Panama City

We're enjoying our time here in Panama City. So far the weather has been great. It's that season that requires no heat or A/C. We made an 8 hour trip to Mobile and back in a rental car to retrieve our vehicle. It was interesting as we drove west along Hwy 98 to see the front of the homes we had seen from the backside just days earlier while on the waterway. We went to Hammerhead Fred's over on the beach for dinner. We were excited about the live band they advertised, until we discovered the band was a group of 80+ yr. old snowbirds who played music from the 30's and 40's! This group will probably be out of business when Spring Break arrives.

"9-11 Memorial at Marina"

"Civic Center is next door to the Marina"

"Sunset over the Bay"

"Panama City Beach"

"The air's warm but the water's still cold"

Destin-Panama City

From Shalimar to Panama City was the longest run of this segment of the trip-68 miles. We traveled the entire length of Choctawatchee Bay, a 17 mile canal section, across West Bay and in to St. Andrew's Bay. Panama City Marina is the best facility we've been docked at. It even comes with an airshow, with Tyndall Air Force Base nearby. You can check the marina out at it's website. There is a live web cam at www.panamacity-fl.gov/pcmcam.htm
If you pan around until you see a shrimp boat tied at the end of pier 6, we are down about 5-6 slips facing the same direction. We purchased diesel here for $2.41, however we saw some marinas along the way still trying to sell their fuel for around $3.50. We averaged about 2 mpg from Mobile to Panama City.

"Not the Intracoastal Waterway you would picture in Florida"

"Activity around Panama City picks up, as you can see from these pictures"

"Still trying to catch those porpoises, almost"

Pensacola to Destin

We spent an extra day docked in Pensacola. This gave us a chance to walk through the downtown waterfront as well as wait for better weather. We then moved another 50 miles to the Ft.Walton/Destin area. We traveled through Santa Rosa Sound, Navarre FL, The Narrows and Ft. Walton Beach. We docked in Shalimar which is located in the northwest corner of Choctawatchee Bay across from Destin. We took the courtesy car for a tour of Destin. Marina courtesy cars are a lot like Forest Gump's box of chocolates!!!

"Downtown Pensacola has nice shops and restaurants"

"Gail keeping a careful watch"

"The reason for markers-yes, that's the bottom"

"He didn't watch the markers!"

"The charter fishing fleet of Destin. Rodney actually has fished on one of these."

"Our favorite courtesy car-so far!"

Mobile to Pensacola

Mobile Bay sure is a large body of water. We ran over 3 hours across the Bay to the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). Luckily the bay waters were smooth, just as predicted. We traveled 35 miles arriving in Gulf Shores, AL at 1:30 p.m. We stayed two nights at Homeport Marina, a really nice and modern facility. The marina is located adjacent to the infamous LULU's directly on the ICW. LULU's is a lively restaurant run by Jimmy Buffet's sister, Lucy.

"Mobile Bay Lighthouse-Middle of Mobile Bay"

"Mobile is 30 miles behind us now!"

"Back in protected waters of the ICW leaving Mobile Bay"

"LULU's Restaurant on the ICW"

We made another 35 mile run from Gulf Shores, AL to Pensacola, FL. The last 10 miles got a bit choppy due to the 20 mph wind with gusts to 30. We docked at another nice marina, Palafox Pier. This marina is located in downtown Pensacola. We spotted about 20 porpoises on this run. It was amazing to see them swim along beside the boat, some even swimming just under the bow. They moved too quick to get a photo! On today's trip we crossed our wake, as they say. We went by Bear Point Marina where Play Dough was docked when we purchased her. We then passed the boat's original owner's house on the ICW.

"The Wharf, a mega complex in Orange Beach, AL"

"Play Dough's previous owner's home"

"Welcome to Florida!"

"Docked in downtown Pensacola"

Back onboard at Mobile Bay

After nearly two months away for all the holidays, it was good to get back onboard Play Dough. Capt. John Green had taken good care of her while we were away. Capt. John had waxed and buffed the boat and has her looking good. Since arriving back in Mobile, we have spent some time preparing the boat for the next leg of the trip. Over the next two months we plan to cruise East then back West along the Intracoastal Waterway, stopping in several towns on the Florida coast along the way. On March 15th we should be headed back North on the Mobile River.
We have taken advantage of having our car here and we are doing some sightseeing in the area. So far we've toured Battleship Memorial Park and Bellingrath Home & Gardens. We could not take pictures inside the Bellingrath Home, but we did get photos in the gardens. The gardens are beautiful even in the winter.

"Battleship USS Alabama"

"One of Four Props that moved the USS Alabama"

"View of Bellingrath Home from across the lake" "Waterfall in Bellingrath Gardens""Beautiful winter blossoms in the gardens."

"Fountain of Angels"

"One of many beautiful pathways in Bellingrath Gardens"

Mt. Vernon, AL to Mobile, AL

Day 18
Today we reached our destination on Mobile Bay. Play Dough will be docked here at Dog River Marina until mid January. We traveled about 700 miles and locked through 16 locks in the last 18 days. Along the way we purchased a total of 341 gallons of diesel with prices ranging $4.10, $3.35, $3.09 and $3.00. We have met many interesting and friendly 'boaters" along the way. We feel blessed to have had safe travel. We can't wait for the next journeys!

"Must be some new Stealth Military ship - it has guns!"

"A cruise ship in dry dock"

"The Coast Guard replacing buoys"

"We met this barge hauling a load of sea gulls!"

"This railroad bridge pivots to open, rather than lifting"

Coffeeville, Al to Mt. Vernon, AL

Day 15
traveled 69 miles, docked at Bobby's Fish Camp near Coffeeville, AL
Having been awake most of the night, we got an early start. After the long hours we stopped at Bobby's Fish Camp to rest and wait out the weather and enjoy the restaurant. Two fronts are headed for a collision and it may be rough.
Day 16
Off Day @ Bobby's Fish Camp - Some rain and strong winds, boy, it's good to be tied securely to a dock!

Day 17

traveled 79 miles, passed through 1 lock, anchored in Tensaw River near Mt. Vernon, AL
We got into heavy fog with 5 other boats after the Coffeeville Lock. We navigated by GPS, radar, and by talking to each other on the radio.

"Parking is limited at Bobby's"

"This is Bobby's-A Unique Place"

"Sunset on the Tensaw River"

"In the lock before the fog, no one knew the heavy fog was just beyond those lock doors."