Onto Mobile Bay

After a night at an unexpected anchorage spot, we awaken to beautiful skies once again. It will be a little warmer today with temperatures reaching the mid 70's.

Crazy Eight and Dulcinea

With light, we are able to take the dinghy and find a better place for the dogs.  Better is underneath a railroad bridge on rip rap gravel. No grass for the dogs to sniff, only rocks,  but way less muck. 

Good Morning Alabama.

We leave our anchorage and travel 12 miles to Mobile, Alabama.  The last five miles are a no wake zone.  There is a lot of commercial traffic.  It is not the nice leisurely scenic city cruises we take on the Ohio in Cincinnati.  Truthfully, this was one of the more stressful days of the trip yet.  Mobile is the 12th busiest port in the US.  It is a Sunday morning, but that doesn't seem to make any difference.

Huge cargo ship, carrying goods mainly from China...what a surprise. The tugs are turning it around and we are told to pass quickly by.

Downtown Mobile, Alabama

Military ships too.

We are glad to get off the appropriately named Black Warrior River.  We venture out into Mobile Bay and the boat navigates through salt water for the first time.  It is great to finally run the boat on  big water, although the depth is not always so big fluctuating greatly. It is very important to stay in the channels, watch the markers, and be aware of the tides. We have had some long days to get to this point and we welcome the new sights of  dolphins playing in our wake and seagulls swarming the shrimpers.  We travel through the bay for about 8 miles and arrive at Eastern Shore Marina. In general, this marina is a disappointment.  The docks are rickety and the facilities not the best. We decide to take the courtesy car, which is on par with the rest of the marina, to the Marriott Hotel in Point Clear for dinner. It is nice to leave the boat for a while and see some sights off the water. Dan and Nancy treat us"kids" to a wonderful steak dinner.  The Marriott is a remarkable hotel, with a marina, but too shallow for us to stay there.  Oh well....things do not always work out the way you expect or want; we find this true everyday of our journey.  Tomorrow we continue on and will head a course to Pensacola.

Sunset over Mobile Bay