Feb 19 – 20 Hunkered down in Panama City

The winds kept blowing at 40mph in Panama City on Sunday (first pic).  We sat tight in the morning.  I started the port engine to find out why there was so much water in the bilge and found the sea water pump was leaking – just what happened to us in Grafton, IL as we were starting the trip down the Mississippi.  As the winds calmed in the afternoon, we rode our bikes to St. Andrews where we found fresh Apalachicola oysters for $4 a dozen (next pic).  On Monday (2/20), with help of our harbor hosts in Panama City, we contacted a mechanic who showed up within 30 minutes and started on the pump repair.  The final pic shows Mike Grayson, the mechanic holding the leaking pump in hand.  We hope to put the new pump in tomorrow and be underway again.

Feb 13-18 Getting underway again after a long respite

We took Feb 13 and 14^th to work on the boat.  A mechanic at Turners taught me how to bleed the air from the fuel system so I can do more of the maintenance next time.   On Feb 15, it was cloudy with chance of thunderstorms but we headed out across Mobile Bay and entered the Florida Intracoastal waterway.  We anchored outside of Pensacola in the Big Lagoon with rain and thunderstorms throughout the night.  The next morning we waited for a thunderstorm to pass and then got underway for Ft. Walton Beach.   Here the city provides a free dock, so we tied up for the evening.  Another looper, TRIP TIME, was there and we were all amazed that other boats were making way this late in the season. The next morning we were off to Panama City, trying to beat out a heavy storm system, with gale force winds.  We arrived at Panama City marina and hunkered down.  The following night (Saturday, 2/18) it  arrived in full force.   The first pic shows the commercial traffic as we were leaving Mobile Bay, the tugboat wanted us to follow him so that we would be far enough away from the big ship entering port. The next pic shows LuLu’s, who has a rockin bar and restaurant – she is the sister of Jimmy Buffet.  And finally, we ran into hundreds of birds on the intracoastal waterway –mostly pelicans.  We wondered why they all gathered at that spot, but there was on place to stop in order to find out.  The weather tomorrow calls for gale force winds.

On Land and On the Boat: Mobile Bay –New Orleans: Feb 7-Feb 12

Chris and I, along with our friend Charlie, drove from South Carolina to Mobile Bay and stayed on the boat. Then, we headed out for New Orleans.  We spent 2 full days and 2 nights in the Big Easy.  We ate great charbroiled oysters at the Acme Oyster house, heard jazz at Preservation Hall, took in the history of New Orleans at museums, and took in the sights as Mardi Gras got underway.  The first pic shows Steamboat Wille at the National Historical Jazz Park.  Then a pic of Charlie and I having a B and B – that is having a bourbon on Bourban Street !!!   The next pic is Charlie and Chris outside the Port of Call where the best drink in town, the Monsoon, is featured.   The final pic shows how the French Quarter is decked out for Mardi Gras –which started the day we left out.   Then, it was back to BlueSkies in Mobile Bay.

On Land: New Years and beyond. Jan 1 – Feb 6

We celebrated New Years back at the house in Bennetts Point.   Our first crew of BlueSkies, Becky and Grover, came for nice long weekend and helped bring in the New Year.  After that, we hunkered down to get the house exterior stained and put in order.  It seemed to take forever, but the final brushstroke was made on February 3^rd.    We stayed at Bennetts Point for the Super Bowl and watched the game with Charlie, Bette, Ryan and Grayson, along with Richard and Annette –all from Bennett Point. 

On Land: Christmas at the Cannons Dec 19-Dec 30th

We drove to Asheville, NC to see our good friend :  a nice, invigorating stop on Lake Greenwood at Lu and Greg’s lake house, a volleyball group party at Steve’s, the annual reunion of Forest Service cronies at the Bywater.  Then it was on to Abington, VA for the annual Christmas reunion at the Cannon’s –where the Emersons, Cannons, and Haydens meet for Christmas.  Every year Santa leaves pajamas on Christmas Eve, but this year, he forgot to leave the pajama shirts for the men (first pic).  The next pic shows the whole group properly attired in pajamas.   After Christmas, it was off to Chelsea and Eliot’s new condo at the ski resort of Snowshoe.  The last 2 pics show grandsons Avery and Ethan ready for the ski slopes.

On Land: At Home at Bennetts Point, SC Dec 1-Dec 18

This is first time in 3 years we have been away from the boat, on land.   We sporadically visited our house at Bennetts Point over that time and it needed a lot of work on the exterior.  The first pic shows the house being washed and getting ready to be stained.  We also had visitors from out of town, Deb from New York (who loved watching the dolphins) and Dale from the Gangplank Marina (who loved watching Deb) (next pic).

On Land: Thanksgiving Nov 23-29 -- wid DA Sisters DA Sisters

The Hayden siblings have had a reunion every Thanksgiving for the past 7 years.  The 2011 reunion was graciously hosted by the eldest sibling, Phyllis, at her house in Grant, Florida.  This is a great time to reconnect.  The first pic is Phyllis at the head of the table, where she deserves to sit.  The next pic shows husband Tom in deep discussion with other guests.  The third pic shows Marty and Bill, official sponsors of HaydensVoyages, and then Janet and Tom, who put in a lot of cooking time.  Thanks to all DA Sisters for a good time.