Finally....Florida!

We left Fairhope at 8:30, perfect timing for the fog to lift before we reached the Gulf ICW,  the Intracoastal Waterway. We had an easy day following the well-marked channels, with the wind at our stern, but we still can't seem to get away from barges!!! 

Shortly after we left calm Mobile Bay, we passed through Orange Beach, Alabama, home of LuLu's Restaurant. LuLu is Jimmy Buffet's sister, and her popular restaurant serves wonderful food, with a Southern Alabama flair. It was too early to stop for lunch...and we have already eaten there two times when we came this way in 2010...so we continued heading east.

Soon we were in Florida!!! It was a warm, sunny day, and we were on the flybridge!

We saw lots of dolphins, but by the time I got my camera, they were below the water. If you look real carefully, you'll see some just under the surface. We even went slower, and I sang to them from the deck...they follow female singing voices we've been told...I sang a variation of "Hello, Dolly". It was "Hello, Dolphins" and I changed the verses to apply to Florida....I probably scared them away!!!

 The Blue Angels were flying overhead in Pensacola!

White sand...water that isn't dirty brown...and a dog that looked just like Kate, except its tail was docked. 

  Pensacola Lighthouse 

It was only 12:15 when we arrived in Pensacola, and having already spent three whole days in the Pensacola Aviation Museum,  we continued on to Fort Walton Beach.  

This 300 foot high tower is on Santa Rosa Island and a part of Elgin Air Force Base.

When we arrived in Fort Walton Beach, I called our friend Judy from Tobermory who winters in Destin...but we couldn't arrange to meet tonight. But she caught us up on all the news...and I found out it had snowed back home! We still have to bring the dock in when we return at the end of the month!!!