Cady Girl

We left Fairhope Wednesday expecting a quick trip to Orange Beach Marina in Orange Beach, AL.  But, no; the Mobile Bay had about 3-foot swell and the winds were blowing.  As we entered the Intracoastal Waterway we saw our first dolphins. 🐬 Unfortunately, our cameras were not quick enough to catch them. I'm sure we will see more down the road. It was also the first view of white sandy beaches and clear green/blue water.  We haven't seen that since Michigan! We passed LULU's - the restaurant owned by Jimmy Buffet's sister.  Unfortunately, we could not stop as we had to get to the marina by 4:00 pm. Orange Beach is a resort town and is known for its sugar-white beaches. It is the Sport Fishing Capital of the "Gulf of Wigglesworth". The Orange Beach area is full of white sandbars with sunseekers enjoying themselves in the clear water. Thursday morning, we departed Orange Beach and continued on the intracoastal waterway to Pensacola. In route we saw a total airsho...

We spent Monday at Dog River Marina so Captain Don could change the oil in the engines and the generator - 19 gallons - 1/2 a barrel - cha ching $$$$.  And yes, he recycled the old oil.  He did it faster than the last time, so that's a good thing.  Jean, on the other hand, washed windows, swabbed the deck and went grocery shopping. What a fun day, but someone's got to do it!  We topped the day off by going to Felix's Fish Camp.  Had to go there for Ernie & family.  It was delicious - red fish, shrimp, crab cakes and fried green tomatoes! And music while we dined!  Oh yes, and a "Swamp Rita" to drink, fresh from the bayou. Speaking of bayou, we were actually really close to Bayou La Batre - where Forest Gump made his millions $$$$.😂 Today we took a leisurely cruise across Mobile Bay to Fairhope. The Bay is really quite shallow except for the shipping lane - ergo, the leisurely pace.  Fairhope was one of Jimmy Buffett's childhood homes and is a...

We left a serene morning on the Tensaw River and headed south to Mobile. 54 miles later we docked at the Dog River Marina in Mobile.  Along the way we definitely were in the bayou, had to hail a bridge tender to open the 14 Mile railroad bridge and then entered Mobile Bay - a very busy industrial bay! Don was jazzed to see an Austal Plant.  Austal is a ship builder specializing in government contracts to the Navy.  A short way down the bay we spied the SS United States.  It is a retired and soon to be scraped ocean liner that was built during 1950 and 1951 and is the largest ocean liner to be entirely constructed in the US.  She also is the fastest ocean liner to cross the Atlantic Ocean and that title remains uncontested. Next up was the US Naval Hospital Ship, "Comfort." It is a 1,000-bed Mercy-class hospital ship that provides emergency care for deployed combatant forces and hospital services for humanitarian operations and disaster relief. It was commissione...