Log 65; Day 174; Nov 11th; Pensacola, FL.

The white sand and blue water as we enter Pensacola Harbor

After a long walk we made it to Paradise Bar

Another bar along the Pensacola Beach boardwalk

This is me "relaxing" sitting outside of the Paradise Bar


Another bar on the boardwalk...I think you get the idea of what this area is like

Our boat is in the center of this picture at the end of the dock on the right

Log 65
Day 174
Tuesday, November 11, 2008

8:00 AM CST
Location: Beach Marina, Pensacola, FL...MM 189 on the GIWW
Weather: 64* sunny and windy...forecasted to be 74 and sunny with NE winds at 15 to 20

Happy birthday Beccah (daughter) and Jeff (son in law). Deb and I are thinking of you.

Happy veterans day...thanks to all who have served.

Very pretty morning...low 60’s and sunny. The wind picked up last night and, it’s blowing pretty good out of the east now, and predicted to continue for the next couple days. We’re tied to the end of a t-dock at Pensacola Beach. The boat is pointed directly at the Gulf...and if it were not for the narrow stretch of beach in our way, we could be in the gulf in about 1 minute.

Yesterday...we had a great 30+ mile cruise from the Wharf to Pensacola. We are now officially in Florida, and you can already tell the difference. These waters are crystal clear with lots of blue and green colors. The sand is almost white in places, and the beach towns are all about t-shirts, hurricane drinks, and music on the decks at sunset. Once we arrived and got settled (washing the salt off the boat), we checked in at the dock office and asked for some local knowledge...where is the best “fun” bar we can visit. Others who have gone through this area say the Naval Station is a “must see”...we, on the other hand, are looking for a great margarita. When we asked Marissa...the dock master...where we should go she said “Oh God”, you have to visit Paradise Bar and Grill. She told us it would be a fairly long walk (but worth it) and so off we went. She was right about 1 of her comments...it was a long walk. The bar itself...not so much. Oh well...we needed the exercise, and there were at least 10 beach bars we passed on the way to Paradise, so we had plenty of other options. In the end, we just popped in a small bar that was advertising $3.50 bushwhackers, and Deb got 1 to go, and we walked the beach and boardwalk. Back at the boat I went to work on our trip planning, and Deb went to the grocery store...which happens to be located right at the marina. They even have a butcher shop, and the owner cooks great BBQ (so he says) and is planning on cooking brisket today. Debbie tells the man that I love brisket...so he says he’ll cook some special...and come and find us when it’s done. In between a long conversation Deb had with the owner, she did find a great steak...which we cooked on the grill for dinner. Our dinner movie was Bucket List (thanks Chuck and Holly for sending that to us, it was really good). Great day.

Today...we are staying at Pensacola one more day. To visit the Naval Air station you ask? No. Randy, my college roommate, sent me a email yesterday telling me about Peg Leg Pete’s. He says it’s a great bar, with fresh oysters, and a real cool atmosphere. When we asked about it, we were told we could get there by dinghy...so we are off on an adventure to find Peg Leg Pete’s for lunch. Between now and then I have a couple of boat list things to do. I need to clean the engine strainers, and set up our boat fenders differently, because now that we are in Florida many of the docks consist of fixed pilings (verses floating docks), and our big round fenders don’t work well. I have brought along several long slender fenders for this very reason, so I need to get them out of the engine room and set up to use every day now.

Tomorrow we plan to head to Destin...about 50 miles. Winds are still predicted to be 10 to 20 from the East, so they will be right on our nose. Not a big deal because we’ll be in the ICW waters with are mostly protected...but we will be going through several somewhat open “sounds” so that will cause a little bit of uncomfortable chop. Weather is much more of an issue now...and will be until we get to Clearwater, because of the open water we have to travel. I have no less than 10 different web sites I can track the weather on (wind predictions; wave predictions; all types of forecasting). For a couple of years, I have been accumulating them from my own investigating, and others who pass weather knowledge along. It’s amazing what you can find...and I take it all into consideration when we plan our travel days.

I’ll keep you posted.

Bob