Got the last of our chores done in time for Robert and Linda to pick us up for a few last “must do’s” in Destin. Robert and Linda were kind enough to carry us to Walmart, mail, groceries and lunch at AJ’s. But our first stop had to be at the beached sailboat on Marimar Beach. As the story goes……..the sailboat “Phantom of the Aqua”, whose home port is the US Virgin Islands, was caught in one of the recent hurricanes. The owner of Phantom had to be rescued 200 miles offshore, out in the Gulf by a US Coast Guard helicopter. Thinking the boat was sinking, he abandoned it only to find it weeks later, washed up on the beach at Destin.
We had lunch at AJ’s Seafood & Oyster Bar where we took advantage of every bit of heat we could find – it was drafty in there but the food was great!
After lunch, we picked up Karen’s mail from Diane’s and made a quick provision run to Winn Dixie. Running out of daylight hours, and to save time, we separated the grocery store into 4 quadrants…..Ron had the far left, Linda the near left, Karen the near right and Robert the far right…..we had a small grocery list and each had to pick up two items in record time (in their prospective quadrant) and meet at the check out counter in record time as well…..We had very little daylight left and had to be ready for an early morning departure from the dock—-and it was COLD AND WINDY!!!
Early the next morning, Rob and Lin joined us for our next section of the loop, Destin to Panama City. As Robert helped with the lines and Ron got us under way, we crossed the bay and eased into the Intracoastal Waterway. It was a quiet and peaceful voyage (no other boats).
…….UNTIL…….we entered St. Andrews Bay, where we were joined by a school of playful dolphins. The dozen or so dolphins ran with us – and also swam in our wake for quite a while (look closely at the second picture). Wild dolphin are commonly seen in the waters of St. Andrews Bay.
Shell Island is a barrier island running between the Gulf of Mexico and St. Andrews Bay and is home to an abundance of naturally occurring sand dunes, sea oats, sugar-white beaches and wildlife. The only access to Shell Island is by boat, and the waters surrounding the island are home to a vast array of fascinating sea life, including one of the largest concentrations of Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins to be found anywhere in the United States.
Ultimately we arrived at Bay Point Marina in Panama City (a looper favorite) where we were greeted by a friendly staff showing off highly unusual icicles from the docks. Regardless of how far south we go, it remains rather chilly!
We were once again dwarfed by the large boats and impressed by the beautiful sunsets in Florida (you see us sandwiched between the two 100+ ft boats on the dock).
