The Wharf

Well, we made it!  We arrived Monday afternoon, and are settled in at our slip.  We had dinner at Ginny Lanes, a restaurant on site, rented a car, went swimming at an indoor pool (with the Berrys), and of course, went shopping.  Alexis and Cameron will head home tomorrow via Hertz, and I will follow in a few days.  A good trip!

Cameron at the helm

                                         

LuLu's (Jimmy Buffet's sister) restaurant on the ICW

Moondance at The Wharf

Cat Island

Sunday afternoon-we are anchored at Cat Island in Mississippi Sound. It provides a calm spot in the North wind. We arrived around 4:00 PM, deployed the dinghy and went to the beach. Tomorrow we should make it to the Wharf, as the winds are coming down.

Locking our way east

Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012-we awoke to better, albeit windy weather.  We will lock into the Mississippi River at Harvey, and out at the Industrial Canal, and go as far as we can today.

Harvey lock

Mighty Mississippi

St. Louis Cathedral

Headed to Orange Beach

Well, we accepted the fact that we will not get to the Keys this year, due to work issues, so we decided to take the Moondance to The Wharf Marina over Mardi Gras.  Our granddaughter, Cameron, is with us.  We left Houma on Saturday, March 18,2012, and arrived at the Harvey lock around noon.  A tornado warning was issued, and with the weather deteriorating, we decided not to lock into the river.  Instead, we went back to Boomtown casino, on the Harvey canal, tied up and rode out the weather in comfort.  We even had a steak dinner at the restaurant in the casino.  We will depart in the morning and head east!

70 Mile Canal

Well not much exciting has happened since we returned from the Bahamas.  The boat has a new dinghy and lift installed at Seabrook Marine in New Orleans.  Since then it has been in its berth behind our house.  We did take it to the boy's hunting lease this weekend and had a grand time with the gang and our Granddaughter, Cameron.  The boat is running well, and definitely wants to go on a trip!  Work issues are holding us back....

70 Mile Canal-Houma, LA

Cameron and Daisy

Pumpkins

Yes we have turned into pumpkins.  Our time is up.  We made it to The Wharf Marina last night (Saturday) after a 107 nautical mile run from Panama City.  The seas were calm, so we ran in the Gulf and arrived here around 5:30 PM.  Today (Sunday) we are cleaning the boat and preparing to re- enter the world.  We have not read a newspaper or watched the news since we left Palm Beach.  We have kept in touch with our offices via e-mail and cell phone, but that has been it.  It has been a relaxing adventure, and we are not the least bit cramped on the boat.  The loop is definitely in our plans.   We will rent a car tomorrow and drive to Houma.  The good thing about leaving the boat here is that our mechanic, Bruce, will take care of the list while here. Stats:  Total nautical miles traveled from Palm Beach to Orange Beach-1,029.  Total engine hours-122.  Total fuel-1,192 gallons. Signing off for now.      

The Wharf Marina

St. Andrew’s Bay

We spent last night on the hook in St. Andrew’s Bay by Panama City.  This is one of our favorite anchorages on the Northern Gulf Coast.  It was Friday, and there were many boats of all types enjoying the beach.  Another trawler (53 Tollycraft Amber Isle) pulled in, one we had seen in the Gulf.  The couple came by dingy and we chatted with them.  They had been in the Bahamas for six months, and are headed to Knoxville for hurricane season.  They left their jobs, and live aboard and are having a grand time.  Their advice has been the same we get from many boaters-do it while you can! 

It was a good place to spend our last night on the hook (for now).  Today (Saturday June 11, 2011) we head to The Wharf Marina in Orange Beach.

The ICW by Apalachicola.

St Andrew's Bay.

Amber Isle.

I pulled a lure in the Gulf-a bonito was all that hit.