Wednesday, April 30, 2014 - Riding out the Storm

We have been sitting in Smack Bayou (North of Panama City Beach) since Sunday night.  Since the weather report showed a large line of storms headed our way, we decided to take advantage of this protected anchorage and wait it out.

Monday was a beautiful day and we decided to use the off day to relax and get a few things done on the boat. In the afternoon, we took a dingy ride to explore the bayou. (I got a quick lesson on running the dingy...as I got away without Hoppy and had to start the motor and get back to the boat by myself. It's amazing how fast you can learn something when you are floating away!!) once the "lesson" was over, we picked up Barney and Annette (Journey) and headed out. We are so close to Tyndall Air Force Base we could hear the National Anthem being played over the sound system as the flag was being lowered at 5 pm.

Tuesday morning started with a bang!  Thunder, lightening and lots of heavy rain! Hoppy started the engines and we just waited it out. It rained all morning and finally cleared late in the afternoon. According to the weather forecast, another round will be coming through Wednesday morning.

We woke up this morning to lots of wind around 4 am. Next it was thunder and lightening, then more rain. If we were not living on a boat we would have floated away...LOL!  It was a good call to stay here a few days. Once this weather system passes we will probably head to Port Saint Joe for a few days.

Below is our view of Journey through the rain.

Friday, April 25, 2014 - Adventure Begins

First night that we feel like the trip has started. Thursday we slipped the lines around 1:30 pm, fueled up and headed east. Had to stop in Perdido to get gas for the dingy.  Had battery/12 volt issues but made it to Red Fish Point.  After a long night, decided that we needed a new battery or two!  Thanks to Lee and Wendell, we got them on board at Southwinds Marina and headed out again!

Continued east to big Sabine - east of Pensacola.  Dropped anchor and had a relaxing afternoon at anchor -which included a much needed nap. Dropped the dingy in the water and went over to Journey for dInner. Steaks, all the trimmings and a champagne toast for the beginning of our trip. Made a few plans for the next few days - based on weather conditions - and headed back to our boat for the night.

Ahhhhhhh......

Just a short update...

Spent last week in L.A. visiting our daughter, Amy.  She's working out there for 8 months. What a nice place to visit!  Beautiful weather but good to be back to normal traffic :)

Now, we are packing our clothes for our big adventure. Not sure how you pack for six months, but we are going to have to learn quick!  Plan is to leave home on Saturday, packed and ready. One week in Orange Beach to finish loading the boat and finding a place for everything.

Had lunch with my brother today and plans for lunch tomorrow with my sewing/quilting friends.  I think saying "goodbye" will be the hard part...but we will be back to visit.

Looking toward to new things, meeting new friends along the way and enjoying the slower pace of living aboard and the nautical life.

Date for dropping the lines is April 22. 2014. Thirteen days and counting!