Day 48

We shoved off today at about 7:30am. Finally left before us, but we wanted to follow Candor. Grant drove from the top again. Tabbie took a nap in morning, but was awake by the afternoon to enjoy the wonderful warm air. It was 71 degrees today. We finally hit Mobile at about 12:30, and were amazed at the amount of commercial activity. It would have even beaten the activity in St. Louis! There were numerous towboats and barges that we are familiar with, but also many ocean going cargo ships that were very impressive. Grant got a little excited with the camera, so we have many pictures to share! Well, after we got through the commercial area, there it was…. The big Blue! Nothing but blue skies, 70 degrees, and water as far as the eye could see (OK, at least as long as you were looking South!) This was our first test in open water, and Mobile Bay can be very shallow (3 feet in areas!), and all the directions we had to go by were a few chicken scratches on a piece of paper… With a little luck, and some racking nerves, we made it through the ship channel, and onto the “Dog River” channel that we took to the marina. We arrived in the marina at about 3:00, and pulled up to the gas dock for fuel and a much needed pump out. After fueling, the dock master (Lorane about 75 years old) helped us move the boat about 100 feet down the gas dock – yet again we are on the gas dock for the night!! After getting lucky navigating our way to the marina off a napkin, we decided it in our best interest to purchase charts and a GPS (we were planning on the same anyway). Unfortunately the marina did not have the necessary equipment, so Lorane gave us here car to drive across the bridge to the West Marine supply store. They had all the necessary information, and Grant made another friend with the manager. Grant is going to go back tomorrow, and the manager said he would sit down with him and go over the charts and show us good anchorages along the way. Perfect – just what we were looking for! Then it was back to the marina so Grant could play with his new toys…

We have Internet service on the cell phone for the first time in two weeks, so Tabbie is very excited to be able to post the journal entries, and check emails…