October 28, 2014 - In Orange Beach, AL

This has been a very fun couple of days. We made it from our anchorage and into Mobile Bay, a huge body of water, and docked for the night at Dog River Marina in Mobile, AL. Friends Ron & Amy met us at the marina and after enjoying some catch-up time and dinner, Amy and I went to the Hampton Inn nearby while the guys spent the night on the boat. I had forgotten how nice it was to sleep in a "real bed" and I enjoyed a long, luxurious "real shower". Amy and I slept in, enjoyed a breakfast and hit the road for a tour of Bellingrath Gardens & Homes. This is a well-known landmark of Walter & Bessie Bellingrath. Mr. Bellingrath was Mobile's first Coke bottler and turned a modest fishing camp on the Fowl River into an historic area to be shared with the community and its visitors, while his wife worked with a landscape architect to develop an extensive garden surrounding the home. We spent a good part of the day here, and then took the scenic route to The Wharf Marina, where our husbands had arrived and were waiting patiently at the nearby pub. We enjoyed a great dinner at Lulu's (Jimmy Buffet's sister's restaurant) before retiring to our boat, while Ron & Amy crashed at the Hampton Inn in Orange Beach, AL.

I was excited to land at The Wharf Marina and find a shopping area just next door to the marina, in addition to a movie theater. While we have very much enjoyed our journey along the river system, it is exciting to enter the next phase, which will consist of more developed areas, with more amenities close-by. As icing on the cake, our stay here is free because of the big win at the rendezvous. Yahoo!!

I (Jim) had a fun time on our 5 hour voyage across Mobile Bay with Ron Beeber, our former neighbor from Pentwater.  The trip across the bay was actually more than 30 miles due to having to go so much out of our way just to get to the ICW because most of the Bay is very shallow and we did not want to risk going aground.  Among our highlights were seeing several dolphins, including some that swam with us for a couple of minutes off the bow of our boat, and again in the wake off the stern.  Dolphins love to swim with boats and play in the wake.  They even did a couple of jumps for us. We also saw several huge cargo ships and barges moving into or out of Mobile Bay with their huge loads.  We went near some petroleum rigs that were huge, some like small factories on stilts.  Upon our arrival in the ICW we cruised a few miles to our destination of the Wharf Marina while passing Lulu's restaurant and marina, a well known local place that is owned by Jimmy Buffett's sister (and we later returned there for dinner). Upon finally arriving at our marina, we enjoyed an adult beverage while waiting for the girls to arrive by car.

These next few days will be busy and fun-filled. Tomorrow we leave via rental car to New Orleans and then leave for Fayetteville, GA on Thursday, and will return to Orange Beach on Friday afternoon. Stay tuned for tales of our adventure...

Wildflowers growing along the river contrast with the greenery and changing leaves

Many of these birds along the shoreline adding to the beauty of nature

Through binoculars, these looked like black-eyed susans...spectacular!