The Gulf Coast

Perdido Key, Florida

As I noted a few posts back, we arrived at Mile 0 of the Black Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway on Monday October 27th. As we watched our bow cross this milestone on the nav screen, I turned to the Cap'n and asked: "Did you ever imagine that you would motor your own boat the long way around to the Gulf of Mexico?"  What a sense of accomplishment we felt!  We knew we would miss the fresh water of the lakes and rivers (ie, we knew we would have to resume rinsing the boat off every time we came ashore), but we were excited to explore this uncharted territory for us.

Our first stop was Dog River Marina, in Mobile. Known for their exemplary service department, and in need of an oil change and a few other routine maintenance jobs, we decided to stay there for a week to get the work done and to do a few road trips. Several other Loopers were there  and at the neighboring Turner Marina

At Dog River we were docked next to the Capt. Sydney, a Shrimper ( aka, shrimp fishing boat).  Soon after they returned to the dock one afternoon I noticed some familiar faces gathering beside Freedom: fellow Loopers with plastic grocery bags and buckets in their hands.

 I opened the pilot house door and asked what was happening: "We can buy a bag full of shrimp for $20" I was told. I grabbed a bag and got in line for $6/lb shrimp that looked like this:

First thing on the 30th we dropped Ham at a local pet motel and headed off on a Halloween Road Trip to Fayetteville, GA for a fundraising concert ( more on that in another post).   On the way back we stopped in Montgomery, Alabama to see the Capitol area and to tour the First White House of the Confederacy.  Although Jefferson Davis and his family only lived in the house for three months, it has been lovingly restored by a local committee of women. Over  the years, family members have donated pieces of furniture, portraits and clothing for display on the house. The house was even moved, board by board, to its present location across from the Capitol Building.

The Dining Room. The Chandelier and the drape of the gold curtains look like an angel from certain angles.

After returning to Dog River, we got a good night's sleep and headed towards Ocean Springs, MS the next morning. My college friend, Connie Moran, just happens to be the Mayor of this charming, arts-centered  Gulf-side town, The annual Peter Anderson Arts Festival was being held that weekend and we decided it was the perfect chance to enjoy the festival and catch up with Connie and her husband Jack, fresh back from their honeymoon.  Our Looper friends Vicki and Mark from Blue Willow joined us for the day. Due to its elevation, Ocean Springs was spared much of the flooding and wide spread damage neighboring towns and cities experienced after Katrina. Although roofs were lost, large trees still arch gracefully over the streets which brim with locally owned businesses. It was fun to walk though the festival with Connie, meeting many of her friends and business owners, while the guys stayed back at a local watering hole to watch football.  It was slow going at times -- everyone wants to say hello to the Mayor -- but lots of fun to see the art work and meet some many local residents and visiting vendors.

Ocean Springs is best known for Shearwater Pottery, but we think sometime soon people will be talking about their home grown Crooked Letter Brewing Co.

Shearwater Pottery was founded in 1928 by Peter Anderson with the support of his parents, George Walter Anderson and Annette McConnell Anderson. From the 1920s through the present day, Shearwater Pottery has produced art pottery, utilitarian ware, figurines, decorative tiles and other pottery pieces. Shearwater Pottery is high-grade hard fired earthenware intended for functional as well as decorative use. Each piece is individual and unique in nature. 

The next day we drove back to Ocean Springs to see the waterfront before heading to Biloxi to pick up our favorite Vet and Crew Member: Al (and his golf clubs).

We are strong believers in the Looper Road trip.  Many marinas offer courtesy cars, allowing boaters to drive to the grocery, restaurants, or local historic sites -- as long as you can be back in 2 hours. That does not always give us enough time to explore, so we like to rent cars when we want to go further a field. This typically requires an advanced degree in logistics. Here is what we did in Mobile:

Picking up Rental Car:
1) reserved marina courtesy car for 4PM Wednesday
2) drove courtesy car to Mobile airport, with the Cap'n riding shotgun
3)Cap'n waited in airport parking in courtesy car lot while I filled out paperwork for rental car
4)Played follow the leader back to marina (our GPS was less than reliable, requiring wild lane changing and the Cap'n muttering under his breath at the expense of lead car driven by the Admiral #greatmomentsinmarriage)
5) Returned to marina at 5:56PM, just under our two hour limit

Returning Car:
1) Drove rental car to Biloxi to pick up Al ( and his golf clubs)
2) Drove from Biloxi to Mobile Airport
3) I went inside to fill out paperwork for rental car return
4)Cap'n and Al parked rental car in row 5, keeping an eye out for white pickup truck from marina
5) White pick up truck, with Jarvis from marina shows up, loads Al's golf clubs and duffle.
6)Jarvis delivers us safely to marina while he , by hands free cell phone, encourages his gf to take a new job and orders some sort of personalized tshirts, and tells us all about his many boat trips across the Gulf.  He was delightful. Thanks goodness he could pick us up, otherwise we would have driven back to marina, picked up courtesy car, played follow the leader back to the airport ( 30 minutes from marina), returned rental car and then all driven back in courtesy car.


The next morning we were heading east with Blue Willow. We intended to stop in Orange Beach, but it was barely 11:30 when we arrived and after a good wave to Connie from Patriot on the dock we continued east, thinking Blue Willow was behind us heading to their intended dockage about an hour or two ahead, Meanwhile, they stopped in Orange Beach to say hi to Connie and Jim and  thinking we were there, took a slip for the night. By the time they called us we were an hour away.  Yikes -- long story short, we went on ahead to Holiday Harbor Marina in Perdido Key  and enjoyed a quiet night with dolphins swimming in the bay and a tequila sunset.

Calm seas, impressive clouds and low flying birds on the way to Pensacola

A short ride along the coast found us in Pensacola by 11AM.  After securing Freedom, we headed to the National  Naval Aviation Museum on the base. Full size and scale models of planes, aircraft carriers of all ages were on display.

This plane lay on the floor of Lake Michigan for nearly 50 years. The fresh water kept it in pretty good shape until it was recovered and restored, It had seen combat in WWII and was lost in the lake during a training exercise.

A replica of the Blue Angels flying overhead in their F16's

The Cap'n and Al checking out the AWACS plane -  looks like part helicopter, part plane, part satellite dish

AWACS plane

President Nixon in Marine 1

The Cap'n deplaning from Marine 1

Man on the moon

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The last Navy  Boat Plane

Unmanned stealth plane

 The Naval Airbase at Pensacola is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.  They are combining their celebration with the annual Blue Angels reunion and an airshow. We were luck enough to be at the base when the Blue Angels were practicing.

A bad picture of the Blue Angels.They move too fast to capture on a cell phone! I think one plane is upside down and the other right side up!  But, they were close, and we had to spin like a top to keep track of them! 

Bench where we sat waiting for our cab ride home

We really enjoyed out stay in Pensacola, but the next night was just as much fun when we docked at the Ft. Walton Beach city dock with Blue Willow, Patriot, Aunt Aggie, and Karty Party. Everyone came onboard Freedom for cocktails and conversation before dinner.



Friday brought us through the "Grand Canyon of Florida" which we have renamed the "Sand Canyon": cliffs of sand resembling the structure of Arizona's Grand Canyon, but in gradations of white not terracotta. It is beautiful

For now we are docked at St. Andrews Marina in Panama City waiting for the weather window to open for our Gulf Coast crossing. Here is what we are doing and seeing:

Dinner at local haunt, Hunts Oyster Bar. Jim and Connie from Patriot and Vicki from Blue Willow are listening intently to somehting the Cap'n was saying

This part of the panhandle is known for its oysters. They were yummy.

In the St. Andrews Park just a few blocks from the marina

Happy to be back in the land of Spanish Moss draped Live Oaks

After we have been off shore and the boat is coated with salt I think I should brush it off the railings into small jars and sell it. How fresh can you get?

Hamilton, The Boat Dog, striking a pose in front of the Salt Kettle.

 Fingers crossed we will leave Monday morning and arrive in Tampa/St. Pete by noon on Tuesday.  I am relieved to have Al on board. He and the Cap'n make a good team and knowing he is here allows me to relax and enjoy the ride.........