As my 24 hour call was ending; my apprehension was growing.  Even though there was no work to do, I just laid in the bed unable to fall asleep, my mind inundated with recent events.  It wasn't just the bad cases of the preceding twenty-four hours, the child that had a coin stuck in her windpipe, the elderly man that had to have a craniotomy for evacuation of a blood clot, or the three teenage boys that we operated on for gun shot wounds received in a drug deal gone bad. It was my good friend James. He  had just left the hospital and I was certain that he would be given the bad news that he had lung cancer. His illness caused the dormant thoughts to resurface. For some time now I had been plagued with the same old grumbling thoughts, "After all these years of dedicated work, raising kids and putting up with the stress and drudgery of every day routine, was this how it was supposed to end?  Work every day until you get sick and can't do anything other than visit doctors, take pills and wait for the end!  I say, " bullshit!"   As apprehensive (read scared) as I was to do an open water night crossing, I was going to do it.  After all as Bob Bitchin the publisher of Latts and Atts puts it,  "The only difference between an adventure and an ordeal is attitude."  Great, all I had to do was get a little attitude.  Most of my friends and relatives think I have too much attitude, but is it enough to get me through something I am terrified of doing?
     I sat with my nose against the window of the airplane looking down on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.  Could I see any waves or white caps from this height? No. Probably too high.  I could barely make out the rivulets extending out on the Mississippi Delta.  At least it was a clear day.  The plane started its descent into Tampa and as I raised out of my seat to look directly down on the water there it was,  floating in a bath of royal blue water, a crooked curved finger of white sand semi-circling an emerald green lagoon. Attached to the finger was a lush darker green tropical glade.  I recognized it immediately from the google overhead picture, it was Anclote Key, the very place we would cross to from Carrabelle, Florida. What a coincidence!  Of all the times I had flown into Tampa, this was the first time I had actually flown over Anclote Key.  A nagging doubt started growing in my alleged mind, was this an omen? If so, was it a good or bad omen!

                                                                                  


     I exited the airport to see my daughter Jennifer's ever present beautiful smile visible from inside the car.  Giving me a kiss she laughingly said, "How was your trip, old man."
 I responded in my usual fashion, as grumpy as I could feign, "I'll show you whose an old man!" and started tickling her ribs. We took off for the long 4 hour ride to meet Beth, Tom and Mildred waiting for us on the boat in Carrabelle. 
     Tom, Mildred and Beth spent the previous few days prepping and supplying the boat for the crossing and they were ready to go.  We repeatedly checked the wind, waves, swells, currents and as much as I looked for a reason to not go, there was none.
 " This would be the best it is ever going to be." The people at The Moorings marina reassured me. We topped up the fuel tanks, water tanks and checked all the filters and fluids.  Tomorrow we would cross.
    Almost immediately the Admiral and I began to argue.  "We should leave later in the afternoon." I said.
 "No we are leaving as soon as the morning fog clears so we can do much of it in daylight." she insisted.
 "But its a 16 hour trip and we need to arrive in daylight so we can see to avoid the crab pots!" I exclaimed.
 "No.  I'm putting my foot down this time.  You've made enough mistakes.  We are leaving in the morning when we know we have a window of good weather." she said firmly.
 "Oh, well," I thought somewhat chagrined, "Lets see what happens in the morning."
   
 

Socked in, in Carrabelle

     The weather window was swept away by another storm.  As I sat staring blankly out the side windows of the boat I unconsciously shrugged my shoulders, thinking, "You left knowing it wasn't the best weather in which to travel.  Get over it. Make the best of it.  If this was Maine you would be smiling that you could go boating at all during this time of the year.  If this continued warming of the earth continues we may indeed be boating in Maine in February!"  So, a change in attitude was in order, as was a change in the way we have been cruising.  Crossing the Gulf was the next big challenge and  I hoped we would slow down and enjoy the rest of this trip.

                                                                  Tornado forming          

      Looking around it was obvious that Carrabelle is a quaint little town.  Having dinner at the local restaurant, "The Fisherman's Wife", we met her and some of her family.  Her husband actually captains a shrimp fishing boat.   "He is shrimping right now down off of Key West and won't be home for two weeks", she informed us. "That's why our seafood is so fresh. He brings it home with him and we get it right off the boat."
      It was fresh.  The crab cakes were made that afternoon and were only available on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, which appeared to be their busy time as people came for miles specifically to get the cakes.
      When I asked the Fisherman's Wife, how far it was to down town.  She declared with a warm smile, "You are down town. This is it! "  So downtown consists of 3 to 4 marinas,  one IGA grocery store, 2 small restaurants, one Ace hardware and the world's smallest police station!

                                                                                      

      People here are "small town friendly" and Buddy is one of these people.  He is the local weather guru, who advises all the cruisers of when and how to make the crossing to the west coast of Florida.  He has been a permanent fixture at the Moorings Marina for over 20 years.  Not to my surprise, when I told him about our attempt at crossing from Panama he indicated that even though I was correct in my assessment that the wind and waves would settle to 0 to 1 foot, there was an east wind.  This would pile the waves up on the San Blas shoals and it was a good thing we came back in because it would have gotten worse the further out we went until we were miles past the shoals!  Five boats left that morning from Carrabelle and easily made the crossing.  Not only is it different leaving from the east side of the shoals but because we just had a new moon the tide was higher so it would still be somewhat unsettling around the two major currents we would have to pass through to get to Tarpon Springs.  He has a better way that takes boats 15 miles east before making a turn to Tarpon Springs, thus avoiding both currents.
     As I wandered the dock, checking out the boats I approached a 44 foot Marine Trader Trawler, "Trip Time" tied up to the transient dock.  She was displaying the "Loopers Flag" on her flag pole.  I immediately looked in to say Hello and struck up a conversation with Bob and Cathy Carlson.  It turns out, they had just missed the weather window  and were anxiously awaiting to hear from Buddy about a possible crossing early next week.  No doubt in my mind, when we return in mid March we would wait until Buddy gives us the thumbs up to attempt the 140 mile crossing to Tarpon Springs.
     We still had some problems to solve on the boat.  Although we changed out the generator room bilge pump with a new one that had a check valve built in, I was uneasy.  It was apparent to me that the recurrent problem with the pump was just a symptom of what was really wrong.....the boat was overloaded on the port side placing the bilge pump openings under water most of the time.  It was  high time to figure out why and get the boat balanced properly.  First we tried turning the dingy around so the weight of the motor was on the other side.... totally useless!  This didn't balance the boat and was not only difficult to do, but we managed to break the cradle the boat sits in, trying to do it.   Back to the hardware store for 3 inch long stainless screws to re-bed the cradle.   Next, we took a close look in the engine room.  I knew there was lead ballast on the port side of the boat but could not find anywhere to secure this ballast on the starboard side. Tom, Mildred and I wracked our brains about different ways we could safely move some of the lead plates to the starboard side of the boat, coming up with no good solutions.
      Our newly met friend from "Trip Time", Bob Carlson calmly suggested, "Why don't you just take the lead out!"
      DA AAH! (sometimes it pays to not be so close to a situation).   This was a task I hoped to avoid since each plate weighed about 35 lbs and required a position that would aggravate even a healthy back.  Nevertheless, we pulled out 13 plates (455lbs!) and placed them on the dock to be removed later by Beth and our daughter Jennifer when they returned to Naples. The boat was now lighter, level and would hopefully be more fuel efficient.
     Mother nature had one last going away present for us.   I was on the phone with our grandson Blake's mother when suddenly the boat began a rough rolling motion straining the dock lines.  As I looked out several people were starring up at the clouds which were black and rotating clockwise. Immediately, beside these clouds rotated another system in the opposite direction! A tornado appeared to be forming.  "Sorry, I gotta go Amanda!" I shouted as I hung up the phone. A quick check of the lines eased my foreboding as I mentally prepared for the worst. 
     Captain Rusty is the  local Tow Boat U.S. captain and runs the ferry service from Carrabelle to Dog Island.  As he quickly pulled up next to us on the dock,  I ran over to catch a line.  "How was it out there I yelled."
 "No problem." he responded. "I got hit by 8 foot waves and a water spout but this boat is an Island Hopper and she took it well.  Just got to get some grass and branches out of my rigging!"
      Glad that we weren't out there, we finished packing the car to head back to Beaumont, TX.  Hopefully when we return March 17, this weather will have settled and we will have a relaxing trip to the Florida west coast.

Appalachicola to Carabelle

     Ok, our plans for the crossing were behind us.  We would now have a few days to relax and enjoy exploring this particular area of Florida. You know, find the flavour of this area. However, things didn't start out well.  As I started to have a shower I noticed that the water pressure was low.  We had tanked up at our last stop so I continued to lather up....and ...no water...damn it!....soap from head to toe and no way to rinse off!...what the hell is wrong now!  Apparently, with all the banging and jarring around in the gulf a clamp had  loosened and come off the water pump and all the fresh water was pumped into the bilge!  Mildred, bless her heart,  heard the pump running after all of us had retired, and went down and repaired it on her own.  Thank you Mildred!  We would fill up again when we settled into a marina, tonight.

  

                                                        The Wharf in Apalachicola

       While the girls went to explore (read shop!) Tom and I set about repairing the bilge pump-- again. It turned out to be no big deal, some trash got caught up in the check valve and water was siphoning back into the boat!  We still hadn't got the boat balanced yet, since it involved moving lead weights from the port to the starboard side and we had no way yet to secure the weights on the other side of the boat.  I figured part of the problem was the new dingy being not centered, so opted for pulling the dingy towards the centre of the boat.  The boat was still low in the water since, we were still loaded  "Beverly Hillbilly style".  "Stuff" would be coming off the boat in Carrabelle to make room for any family or friends that were crazy enough to want to come along on this cruise, so we could rebalance later.

                                                                 Shopping Spree
                                                        

    We basked in the warm sun light and thought we would enjoy a nice relaxing day in Apalachacola.  We went to "Carolines" restaurant for breakfast. (recommended to Mildred by two little old ladies in a shop who argued  about where was the best breakfast in town)  Carolines was a homey dining room overlooking the water.  Apalachicola is "Oyster City".  Everything seemed to revolve around the oyster industry or shrimping.  Oyster bars, oyster restaurants, and oyster menu at the restaurant.  As we sat looking over the menu, I thought, "Ok, I'll bite lets see what this oyster thing is really all about."  Tom, Mildred and Beth ordered the usual morning fare,  biscuits, gravy and eggs for Tom, sausage and eggs for Mildred, spinach omelet (ehck!) for Beth and I would try the oyster cakes and eggs!  Two bites and I gave it over to Tom who loves oysters!  To me, the oyster cakes had a rich perfumey taste that certainly didn't go along with breakfast.   No more oysters for me!
     As Tom and I were finishing some repairs the girls returned.  Beth had a troubled look in her eyes and I knew something was up when she said in a somewhat higher pitched voice. "They told us at the store that the storm was coming much faster than predicted.  We should get tied up at a marina....now!"  
     Well, it wasn't that simple.  Wherever, we tied up is where the boat would stay until our return in a month.   There were many things to consider...floating vs. fixed dock, tide changes, security and price.  I had already figured out that Apalachicola was overpriced after calling the only marina in town that had a slip big enough, paying for breakfast, and finding out that the $5.00 PVC pelican on a stick Beth bought (to plant in the flower bed at the condo in St. Stephen, NB) cost $45.00!  Active Captain had reviews on a marina in Carrabelle, the Moorings, which indicated they were very helpful, especially when deciding  when was a good time to make the gulf crossing and they had a safe, secure marina at a good price for the month.  Getting the feeling something bad is about to happen?

                                                                             

     The sky darkened as we rushed to untie the lines and push off the dock.  Turning by the shrimp boats tied at the end of the dock, I swung wide......and hit the shoal and an underwater piling .  As I backed off I felt the props grind in and saw a few pieces of wood surface...but we were off and headed out to Apalachicola bay.  As it started to rain, I looked at the weather report...the radar showed more rain headed our way and a major storm with 65 mile per hour winds, rain , lightning and tornadoes headed north east travelling at 60 miles per hour!  It was a little closer to turn around and go back to Apalachicola, so what did we do?.......by now you should be able to guess the answer to this...remember the quote by Simone de Beauvoir...at the beginning of this blog...I decided to "extend oneself".  After all the bad storm was north east of us and travelling northeast.  As long as it didn't turn we could handle the rain .  The one thing this boat can do that a trawler can't, is get up on plane.  Away we went.  I throttled up to 16 knots, turned on the radar and would cut the normal 3 hour 28 mile trip in half...so I thought! We did well until the hazy mist turned into thick fog!
     Not wanting to run over any oyster men working the bay, I slowed down.  At times we passed markers that were visible on the radar but not to the naked eye but we persisted and I am happy to report that the map plotter and radar pulled us through. The bad storm continued northeast of us and the fog lifted as we entered Carrabelle.  Finally, we could rest.  Docs Holiday would be staying here, safely berthed until our return.

                                                                    Oyster Fisherman

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
.
     Comfortably sipping a cubra libra, I could easily tolerate the burning in my ears from Beth chastising me.  She was more pissed about the grounding than she was about the trip across Apalachicola Bay, especially after I told her we would have to have a quick hall and the props exchanged before we attempted to cross the gulf!
   
    
 

Go...No Go....Try to Go

     Those of you who are living your life vicariously through this blog, I know have been waiting for this post.   Did they go across the gulf to Clearwater or did they stay safe in the intracoastal?  If you remember the last post, we had a weather window predicting one foot seas starting on Tuesday and lasting until Wednesday night, before the seas would start to get in the two to three foot range and keep on increasing to five to six foot by Saturday.   We met a Captain at Santa Rosa Yacht Club who suggested just going across from Panama City directly to Clearwater.

 I should have suspected something was awry when his female partner looked askance at him, saying, " Did you suggest that!"

She than said rather emphatically, "Most people usually leave from Carabelle."
      Tom and I were salivating looking at the weather window knowing we could save a lot of time and be on the west coast of Florida before we had to head back to work in Texas.

 Beth was much more cautious saying "Ralph, there's a reason most people don't do that!"  So I came up with a plan.  (I can hear y'all starting to chuckle and say in your heads, oh! oh! Ralphie.)

                                                            Air Naval Flights                  

     Options! Ya! Options!   We would head out of Panama city and if it got rough  we would turn in to St. Josephs Bay. If tolerable, we would continue on past the San Blas Shoals direct to Clearwater. (The Captain had warned us that it might get a little bumpy until we got past the shoals.

 "Stay in 50 feet of water. " he said.

 Bumpy! Maybe a professional captain would call it bumpy but us pleasure boaters found it too rough. What started out as 1 to 2 foot seas kept progressing to 4 to 5 foot seas  with the boat bouncing and banging to the point where this Captain got....well....should I say .....a little green around the gills!

                                                       Good Bye Panama City           

     Tom, who is a former navy man smiled as he took the helm and I went to the recently purchased lazy-boy chair and assumed the recumbent position.   As I lay back I looked over at Beth sitting on the couch......glaring at me....hmmmm....no sympathy in those eyes! ....."This could be a long trip, " I thought as I closed my eyes to fight back the dizziness and early waves of nausea.  We were only 2 hours out and it would be 2 hours back in to the protected waters of St. Josephs Bay. My hopes were dashed for a relatively quick crossing to the west coast of Florida.  In fact, this meant leaving the boat in Carabelle for several weeks since the weather was going to get nasty for the next week.
     Once in calmer waters my "mal de mer" quickly passed, so I took over the helm  along the cut from St. Joseph's Bay into the intracoastal.   Within 2 miles I found out that the piece of "duck weed" in the centre of the water was not...it was a log..that was the first thing I hit since putting on the reworked props...oh well,  no vibration but this was turning out to be a bad day and it was about to get worse.
     Because we left at noon to make the night crossing and because we spent 4 hours out in the Gulf we were going to have to travel the ICW in the dark to make it to Apalachicola tonight.  No problem, I thought.  There is very little barge traffic, unlike the area around Beaumont and Port Arthur which one avoided traveling at night because of the numerous night barge traffic.
     No moon.  Ya, no moon, therefore no light, therefore couldn't see shit!  But, I had my map plotter and radar and a huge 2,000 watt beam flashlight to pick out the markers.   It was still nerve wracking, especially when I came around a bend and saw red lights all across the river and what looked like two boats in the middle of the river.  WTF was going on?   The map plotter indicated the red lights were a swing bridge and the other lights weren't boats.  They weren't even on the water!...They were lights from houses on the shore!  Do I need to tell you that things look different at night! 
    I inched toward the red lights to see if the swing bridge was open with Tom and Mildred on the bow waving me  forward... but I was already on top of the damn thing....Not!  I was at least a quarter mile away.  (Did I already say things look different in the dark!)   We slowly passed through the open bridge and I decided to abandon the plan to head directly out through Apalachicola toward Tarpon Springs.  All of us were tired and stressed out.  We would stay at the free municipal wharf in Apalachicola for the night.

Gulf Breeze to Panama City, Fl

     Tom and I were up at 5:00 to disconnect the lines, power cord and fill the boat with water.  We were at the fuel dock waiting for the attendant to arrive and fill us up so we could get an early start.  The weather had put us two days behind .  Why we feel that we are behind?  I don't know.  Maybe its just the way guys travel. Maybe its testosterone. Maybe its type A behaviour.  What I do know is that Beth can't understand it and finds it stressful!    I assured her that the weather reports indicated the white caps would settle down by mid morning.   Now , I know what you are thinking....oh! oh! Ralphie, you,ve done it again. What kind of mess did you get into this time?  Ha! Ha!  This time the forecast was right.  Just as predicted the large bays we crossed settled down from the "rough chop" to a light chop and the winds from 15 knots to 5.  It was smooth cruising.  Beth even took the helm!
     Of couse that didn't stop the mechanical gremlins from working!  Just as Beth took over control of the boat the starboard tach drive gave out, so we lost the synchronizer again.  Wouldn't you know it...more stress for Beth!  However,  your forward thinking captain had already prepared for this event.  Surprise! Surprise!  Since I knew the fix might be temporary I had taken the precaution of bringing both motors up manually to 1200 rpms so that if the tack quit both motors would still be in sink. Beth was relieved about this, but became increasingly concerned about what time we would arrive in Panama city.  She did not want to anchor in the dark and it was 90 miles away, and we would hit a time change and lose an hour of light, and we were unsure if there were any no wake zones, and  there were no good intermediate anchorages  and...and...and...Oh my ears were ringing!!!
     And....she was right!  It was getting late by the time we were approaching  Panama City.... but, I had a plan!   Simple.  Have you already guessed it?  I know RJ has!  If your late what do you do?.......STEP ON THE GAS!!   It was time to give Docs Holiday a warm up, so we throttled up to 2200 rpms giving us 17.6 knots. We pulled in to a beautiful well protected anchorage, set the anchor, cracked a couple of coldies and lit the barbecue before it got dark.      
  
 The trip across the bays, Choctawatchee, West Bay and St. Andrews Bay were delightful.  The sun was shining and although cold for the southerners, we Canadians were in our element.  We are used to drinking cold beer in the snow for heaven's sake.  At least we were in the sunshine!

                                          Government  Installation--but who's looking?

      The highlight of the trip was the cruise through the "Canyons".  Just leaving the Choctawatchee bay  the ICW winds through  several miles of steep 20 foot high sand hills.  The hills formed different shapes and as we went along we could see some that looked like castles, some had animal shapes and one that looked like a group of people with large bodies and little heads, standing together.  The sun with the winding river sent shadows across them which gave them motion.  In my Canadian head I thought, "must be the beer, eh!"

                                                                        ICW

                                          There's natural sand sculptures in them Hills                                  
                                                          

                                                               The  Canyons                                                                               
                                                                 
     Tomorrow, a big decision for us.  Do we go off shore, 198 miles from Panama City to Clearwater! Its giving 1 foot seas for over 24 hours then a front moves in and even Appalachicola bay is going to have 4 foot seas within the next 3 days.   If we go direct to Appalachicola or Carrabelle we will miss the window of opportunity and our trip is over for the next few weeks until I return from working in Beaumont.   Even if we wait, we will still have to find a weather window to make the crossing.  Carabelle to Tarpon springs is a little shorter (only 18 miles north of Clearwater) 16 hours vs.20
Decisions Decision Decisions.   What would you do?  (I know my sister in law,  Patty would say. "Screw this, take a plane!")
    
    
'

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. 


         

Orange Beach to Perdido Key

     Before leaving the Wharf Marina, Tom and I walked the docks at the local marina, while the girls went for supplies.  Dinner was my first attempt at trying steamed oysters (doesn't "taste like chicken!").  Beth, even with her cold could taste the very aromatic French Onion Soup and said it was delicious.  Mildred enjoyed the sea food platter and Tom revelled in the raw oysters.
     Beth kept noticing small saran wrap bags of water with a penny in the bottom, hanging above the entrance to the local restaurants.  Apparently, these are hung around the tops of the doors as they believe that it keeps flies and flying insects out of the dining areas. " How do they work?" we asked almost in unison and definitely in disbelief when the response from our hostess was, "The insects see their reflection  magnified and think its a bigger bug so are scared away."  All I can tell you is, we had an occasional fly and mosquito eater enter the boat and there were none in any of the restaurants or stores we entered. We need to try this in our camp in Piskahagan, New Brunswick!

                                                          Alabama Insect Repellent.             

     As the weather cleared and the sun came out we left for our next stop, an anchorage. ( Fort McRee Cove North in Florida.)  Our first peaceful cruise since leaving Gulfport.   We cruised in serene, soft  blue/green water with Dolphins cavorting in our wake and swimming up beside the boat.. Now I believe my niece Tina when she travelled with us across Galveston Bay and said she could hear the dolphins outside the hull chattering.  They surfaced beside our side door on several occasions and with a whoosh through their "blow hole" gave a high pitched chatter.

                                                      Here's looking at you kid!          
                                                                             


      It was heaven.  Just what we have been in search of.....until......(you just knew there was going to be something didn't you!!)  Well, there was and it was not my fault, damn it!  It wasn't in the weather reports when we took off.   Fog!... damn thick Fog!....  Pea soup thick Fog!......and!!......we ran out of detailed chart markings on the Nobeltec Navigation system!!   What!!  Well, if we are anything we are resourceful and we have double and triple backups for everything on the boat.  First move was to extend the radar range,  turn on the second radar, and put Beth and Mildred out on the front deck to watch for barges and boat traffic.  Second move was to turn on the fog horn (Hee!Hee!Hee!-the girls looked over their shoulder's at me with the first blast.  I just smiled and shrugged my shoulders! We turned on the apple Ipad which has a navigation system called "Charts and Tides" (ps. cost $40.00 compared to the $450.00 I paid for the updated Nobeltec maps!)  which helped us navigate. The girls could barely make out the no wake signs which we passed (using mainly the radar) as we inched into the anchorage.
                                                                          

                                                                Where is that lagoon? 
                                                                                                                                                       
  Wouldn't you know it, within the hour the fog lifted and we found ourselves in a wonderfully protected  lagoon (the closest thing in Florida to being in a south seas atoll.) 
     Relieved and excited that we were in such a beautiful spot, Beth cracked a coldie while I launched the dingy.  We were going to the Beach.  Beth, Mildred and I were going to explore the beach and the Fort McRee ruins.  While we were "grundging" our way with a flashlight through the catacombs of the ruins, Tom sat peacefully on the  aft deck listening to the trumpets play as they lowered the colours at the nearby Pensacola Naval Base.

                                               Our peaceful lagoon off Perdido Key.           

      Next day dawned, with the sun slowly rising in the east and the faint sounds of the trumpets from across the water playing revelry.(Tom with a warm reflection on his face commented, "Thats the first time I've heard revelry in 60 years.)  Peace, at last.  It was fun being the first foot prints in the sand.  I inhaled deeply through my nose to get a hint of what I truly miss about Maine and the Maritimes, the smell of fresh salt air.  The rigour of getting this far was now worthwhile. 
     As we were basking in the serenity of our anchorage Beth noticed some misting coming in on Pensacola bay.  It would be 2 days before a tropical like storm was due to enter our area but despite Beth's desire to remain,  I elected to err on the side of the avoiding the "colonoscopy gods" and get the boat into a safe harbour before the winds came up.  We motored across Pensacola bay to the Santa Rosa Yacht Club to wait out the storm.
                            

                                       ok. ok. Enough! We are going into a safe harbour.