This trip across the Panhandle of Florida has been one of my favorites! Yes, Rita Dick I do say that about everywhere we go. I guess the point is our trip just keeps getting better and better! The next phase of our trip will have us stopping for months at a time- December-February in Longboat Key, and March and April in Marathon. Conceivably, Loopers do this to "rest" from the hard work and angst of doing the locks, the river systems, dealing with the big tugs and barges and just the uncertainty of it all. Me personally- I don't need to rest. This trip has rejuvenated me physically (yes even with all calamities Ben) but spiritually as well. There isn't a part of this trip that I don't see God and all his handiwork. I have learned to relax and go with the flow of life (well okay- this may be a stretch). I am grateful to God every day for allowing us to have this experience- but I also grateful to my husband Dave who worked so hard on our "home" that we can cruise worry free. I am also grateful for all the people that we have met along the way. Any of them would do anything in the world for us- but there are some very special ones who just "get me." I have made life-long friends on this trip that I know will remain our friends forever. I guess you can say this is my "Thanksgiving" post! Thank you all for reading and encouraging us all along the way!
We leave at 3:00 to make our Gulf crossing to Clearwater Beach! Our first 21 hour trip overnight! Cannot wait to see the dolphins, the moon and the stillness of the night!
Beach buddies on Ft. McRae Island
The Blue angels practicing while we enjoy the beach
It's cool what the camera does all by itself sometimes.
Sunset at the McRae anchorage
Gus scoping out the sunset too.
This warship at Pensacola Naval Station just looks plain mean.
 |
| Unidentified sculpture on the Pensacola Nava Base. We went to look for it but couldn't find it. Dave Fitz? |
Enjoying the evening with Tom and Jane on Elizabear at a beautiful anchorage.
 |
| Dave Fitz our friend from Maryland was the communications director for the Blue Angels before coming to Calvert Cliffs. Through his stories we got so much insightful information about the Navy and the Blue Angels! |
 |
| Elizabear on anchor |
 |
| We had the privilege to have a private tour by our new friend Frank at the Naval Aviation Museum. This man has logged over 14,000 volunteer hours scanning and creating permanent discs of all the various Navy and Air Force planes. We enjoyed our day with the Fitz family and were very grateful they picked us up at the marina and took us all over Pensacola! |
 |
| Fort Walton Beach- we just passed on by! |
 |
| Being our navigator! As you can see it was very cold that morning- notice enclosure zipped and I had on 2 layers plus my coat! |
 |
| Christmas in Sandestin! What a gorgeous resort area! While expensive compared to our usual docking- they were very good to Loopers taking $1.50 a foot off price and let us use their golf cart for free. I loved it there and Captain Ron is one of my favorite dockmasters ever! |
Christmas display at Sandestin
 |
| We never get tired of these guys playing in our wake. This was one of two dolphins that "accompanied" us for almost 5 miles! |
 |
| This was our anchorage across from Apalachicola! Very peaceful and teaming with life! Incredible ecosystems here in Florida! |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.