Gulf Breeze and Gale Force Winds

     For those of you following the blog you should know that you can click on the pictures and they enlarge so you can see better detail and when you click on SPOT not only will it show you our track but you can zoom in on any part of the track, like the anchorages. Go to the upper right hand corner and click hybrid and it will give you a google picture overhead of the anchorages and marinas we stop in ...even down to the slip Docs Holiday is berthed in.
      We had a leisurely ride across Pensacola Bay.  Turning to the North Shore after going under the Pensacola Beach Bridge we glided into the Santa Rosa Yacht Club.  Much to our surprise the slips were very short.  Nosing into the first slip we would be unable to get off the boat since the slip didn't even come as far as our side doors.  We backed around a corner and into a second slip which allowed us to tie off to the front poles such that we could get off the stern of the boat onto the new looking aluminum floating docks. 

                                                       SRYC.......calm before the storm.                                   

       This marina, although more expensive ($1.50/foot/day), included access to a well appointed club room, clean showers and restrooms, free laundry and an exercise room with new treadmill, bicycle machine, weights and even a Pilate's ball.  It felt good to put in 4 miles on the treadmill.  We just don't get any  aerobic exercise on the boat. 
       While Tom and I tinkered on the boat, Beth and Mildred made good use of the free laundry facilities.  A number of repairs have been complete.  Tom figured out the stabilizers were not working and traced it back to a loose connection in the gyro.  He replaced a failed float switch on the generator bilge pump (Yea!, we had a spare). TV is not my priority but the Admiral insists! Tom and Mildred spent most of their time tracing out wires for the salon and aft cabin televisions.  Personally  I am tired of all the mindless reality shows including the bullshit lying, groveling politicians and the sensationalizing news media.) About the only thing on TV I can't figure out the outcome of anymore is the weather channel and they even sensationalize the storms!
     I chose this marina because it was on the north side of the intracoastal and should provide protection from the predicted north west winds with expected gusts from 40-60 m.p.h.   Of course, mother nature threw a slight curve and the winds blew from the southeast for a day than from the north on the following day.  Docs Holiday rocked and rolled a bit but we stayed secure with a couple of extra dock lines for insurance. The rain was impressive and Mildred seemed relieved to report that she could find no leaks other than the sliding tracks for the side windows filling up because of slow drainage.  This was easily handled with a couple of small towels placed in the tracks.
     The local Ace hardware was less than 1/2 mile away so it was easy to pick up the few parts Tom required to repair the aft door knob and the TV.  We walked to the nearby Hibachi restaurant about a mile away and enjoyed the chefs performance cooking dinner and singeing our eyebrows with his high flame.  They stopped throwing dinner tidbits into the patrons mouths in the hibachi restaurant (Tokyo) in Beaumont because someone choked on a piece and of course in the "legal hell hole of Texas" won the law suit, so it was fun to see it being done here.  During our walk I spotted a nice little bakerywhere Beth and I enjoyed breakfast the next morning.  Great scones, peach turnovers and Tom said, with a smile on his face,  the German Chocolate Cake we brought him was too rich.
    Taking advantage of the cold rain and wind we elected to forgo the local Mardi Gras Parade and took a cab over to the Pensacola Naval Base to tour the free naval air museum.  It was sobering to see the many acres of gravestones of those that sacrificed their lives for this country and these were just from one branch of the navy!   We spent an hour on the guided tour viewing the history of the Navy's development of increasing lethal air technology.  It was impressive.  A tribute to those that have contributed to this history included Admiral Byrd, who flew across the north pole and President Bush senior. There is even a display of President Bush's flight training report card which states he is an excellent student who "is somewhat eccentric.

                                                                         

     An exhibit of how people at home saved scrap, had to use ration cards for food and fuel and did without to help with the war effort, made me wonder if our society today would be able to come together in such a manner.  We are just so coddled with government benefits, cheap fast food , mind numbing TV and movies that have us all living in a world where we mistakenly believe what we are viewing is reality. We have become as a society soft, fat and for the most part expecting that the government will take care of us!
     Nevertheless it was nostalgic to see a display of a home from the 40's and 50's with the old wringer washer, peddle sewing machine, phones with a dial and an ice box.  These were some of the things Beth and I remember from our childhood, that our grandparents and parents had in our homes.  Come to think of it the sound of the rhythmic motion of the wringer washer almost covered up some of the other sounds in the house on a Sunday morning!

                                                                            

     The high light of the tour though was the display of the Blue Angels acrobatic flying team.  They  practice on Tuesdays and Wednesday in Pensacola at 8:30 am....so no one sleeps in on those mornings!  Unfortunately they are on the west coast now, but will be back by March 31. The display shows the planes several feet apart.  One of the former pilots viewed the exhibit and asked in earnest, "Why so far apart?"  When they are flying in formation they do so at 18 inches!

                                                                            

    A white Rolls Royce in a condo parking lot?  Whats up with that? We stopped the taxi to investigate.  Hmmm, sitting on small wood blocks-been there for a while.  Nice on the outside---Florida weather, no snow, no salt.  JL on what appeared to be a British license plate.  A white rock and roll star that was assassinated-- guess who this belonged to! -got it yet? .....This Rolls was owned by John Lennon!

                                                                               

     Returning to the boat we were met with the aroma of the pot roast Beth started before we left. It felt kind of homey with the windows steamed up and the boat gently tugging at her lines.  A nice dinner and off to bed.  We would need a good nights sleep because we be travelling in the morning.