Carrabelle to PNS Homeport

 Enjoying an EARLY morning sunrise off the stern of Spiritus as we depart Carrabelle!

We were awed by nature's wonders during our 6 hour cruise to Port St Joe.

The Captain and First Mate are thrilled to be back in charming, friendly PSJ!

Spiritus' flybridge offered us the best view of the Bay and Tiki Bar, complete with live-music!

Our sunset view from Spiritus' bow was another kind of fabulous!

The Piggly Wiggly was adjacent our marina and the friendly locals greeted us by name!

We arrived early for the outdoor Friday night concert at the Lighthouse Park near our marina.

Rocking on the porch at the Lighthouse Visitor's Center and reflecting on the charms of old Florida!

Our daily walks and bike rides along the bay trail magnified the natural beauty of Port St Joe.

We departed after 9 days, looking forward to our return to PSJ.

We savored the calm, peaceful feeling as we cruised from Port St Joe to Panama City.

Anchored in West Bay, we gave thanks for another gorgeous cruising day as the sun set over Panama City Beach.

We met a tug as we cruised "the ditch" connecting West Bay and Choctawhatchee Bay.

The captain of Spiritus communicated with the approaching tug . . . .

. . . . and was instructed to, "Pass on the TWO" (meaning overtake him on your right!).

After a smooth trip across Choctawhatchee Bay, Spiritus is happily moored at Bluewater Bay Marina.

The crew is especially happy to spend three days riding bikes on the magnificent trails here!

LJ Schooners at Bluewater Bay Marina is a favorite setting to gather for happy hour!

We are planning our strategy as we face the reality of "dirt life" after 6 months of cruising.

We were delighted to be escorted to Fort Walton Beach Landing by these playful dolphin!

And even more delighted to have Mom J join us on Spiritus for a lovely dinner and sunset!

Our next anchorage is a longtime favorite of ours, Spectre Island.

From here, we can see and hear the Air Force aircraft at nearby Hurlburt Field!

Ahhh...the Navarre Bridge is a familiar sight...we're getting closer to home!!

Spiritus is welcomed back to her homeport by her boat mates . . . . 

. . . . and the resident heron who walks the docks regularly . . . .

. . . . and the Navy's Blue Angels who flew directly over Spiritus.

Spiritus is taking a well-deserved rest in her slip at Bayou Grande!

The Captain and First Mate are grateful to have Spiritus secure in slip E-169, the same slip she vacated last October!

 What a joy to be visited by dear friend, Tammie, from Navarre.

Besides bringing her beautiful smile and warm hugs, she brought us Easter treats!

Enjoying the sunset from Spiritus, planning our return to the "dirt house", but already looking forward to our cruise next winter.
  We're hooked on the cruising lifestyle! 

The Gulf Crossing

We departed Dunedin at 11:00 am and were delighted to find flat seas, just as forecasted.

Dolphin rode our bow wake and entertained us for a long time.

The Gulf of Mexico was a vivid turquoise color and reminded us of the islands!

The First Mate was thrilled to have a perfect weather window for our gulf crossing.

The Captain missed his opportunity to video her doing her happy dance!

When we were about 40 miles offshore, this friendly feathered friend hitched a ride on Spiritus.

She was extremely tame, making herself right at home!

In fact, she joined us for our appetizers at Happy Hour!

Sugar snap peas appeared to be her favorite, so we named our new shipmate "Snappy".

She tried to take over the helm but needed training using the chart plotter.

Our sunset toast to an amazing first 9 hours of smooth cruising.

Snappy was underage so she could not partake.

The next morning, a distant fogbank took on the appearance of a mountain range.

As the fog bank lifted, we enjoyed a magnificent sunrise.

After 22 hours, we entered the Carrabelle River, heading toward C-Quarters Marina.

The rocking chairs on the porch of C-Quarters were calling our names!

It didn't take long for us to secure Spiritus and just relax!

We opened the champagne that our Looper friends gave us and celebrated a drama-free crossing.

Truly our FAVORITE Gulf crossing to date!!

Gulfport to Dunedin

After a "groovy" week in Gulfport, we set sail on this glorious day!

The First Mate is drinking her Kona coffee and admiring the flat sea.

During this stretch of the cruise, we hailed 4 bridges to request an opening.

Spiritus requires 24 feet of air draft in order to avoid hitting her mast.

We returned to Marker 1 in Dunedin and were thrilled to get our favorite slip.

We didn't waste any time getting unloading our bikes off Spiritus.

The bikes know the route to Eli's Barbecue, a popular local favorite that is only open on Friday & Saturday.

The next day we rode the lovely Pinellas Bike Trail to Tarpon Springs to indulge in Greek food.

Our taste buds encourage diversity in our culinary pursuits!

Looper friends, Mike & Cindy, sent Linda some socks to remind her to stay cool with ice cream.

Wait...Linda doesn't need to be reminded!!  :)

Marker 1 Marina is located at the Dunedin Causeway Bridge, connecting Dunedin to Honeymoon Beach.

We can walk from our marina and watch fabulous sunsets!

Cousin Julie and goddaughter Sarah came to join us for a fun day at the movies and dinner.

A trip to Ace Hardware kept Linda's Dad, Julie's Uncle Chuck, close at heart.

Today would have been his 87th birthday.  Yes, we had ice cream in his honor . . . .

. . . . as well as cousin Julie's yummy brownies!!

Although we hate to depart, the Captain says we have a perfect weather window, and it's time to begin our Gulf crossing.

"EDDY IS GOING!!"