Log of the ELISSA II: Pensacola to Sandestin April 13, 2013

04/13: Away under great conditions, all appreciated but none so much as WARM. Delightful contrast to our earlier days of 2013. Was a fine day for a cruise. Original plan was to anchor out in what sounded like a really neat little cove about 50 miles way. Alas, weather forecast for Sunday (already predicting wet & wind conditions) changed for the worse. Now it includes a frontal passage, torrential rains and strong winds, conditions that cause us to share high anxiety, lack of sleep and a very high pucker factor. So, being the prudent mariners that we are (note I didn’t get into references to wuss) we chose to stop at a marina, farther along than our planned cove, if we are stuck here tomorrow, not nearly as far as we had planned to be by tomorrow night. Oh well, such is the life of the prudent mariner. I’ll leave it to Bonnie to describe this 5 star marina, part of a 2600 acre 5 star resort in Sandestin, FL. I might add that they charge transient boaters $3.75/foot daily (we are 28” = $105/night). BUT, they charged us only $2.00 because we are Loopers. (Still puts a dent in the budget!!) Feels good to be “back on the Loop” but continues to be different from last fall when we sort of caravanned with other Loopers. Are pretty much on our own. That is not to say we are not meeting a continued great flow of people on the way, boaters and Land Lubbers (see below). We left home as planned April 10 for NAS Pensacola where we had left the Elissanne II on March 22. April 11 we rented a car, kenneled the “girls” and drove Truck and rental to Gainesville, FL to Pat (Bill’s sister) and Tom’s (the Truck will remain here until we return via rental from South FL in @ 3 weeks). Had a great visit with them. April 12, 43 years since our 1^st date at Ft Sheridan, IL, we returned, via rental, to Pensacola. That evening we met Roger Rowe (Linda was Grandma-ing in Memphis; he was bachelor in England with Bill in 1967) and Hayward and Sonja Roberts (he was our neighbor at Ft Harrison 1992-3) at the Tuscan Oven for dinner----wonderful Italian food and best pizza in Pensacola! Hayward introduced us to the owner who, I guess, was so impressed with what the Loop is and what we are doing, he provided all of us with complementary bottles of wine in nifty carriers! See what I mean about Friends we make along the way---our new best friend for the evening. Today was a beautiful day. For many years I would visit my Mother down here and it was interesting to see familiar spots via the water. We had found a beautiful sounding Bayou, with a park to walk the girls, for an anchorage. But as Bill said, the weather alerts began. Re: being a Wuss, I say it takes great courage to turn into a Marina when the weather is still glorious only because a weatherman is forecasting dangerous storms. Years ago I remember being here for lunch with my Mother, long before construction was finished (2006) on Sandestin Resort. Walking the girls always gives me a good opportunity to scope the neighborhood. There are amenities for all ages. Unfortunately with the storms we are not exactly enjoying them. The land real estate is impressive, as are the vessels in the Marina…some+100 ft. Remember me mentioning the Pet Gangplank a couple practically gave us as we left Mobile? Well, now that we are in tidal waters, it made getting on the dock a piece of cake for the Girls…wasn’t bad for height challenged me either! Dinner: Curried sautéed chicken breasts with lime infused vegetable rice pilaf.

Fitness Fishing on a Paddle Board