forward to learning even more when we actually get into the Gulf during the crossing in January. We were not sure how long we would be in Pensacola, but the morning of Dec. 7 was clear and promised, at least, a small window of weather opportunity for our short trip to Destin. Fortunately, Destin was a short trip, since the weather deterioated in the afternoon. Tuesday, Dec. 8 rained all day providing a good time to rent a car and drive back to Dog River to get my car. We took my car ahead to Panama City and secured a great slip there at Bay Point Marina. Now we will wait to see what the weather holds for us and when we can actually depart Destin. As I write this a dense fog keeps ebbing and flowing over the marina.


Our tree-a Wal-mart Special -ya gotta love Wal-mart

Great Blue Heron on Destin Sand Bar

Bye, Bye Mobile Bay

Thick Fog Coming into Bay

View From My Bedroom Window--He's Waiting Too!!

Bye, Bye Mobile Bay--not that we didn't like you or that we didn't have great fun--it's just 21 days--well!! To be fair though, we didn't get back to Mobile from our Thanksgiving break until Nov. 28. The guys at Dog River Marina still had more work to do on our boat. They didn't work over Thanksgiving break either. Imagine that!! The mechanics at Dog River are fantastic and we highly recommend their friendship and their work. We were there so long that I seriously considered buying into a business opportunity. Especially since I saw a corresponding opportunity just a block away for a certain Julie that we know and love! Well, neither Julie or I got a chance to make a final decision on the Mobile businesses, since the weather cleared and Captain John said "We're outta here!!

Fun & Friends

School of Sea Rays at Perdido Key & Marvin with other customer at fish market

Sunset at Perdido Key

Fort Morgan

Marvin and Barbara picked us up at Dog River Marina on Wed. Nov. 18. On the way to their condo in Perdido Key, we stopped for lunch and shopping at Fairhope, Alabama. Fairhope is a lovely, artsy community that suits me well and I would recommend that if anyone has an opportunity to stop, take it.

Their condo is fantastic, displaying lovely sunsets night after night. They squired us around to some of their favorite spots ,and introduced us to a WONDERFUL type of shrimp Royal Reds, which we ate and ate and ate!! We visited Fort Morgan, a pre- civil war fort built originally to protect the coast and later was used to fend off the North, during the war of Northern Aggression. It didn't have a successful run, however, but was interesting nonetheless. John and Marvin visited the National Museum of Naval Aviation one day, while Barbara and I walked the beach and lazed in the sun. Even though I have a close relationship and love of aviation, when beach and sun are available my priorities are clear. SUN WINS EVERYTIME! All and all we had a great time and really appreciate their friendship. They even drove us back to Kentucky!