Day 63: Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Underway: 0:00 am Motor Off: 0:00 pm Miles Traveled: 00 Stayed At: City Dock
First Things First: Saw our first mantee – raised his head above water for a few seconds and went back to the bottom; I got my first haircut of the trip and the first at a real barber in 30 years; first time eating crab legs on the boat – they were on sale and we couldn’t resist.
Mile 223 to Mile 223: We are waiting for weather again today. I thundered a little last night and rained about a half inch but we pretty much slept through most of it. After a short day yesterday, we are hoping for the wind to die down so we can go 30 miles across Chatawhatchee Bay along the ICW. We are staying at one of the city docks in Fort Walton Beach – they let you stay a night or two for free which is a welcome gift for us weary travelers – we’ve already spent at least $100 in town on gas, groceries and services so it pays off for the businesses too.
For some reason, marinas have gotten much more expensive as soon as we passed into Florida – at the marina near us it is a minimum of $60 a night to stay on your own boat and they probably charge a separate fee for electricity too. I hope that is just a problem around the “gold” coast or we might be anchoring an awful lot.
Our old neighbors Anne and Fred called today to say hi. They are travelers too. When they retired and sold their home (luckily at the peak of the market) they bought a travel trailer and have been traveling the US and Canada ever since. When not on the road they try to go on a big cruise somewhere in the world once a year. They are making the most of their retirement years. We love to here their travel stories and adventures. We hope to visit with them in Florida sometime in the spring.
It has been challenging finding picture worthy scenery in this part of Fort Walton Beach. I’m sure the beach side of the channel is a lot nicer but we are anchored near a busy main thoroughfare littered with the typical strip malls, fast food restaurants and less than pristine marinas. I can’t bear to show that view of Fort Walton Beach. Its the typical reality of most “modern” towns everywhere today. Ugh!
The weather looks promising for tomorrow. We are going to try to get going early and if we need to we can bail out at Destin where there is a nice protected anchorage near town. Hopefully the wind will calm down and allow us to make it all the way across the bay.
