We left Fairhope about noon on Friday, after our dinghy had been delivered. We were sad to leave Francine and Wayne, especially as they wanted to leave, too, but have to wait for their turbocharger to be rebuilt so are stuck until Tuesday or Wednesday. We headed out into Mobile Bay, then turned south to intersect the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. We docked at Lulu's (Jimmy Buffet's sister's restaurant) and had lunch with Kathy and Mike and their friends Carol and Jim.
Scenery along the Intracoastal is different from the rivers:
As we were entering Pensacaola Bay to make our way to the Navy's Bayou Grande Marina, a nighttime air show was echoing overhead. As the entrance to the marina is tricky, Mary kept saying "Wow. Don't look, John, just keep an eye on the green and red channel markers."
It was pretty dark by the time we found a spot to tie up. Boaters from 2 boats already in the marina came to catch our lines. It was dark enough, and we were busy enough, that we didn't realize until Saturday morning that one of the people who helped us was Larry from Miss Lauren Grace. We last saw Larry and Theresa at Florence, Alabama, a month and a half ago. The others who helped were Sue and Jim aboard Eagle One. Jim is a retired Colonel from the Ohio National Guard, so has been to Camp Graying many times. It's a small world and the boating world seems even smaller.
Moonrise over Pensacola Bay:
Saturday we rode our bikes to the air show. Automobile traffic wasn't too bad when we arrived at 10:30, but by the time we left at 1:30, cars were parking by the old hospital walls (for those who've been here) and people were being shuttled from there.
A Japanese Zero and a Dauntless Divebomber fly together in a show of our alliance with Japan:
A Corsair:
A P-51 Mustang and an A-10 Warthog in an honor flight recognizing all veterans. It was very touching:
A Curtis Pusher:
Pensacola Lighthouse:
Barancas National Cemetery:
We did ride 10 miles and ended the day with wine and snacks aboard Eagle One.
Sunday we again started our day with a bike ride. It's nice to have a safe place to ride. John went to the Naval Air Museum, while Mary straightened the boat, worked on the blog, did dishes and read Water for Elephants. (You were right, Sarah. I liked it a lot.)
Monday we started the day with a nice 40 minute walk to the credit union and along a nature trail. Back at the boat we picked burrs off our shoes and socks. John did dishes and Mary worked on the blog while we waited for the marina pick-up to become available so we could go to the commissary.
This pump-out device adds new meaning to "pump" out. Yes, John is actually pumping the handle:
No comments:
Post a Comment