Mobile Bay to Destin

Wed 11/22 we pushed off the convention center wall headed across the bay to Orange Beach Alabama.   It was a cool 54 degrees and a little breezy as we headed out at 6am. 

 

Wasn't long before we had our first dolphin siting!  We had 4 playing on the bow wake as we started into Mobile Bay!  

We made it to our destination at Homeport Marina in Gulf Shores, AL.  Very nice marina with Lucy Buffett's Lulu's restaurant on site.  We enjoyed the live music and dinner was amazing!  Bill got the shrimp and grits and I got the grouper sandwich....both were so yummy!  

We untied the lines and I got us off the dock and drove to our Thanksgiving Day anchorage, Ingram's Bayou.  It was a cool and cloudy but as we started into the bayou the dolphins came by to brighten the day.  We got the dingy down and took Roxie to the beach and explored the area.  We found sunken sailboat with the only thing showing is the mast.

We made a traditional Thanksgiving dinner of turkey breast with all the fixings and caught up with family and friends throughout the day.  

Friday morning we woke to another cool 53 degrees.  Bill took Roxie to the beach for a potty break and we pulled the anchor for the next leg of the journey....Florida!!  

We had multiple anchoring options and planned on seeing what they looked like before we stopped.....we ended up going all the way to Destin!  We have the OSU vs Xichigan game on Saturday and were hoping that we can find the game on at one of the bars along Harbor Walk.  

We had a great night on the hook listening to the live music before going to bed.  

Saturday we took a dingy ride to Crab Island.....no surprise that it was not packed with boats and swimmers....but it was very pretty.  From pictures I have seen during prime season, this sandbar is VERY popular!  

We watched the OSU game, explored Harbor Walk as the charter boats were coming in from fishing and watched the sun go down from the deck of AJ's eating a seafood feast of fried fish, scallops, shrimp, clams, oysters and stuffed crab.  Delish!  

The night was topped off with fireworks!

Columbus MS to Mobile Bay

Wednesday 11/15 we planned on a 59 mile run, with 2 locks but we made such good time we decided to keep going and get through another lock and anchor in the Tombigbee oxbow just below the Heflin lock.

We had 3 other looper buddies there with plenty of room!

The next morning we had a shorter ride to Kingfisher Marina in Demopolis.  Only 50 miles and NO LOCKS!   

Wasn't long into our ride that we came to the White Cliffs of Epes!  I learned that the cliffs are made up of microscopic algae shells that drifted to the seafloor around 80 million years ago to become a massive chalk formation.  Very impressive.  The pictures don't do them justice.  

  

We got into Kingfisher Marina around 1 o'clock  and enjoyed a warm and sunny afternoon at the dock.  Friday morning we left along with 10 other boats at 5:30 headed to the Demopolis Lock.  We cleared the lock a little before 7.  We have a long day ahead of us to Bashi Creek anchorage.  

Our first alligator sighting! 

We made it to Bashi Creek before dark and anchored just off the channel with another looper.  There was a boat ramp just inside Bashi Creek which was nice for getting Roxie off the boat for awhile.  

The night was calm without any tows passing!  We were up at 5 the next morning for a 62 mile run and our LAST LOCK!!  After going through the Coffeeville Lock we were now in saltwater and tides.  The water didn't change much, still pretty muddy.  

We made it to our anchorage at Salt Creek just in time for the OSU game and enjoyed the afternoon.  This was our first time anchoring in tidal waters.  The tide changed the direction of the water in the river.  We had a couple of tugs go by in the middle of the night without any issues.     

The next morning we slept in a bit because we have a shorter day, which was perfect because it was really foggy when we did get up.  Planned on getting to Tensaw River anchorage around 1 or 2 o'clock.  

Bill took this picture on the way back to the boat after taking Roxie to the beach.  Notice the direction of the boat....looking down river this morning rather than up river yesterday.  

The Tensaw River was a really nice anchorage.  

What a sunset!

Left the Tensaw River anchorage ready for a 40 mile ride to the Mobile Bay.  On the way we saw some wild pigs along the waters edge, but they were gone by the time I could get my hands on my phone.  I did manage to take this picture of a barber shop chair in the middle of nowhere.  How did that get there! 

We also started to see Gray pelicans.  One difference between white and gray pelicans is that the white ones fish from the top of the water, while the gray ones dive into the water to catch fish.  

Coming into Mobile!

We ended up on the convention center wall for 2 nights, which turned out to be pretty nice.  No water or electric, but we were right downtown with parks, groceries and restaurants!  It's been awhile since we had any kind of fast food and Chick-fil-a is one of our favorites!  Only a short 0.2 miles away from the boat!  

Have you ever seen a Chick-fil-a drive thru into a building?  

We are looking forward to heading out to clearer waters.  Next up is Mobile Bay into the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW)!