From Mobile to Pensacola

The journey over to Pensacola from Mobile was a much easier cruise than the previous trip. We followed the ICW through some very pretty country. Alabama is very green and lush. Lots of beautiful Ponderosa Pines, one of my favorite pine trees.

 

 

Some lovely houses along the ICW. A couple waved
 at us as we floated by!

ICW and lovely pines

The ICW.

Private dock

A gray day...and it hasn't stopped!

Tug with it's barge sitting on the bank
 

Some cool pirate boats...I wanted to go steal one, but Paul said no.

Marina

I love that boat! I want to steal it!!! Paul and I could
 dress up like pirates and sail her. Ok, ok, just a pipe dream.
 

Apartments on the ICW with nice view

 

At one point, the ICW opened up into Pensacola Bay, and we had a lovely sail with the winds coming in at about 15 knots. Felt so good to sail after motoring most of the trip. We had thought we were going to take the ICW all the way into Destin, but unfortunately the bridge we needed to go under was only 50 ft. and we need a good 53' to clear the antenna. A bit frustrated by this, we turned around and made for the Gulf. The winds were getting harder, up to 25 knots, and thus, we decided to anchor out on the leeward side of Santa Rosa Island. We were only about a mile or so from the opening into the Gulf, so it was close and wouldn't be a problem to get into the Gulf in the a.m. It was only 4pm, but that was fine by us. Our sleep that night was lulled by the beautiful sounds of the waves

Paul did a great job anchoring us.



Ready to stop for the evening...Christmas Eve, Pensacola Bay.

Santa Rosa Island...more like a spit. The Gulf is just over the dunes.
 

 

We had decided to stay there for Christmas and wait out the wind. Turned out, next day seemed rather mild, so we made for the Gulf. Well, the winds decided to get harder once we were out, so we had waves from 5-8 feet high the entire 9 hours of travel time to Destin. We pulled into Destin Harbor in the dark, which we had vowed not to do anymore. Sometimes life just takes you and you go with the flow.

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