Pensacola, FL

Friday morning we started off to cross Mobile Bay along with Southern Belle after waiting until about 8 am as there were small craft warnings out until 9 am.  The crossing was not too bad and John even saw a couple of dolphins.   When we got to the other side we started our journey down the ICW.  We had decided that we would stop at Homeport Marina for the night while Southern Belle decided to push on a bit further.  Once we arrived at the marina we discovered that due to chop the boat was covered with salt spray residue.  We gave it a good wash down.   This marina is  adjacent to the restaurant LuLu’s which is owned by Jimmy Buffet’s sister.  We had a nice evening with a variety of entertainment as there was a song writers festival that evening.

The Dock at Lulu's

The beach area at Lulu's.

Some colorful condos near Lulu's

We started our journey again Saturday morning in rain and clouds and as the day progressed we added wind to the mix.  It was interesting getting across Pensacola Bay as it is another large bay with a pass into the ocean that was quiet rough.  At one point John noticed that the bow flag pole was bent back at a 45 degree angle.  He wanted to go out and secure the Looper flag but Mary told him that she would tackle him if he tried to leave the bridge. The flag did make in to port where John removed it and will wait until he can get to a West Marine for a replacement,


We had talked to Southern Belle and they chose not to cross Pensacola Bay due to the waves and were going to stay on the other side of the bay.  Our marina for the evening was called Palafox Harbor right in down town Pencsacola.  We walked through down town and also past many historic homes, it’s a pretty city, even in the rain. 

Very large catamaran.

Rainy day at the park.

Pelican in the park.

A cloudy sunset.

It took awhile to figure out that this was actually an oil drilling rig. It was docked right next to the marina restocking supplies and was quite impressive.


John & Mary