AZ, NY, Mobile to St. Petersburg

Hi,

Well, December has come and gone, as has 2012.  And coming and going is what we are all about…so here is the update.

The memorial service trip to Casa Grande/Phoenix was brief, but worthwhile.  We’re glad we went. 

Not sure if we’re just getting used to the airport drill, but flying Mobile/Phoenix/Newburgh seemed like much less hassle than we’ve experienced in other trips. Are we getting young?

Being home for the Holidays—well almost the holidays---was great.  So much is happening in everyone’s families.  The pace of these times of our life is amazing!  Our ‘Christmas’ celebration was on Dec. 16, the only day we would be lucky enough to have 5/7 of our kids able to get together.  Geoff, of course, celebrated with Amy and Pete in Germany—we had a good long chat, and are very glad to have a sense of their location from having been there! 

YOUNG AMERICA waited patiently for us to return, and return we did, on Dec. 20.  The really good news was that the tornado that blasted through Mobile early that morning bypassed the Marina.  Hooray. More good news came the next day when the world did not end.  Sheesh.

We left Mobile on the 22^nd, and after a smooth crossing of the Mobile Bay, motored on to the FL-AL border where we tied up at the Oyster House for the night.  Sunday morning was gorgeous and we had an easy run to Ft. Walton Beach, where we spent the evening visiting with Barb and Randy (LAZY DOLPHIN).

Goodbye good weather!  Many, many shades of grey, and lots of wind and whomping waves as we headed east.  As we crossed the inlets to the Gulf of Mexico at Destin and Andrews Bay we could see really big (8’?) waves out there.  Uffda.  We rounded the bend into the Panama City Municipal Marina, and that same wind gently nudged us up to the transient dock, where we stayed for the next five days.

On Christmas Eve we smashed our Peppermint Pig—a Sarasota, NY  fella with whom we’ve celebrated for several years. (Days later we tossed his crumbs into the Gulf of Mexico (shhhhh don’t tell—that may not be legal) with wishes for peace and prosperity for the planet in 2013.) Not exactly the traditional event, but the best we could do.  You may Google him if you are interested.

By the 28^th, still at Panama City, we decided that if the Gulf wouldn’t co-operate and settle down, we’d at least get more east, so we’d be ready to make the shortest run for St. Petersburg.  So off we went to Pt. St. Joe.  We’d stopped there in Jan, 2010 when on the loop, and were pleasantly surprised to find that phone and internet service have increased dramatically in these 2 years.  Went from 0 to 60 actually—there was even a new Verizon store in the local mall!

The nice folks at the marina left a newspaper on the deck every morning, and on Sunday the 30^h  we found the Sunday papers and 2 huge muffins delivered to the boat.  Very nice!

On New Year’s Eve, Pt. St. Joe brought buses from Tallahassee and provided free rides in a loop around the town.  Each end of the loop had a live band and at 10 o’clock there was a great display of fireworks.  We rode the bus, listened to the music, watched the fireworks, and returned to the boat.  At midnite we blew the boat's big horns to welcome 2013, and went to bed.  Happy New Year to all!

On Jan.1, we set out for Carabelle, but as we passed through Appalachacola, decided to stop and explore.  What fun.  It is a tiny town whose oyster industry is taking a serious hit, but the Hotel has been nicely upgraded, and the Maritime Museum has an amazing number of events on the docket.  Found a great little restaurant called “Up the Creek” and lunched there with Peter and Pam, a neat couple who winter in App.  We docked at the free town dock with RUFFIAN and MOLLY GRACE, 2 sailboats we’d seen before.  A nice visit, but we must be off.

At Carabelle we found 5 boats awaiting a smooth Gulf crossing.  They’d already been there for days, and invited us to movie night (Master and Commander—yay Russell Crowe) in the cruiser’s lounge. 

We weren’t crazy about staying another week, so Fred studied the weather patterns, and determined that we could maybe make it around the Big Bend (check your Florida geography—east as far as you can go, and then south to Clearwater) if we stayed in close to the land and thereby prevented the wind from building tall waves. Maybe it could work, and we might, just might, have a good overnight crossing.

So at 1:30 p.m., on Saturday the 5^th of Jan., we poked YA’s nose out into the Gulf, and for sure it was lumpy.  Stayed that way as we headed east, but when we made the turn south at 5:30 p.m., the ride smoothed out and we decided to go for it.  It was a dark, dark night.  We saw one glimmer of the crescent moon around 5 a.m. and when the sun did rise the entire world went from the black of night to the grey of fog.  Visibility was no better than it’d been at midnight! 

We expected the fog to burn away by 10 a.m. or so, but NO!  Happily, the radar screen stayed blank, but even so we slowed from 7.3 to 6.3 knots.   You go as fast as you are willing to hit something.  There was also no cell service, so we couldn’t check in with  the folks who expected to hear from us and tell them that we were ok until 1:30 in the afternoon!  By then we could see about 200 yards ahead, and our first call was to the marina at the Clearwater Yacht Club, the closest place to tie up. 

And tie up we did, after 25 hours 'at sea', and with much gratitude for a safe crossing.  Next morning we made the easy run to our winter home, St. Petersburg Municipal Marina.  It is, in a word, fabulous.

First order of business, now that we are in an actual city, was to see a doctor to have him tell me that the tendons in my right shoulder are the cause of the most unpleasant sensations I've been experiencing.  Not serious, just verrrrry painful, so that is good news.  This, too, shall pass, and to speed the process, I met with a fine acupuncturist.  All within walking distance of the boat!

The marina is clean and well cared for.  Docks are wide, concrete and secure.  Saturday there was a Farmer’s Market in the huge parking lot next to the Park across the street.  Downtown St. Pete is a hop, skip and a jump away.  Within walking distance are a Publix Grocery Store, CVS, a movie theater (we saw Jack Reacher), hair and nail salons (very important), and the St. Pete Unitarian Universalist Church, as well as more restaurants than we can possibly visit.  Probably.  Does it get better than that?  Well, yes, it actually does. Joe and Punk (CAROLYN ANN) are a couple of slips away, and  Fred is sitting on the back of the boat smoking his pipe and reading a book.  Not only is it warm, there are NO bugs.  Instead of hearing “Wow, it is never this cold at this time of year”, we are hearing “Wow, this is the warmest January we can remember!”  LOVE IT!

On Tuesday we’re driving to Jacksonville for the USPS Annual meeting, and Fred will return to the boat on Sunday while I fly to Washington, DC for a few days with the French Family.   Jen and Chris moved to Burke, VA in Nov., and I have the mother’s need to see their new digs, and be able to visualize their neighborhood when we speak.   Oh, did I mention that they are 20 min. from the Potomac, and there is this little inauguration thing going on that Monday?  I’ll be back in St. Pete on Thursday and this will be home until March or so.

Did you receive our Christmas card?  No?  Well that could be because it hasn’t been mailed yet.  So, as it may be Dec. 2013 before we get to that task, please consider you and yours wished all the happiness, love, good health, prosperity and peace that you can enjoy, and then just a tad more for this new year!

Be well, and remember to breathe!