Sandrobber: Mobile Bay to Ingram Bayou to Big Sabine Anchorage

On Tuesday morning we finally left Eastern Shore Marine in Fairhope. We had waited out some very wet weather, and also short hauled the boat to change out our zincs. (This means they pulled the boat out of the water in slings, and then did the work right there with the boat hanging from the travel lift.) We have had magnesium "zincs" in place for the past 2 years while in fresh water...now that we have reached salt water, it was time to change them all out to zinc.

At any rate, we got done what was needed...and had a great meal Monday night with our friends on Tuscobia. They had found a local spot called Dragonfly, and it was terrific. They made all kinds of exotic Tacos and other assorted dishes...really creative flavor and texture combinations. We had a great time and great food. We look forward to traveling with our sister tug again down the line, but they needed to hang around for another day or so to take care of some maintenance items of their own. We expect to see them sometime soon.

We departed around noon, accompanied by InSpeyered 2, and headed for an anchorage that had already been scoped out and settled by California Lady the night before. It was about another 20 miles on Mobile Bay (much calmer than previously experienced) and then about 14 miles on the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway. We finally feel like we have made it off the rivers now that we are starting to see the GICW signage and scenery.

GICW channel markers...replacing the red and green buoys from the rivers.

Ingram Bayou was a great anchorage (we forgot to take pictures here) and the 3 of us rafted up together for the night...dinner aboard California Lady was very enjoyable for both the food and the company. We are enjoying our travel a bunch with these 2 fellow Looper boats. The next morning we leisurely departed this anchorage, headed for another anchorage off of Santa Rosa Island called Big Sabine. We enjoyed a beautiful travel day...only about 30 miles or so, but beautiful sunshine and temps in the 70's...just what the doctor ordered!

Just a stray Paddle Wheeler moseying down the ICW.

A landmark restaurant near Gulf Shores, AL. Lulu's claim to fame is that the owner is Jimmy Buffet's sister. Typical "Florida" beach fare from what we understand...we didn't make the stop.

Beautiful sand dune area we passed...picture doesn't do it justice.

We are officially in Florida! This will be our 4th state thus far, and one we'll be hanging around in for a while.

Makes us feel like we have arrived in FL...typical ICW home with a pool in a cage and a dock.

Really cool looking tri-hull Stealth Navy ship. This thing was huge, but a bit far away. This was as we passed by the Pensacola Naval Air Station. Unfortunately, there were no fighter jets flying as we went by, but this ship was impressive. I don't think they would have liked it if we cruised up to it to take a closer peek...

Big Sabine is gorgeous. This protected anchorage is about 1/2 mile off the main GICW, so we get very little wake. And we are tucked right up near a sandy beach that is the barrier island of Santa Rosa. A short dinghy ride, and a 5 minute walk, and we are walking on the white sandy beaches of the Gulf of Mexico. It is really a nice spot, and we are going to linger here for most if not all of the day on Thursday, and either leave late in the day, or stay at anchorage here for another night.