Mañana on the Loop: 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.