December 27: Panama City, FL

Today was a good day - left the dock at 7:15 as Steve unplugged the electric. Two 30 amp cords plugged in means we can run the boat heaters and the oven at the same time - definitely a necessity! The flybridge was a bit frosty so it wasn't long before I retreated to the warmth of the cabin. We waved goodby to the bird friends living at the concrete boat (circled in the picture but you may need to click twice on it to see it).

The wait the last couple of days was for decent weather to cross Choctawhatchee Bay - probably not as large as Mobile Bay but large enough to have small craft warnings yesterday due to the strong winds. It was a good day to try out the GPS on the computer that we use to plot distances but never it used to navigate. Since we don't have a GPS at the lower helm this seemed like a good alternative - especially with temperatures in the 30's and wind to boot! It worked GREAT!!

The crossing of 25 miles or so went well - no more than 2 foot waves although enough of the time was spent broadside to the waves. We continue to see dolphins. They come straight at the boat and dive at the last minute. Lots of fun!! The reward for crossing the bay was a nice final 25 mile stretch of river like water. Both sides were sand banks. Really pretty. As was the sunset at Panama City - Steve saw the green blip as the sun set - I had opted for the warmth of the cabin - too bad for me!

A short walk seemed in order before dinner but the downtown was pretty much closed up. We say some neat Christmas lights - including a carousel, pelican and dolphin (the last two were at the marina).

We also saw a HUGE magnolia tree with Christmas lights! Wendy - you too could have one of these if yours keeps growing. Maybe it will match the fir tree :-)

Up early and off tomorrow. Our goal is to make Apalachicola tomorrow - where we will wait for favorable weather to head out into the Gulf!!