Fun Day Offshore!

On Monday, Nov. 5th, we left Grand Lagoon in Panama City Beach and were just a stone's throw from the St. Andrew Inlet. The winds were calm, the waves were tiny, so we ventured out into the Gulf. Our son, Jeff, had told us about a great anchorage behind Crooked Island which is just east of Shell Island, and about 12 miles from the inlet. Earlier we asked the dockmaster at The Lighthouse about it, and he agreed it was a great place. 

 The pirates next to us were no where to be seen!

 What's wrong with this picture???? Our usually highly accurate GPS had us crossing over land! The black line behind the boat is our current track....which we would follow on our way out! The water was easy to read, and we followed the dark, deeper areas into a wonderful anchorage! It felt like we were in the Bahamas....except we had cell coverage! The sand and inlet must have shifted lately!!!

 With the sun high in the sky, you can see the difference in the color of the water.

 Our chart indicated "sand dunes", but these were the highest ones we saw.

 We dropped the anchor, had lunch, and would have liked to spend the night, but with thunderstorms  forecast we thought it wise to go to a marina.

 Back in the Gulf, we headed east for another 8 miles and followed the channel into St. Joseph Bay where we tied up at Port St. Joe Marina, next to Sea Moore from Decatur, AL, and Q's End from Windsor, Ont.

We had been at the Port St. Joe Marina in 2010 and remembered the Bay Walk trail.

I made an appointment for a haircut...but had over an hour to wait. It just happened to be happy hour at the Haughty Heron....two Sam Adams Octoberfest beers later....I managed to find the hair salon...and my way back to the boat!

Today, Election Day, we just relaxed, cleaned the inside of the boat...and walked back into town. The wind is blowing hard, and there are white caps on the Bay. We are so grateful that yesterday was such a fun day for us....we never passed another boat...never saw a BARGE....just a peaceful day, enjoying nature, in our private little corner of the Panhandle!