NautiNell

NautiNell
NautiNell in all her glory

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Madeira Beach

Hey, Capt Morgan and I are buddies!

Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay
175' high!


John's Pass

Mike and his dinghy......

Entrance to John's Pass Village


NautiNell's home for a few days

Saying good by to Jeff.  Thanks for your hospitality.

December 20-28 Tuesday morning we left the American Legion to go all of about three miles to stay at the free slip at Isle of Capri. Jeff and Suzanne Wright have a very nice home with an open boat slip. They offer it to cruisers that are passing by and want to stop in to enjoy the John's Pass area. It's such a nice thing to do. It was a great stay. They even provide electric, water and the newspaper! To all you cruisers out there - their information is on Active Captain. Check it out!

As I said their home is about a mile from the John's Pass and The Boardwalk. John's Pass is an access to the Gulf from the ICW. There is a huge boardwalk area with lots of shops and restaurants. We decided that we would like to spend some time here checking out everything. Jeff said we could stay as long as we wanted! That suited us!

So after getting NautiNell all secure, we went to check it out in the dinghy. It's a little touristy but has some really nice shops. We had a couple of drinks at Skully's and went home to enjoy our own happy hour. Oh, and I did some shopping. Not done, either!

We ended up staying four days at the Wrights' slip. We really had a relaxing time. Mike spent time fishing and we went on several dinghy rides. One afternoon we rode our bikes to the local Publix. We managed to carry almost $200 worth of groceries home (I was about out of everything!) on our bikes. The most incredible thing was that we did it and we only broke two eggs! What was really bad was that when we got to the Publix we found that it had a dinghy dock which means we could have gone by dinghy which would have been a lot easier! Oh well!

We did however find a great little bar called "R Bar". We stopped there and had a drink one night on a dinghy ride. It was such a pleasant ride home that evening. With all the Christmas lights, the canal was really well lit. Nice and warm and with Christmas lights – something isn't right here. Warm? Yep, it's been around 75-80 degrees every day. Now that's nice!

Finally on Christmas Eve, it was time to leave the Wrights' slip. We really did appreciate their hospitality. However, we didn't want to over extend our welcome. So off we went again – only about two miles over to the Elks Lodge. We may never get out of this area! LOL! The Elks Lodge has a couple of slips available to Elk members. They only ask for a donation in order to stay there. They told us that we could stay three days – perfect! We spent Christmas really just relaxing and enjoying ourselves. This is a really pretty area. We did go out in the dinghy some. There are a lot of boats and houses decorated. Mike cooked ribs on the grill. Yum! I think we just started a new Christmas tradition!

On Monday we spent the day cleaning and scrubbing the boat. Mike power washed the carpet on the sundeck and cleaned the outside while I took down Christmas decorations and cleaned the inside. She's really looking good!

We later rode our bikes around the area and stopped at Screwie Louie's for dinner. Don't you just love the names of these places! We had planned to leave out Tuesday morning, but the weather changed our plans. We woke up to rain, wind and cold temperatures! They were calling for choppy conditions on Tampa Bay and 25 mph winds. No thank you. We need to cross Tampa Bay! We stayed put and rode out the wind. It was wicked!  -  as Sweet Pea would say! The temperature dropped big time!

Finally on Wednesday, we had a beautiful day full of sunshine. We had an easy crossing of Tampa Bay. The water is becoming clearer and there were dolphins jumping all around us. We hooked up with Sweet Pea at Moore's Stone Crab Restaurant on Longboat Key. They offer free overnight dockage with dinner. Sounds good to us! Another free night! Yea! And I don't have to cook!!  Yea, again!

Sunrise at Elks Lodge one morning.....
Till next time!

Admiral "C"

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Our Time in Clearwater


Sitting out on the deck with Wayne, Linda and John

Enjoying the crowd at the American Legion on a Sunday afternoon!

Even Mr. and Mrs. Claus got in the act!

Sunrise view from the Legion - Not bad!

This American Legion has the largest membership in the United States!
Mural of over 400 cats and dogs on Skip's Bar
Isn't this just amazing!  I felt like I could reach out and pet them!

Skip and his buddy



Check out the sponges!
Memorial to all of the Sponge divers in Tarpon Springs
Couldn't miss the Spongeorama "Sponge Museum"!

We've been really enjoying spending time in the Clearwater area. After catching up on our sleep, we decided we would venture out to Tarpon Springs. Saturday morning we said goodbye to Jeff and Linda of "Jeremiah". They would cross their wake near Sarasota and were anxious to get home. We have really enjoyed traveling with them along the way. That is one thing about this adventure – you meet the greatest people and many longtime friendships are created. We look forward to seeing them again after the holidays.

That afternoon we took the Jolly Trolley to Tarpon Springs. For only $4.00 we both could ride the trolley all day. It not only went all over Clearwater, but to the Beach, Dunedin, Palm Harbor and Tarpon Springs. You can't beat that!! We got to do a lot of sightseeing along the way. This area is so pretty. The first thing we needed to do when we got to Tarpon Springs was to find a place for lunch. We were both starving! We walked over to the Rusty Belly's which is a neat place on the water. Along the way we met up with several Loopers checking out the town. Rusty Belly's was the perfect place. We sat outside and had wonderful Mahi Mahi. They also had the best ever hush puppies! We also hit Happy Hour time! Great timing! After that we checked out some shops. Tarpon Springs is the "sponge capital the world". SO, it was no surprise that I wanted to buy a sponge! Sponges were everywhere! We found this young woman named Sophia that was selling them on the street. She gave me a good deal on several sponges. She told us all about how they harvest the sponges and all the different types. She was a real joy to talk to. Did you know that there are over a hundred types of sponges, but only five types are marketable? Well, now you do. We even went to the free Sponge Museum. Let me tell you, it was worth every penny! LOL!

We then had to stop at a Greek bar for a cocktail. Opa! Interesting place – good local music.  The town has a lot of history and "interesting people"!  Finally we were back on the trolley and headed back to NautiNell. 

Earlier when we were on our way to Tarpon Springs on the Jolly Trolley, we went through the town of Dunedin. There we passed this neighborhood bar that looked rather interesting and fun. At the time there were at least 50 bikes there and everyone had on Santa hats. When I said bikes – I meant bicycles. Come to find out – this bar used to be a real "biker" bar years ago, but since has been cleaned up and now is the local corner "dive" where nearly everyone hangs out at one time or another. Since this place had perked our interest, we decided to stop there on the way back to Clearwater.

The name of the bar was Skip's Bar. We even met Skip who kept continually buying us beer. So much so that we missed our trolley to Clearwater and had to wait another hour. No surprise there! No big deal either – we just had another beer (or two)! On the outside walls of the building is a fantastic mural of over 400 dogs and cats. Skip is very active with the Animal Rescue in Dunedin. The pictures on the mural are dogs and cats that have been rescued. The new owner pays to have their pet's portrait on the mural. The money goes to the Animal Rescue. The mural is wonderful. They were having a grand unveiling of the mural on Sunday. The artist was going to be there along with Santa. Skip said it was going to be a really big deal – even the press was going to be there. Sorry we missed it!

A group of young guys went out in a big fishing boat - they came back with a 7 foot tiger shark!  This one guy had caught a good sized grouper on his line and the tiger shark decided he'd take it for himself.  It didnt work out so good for the shark.  They were beside themselves when they came in.  They laid out the shark on the dock - it was huge!

We hung around the marina until about noon on Sunday.  When we finally did leave, we only went 12 miles! We found an American Legion on the water! This Legion has the largest membership in the United States. There were slips where we could pull in so we decided to check it out. There were two different bands playing. The one inside was Rock 'n Roll with a little easier (older) style and the one outside was a little more upbeat. They both were good so it was hard to decide where to be. Both of them had a huge crowd. There is also a restaurant there so we had pizza and beer (and a couple of margaritas on the side). We had so much fun just watching the people. Even Santa and Mrs. Claus were there. How do they find the time!?!

We met a couple there that was interested in talking to us about living on a boat. Wayne and Linda
invited us over to their table where we had a really nice conversation. They live in the condos right next to the Clearwater Marina and saw all of us come in Friday morning. We decided that we could just stay in the slip for the night. No one seemed to care. So that's what we did! Free dockage!

In fact, it was so nice here at the Legion that we ended up staying all the next day and night! They were having tacos at the restaurant for lunch – so we couldn't miss that! We hung out all day and relaxed. We even ended up eating dinner there too. BTW, the Commander of the Legion came by to tell us that they normally just let boats stay one night. However, since they weren't crowded and it was getting late, we were welcome to stay another night. Good thing! We really hadn't planned to leave! LOL!

Mike had taken a dinghy ride to check out other anchorages. There are several around here. Since we are in no hurry we might as well take advantage of them! Tomorrow we are planning to stay at a free slip that a couple has and offers to transient boaters. That is really a nice thing to do! It's somewhere near John's Pass so we really want to spend some time there.

Till next time!

Admiral "C"

Friday, December 16, 2011

The Gulf Crossing is History!

It's finally morning and we're all glad to see Clearwater!


We made it!  We are now in Clearwater in the Clearwater Harbor Marina. We left Carrabelle about 1:30 Thursday afternoon with several other boats: Jeremiah, Glory Days, Gemini, Adagio, Gold Leaf and Laughter. (Algonquin and Sweet Pea planned to travel a little faster so they left a little later.) We arrived here at 11:30 a.m. this Friday morning!

Of course, everyone was a little apprehensive due to all the horror stories we had heard. However, with all the Loopers making this crossing over the past several years, there has never been a boat lost! LOL! Glad to know that!

The crossing was probably the best one yet this season. It started with a little bit of waves (2-3 ft.) but settled down rather quickly. Before we knew it, it was smooth sailing! About 10:30 the moon finally came up. With the moon and all the stars, it was a gorgeous night.

But no matter how gorgeous it was, it didn't change the fact that it was a very long night!! Mike and I took turns driving the boat and taking short naps. It seemed like forever before the morning sun started to come up on the horizon.

Once we saw land, we knew we had made it! But before we could celebrate we had to run the obstacle course of hundreds of crab traps. No one wanted to catch one of those it their props!

We inched along for over 14 miles warning each other about the crab pots on our starboard or on our port. It seemed like forever. But then the Clearwater Bridge came into view! We had made it!

Only 22 hours later! NautiNell had done her job again – this time safely transporting us to the other side of the Gulf and to warmer Florida weather. We knew she wouldn't falter!

We plan to spend some time in Clearwater and to take the "Jolly Trolley" over to Tarpon Springs to check out the sponges and the Greek restaurants.

What an adventure!! What a great time!!

Till next time!

Admiral "C"

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Our Stay in Carrabelle


All the Loopers waiting patiently here in Carrabelle
 Our stay at Carrabelle has been a very pleasant experience. Whoever said that there wasn't much in Carrabelle was mistaken. Granted there aren't a lot of restaurants but there are enough. The C-Quarters Marina is the best. In fact we would put it right up in the top when it comes to being convenient, hospitable, and economical. It's a great hangout for all of us Loopers while we wait for the great "weather window".
One of the best marinas!
Looper gathering - one of many!
One of our daily visitors
Obviously there isn't much crime in Carrabelle.
All dressed up for Christmas!
Merry Christmas, everyone!
After fueling up and settling into our slip, we found several Loopers already here. Some have been here for more than a week. Sometimes the weather doesn't cooperate very well. There would be even more Loopers arriving in the next day or so. It looks like there may be about 20 boats or so making the
Gulf Crossing near the end of this week.

Mike has really enjoyed this down period. He's been hanging out with the local good ol' boys every afternoon drinking a beer and sharing colorful fish tales. He did some work on the boat but mostly just took the time off. He needed that! It's going to be a long haul once we leave here.

The Gulf Crossing will be from Carrabelle to Clearwater. It's about 170 miles and will be an overnight run. We can only travel so fast. Of course, some will run faster, some slower. We will be out of sight of land and too far for our VHF or cell phones to have service. At least, we will be in constant contact with each other along the way. We all will be glad when this run is over, I'm sure. It will be a great experience! I hope! LOL!

Back to our visit here in Carrabelle – like I said – this is a neat little area. I've spent a lot of time riding back and forth to the IGA, local pharmacy, Dollar Store, Post Office and gift shops. One of my main goals was to get all of our Christmas shopping done and mailed. Done! Another one was to find more Christmas decorations. Done! Mike added more lights to NautiNell while I did the inside. Oh, and stop at the local hotdog stand for a chili dog. Done! LOL!

Every night we would all gather together for Happy Hour. Always good food and lots of fun conversations. Most of them would always lead to when we were leaving and how fast we were all planning to travel. Every day more Loopers would come in. It's been really nice seeing everyone – some we hadn't seen since Norfolk! One night the marina furnished us fresh oysters! Jim of Sweet pea was the only one you had an oyster knife (or whatever it's called) so he was in charge of the shucking! Everyone pretty much just lined up!

One afternoon Mike and Jeff went off in search of beer. They found it in the local Harry's Bar. Harry's is a liquor store and bar. They bought their beer after having a couple at the bar and talking to the locals. The owner ended up bringing them home in his truck so they wouldn't have to try to transport their booty on their bikes. He even gave them each a free t-shirt!

Mike spent some time fishing from the dinghy. He said that the dolphins kept coming up to the dinghy and blowing out their spout! He said that you really don't realize how big they are until you're in the dinghy beside them! LOL!

We were able to buy fresh shrimp from a lady who came by the marina. Mike and I had our very own shrimp boil. Shrimp, new potatoes and corn - all boiled together - yummm! The shrimp were huge and the freshest ever.

Well, we've been here since Sunday and it looks like we will be able to leave today (Thursday). We are planning to leave around 4:00 p.m. and head out to sea. We need to leave about this time so we will be arriving in Clearwater in the daylight but after the sun is higher so we can see. There are millions of crab pots out there and no one wants to catch one in their prop! Anyway we should be arriving in Clearwater Friday morning. We'll stay in Clearwater for a few days. We want to see Tarpon Springs which is nearby. Tarpon Springs is known for sponges and Greek restaurants!

Till next time!

Admiral "C"

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

We Made it to Carrabelle


Navy Hovercraft
St Andrews Bay

On Land or Sea
Snickers and Molly being
patient aboard Jeremiah




Celebrating Happy Hour at the
Haughty Heron!

Raking up Oysters
Smooth and Peaceful
Dolphins paying a visit


Well, we did end up spending another night in Panama City Marina due to the wind. The whole St Andrew Bay was whitecaps. Not what we wanted to deal with! It was really cold too! SO we hung out - while I did laundry Mike hung Christmas lights on NautiNell. We really weren't too crazy about the Panama City Marina. The docks weren't really in very good shape – but you take what you can get. They did give Mike a free t-shirt. Again – you take what you can get – right?

While we were there this huge hovercraft came by and disappeared quickly into a swirling haze of water. It had huge fans that propelled it and lifted it about six feet about the water with a speed of about 60 mph! How cool is that! Anyway according to those that know these things; it was the LCAC-91 that runs on a fuel comprised of regular diesel mixed half and half with a diesel made from algae. It runs on either land or water. The Navy is still testing this new fuel mixture in hopes that it will be cheaper and greener for the future.

Thursday morning we left for Port St Joe along with Jeremiah and Sweet Pea. We led the way this time and had a very pleasant trip. We crossed East Bay along with our friendly dolphins. It is so cool to have them run alongside the boat. While we were crossing the Bay, several F-4s were flying sorties. It was like watching TOP GUN! I could just imagine Maverick and Goose up there doing their thing! How cool!

We had to go down the Gulf Coast Canal about 7 miles to the Gulf to get to the marina in Port St Joe. Port St Joe Marina definitely knows how to treat the Loopers. They met us with a "goody bag" filled with all sorts of treats including a t-shirt, coozie cup, etc. Hey, all the important stuff to us Loopers!

Once we were all settled in, we decided to walk over to the "town area" to see what was there. We found a great combination – the Haughty Heron – a liquor store in front and a bar in the back. And it was Happy Hour! We all stayed a little too long and pretty much drank our dinner. Oh well, it was fun! They did furnish us Chex Mix!

The next morning we all rode our bikes to see more of the town. It's a neat town with lots of cool stores. Mike and I were searching for more Christmas lights. Just call him Clark РLOL! Anyway, we found some so back to NautiNell we went so he could hang them. We ate lunch at the Dockside Caf̩ at the Marina with Jeff and Linda. Really good food and cold beer! Jim and Dale found Peppers Рwhich they said was the best Mexican food they had had for a very long time. Sorry we missed that one! Can't eat everywhere! Though we try sometimes!

Oh, also, the Humane Society was at the Marina with the cutest little kittens and doggies. I just couldn't get enough of them. The one little black kitten just took my heart. I wanted her so bad, but I know this isn't the right time. Maybe in a few months when we settle down a little. I'll keep working on Mike….. LOL!

We headed out to Apalachicola Saturday morning. It's known as the "oyster capital" of Florida. Over 90% of the oysters that come from Florida come from Apalachicola. The area was really not that scenic, in fact, it was rather swampy. However, we did see several bald eagles! We made it to Scipio Marina just as the wind really picked up. That made docking a little interesting! Maybe frustrating would be a better word….. anyway, we finally docked safely. Scipio Marina is rather overpriced but they have a really good restaurant - "Papa Joes". Mike said that the oysters were the best that he had ever had. EVER! I'm sure there was more to do in Apalachicola – but we ran out of time and daylight.

Sunday - we were leaving – we weren't- we were- we weren't.......... Finally after a good hot breakfast – and finally - when Jeremiah could get off the bottom – we headed out to cross Apalachicola Bay. Sweet Pea opted to stay another day for more oysters. LOL! Gold Leaf joined us for the journey. The Bay is big water and was rather choppy. The water is brown due to all the pine tree runoff. However the farther we went the better it got – color wise anyway, it was still bumpy. Again we saw lots of eagles and the dolphins didn't forget us.

Finally we made it to the C-Quarters Marina in Carrabelle. What a neat place! Lots of Loopers here waiting for the "weather window". It looks like we will be here until at least Wednesday. We are going to meet with Buddy, "the weather guru", on Tuesday morning. All of us are planning to make the great crossing from here to either Tarpon Springs or Clearwater. It will be a long trip and will include traveling at night. Not looking forward to it, but it's part of the great adventure!

Till next time!

Admiral "C"

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Our time in Ft Walton Beach

Sand dunes along the "Grand Canyon"
Jeremiah leading the way



So Capt. Chappy, is it going to be fish for dinner?
 
The water - like glass today!

The free dock was right next to the City Park

NautiNell all dressed up for Christmas!

City Park all lit up for Christmas!

We had a great anchorage at Navarre Beach. But the morning was really windy and the water was rather choppy. Not really bad, but choppy! We planned to go to Destin but that would mean spending time on the Choctawhatchee Bay – not a great idea with the wind and waves.

Jeremiah and Sweet Pea had caught up with us along the way so we all decided to stop at Ft Walton Beach at a FREE dock. Yes, I did say FREE! I wish other towns would provide this service. It really is a nice gesture. Their Chamber of Commerce recognizes just what it means for Loopers to have a free dockage. It means we will go into their town and spend our money. Spending money seems to be what we Loopers do best! Mike and I rode our bikes to West Marine and Winn Dixie. Mike grilled the fresh grouper that we bought at Joe Patti's. It was a really nice night!

On Monday the forecast called for wind and rain. After looking out over Choctawhatchee Bay and seeing the white caps, we decided to stay another day. The town of Ft Walton Beach asks that we only stay at the free dock for 24 hours. However they granted us another 24 hours with no problem. They are smart! LOL! We were getting the wind, but luckily we didn't get the rain. The boys went biking – another trip to West Marine! I cleaned the boat and baked snickerdoodles! Yum!

The water is so clear. It's really pretty here even if it is cloudy and windy. I saw several huge jellyfish swim by! I decided that I needed to go on a bike ride too. I rode over to the beaches and all over town. Ft Walton Beach has several cool shops and restaurants.

Later that afternoon Gemini pulled in to stay the night. We all walked to a local tavern named "Fokkers" for pizza and beer. Pretty neat place. They are the home of a huge pizza named the "Mother Fokker". LOL! We ate too much pizza and drank too much beer; but we had a ball. We went to bed planning to leave in the morning.

Everyone was up early on Tuesday morning. The weather was perfect and the water was like glass. Even though there was still a slight chance of rain we were outta there! We had beautiful weather all day long – 75 degrees and blue skies! Dolphins even paid us a visit alongside our boat. The water keeps becoming clearer and bluer. We went through the area that is called the Grand Canyon. This is a 20 mile stretch where there is no place to stop or anchor. They refer to this as "the ditch". Not nearly as bad as "the ditch" in the Trent Severn!

We made it to Panama City Marina late afternoon. Hopefully we will have a great travel day tomorrow and will make it to either St Joe or White City. The forecast is for strong winds and a lot cooler temperatures. Let's hope they're wrong!! We'll have to remember to move our clocks ahead an hour. We'll be entering the Eastern Time Zone.

Till next time!

Admiral "C" 

Sunday, December 4, 2011

In Search of White Sand Beaches

Here we are at Lulu's!
Beautiful day!

Leaving our anchorage at Ingram's Bayou
 
Here are those white sandy beaches!
Looks like snow!

Mike, Jeff and Jim
What a threesome!!

Ready, Set, Let's fly!!

Watching the Blue Angels taxi down the runway
Sunset at Navarre Beach
A fishing boat passing us by
Dragging her nets

After a nine day stay in Fairhope, AL we were definitely ready to begin our journey in search for those white sandy beaches and warmer temperatures. Wednesday, we headed east along with Jeremiah and Sweet Pea by way of the Inter-Coastal Waterway. It wasn't long before the water became clearer and the beaches whiter. Even the dolphins decided to pay us a visit!

We stopped along the way at Lulu's for a sandwich. Lulu's Restaurant is a huge place right on the ICW. It's owned by Lucy Buffet, Jimmy's sister. Great food and great drinks. I had one of their famous "bushwhackers". Lots of rum! Wow, they are soooo good!

We spent a little too much time at Lulu's so we had to hurry along. We had planned to spend the night on the hook. We didn't want to try to find a good anchorage in the dark. We made it just in time to Ingram's Bayou. We had been told that this place was a very good anchorage with lots of sandy beaches. We were also told to be careful if we had pets that needed to go ashore. Alligators had been seen on shore! Glad we could just stay on the boat! We dropped the hook and watched the sunset. Jeremiah and Sweet Pea had opted to stay at a marina – The Wharf – a few miles back.

Thursday morning brought us cold temperatures! There was ICE on the deck – again! – And it was 28 degrees! We really need to get further south quick! It didn't take too long before it began to warm up a little but I just kept thinking about what it must be like in Key West…… well, at least we weren't in Michigan!

Just about the time we were pulling out from Ingram's Bayou along comes Sweet Pea and Jeremiah. We all traveled together on to Pensacola. It was a fairly short day. We decided to stay at a marina overnight since the forecast was still saying - COLD! We headed for Palifox Pier which is right downtown in Pensacola. Palifox Pier is a really nice marina. For dinner we walked over to the Atlas Oyster Bar. A dozen of huge oysters for only $10.00! This place has a really neat feel to it too. We all had a great time! I had something called St. Augustine rolls – made with alligator. Not bad!!

On Friday we decided that we'd stay another day so we could check out the Naval Aviation Museum. The Museum is on the Navy Base here in Pensacola. We have been to Pensacola several times but we had never been to the Museum. We called a cab and we all squeezed in for the ride. Luckily it wasn't too far!

We all enjoyed the Museum and the IMAX Theater there. The movie was - "The Magic of Flight". That was my first IMAX movie. We then took a trolley ride around the flight line where all the old planes are staged. While we were in the trolley – we were able to see the Blue Angels land. They taxied right down the runway in front of us!! How cool is that!

We spent most of the day at the Museum. When we did get back to the boats; it was Happy Hour time on NautiNell. We then decided to walk downtown and find a good place to eat dinner. The marina is located in the Old Seville Quarter area and there are several bars and restaurants all around. Just as we left the marina, we were entertained by a group of young men caroling! This is just so cool!!! We found a place at the Old Seville Quarter building – the Palace Oyster Bar - . This building is really a neat one – it has been restored and really has the ambiance. There was a private party going on in the larger room – and guess who was there! Santa! So not only did we have carolers this evening – we got to see Santa! It just couldn't get any better! LOL! We ate a really good meal and topped it off with fresh "beignets"! Dale and Jim had never had them before – so I knew they needed to try them. They were just as wonderful as I remembered. We didn't even have to go to New Orleans!

Saturday it was so much warmer! Now that's more like it! The guys rode their bikes to Joe Patti's Seafood. This is the best place to get fresh seafood! It comes right off the boats and into Joe Patti's. Mike bought fresh shrimp, oysters and fish. Can't wait to try it all!

Mike and I left Pensacola about noon. We wanted to go to an anchorage somewhere. The others decided they would wait until morning to leave. We had a great travel day to Navarre Beach. We anchored out just a short way from the beach and the beach bar "Juana's Pagoda Bar". We had planned to dinghy over to the bar, but we ended up just relaxing on the sundeck and watching the sunset – again. Never get too tired of that! Mike grilled out steaks and we had a wonderful evening. We will hook up with the others again in the morning sometime. We will be headed to Destin. We plan to anchor there for a day or two.
 
Does it get any prettier than this??

Till next time!

Admiral "C"