Thursday, November 26, 2015

PANAMA CITY TO PORT ST. JOE'S

Nov 21- We are staying here for a day or so as it is a nice area. It isn't all that dog friendly but we are finding a few places for Koby to go. Dave and I walked a couple of blocks to the local market this morning. Dave was checking over things in the engine room and noticed that one of our exhaust hoses had a hole in it. We went to the marina office to ask where to get such a thing and the girl behind the counter was very helpful. Within a few minutes we had the name of a place or two and the number for the local cab company. Dave found the part at a marina close by and away he went to retrieve it. It is such a nice day so he has decided to put the part on tomorrow and enjoy the day. He Sid and Koby went for a dingy ride while Evelyn and I went for a walk along the waterfront shops. We arrived back to the marina at the same time as Dave and Sid so we all sat on the dock for awhile then we all went to dinner nearby.


Dave taking Koby to his small patch of grass

Nov 22- We were up at 7:00 am just because we are used to early rises now. We had a quick breakfast and Dave is now in the engine room fixing the exhaust hose. It rained through the night and it is cooler today but the sun is shining. We decided to get a cab and go to Walmart for a few things and Evelyn and Sid joined us. The guys wanted to go to West Marine so we had the cab drop us off there and we walked a mile back to Walmart. We got what we wanted and headed back to the boat for the evening.

Nov 23- We woke to a sunny but quite cool morning. It was 47 degrees when I took Koby to shore. Dave is cleaning the dingy and I am doing laundry. The sun is nice but the wind is very chilly although the temperature is 65 degrees. Dave and I walked to a nearby park with Koby so he could get some exercise and us too. We walked around for awhile then headed back to the boat. When we got back Bobbi showed up to ask us to dinner as they are leaving to go to Tampa to have Thanksgiving with some friends. We went to a local restaurant which was expensive and the food was not that good. We said our goodbyes to Bill and Bobbi and we hope we meet up with them again.
A park close by the marina

Nov 24- We were up at 6:00 am getting ready to leave as we have to put on fuel and pump-out before we go. We left St. Andrew's at 8:30 am with a brisk wind again but it is hitting us on the bow. We are heading to St. Joe's for a couple of days as everyone is still sitting in Apalachicola or Carribelle waiting for a good day to head across. We arrive at 1:30 pm and we glad to see five other Loopers here as well. The marina here is quite nice and is very close to downtown. The gentleman in the boat behind us is a doctor from New Brunswick who is now living down here and he knows Sid and Evelyn from Something Special as they did the first loop with them.
Pulp and paper mill outside of Panama City
Choppy again 
A boat yard
Heading into a narrow channel
A sailboat on its side
Another abandoned boat
A floating house
A couple downed boats
A fishery just before the Gulf entrance

Nov 25- We walked up the street to the Piggly Wiggly and picked up a few things and Dave was able to get a hair cut in the same plaza. When we got back to the boat a local from the marina had an invitation for us to a Thanksgiving dinner. This lady had a friend who lived a couple of blocks from the marina and was a chef and he wanted to host a Thanksgiving dinner for all of us Loopers. He did not want anything or any help -just show up was all he asked. We all went together and sent a flower arrangement to his home.
Arriving at St. Joe's Marina
Downtown close by
The office and restaurant


Nov26 -  We were up early this morning to get a few jobs out of the way before getting ready to go to the Thanksgiving dinner. They even arranged for rides for any of us that needed a ride. We left for this house at 1:00 pm and when we arrived we were welcomed and ushered out to the back yard and handed a glass of wine and refreshments. Dinner was at 5:00 pm and I have honestly never see so much food on a table before. The food was wonderful and we were all overwhelmed by this man's generosity. We will never forget this Thanksgiving or the wonderful people who took in 40 wandering Loopers.
The tables are set 
Dave with Something Special and Insyred 2
Time for wine and good times
The gentleman in the white shirt to the right was our host
More of the group around the corner
These were the leftovers
Our host dressed in white
The doctor and his wife
They did the loop together in 2012





Saturday, November 21, 2015

FORT WALTON BEACH TO PANAMA CITY

Nov 20- We left Fort Walton Beach at 8:30 am heading to Panama City. The bay we crossed was quite choppy but it was on our bow so we kept going. There weren't many boats moving this morning due to the high wind but it wasn't as bad a I had first thought. It was a fifty-five mile trip and we arrived at St. Andrew's Marina at 3 pm. We were surprised to see Something Special sitting at the end of our dock. We immediately went about getting the salt off Manana and decided we were eating aboard tonight. We were a little tired from our trip so we made a early night of it.

Leaving Fort Walton Beach
The wind on the bay made it choppy
Heading into a long narrow channel
The captain ever vigilant
A narrow channel but pretty
Getting into some swampy areas
We have arrived at Panama City
Coming into the marina

PENSICOLA TO FORT WALTON BEACH

Nov 19- We left Palafox Marina at 8:30 am with Mist heading for Fort Walton Beach. The wind was up more than we thought and it was quite choppy crossing the bay. The wind started to subside and the sun came out as we got closer to our destination. We are going to a free dock at Fort Walton Beach. When we arrived Something Special was on the dock along with another boat but the other boat pulled off when we got there. The docks were great and there was a pump-out and water on the dock. There was a lovely park at the foot of the docks for the dogs to get some exercise at and the downtown was only a half a block away. We quickly washed the salt off of Manana and then had drinks on the dock. We later walked up to the Publix store about a block away and picked up a few items.

Palafox harbour as we left
Condos on the far shore

Shoreline along Pensicola
Some type of look out tower
This is a naval marina
We were seeing a lot of planes today
We caught up to fellow Loopers
A beautiful home at Fort Walton
Fort Walton Beach free docks
Something Special with added sunset
Mist at Fort Walton Beach
Dave and Koby back from the park