Friday we started making our way towards Two George’s Marina, where we are leaving the boat while we come home for December and part of January. We went past Florabama and found an anchor spot right next to a little beach. We also saw a guy out on one of those hydrofoil surf boards. It is the weirdest thing to witness.

Overnight the wind picked up and it was drizzling when we got moving. We were going to go to another anchor spot but there was a storm coming through so we thought we’d be better off at a marina. Not so as we’d find out. Along the way we saw remnants of the last hurricane damage. If anyone is looking for a free boat, here ya go.

We got to Perdido Key and they put us in a spot so friggin tight! (insert dirty joke here)

We walked across the peninsula to the Gulf side where I got my Gulf of Mexico sand, but it was too cold and windy to enjoy the beach. We grabbed pizza for lunch and headed back to the boat.

It was a really rough night! The storm came through and between the wind and waves and being so close on both sides, we just got knocked back and forth bouncing off the dock and pillars. A most anxious night! Getting out of that spot was a challenge in the morning too. Without our rear thruster not working, the wind had its way with us. Luckily we managed to get out without crashing into anything. By this point we are really looking forward to a break for the Holidays!

We came to Pensacola and found a spot to anchor that was well protected. It was right by a boardwalk with a bunch of shops and closer to the Gulf side than Perdido Key was. So I had Don dinghy me to shore so I could walk around while he watched Football.

Their water tower was painted like a beach ball 😄

I walked over to the beach and of course picked up a bunch of shells. It was still pretty windy and the waves were cranking! There were some people out surfing and on kite boards.

Monday we only went about 10 miles to where Moonshadow was anchored. It was also a nice protected spot, but perfectly secluded along a nature preserve. Stay Cool was also anchored here, Loopers from Canada. We’ve seen their boat along the way but hadn’t gotten to meet them before. After chatting with John and Robin we made a plan to go over to the beach. It was a beautiful day and there was a path that went across to the Gulf side. We packed a picnic lunch, brought our chairs and enjoyed a perfect beach day. Which for me included picking up more shells obviously 😄.

Later that evening we all went over to Moonshadow for docktails and got to enjoy one of the prettiest sunsets.

Tuesday the wind came back and we were getting slightly jostled about when we woke up. We were going to try one more anchorage but when we got there it was not as calm as would be comfortable. So we called Two George’s and they said they had room for us a day early. This ended up working out perfectly. We got set up in our slip and went to grab lunch. I had my first experience at Waffle House. I got a cheese steak omelette and of course a waffle. They were both actually really good!

We had a rental car booked for Thursday, when we begin our drive back north, but we decided to rent an extra day to get laundry done and a few other errands. So Wednesday Don prepped the boat to get hauled out, I picked up the car and went and did laundry. We then drove to the Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center, right along where we were going to anchor Tuesday. Got to meet Sweet Pea, their resident Green Turtle.

She was found tangled in fishing line and lost her front left flipper. She was also hit by a boat and missing a chunk of her shell 🥺.

We got the boats propane tanks refilled on the way back, then started organizing and packing.

This morning we started with breakfast with a view.

Then loaded up the car and got the boat ready to be hauled out. It is cheaper to keep it on land, plus the marina is going to do some work on it for us. Pressure wash the hull, fix the thruster (hopefully 🤞).

And we are on our way! See everyone up North!