Thursday and Friday November 11, and 12, 2021 (Grand Mariner Marina, Mobile, AL - The Wharf Marina, Orange Beach, AL)

Thursday is a down day and a good one for some R&R since there is nothing here to do or see.  LOL!!!!  Jim spent a good part of the day on the phone trying to get into a marina for repairs.  It is amazing how they are so busy with boat repairs big and small.  But then look how many boats are here so it makes sense.  We decided to leave in the morning to cross the Mobile Bay and enter the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW).  

Friday, November 12, 2021

The sun is shining and we are following O’Tug which is owned by a retired Navy Officer.  We figured that we can’t go wrong following someone from the Navy and used to the waterways.  As we are leaving the Grand Mariner Marine here are the markers for the channel.  However, the markers are spread apart so you need to pay attention to your navigation screen. 

The Bay is larger than I thought it would be as you can’t see land.  But the waves weren’t bad and we did see several dolphins playing around the hull of O’Tug in front of us. We aren’t far into the Bay and we encountered our first cargo ship to pass.  I was apprehensive about the wake from such a large ship.  But surprisingly it wasn’t bad at all.

I loved this picture of the ship and the City of Mobile in the background.

We passed this shrimp boat just before it dropped it’s nets.  Immediately after the nets were in the water the birds appeared.

The water is beautiful!!

It is starting to get a bit choppy because we are getting close to the outlet into the Gulf.  But we are turning east toward Florida instead of west toward Louisiana.  There were at least five oil rigs.

I tried to capture the flame coming out of the stack.

It’s so nice to be out of the ugly brown water and into nicer water.

Finally!!!! As long as Jim has talked about this adventure he has also talked about the Intracoastal Waterway that will take us to many places from here on out.  Here it finally is.  Jim mentioned that it made him think about how you enter a channel on Lake Minnetonka.

We didn’t have any idea what the Intracoastal would be like or what we would see. There is a lot of money going into developing the area.  The houses are beautiful.  They weren’t huge homes but very livable.  We passed through Gulf Shores, AL and wave at the people who are fishing along the shore.  For those of you who like Jimmy Buffet, this restaurant Lulu’s is a very well know establishment owned by Jimmy’s sister, LuLu Buffet.  Of course, even if the food may be just okay everyone wants to say they have been there.

We knew that staying at the Wharf Marina would be a great place to be.  As we arrived, it is amazing to see the size of the boats.  We got tied up and hooked up to the electricity with help from our friends from “Our Plan”, Mike and Chris Brown.  We hadn’t seen them in several days and it was good to catch up and share stories.  We’re tied up next to this little beauty!!!

Jim and I walked around and found a great restaurant with live music and enjoyed a tasty dinner.  Look at the laser light show on Main Street.

Did you notice the palm trees?  I have been waiting a long time to see those.  LOL!!!!   We are ending the evening talking about our plan for tomorrow.  See you later…