As we last left off our plan was to leave Biloxi on the 26th of December, welp again due to weather, we stayed until the 29th mainly because we could not be in decent shelter before the storm hit. This weather is just horrific and is causing a lot of travel disruptions. Loopers are stacked up in areas they should have left weeks ago while others have abandoned their excursions further west. We know of at least 3 boats that have deserted their plans to travel the ICW to the west end through Texas as well as others going to New Orleans.

While in Biloxi we did some touristy things. The night of December 23rd we traveled to Gulf Port MS, the next town west of Biloxi, for their Christmas Aquarium and Lights Celebration. The Aquarium was open late and they even had an evening dolphin show. It was cold but what a nice holiday outing walking through the park and all the lights. Reminded us of the things we did with the kids when they were small.

The park across the street from the aquarium was all lit up and very festive.

The next day, December 24th, we toured Beauvoir (beautiful view), which was the post Civil War home of the former President of the Confederate States of America Jefferson Davis. It was almost destroyed by hurricane Katrina as it was under 18 feet of storm surge, roughly the top of the front door. The tightness of the doors and windows kept most of the water out – something not seen in today’s builds. It has been restored to it’s original with very little having to be completely replaced on the inside.

The storm on the 28th that kept us in Biloxi longer than planned turned out to be a doozie. I was already in bed and it was raining so hard we couldn’t even see the bow of the boat with lightening and thunder all around us and huge waves going through the marina causing us to rock around when we were hit with a huge wind gust that registered over 26 MPH on our wind gauge which caused the boat to lurch upward into the concrete dock snapping a 4X6 post protecting the boat from the dock. That got me out of bed quickly and I got dressed and ready to abandon ship. At that time due exceptional high tide, the boat was so high above the dock, which was a fixed dock, not a floating dock that raises and lowers with the tide, I couldn’t get off the boat if I had to. Michael ran out to see what damage had been done and to check the lines. Luckily the only damage was to the post, which the next day the dockmaster just shrugged and said, “yeah, that happens”.

The storm passed towards the east but it left rough water in it’s wake, so the next day, the 29th, as we headed across Mobile Bay to anchor at Pelican Bay at Dauphin Island, made for a bumpy, rolling, twisty-turny 6 hour ride. Michael did the driving that day and I just hung on for dear life. Really, it was not as bad as some of the crashing waves over the bow while traversing the Atlantic Ocean like we had the first year, it was still rough.

We finally pulled into Pelican Bay and the water suddenly evened out. We dropped anchor in a gorgeous area for the night.

As we traversed Mobile Bay the next day towards Homeport Marina in Gulf Shores, AL we noticed a lot of shiny things floating in the water. It looked like a bunch of water bottles floating along, but there seemed to be a blue stripe along the bottom of them too. Michael even pointed out brown strings dangling under a few of them which he determined them to be Portuguese man o’ war, a group of animals closely related to jellyfish for which their sting is deadly. Holy cow! There were literally thousands of them that the storm must have funneled up the Gulf into Mobile Bay.

On December 30th we got back into the Gulf Coast ICW and to our next destination for a few days, again because of crappy weather and winds. We are now into expensive boating. This place coast us about $3.00 a foot plus other just because fees that we did not get charged in the rivers. Welcome home! These marina also charge for pump out – $22.00 for both our tanks here and up to $20.00 per tank as we get closer to Florida AND beyond the excessive slippage fees they charge $10-$20 per night for electricity hookup. Two nights from now on will cost as much as a month along the rivers! Hummmmm, why are we going back to Florida?

This marina has Lulu’s Gulf Shores, It is a restaurant, arcade, extensive gift shop (no I did not get another t-shirt) and jungle/climbing gym and sandy beach area that is owned by Lucy Buffett, Jimmy’s sister. Of course we had to give it a try. It was ok, the drinks were weak but the shrimp bisque was good and the service was exceptional. Wouldn’t go out of my way to go back though.

Welp, that’s all I have for now. We are doing some maintenance things and cleaning – yup we are back in saltwater so daily boat bath and de-salting are once again a thing. Yay. We will be dodging storms over the next few weeks hoping to hide in some protected anchorages with a few marina stops in between as we try to get down the Florida Gulf coast and back home. Michael is now actively trying to find a permanent home port starting in February. Fingers crossed we find something.

Happy New Year to everyone. Love to all, Gina and Mike