Crooked Island, Panama City & Pensacola

Late Friday afternoon, April 29th, we dinghied over to walk on the beach after the wind finally settled down some.  Then we  watched the sun as it disappeared below the horizon.



Todd had fun “stalking” this fiddler crab to get a few close-ups!





Another nice sunset over the Gulf.





Other than a mid-afternoon trip to the beach to gather wood for a fire, Saturday was a lazy day on the boat.  The wind was still blowing pretty hard out of the southeast so we found a nice protected spot on the sand for our fire that evening.



Our first beach fire since Blackbeard Island in late October.



We pretty much stayed on the boat all day Sunday, other than an early evening trip to beach to get our chairs and other paraphernalia from our fire the previous evening.  It was still quite windy but we stayed to watch another sunset before returning to the boat and, naturally, the Captain took several more photos.










We finally decided to brave the wind Monday and were underway by noon.  It was rough getting out of the Crooked Island pass with waves pushing in and tide running out.  And the Gulf was messy, much like our recent crossing, so we had a couple of uncomfortable hours before we reached the calm waters of St. Andrews Bay.  By 2:45 we had dropped the hook in Massalina Bayou, just east of the Panama City Marina, and made plans to have dinner with Tena & Keith, friends from Pickwick Lake who now live in Panama City.

We dinghied over to nearby Bayou Joe’s where Tena picked us up around 5:00 p.m. to take us to their house for a wonderful meal of fresh grilled fish and shrimp, steamed vegetables and rice.  Then we all went for a walk around the neighborhood and down the street to the St. Andrews Marina.  Really a nice area!

Bayou Joe’s, a funky old-time Florida restaurant overlooking Massalina Bayou.



Kevin, the owner of Bayou Joe’s, is feeding bread to the small fish so that Harold, their resident egret, can snatch them out of the water for dinner!



Tena with daughter Sidney dishing up plates in the kitchen.



Tena’s husband Keith posing with the Admiral.



Late Tuesday morning we met Tena & Keith at Bayou Joe’s for a late breakfast/early lunch.  As you can see, Harold was making himself at home inside the restaurant!



After lunch we dropped Keith off at the house where he was doing some yard work with a rented backhoe and Tena took us to run a few errands.  We then dropped Tena off and went back to the boat for the afternoon.  That evening we drove back over for another great meal.  I prepared spinach artichoke dip as an appetizer and Tena put together a beautiful salad to accompany her baked ziti.  Thanks for the wonderful meals and hospitality, guys.  It was great to see you again and we hope to see you on Pickwick this summer!



Strong north winds pushed in overnight and continued to howl throughout Wednesday morning.  We considered staying in the anchorage another day but finally decided make a move.  We headed out into a bumpy St. Andrew Bay at 1:00 p.m. and slogged our way through West Bay before entering the Grand Canyon where it was very calm.  The Grand Canyon connects West Bay to Chocktawhatchee Bay and is essentially a manmade canal with high banks on both sides.  Five hours later we were anchored at the northeast end of the first Chocktawhatchee Bay bridge, again seeking protection from the somewhat diminished north wind.

We decided to bypass Destin on Thursday to anchor at Santa Rosa Island, about ten miles further west.  Along the way, the Captain captured a nice shot of a momma and baby dolphin swimming off the bow of the boat in the clear Destin water.



Since it was May 5th, we had planned to go to the beach for a boater-style Cinco de Mayo celebration in the sand in honor of my niece, Jennifer, who is currently at a rehabilitation center in Columbia, Missouri, following a couple of surgeries.  But we didn’t make it to the beach so we set up this tribute to her on the boat.

Happy Cinco de Mayo, Jen!  Wish you could have been here with us to celebrate!



A Cinco de Mayo sunset from the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.



Friday was another short day (less than 30 miles) to Little Sabine Bay in Pensacola.  We arrived around 2:00 p.m. and dropped the hook.  But, as luck would have it, the wind was picking up and the holding in the bay is not very good.  The Captain was convinced we were dragging, so we finally pulled the anchor and re-set it before going to town to meet Dave Henderson that evening.  We originally met Dave in Demopolis the fall of 2006 and have kept in touch ever since.

As we were waiting to cross the road, we spotted a place called Bamboo Willie’s and decided to check it out.  After all, it’s been a long time since the Admiral has had a fruity frozen drink!



After a few drinks at Bamboo Willie’s, we went next door to Hooter’s where Dave treated us to dinner.  Thanks, Dave!  It was good seeing you again!  Now get out there and buy yourself a boat so you can do some cruising.  Life is too short, buddy!  Have we taught you nothing after all this time?

Today is Saturday, May 7th, and we are headed to an anchorage called Ingram Bayou for the next couple of days.  After that we will travel through Mobile Bay to begin the 200+ mile journey up the Tenn-Tom to Demopolis, Alabama, where we will spend several days before continuing the trek to Bay Springs Lake.

Some locals doing their morning yoga on paddle boards in Little Sabine Bay.



We plan to be on Bay Springs Lake the first week of June where we will meet up with Todd’s parents.  They will be joining us on the boat for about a week as we enjoy Bay Springs, Pickwick and about 100 miles of the Tennessee River going downriver toward Kentucky Lake.