I hope everyone voted today.  Our grandson cast his ballot for the very first time.  We voted on absentee Florida ballots a few weeks ago.  As I write this, we are watching the election returns.

Today we traveled 46 miles to Carrabelle, FL and entered back into the eastern time zone.  We hope to position ourselves for the "Big Bend" crossing here in Carrabelle.  The landscape continues to change and is getting a bit more swampy looking.   As the weather pattern is shifting, the Captain is changing our plans accordingly.   Moving on may be delayed a day or so.  Tomorrow Ralph plans to talk to "Bud" at The Moorings Marina next door, who is said to be very knowledgeable about the weather and conditions on the Big Bend.

We're moored at C Quarters Marina.  This is really a neat little place.  They have a porch overlooking the water with lots of rocking chairs and it's a real gathering place in the afternoons.  The owner, George, recently adopted two  Australian Sheep Dogs (brother and sister) found walking together along the highway.  They also adopted a little cat that wandered by and had nowhere to be.  There's a little duck named Aflack who has a little house on our finger pier, and two herons named Gilbert and Ernie (I think).  Striper had a wonderful time with all the dogs on the porch and especially liked Sofia, a little shih tzu.

Today we walked a block to the local IGA Market for milk, bread and produce. The store is immaculately clean and well stocked.  The staff is courteous and friendly.  I found the prices to be about average for this area and the produce was a little high, but it was good quality. I was so happy to find a loaf of  pumpernickel from their bakery.  When we returned I did two loads of wash at the laundromat on site and we took a little walk around part of the town. 

This evening we had dinner at The Fisherman's Wife Restaurant which came highly recommended by the consensus on the porch.  We enjoyed grilled shrimp, a crispy salad, cheesy grits, grilled potatoes and hush puppies.  And of course, sweet tea and for dessert we shared a warm piece of derby pie -- chocolate chip pecan.  Everything was very good and our waitress was delightful. The shrimp boats come into this harbor every day and the owner's husband is a shrimper.  How fresh can you get??

Attached are a few of today's photos:

The gathering vultures as we left White City this morning

I like the interesting changes in the landscape

Looking swampy now.

We went through this railroad bridge near Apalachicola

Entrance to Apalachicola, FL

I thought these buildings were interesting

The Fisherman's Wife Restaurant, Carrabelle, FL

A walk through Carrabelle

I loved the rockers and the little grill and chiminea at this house

Along our walk

A sweet little home

Aflack

The porch at C Quarters -- the Captain is conversing with the locals

A lot of locals use golf carts to get around -- Clifford has this ATV which cracked us up

We traveled 30 miles today to White City and are tied up at a free municipal dock along with a sailboat and our friends, Ann and Jim on Wild Goose who arrived late this afternoon.  It was cooler today and rain is expected overnight.

 

I have an update on Ralph's mom.  After 93 days in various hospitals, acute and secondary rehab facilities, she is going home tomorrow.  Thank you for all your prayers on her behalf.  I would ask for prayers for her and for Ralph's dad in the coming weeks, as it will be a change of lifestyle for them both for a while.  Thank you.

 

Attached are today's photos.

A plane from Tindall Air Force Base

Along the ICW

This area is Cypress Creek

Striper dropped her little ball for me -- she wants to play.

Tied up at the municipal dock at White City

Gave myself a pedi today -- not good because I don't see well!

Tonight's back yard

Tonight's back yard

Ann and Jim on Wild Goose

Last night at Panama City, a local band played until after 2:00 AM, inhibiting my sleep, but Mr. Wonderful slept soundly. SIGH!!  We set our clocks back before going to bed  and  when I woke up this morning I was confused as to what time it really was -- we're still in the central time zone and now with returning to standard time I have to stop and think about it.  Somewhere soon we'll be back in the eastern time zone.

This morning we gave Striper a nice bath, then left St. Andrews Marina in Panama City for only 9 miles to Pearl Bayou, arriving late morning.  It was a very lazy day, beautiful and sunny.  Rays of some sort were leaping out of the water and I tried to get some photos, but only got photos of where the rays "were."  Not fast enough. We enjoyed lunch on the flybridge -- haven't done that in a while.  I started to read in bed and fell asleep -- woke up three hours later and was glad to have a nice nap.

 

At this point in our travel we are carefully watching the weather.  There are 172 miles of open water that we must cross as we head home.  Most Loopers opt to do the entire trip from Carrabelle to Tarpon Springs in one fell swoop -- which for us would take about 22 hours.  We are choosing not to do that, but instead our plan is this:

Monday:         Pearl Bayou to White City at the city dock

Tuesday:        White City to Carrabelle at a marina

Wednesday:   Carrabelle to Alligator Harbor anchorage

Thursday:       Alligator Harbor to Cedar Key 100 miles

Friday:            Cedar Key to Tarpon Springs 65 miles

We're just off Panama City tonight

Tindall Bridge

Our view in Pearl Bayou

Pearl Bayou -- very shallow where you can see the sandy bottom

Well, it WAS a good lunch!

Tonight's back yard

  

We awoke this morning to 63 degrees, 98% humidity and FOG!  We weighed anchor at 7:30 and with the running lights were on the ICW for about an hour till the fog burned off.  I must say it was a most beautiful golden sunrise.  We traveled 34 miles to Panama City where we met Mary and Rich Gano on Calypso. Ralph and Rich have been corresponding for several years on various listserve groups and finally met in person. 

Rich and Mary led the way to St. Andrews Marina where we both tied up and went to Uncle Ernie's for lunch.  It was wonderful to have lunch on the veranda -- and we enjoyed grilled grouper and grilled shrimp, fresh veggies and crispy delicious salad and, of course, sweet tea.  We spent the afternoon chatting -- and I did a load of laundry -- I have learned to never pass up an opportunity to do the wash.  It was so nice to meet Mary and Rich and we hope to catch up with them on the water some day soon.

Late this afternoon, Ralph, Striper and I took a walk through St. Andrews, the historic district of Panama City.  We were told about the four-headed palm tree -- the only one in the world -- stands beautifully  in nearby Oaks By The Bay Park.  It was a beautiful warm evening and we were on a mission looking for an ice cream stand -- and found the only place, Layla's Gelato is closed and the building is for rent.  Lucky for us, we have ice cream in the freezer so we had cherry chocolate and tin roof sundae with sliced fresh peaches.  Mmmmmm....and some popcorn to go with it.

 

 Here are a few of today's photos:

Sunrise this morning in the fog

Eerie scenery in the fog

Interesting sand banks along the ICW

The ICW was like glass today

Mary and Rich Gano on Calypso

The St. Andrews historic district of Panama City

We were told about this beautiful park

This is the only 4-headed palm in the world -- it's amazing!

Information about the 4-headed palm

Tonight's back yard

This tree is called The Old Sentry

Information about The Old Sentry -- the "T" is missing

This is an old Rolls Royce -- waiting to pick up the bride and groom who were married in the park this afternoon

Downtown St.Andrews, Panama City

A beautiful schooner here in the marina

This morning Ralph visited Dr. Joseph Bakker, whose office is about two miles from the Ft. Walton Yacht Club where we were moored.  Thank you, Bill Geyer, for offering to loan him your truck to get there.  Seems the Captain had broken off a filling and part of a molar -- it was not a tiny stone in my pizza after all, I am happy to say.  Dr. Bakker was efficient and painless and for the second time in four days, the Captain's dental problems were resolved.

 

While he was at the dentist, Striper and I took a nice walk around the neighborhood.  There were a lot of political signs and several houses for sale in this pretty place.  I was happy to see palm trees once again.  We encountered a few squirrels, several dogs and one cat in our travels.  It was good to be out walking in the sunshine again.

We left the dock at 10:35 on this beautiful sunny day.  Our crossing across the Choctawhatchee Bay was as smooth as glass.  We were delightfully treated to several pods of majestic dolphin swimming toward us, then abruptly turning 180 degrees to swim with us, some ahead of the bow wake and a mama and her calf swimming to starboard in our wake.

 

We traveled 30 miles today and are anchored off the Choctawhatchee Bay Bridge.  Attached are some of today's photos:

 

Two majestic dolphin swim in our bow wake

A mama dolphin and her calf swim in our starboard wake

Entrance to the Ft. Walton Yacht Club -- thank you, Glen, for sponsoring us for a transient slip.

On our walk through a very pretty neighborhood in Ft.. Walton Beach, FL

What a great tree house!

I needed to photograph this so I could spell it correctly

Striper makes us laugh as she stands on the bow with the wind blowing in her face

Tonight's back yard

 

Today we awoke to another beautiful sunrise and a warmer temperature.  It was 62 degrees and of course, the sun was shining all day -- that's what I like about Florida!  We traveled 36 miles to Ft. Walton Beach along with Betty and Ivan on Dog Daze.  They're going to stay here for a while as we move on tomorrow.

I made a nice pizza for lunch and as we're eating, Ralph discovers what looks like a small stone in his mouth.  There was nothing that crunchy on my pizza  -- then he discovered a rough edge on a back tooth.   It looks like he broke a tooth.  Arrrghhh!  

We had been in contact with an old friend of Ralph's, Bob Steele, who lives in Ft. Walton Beach, and had plans to meet him and his wife, Lynne, for dinner.  Ralph told Bob about his tooth and Bob recommended his own dentist -- Ralph called and has an appointment for early tomorrow morning.  This is the second dentist Ralph will be seeing in 4 days.  We're blessed not to be out on the waterway system somewhere in the wilderness where there are no dentists.

Our initial plans were to tie up at the Ft. Walton Beach municipal dock, but when we arrived we found it in shambles -- with caution tape tied to it -- never a good sign.  We poked around through some other nearby marinas and were going to make inquiries until a few boats passed by on the ICW and we saw how the boats in all the marinas were rocking and rolling from the wakes of the passing boats.

Once again, Bob to the rescue!  Bob's friend, Glen, is a member of the Ft. Walton Beach Yacht Club and arranged for us to rent a transient slip for the night.  It's a beautiful facility and rather sheltered from the wakes of passing boats.  Bob and Glen met us as we were coming in and helped us tie up.  They took a tour of the boat and we planned to meet a little later and chat before going to dinner.  

Meanwhile we met a slipholder named Bill who came over to see Say Good-Bye.  When he found out about Ralph's dental appointment tomorrow, he offered Ralph the use of his truck, or he said he'd take him to the appointment in the morning.  We've been so blessed with helpful, courteous folks in our travels. 

We met Lynne Steele, Bob's wife, their friend,George, and Glen for a nice late afternoon chat and then Lynne and Bob and Ralph and I went to Clemenza's Italian Restaurant for dinner.  It was a comfortable place with great food and we had a lovely evening getting to know each other.  Thank you, Bob and Lynne, for your gracious hospitality.  We'd love for you to come visit us in SW FL this winter!  

P.S.  What is that noise like crackling paper?  It sounds like silk worms eating the hull of our boat.   Some munching kind of sea creatures? Hmmmm...it's a little creepy.

Today is our grandson, Aaron's 20th birthday.  Wishing him a wonderful day and the Lord's richest blessings in the coming year.  xoxoxoxo

I only took a few photos today and here are some of them:

Sunrise over Pensacola

On the way to Ft. Walton Beach

ICW between Pensacola and Ft. Walton Beach

Along the ICW near Ft. Walton Beach

Today's lunch -- which broke Ralph's tooth?

No palm trees yet

Homes along the ICW

The Ft.Walton Beach Municipal Dock -- in sad disrepair

Ft. Walton Beach Yacht Club

Tonight's back yard