We finally made it to Florida!
After our sojourn in Fairhope, we sailed southward on Mobile Bay, to finally enter the Gulf Intra Coastal Waterway (GICW).
We spent two nights at The Wharf in Orange Beach. The Wharf is a huge resort, complete with condos, shops, entertainment centre, boats and built for vacationing. We caught up with Exhale and partook of food, drink and good company.
Rick and Mary took us to see the Gulf of Mexico, at Orange Beach, still in Alabama – our first sighting since commencing the loop.
After our last supper of spaghetti bolognaise and key lime pie, Exhale and Bushranger again parted company – Bushranger heading eastwards.
Today we set sail for Pensacola, Florida. We had a brilliant day of calm, blue waters and clear skies. We had the waterway to ourselves. We sailed past brightly painted homes, weird sailing craft and pirate coves. I kept a lookout for tall ships! We sailed past forts of a bygone era with cannon pointed to the high seas. Dolphins accompanied us, pelicans dive bombed and still I saw no alligators!
Now we safely reside in Pensacola. We went for an exploratory walk around downtown and the historic area. What a quaint place! Pensacola is rich in history: Spanish, French, English, Confederate and USA histories. This is a piece of land richly contested over the last 500 years. Homes and commercial properties have been preserved to give an authentic experience of life in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Above is an early 20th century first truck and the alleyway is in the Seville District, connecting old buildings and leading to cool brick courtyards with fountains. Very atmospheric! Nice, very nice!
Such is Life!