Life On Orion

 We are across the gulf and I’ll never have to do it again!  LOL! We got up at 5 am, left in the dark and motored down the river out to the bay for an hour before meeting our friends on the other boats who were anchored at Dog Island. The sun came up just as we were entering the gulf and we couldn’t have asked for a better travel day.  The waves were 1-3 ft, so we had a fair amount of “rolling”, but nothing dangerous or scary.  We saw several pods of dolphins and 2 of the boats saw 2 huge sea turtles.  What I wouldn’t have given to have seen those…. We arrived in Steinhatchee about 4 pm and all 4 boats are tied up at the long dock at the edge of the marina.  There is no power here yet, as they are just remodeling the marina, but the docks are beautiful floating docks, which means we, as well as Madison, can get on and off the boat easily. There is a huge store here so we gals all did some shopping and Tom even bought a t-shirt.  The pelicans are lined up on the docks waiting for the fi

 After waking up this morning again partially grounded and unable to get off the boat, we made a decision to move to the marina next door where our new friends are docked and see if we can improve our conditions. Honestly, we were so frustrated we could scream! So, I settled up with the marina around noon once I could climb out of the boat and we had some water under us, and we moved down the river to the next marina. We needed a pump-out and the pump wasn’t working at are marina ( of course…) so we pulled up to the fuel dock to get that done before going to a new slip.  OMG - it was like threading a needle to squeeze into the space on the fuel dock and thankfully we didn’t hit anything.  And - guess what?!?! They couldn’t get the pump out to work!  Really, I thought I was going to hit somebody.  Long story short, the marina guy worked for AN HOUR to get it to work and we had to move the boat around the corner on the dock.  But - shitter’s empty!! Then we proceeded down the row to our

 They say every day on the loop is an adventure and you never know what to expect. Well, today was one of those days and if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it. Tom woke up at 5 am with a sixth sense that the boat wasn’t moving and thought maybe we were hung up on the dock somehow. What he saw was even stranger.  The wind was strong and that combined with the northerly direction and low tide had sucked much of the water out of the already shallow Carrabelle River that we are on.  Our boat was sitting up out of the water with only the bow still in some water and the whole thing was pitched forward - I could hardly walk up the steps from our cabin! It took a minute to realize that we were on mud instead of in the water, and as I began to look around I noticed that the whole middle of the river in front of us was now an island. There are a handful of boats anchored on the other side of that shallow stretch and they were out of the water also. Two sailboats (with

 We woke up to a gray, cold, windy day today and it never really got any better… We walked the 6 blocks to the Carrabelle Junction - a coffee shop/lunch counter that was recommended for coffee and hot chocolate this morning and I did pop in to The Mercantile, but no merchandise called my name.  LOL. And other than a short walk for Madison we did not venture outside other than to adjust the lines with the rising/falling tide. Tom replaced some light bulbs in the lights down in the engine room, took the cover off the refrigerator motor to clean and vacuum it and cleaned the filter for the shower drain pump. All inside projects! We are still hoping to be able to leave here Sunday afternoon to cross over to Tarpon Springs, so tomorrow I will do laundry, we will pack up my bike and we will prepare our “ditch bag” for the long trip on open water.  I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t terrified to do this crossing, but I’m just concentrating on the end result and thinking positive thoughts. This i

 Our first full day in Carrabelle was a good one by our standards!  Sun was out, temps in the 60’s and no gale force winds! We used the time to do some projects on the boat and some min-exploring so the time went fast.  Most all of our lines were soaking wet due to the big rains and we were able to take them out and lay them out along the dock to dry in the sun. I use a special pellet-based cat pan on board and due to events I won’t recount here, the whole thing needed a good scrubbing.  The pellets are technically “washable”, although I prefer not to do that. When you are not near a Walmart to get new bags - you wash them….  A nylon laundry bag, a hose, salt water and a bucket did the trick and they also dried in the sun on the dock.  Dewey says thank you…. Tom used my electric bike to go to the hardware store for some light bulbs and explore some of the area just off the main drag and then we walked to the marina next door to visit our friends who are tied up over there. We arranged

 I have to say, I was beginning to think we would never get here!  The travel day was not ideal, but safe and doable and our trip was only 4 hours long. We are safely docked at C-Quarters Marina and it was a bit of a circus gettin into our spot.  This marina only have finger slips perpendicular to the shore line and they are lined with huge poles coming out of the water and only a narrow 4-foot piece of dock alongside once you are docked.  To stand a chance of getting off the boat you have to back in - something our boat is not really set up to do, especially since we no longer have a “back up camera”. Our power cord comes off the front of the boat too…. After mental and physical gymnastics and the help of the one woman in the office, we were tied up - 45 minutes later.  😓 The dog can get off the boat and more importantly - so can I! We have to move the boat forward each night before going to bed so the rising tide doesn’t put us up on the fixed wood dock and move it back each morning

 We slept in this morning and it was glorious - we have been getting up at 5:30 am to get out on the water. It started raining during the night and has rained off and on all day with no signs of stopping until sunrise. We made the most of the day, though, with a trip to the grocery store late morning. The local Piggly Wiggly was a real nice store (the only grocery in town) and was only a 15 minute walk from the boat. We loaded up on staples and sandwich makings for lunches and hauled it all back to the boat in wheeled carts. Then after a brief break we took Madison and set out to explore the cute little shops all over the downtown area. This is a very dog-friendly town and virtually all the shop keepers have dog treats on hand for the pooches who come into their stores.  (Yup, you can bring your dog right into the store with you!) Some store owners even came outside as we passed by to give her a treat.  She was thrilled and ate her way through the whole shopping district! Her favorite

 I never thought I would be so excited to wake up to 38 degrees, but we were celebrating this morning because it was above freezing! LOL! The water in the bay when we got up was like glass and the sunrise was spectacular.  We were off the Fuel dock and underway by 6:30 am and it was a long day with the loss of an hour due to entering the eastern time zone.. Not such a beautiful trip this time due to pretty boring waterways, but I’ll take boring any day…. Again, lots of dolphins and I saw my first alligator! It was sunning itself on the muddy bank of the intracoastal and I almost missed it because it looked like a log.  So, now I know for sure they’re out there….  We ended up traveling right behind two other looper boats belonging to the couples with conversed with over the past couple of days and they are in a marina 4 blocks down from us. The six of us went to dinner together at a quaint seafood grill a few block from here and had the best time getting to know each other and telling “

 Well, for starters it was so cold last night that there was ice all over the boat this morning.  The docks were icy also, so I didn’t venture off the boat at all!  We had hosed the boat down to remove all the salt water and I guess between that and the dew there was enough water to form ice.  Our storage compartments were iced shut and all the fenders and lines were “white” with frost.  Yuk! We had a nice day of travel with lots of dolphin escorts and tonight are tied up to the fuel dock at a marina in Panama City.  Most of the marinas here were wiped out by Hurricane Michael 2 years ago, so places to dock your boat are few and far between.  We were lucky to secure this spot and all I can say is, at least we are tied to a solid structure and it’s only for overnight! Completely safe, just weird… As I head to bed the boat is aglow with red neon light from the Fuel sign shining brightly.  Can’t make this stuff up! Our welcoming committee of cormorants

 No pictures today, but we had an uneventful travel day to Niceville which is near Destin. We are docked at a lovely marina in a protected bay and are the only loopers here. We did connect with two other looper boats over NEBO and the radio on our way here.  They were a few miles behind us and saw us on the app, so they gave us a call.  When we were settled, I called the gal back and we chatted for awhile.  They are anxious to find travel buddies to cross the Gulf with too, so our plan is to meet up in Apalachicola Monday night and then coordinate the crossing. They are at a marina not far from here tonight and we will both be in Panama City tomorrow night, but also in different marinas. I’m looking forward to being with other boaters again… We ate lunch at the restaurant here and while we were eating, Patty, the Harbor Host here came to our table to introduce herself and invite us to docktails on her boat.  She and her husband did the loop in 2014 and have lived on their boat ever sin

 There was actually snow in the forecast here for today.  There might have been some flurries, but mostly it was really cold (in the 30’s) and rainy.  Yuk! So - we stayed snugged and warm on the boat for the day.  Slept in, French toast for breakfast, movies, and stuffed peppers for dinner.  Got my bike folded and hoisted up onto the flying bridge and lost feeling in our fingers doing it.  I’m so ready for some warm temps! The plan is to leave at first light tomorrow morning for Destin, FL.  It will be a 7 hour trip, so that’s why the early departure.  We are hoping the forecast is accurate with no rain and light winds - we will let you know!                                       This about sums up how we all spent the day!

 We were correct in our decision not to travel today and in fact it has been a miserable, cold day.  Rain this morning and cloudy this afternoon, but so cold I thought it was going to snow. Actually, schools here have been cancelled for tomorrow because it will rain overnight again and the temps will be so low they are expecting ice to form.  OMG - where is the 80 degrees I’m supposed to be chasing?!?! We did brave the elements to do a couple of things today - we walked to a small grocery which was a cross between Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods to pick up a handful of things and we walked through the historic Seville District of Pensacola.  All of the buildings are on the national registry and the homes are well preserved.  They are just beautiful! Lots of shops, wine bars, breweries and restaurants have been integrated into the district too to make it ‘the place to be”.  Tom said it’s wasted on us older folks, but our kids would love to hang out there! I also did a lot of “practicing” o

We’re finally in Florida! It feels like some sort of milestone, although we will be in Florida for quite awhile as we make our way across the panhandle and circumvent the rest of the coastline. What a pretty trip today - lots of white sand beaches and beautiful vacation areas. The weather was fairly warm but cloudy and the water was calm.  We crossed a couple of small bays along the way and were separated from the Gulf waters by some pretty skinny barrier islands. Our marina is right downtown so we can walk everywhere and I have to say, I love the architecture here. We found a cute Irish Pub for lunch and Tom took Madison exploring a bit this afternoon. I got to try my new Lectric bike for the first time today and I have to say it was scary to get on a bicycle after all these years, but I did ok!  Those of you who are acquainted with my tendency to have “accidents” can rest easy knowing I will never be going very fast and I have a helmet!  LOL! I still have much practicing to do, but a

 For the first time since November our boat left Mobile, AL! We pulled away from the dock just before 8 am and Bill was there to see us off.  He even brought us each breakfast sandwiches from McDonalds. 😋 It was a perfect day to be out on the water and crossing the bay was relaxing - all 4 hours of it! We then entered the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GICW) when we reached Gulf Shores and it was reminiscent of the Erie Canal in that you cruised slowly through neighborhoods and houses backed up to the water with boat docks. We only encountered one tow/barge and the meeting was uneventful (thanks to our river experiences). By far the most exciting part of the crossing was when the 3 dolphins decided to join us and swam beside the boat for a few minutes.  I had just asked Tom when we could expect to see our first dolphins and they appeared!  It is unusual to be able to catch them on camera, but because they were beside the boat instead of in front I was able to get a video, which I couldn’

 This weekend has been full of waiting, but we did get a big boat project done while waiting!  The headliner (vinyl ceiling) in the pilot house was yellowed, stained and had some tears in it, so months ago we ordered replacement vinyl to re-cover the 3 panels ourselves and finally had the time and space to do it.  Bill let us set up a table inside the office building and work in there - otherwise we wouldn’t have done it till I don’t know when… It was a job very similar to re-covering a chair cushion and removing the 800-900 staples by hand was the worst of it! My hands may never be rid of the creases! We did 80% of the work on Sunday and finished up Monday morning.  The panels installed easily and our new ceiling is beautiful! Here’s to DIY boat projects!! To treat ourselves on Sunday after an afternoon of work we ate one last time at the Grand Mariner restaurant where we were docked. They aren’t open on Monday’s, so we knew it was our last visit and strange as it may seem, we had bec

 The good news is that at 12:30 pm yesterday the parts came in to repair our windlass.  The bad news is, that it took a couple hours for the mechanic to get here and another hour for the install, so we are here for the weekend.  There was a slim possibility that if we had left by noon we could have crossed the bay and gotten onto the intracoastal waterway, but it was not to be…. We now have a functional anchor and everything on the boat has been fine-tuned and cleaned and we are ready for the rest of the loop.  Just not today…. We have decided to relax and enjoy the weekend and are cozy in the boat while it rains and storms outside.  There were winds and lots of rain today and tomorrow there is a small craft advisory and high winds, so we weren’t going anywhere over the weekend anyway. Today was spent sleeping in, making a bigger breakfast, replacing 2 more interior step lights, organizing drawers and putting a crock pot of chili on. With tummies full of warm chili we are now snuggled

 We had a wonderful holiday season, lots of travel, spent lots of time with our kids and grandkids and got re-acquainted with snow, ice and sub-zero temps. Yikes! After a quiet New Years celebration with Jana and Jeff we loaded the car to the gills again, loaded in the animals and set off.  We spent a couple of nights in Kenosha with Kate, Riley and Ian and then a couple with Johanna in Nashville.  It broke up the drive into tolerable segments and gave us one more chance to see the girls. We pulled up to the marina late Monday afternoon and as Tom had feared, the boat was not ready for our departure.  In fact, it was still tied up in the lift well. Bill, the owner, helped us move it back over to the long dock in front of the restaurant so we could move back onto it and plug into some power. In the two days that followed, there was a lot of unloading, hauling, re-arranging and cleaning that happened! We had our rental car until Wednesday at 5 pm, so there were also many trips to Lowe’s,