Cruising the Florida Panhandle and the river system

Like everything else in life, it takes some down time to appreciate what we have. Our generator woes (water had gotten into the new engine after a mere 100 hours!) tormented us for four months. On the flip side, we enjoyed four blissful months (water, long hot showers, ice, and other creature comforts!) of land life. It helped us look forward to boating again. We are thrilled to cruise to new destinations and look forward to the pleasures and challenges associated with this lifestyle. 

After five days of anchoring at Anclote Keys (across from Tarpon Springs), we made the jump to Dog Island (close to Carrabelle). It was a grueling 20 hour passage. From here on to Mobile, Alabama, we would travel in the safety of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. Then, we turned north to pick up the Black Warrior River, which turns into the Tombigbee River. Our first lock at Coffeville Dam brought us to Demopolis, where the Tennessee-Tombigbee (Tenn-Tom) Waterway officially begins. Along the way, we had marvelous weather, making our walks and treasure hunting on the famous beaches of the redneck riviera delightful.  As for food, we were in seafood heaven at Apalachicola. We look forward to sampling the taste of the Deep South. Fried catfish, anyone?

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What we did  Dec 1, 2005 - Jan 10: cruised SW Florida (St Pete to Marco Island) May 12-15: Generator fixed finally! Ran from St Pete to Tarpon Springs. May 20: Hopped from Anclote Keys to Dog Island, near Carrabelle May 22: Tied up at Scipio Creek Marina, Apalachicola May 23-29: Apalachicola to Pensacola May 30-31: Grand Mariner Marina, Mobile, Alabama Jun 2: Went through our first lock at Coffeeville Lock and Dam, going up 34 feet, eight more to go. Jun 8: Arrived at Midway Marina, Fulton, Ms, 15 miles to Tupelo, Elvis' birthplace. Jun 16-23: Memphis, Tn, Tunica, Ms, Birmingham and Phenix City, Al Jul 4: Celebrated America's birthday with fireworks are at St Pete downtown Aug 14: drove back to Midway, stopping at Gainesville, Fl and Atlanta, Ga. Sep 21 - 28: Corinth, Memphis, Nashville with Phan Nov - Dec: Thanksgiving with the Wenhams and the Altans in Tampa/Clearwater, Christmas with the Hanshus and the Wilsons in Ft Myers.