Monday, Nov 24:
We stayed at anchor all day. I worked and Wes did boat projects (primarily plumbing items). After I was done with work, we got in the dinghy and visited the other looper boats in the anchorage. Then back to Toscana where Tim and Ruth from Enough joined us for anchortales. They left as it got dark, then we went in for dinner, some TV then bed. A nice quiet, peaceful day at anchor. Life doesn't get much better!
Tuesday, Nov 25:
We both got up and did our prospective bible
studies, then we pulled the anchor and headed to Navarre Beach area to
anchor for the night. We saw more dolphins and it was another beautiful
day on the water. We arrived around 1200. I finished up with work. Knot on Call was anchored nearby. They had gone shopping but they stopped by on their dinghy after they got everything unpacked. Wes and Ron wanted to get some gas at the gas station on shore, so they went in our dinghy. Audrey and I went for a paddleboat ride around our boats (they were nice enough to let me use their paddleboard). The boys returned and had a couple beverages on the aft deck of Toscana. We joined them a little while afterwards and had our own beverages. Then they went back to their boat and I made us some pizza for dinner. We watched a little TV then off to bed.
Wednesday, Nov 26:
We got up to a quiet morning at anchor. The winds had shifted and was giving us a nice breeze. It also meant we swung some, but it wasn't bad. I got to work, Wes did route stuff. I had a call at 0930, so we waited for that call to be done, then we pulled the anchor around 1000 to head towards Spectre Island. It's a short 20ish miles, so there was no rush. Knot on Call went first, so they could set their anchor first, then we came up and rafted next to them in the opposite direction to act as the "stern" anchor. The winds were expected to pick up more, so we wanted to limit our swing. We arrived around 1430 and got all settled in. Oma joined us around 1500, then Betty Mae joined us around 1600. We were all rafted together and enjoyed some anchortales. Then we joined Knot on Call on their boat for dinner and more beverages. We got caught on that fun wheel again. Betty Mae left first, then Oma, but we stayed and had a great time until past our bedtime. We called it a night around 2300 and went to bed.
It was a chilly morning and none of us was moving too fast. Wes got up and turned the generator on and the heat. Then he visited with Steve on Betty Mae while I was lazy and stayed in bed. I got moving and got items out and ready for cooking. We made a smoked turkey breast, smoked pork tenderloin, gravy, stuffing, corn casserole and green bean casserole. Betty Mae made roasted turkey breast, Knot on Call made mashed potatoes and dinner rolls, and Oma made butternut squash, sweet potatoes, homemade bread, homemade pecan pie (and an apple pie that I cooked in my oven). We brought over our folding tables and a couple chairs and we made a table big enough for all the food and the 8 of us. We had a great thanksgiving dinner. I must say, we all did a great job pitching in and making fabulous spread. We ate around 1400, then visited most of the rest of the afternoon. We finally broke out the pie around 1800. The wind was blowing and we were all getting chilly, so we called it an evening around 1900. We went back to our respective boats, fired our generators to warm up the boats then we all went to bed relatively early. While I still missed my family, it was a great thanksgiving. It helped so much having friends to share the holiday with.
It was another chilly morning. Wes fired up the generator and got the heat on. No one was in a big hurry to leave. Betty Mae took off first, then Oma, then we untied from Knot on Call and pulled our anchor. We were off to Niceville around 1015. We arrived around 1400. It took a couple tries before our anchor set, but we got it hooked, then dropped the dinghy to go visit Echo's II at Emerald Coast Marina where we visited with Walt and Lana then had dinner at the restaurant
there at the marina. It was after dark when we got done, but it was a
short dinghy ride back to Toscana, where we relaxed a bit and watched TV
before going to bed.
Saturday, Nov 29:
Another chilly morning. Once again, Wes turned on the generator and heat while I stayed in bed until it was warmed up. Wes made us some breakfast. We were considering going into Emerald Coast Marine, but we heard from Anchored Souls that they were going to be leaving tomorrow, so we decided to head to their place near Panama City for the night, then Wes called Sun Harbor in Panama City and booked us to stay there for a week. We didn't pull the anchor until about 0900, so we had a later start for a longer day. It was a bit lumpy in the bay, but we managed. It felt like we were back on the rivers for a bit as we went through the channel, except for the abandoned boats. The water calmed down though and it was all good. We arrived around 1615 or so. It was shallow getting in and we ran aground, but we were able to reverse out and then took a "running start" and we powered our way in. We rafted to Anchored Souls, (after some work as we were hitting bottom), but got secured. We went in for a quick beverage, then they had dinner plans, so we went back to Toscana for leftovers, then we joined them once they returned from dinner for a nightcap.
We got up and Wes got the ladder from Chris, as he needed to get to the top of the mast because our flags on the port side fell down. He got that fixed, then we said goodbye to Chris and Cherri as they were heading out of town. We relaxed a bit then around 1100, Northern Attitude and Slacker were ready to get moving, so we fired the engines, dropped our lines and headed to Sun Harbor in Panama City. It was a very short ride Aaron, the Dock Master, was there and caught our lines. He helped get us all secured. Then we got checked in. Wes did some walking around the docks, while I put up our Christmas decorations (no it's not much, but storage space is limited). We enjoyed docktales with the fellow loopers, then back to the boat for dinner and relaxing a bit before bed.
