Two weeks and more than 500 miles

And we're in Pensacola! Pensacola was one of our short term goals and we made it.

From Dauphin Island we motored into Mobile Bay, through Bon Secour Bay and back onto the GIWW. Until we got to the GIWW it was a rough ride, not scary but uncomfortable. The GIWW through Alabama and westernmost Florida is different than what we saw in Texas and Louisiana. It was closer to civilization but still very scenic. Friday at about 1:00 we anchored just off the GIWW not too far from Pensacola Bay. We dropped anchor just off of Redfish Point and dinghied ashore to walk the beach some, both on the GIWW side and the Gulf of Mexico side. The sunset pictures are from Friday night. Until a thunderstorm blew in we were also treated with some air force jets flying over us, mostly T38 trainers.

Saturday morning we took another dinghy ride, did a bit more exploring and took some pictures of a wreck that was washed up on the beach. We only had an hour and a half or so ahead of us to get to the marina we are staying at tonight so we were able to enjoy the area.

We found the marina, Palafox Pier Marina easily and with the help of Keegan the dock master were able to pump out the holding tanks, fill up with fuel and get in our slip, We had dinner with some good friends of Susan, Molly and Tom Bloetscher and their niece Amanda. Just as we were walking off the pier to meet them a fierce thunderstorm blew up. I have never seen wind like this. Tables and chairs went flying, sailboats tied up in slips were heeled over at 45 degrees. I would have sworn it was a tornado the way the wind was howling. Fortunately the building that houses the restaurant we ended up eating at is right at our pier so it blocked the majority of the wind from hitting our boat. We didn't lose anything but I saw hatch covers flying and a dinghy that was tied to the top of a trawler come dangerously close to being blown away. It was really amazing.

Dinner was great and we really enjoyed our time with Molly, Tom and Amanda. Eventually we're going to run into people that will tell us we're crazy and what we're doing is completely irresponsible, but that wasn't to be tonight. Thanks you guys and I truly enjoyed meeting you.

Tomorrow is Sunday and believe it or not we have a mechanic coming over in the morning to replace the exhaust hoses for both the engine and generator. This guy is so busy he has work scheduled out to October but he said he will work on Sundays for transients because he knows they can't wait around for months. That's what we are, transients. Somehow that doesn't seem to have the negative connotation it would have a year ago. Anyway, I really appreciate this guy going above and beyond to help us out.

That's it for now, hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.
Brian