Crystal Springs to Clearwater to Saint James City, FL

It sounds really dramatic to say we have had our last open water day of the summer, until you realize we've only actually been on open water for three days, plus that one day at the start of this leg (May 31) when we were on Lake Michigan for a few hours.

We docked at Clearwater Harbor Marina and walked to an area with several dinner options so everyone could see what sounded good. It was a Friday night but oddly quiet, kind of eerily so for what should've been a bustling area. We ended up at Downtown Pizza, which was delicious. We came back to the boat with a ton of leftovers, which we normally don't mind, but finding space in the fridge on the boat is always a challenge. For dessert, four of us got cannolis and Moose got a cookie a la mode. Whose kid is that?!

The next day, we met up with my uncle (who I hadn't seen in about 30 years!), his wife, and their youngest son for breakfast. We showed them the boat, ate, and walked around Clearwater together. It was one of those visits that feels both long overdue and like no time had passed at all. Really glad we could make it happen.

After saying goodbye, we cooled off on the boat and got ready for round two of visitors. Our friends from Colorado moved to Florida this year and have made it a point to drive to check out various beaches near their new home, so they were excited to meet us at Clearwater Beach. 

We took the ferry over to the beach and played for a while before heading back to shower and go to dinner. Downtown Pizza again, but different meals this time. Back at the boat, the kids fished off the dock and spotted a seahorse and a baby puffer fish, which was a huge hit. Our friends stayed overnight on the boat, and it was so fun to have guests aboard once again. 

The next morning, we were up and off the dock by 7. There was no wind, which made the hot feel even hotter. Lots of dolphins to watch, so that was fun for our friends. Some noticeable hurricane damage along the way, which is a good reminder of what this area has been through.

Hattie has officially figured out the dolphin thing, we think. She hears them before we see them and barks to scare them away. Protective? Terrified? Both? We're not sure, but she is very committed to her job. It makes us sad when she scares them away before we can enjoy them, though!

We dropped our friends off at a wall near Sarasota and said our goodbyes after a really nice time together. Then we continued on to anchor off Chino Island at Pine Island Sound Aquatic Preserve in Saint James City. Our last sunset over the Gulf of Mexico for this trip was beyond beautiful and a good one to go out on.

Crossing the Gulf of Mexico to Steinhatchee to Crystal Springs, FL

It was our big day for the Gulf crossing and we'd been watching the weather closely. It was pretty uneventful, which is exactly what you want when you're cutting across open water. We hung out, played games, watched shows, and tried getting up-to-date with Ryan Trahan's 50 States in 50 Days on YouTube. 

We pulled into Sea Hag Marina in Steinhatchee, docked, and went straight to bed to prep for another early morning on the ocean.

Once we got back to the Gulf, we got to see dolphins again, swimming in the distance at first, and then they came to the bow and jumped for us a few times. Every single time it happens we all rush to watch them for as long as they stick with us.

We made our way to Buzzard Island in Kings Bay, Crystal Springs, and anchored. The kids got to swim in the river and cool off, so they were thrilled. We planned to stop here because we'd been hoping to see manatees. This river, in particular, is one of the best spots in Florida to see them, but I think the water was too warm. Manatees tend to congregate there in cooler months when the springs feel warm compared to the Gulf. In the summer, they don't need to huddle up in one spot to stay warm. We kept our eyes open but no luck. That just means we have to come back another time!

Pensacola to Fort Walton Beach to Dog Island, FL

Traveled from Pensacola to Fort Walton Beach, resulting in a short day. Sunset Isle Marina was not responsive on the radio or by phone. We eventually just tied up to the fuel dock and waited. When we finally tracked someone down for the pump out, we found out the system was broken. Apparently five boats had used it before us and it just gave up. They're waiting on a replacement.

Docked and stayed at new marina that opened in October. After getting settled, we walked over to the beach just east of the marina. A family who was already there wound up leaving and passed their boogie boards along to our kids and they had a blast on those together for the rest of the afternoon.

Some teens nearby started casting fishing lines right into the water where everyone was swimming, so I pulled our kids out for a bit while Ben went and unhooked one of the lines they got tangled in the marina dock. 

Then, a guy on a rental pontoon intentionally drove the boat head-on straight into the crowded swimming beach and proceeded to unload about 20 people and all of their stuff, while leaving the outboard motor running. In the swimming area. With kids playing right next to it. Ben yelled that they were going to kill someone. They seemed completely oblivious. It was one of those moments that you genuinely cannot believe what you're watching and can't turn away.

The whole time we were at the beach, we'd noticed a tender making its way slowly along the shore with flags flying, that we spent a lot of time trying to decipher. We could finally read them as it got closer. One said ice cream, the other said pickles. Yes. Pickles. A lady in a thong bikini pulled up on a tender loaded with coolers full of ice cream and pickles, plus tourist apparel for sale. Ben and I convinced Moose to go over and ask how much for a pickle. Five dollars. This woman is probably out there every single day making an absolute killing. I couldn't help but think that might be the perfect post-retirement plan. Kind of like Ken in the Barbie movie — my job could be beach.

We played, snorkeled, and dipped in water for about 3 hours before returning to the boat for the night. On the way out, we paid it forward and passed the boogie boards along to another family with kids. Good beach karma all around.

One of our favorite things that never gets old is seeing dolphins at the bow, which happened near Santa Rosa. Hattie, our 11.5-month-old Boxer, heard them and was barking like crazy before any of us saw them. (Turns out dogs CAN hear dolphins before humans can. What a fun fact!) She went out to the bow and then immediately retreated when one came up and blew right in front of her resulting in the splash from the blowhole getting her wet, and now she's suspicious of the bow. We thought it was hilarious. Poor girl just wanted to keep us safe from the scary dolphins. Ha!

We anchored at Dog Island, which is the island separating the end of the GICW from the Gulf of Mexico, for the night. Dinner, sunset, bed. Nice and easy.

At 2:18 AM, the boat went silent. All of our sound machines and the running air conditioner keep us asleep, so when those turn off, we automatically wake up. Ben had turned off the auto-charge of the battery at some point during the day, and forgot to turn it back on. The boat battery drained down to 4%. Everything shut off including the fans, which on Cartermaran are basically always running no matter what. Ben had to start the engines just to get the battery screen to turn back on. He ran them long enough to get to 10%, which was enough to kick the generator on, and everyone was able to go back to sleep. Crisis averted, but it was not the middle-of-the-night adventure anyone was expecting.

In the morning, we're crossing the Gulf of Mexico to Steinhatchee on the west coast of Florida, cutting out the northern edge of the Gulf and leaving the panhandle behind.

Pensacola, FL

We started the visit in Pensacola on the 4th getting fuel and pumped out. The fun part was adding our boat sticker to the plank above the hut of the marina office. There's a tradition here, so when a plank fills up with stickers from all the boats that have passed through, it gets moved to the restaurant nearby (Jaco's) and replaced with a fresh one. One day someone's going to be sitting at a table eating fish tacos and will look up to see our Cartermaran sticker up there!

After that, we grabbed food at Jaco's and did a little walking around to explore and scope out a good spot for the fireworks. (While we were waiting for our food to arrive, Moose's orthodontic appliance fell out of his mouth while he was drinking ice water. Being a holiday, I couldn't contact anyone about it, so we held onto it to bring home with us.) The kids fished while we figured out the plan for the evening.

Bear's second grade teacher, Ms. Mac, moved to Pensacola when Bear moved on to 3rd grade and we have kept in touch ever since. I reached out to her to see if we could meet up while we were there. I hadn't heard back from her for a few weeks, and I told Bear I wasn't sure it would work out. A few days prior, I tried connecting with her once again and we figured out we could make it work. Bear never asked again about seeing Ms. Mac, so I decided to make it a little surprise. 

The kids were fishing off the dock, with the dogs on watch duty, enjoying some downtime. Bear decided to come inside for a bit to cool down. Ms. Mac let me know she had parked and was headed to the marina gate with her 2 year old identical twin boys, who we have enjoyed watching grow since they were in her belly! I snuck out to let her in at the gate while Bear was hanging out on the couch watching a movie.

Moose and Roo barely remembered her since they were so little when she moved out of Colorado. Because of this, we were able to sneak on the boat without a big commotion. 

When we got the twins onto the boat, I started to open to door to the cabin and put one of them in front of the glass door, so when Bear looked up she knew EXACTLY who was here! She immediately jumped off the couch and ran up to the cockpit for hugs!

The girls and I walked around Palafox Pier with them while the boys made a run to a parts store and picked up some milk. We stopped at the Pensacola Bay City Ferry dock and hung out on the steps catching up, snacking, and playing for a bit before walking them back to their car. Our hearts were so full! 

After we said goodbye, the 5 of us put bug spray on, grabbed ice cream along the way, and ended up over on Bayfront Street to find a viewing spot for fireworks. As the show started, we decided there were too many trees blocking our view, it was too people-y, and that we'd actually rather watch from closer to the boat, and honestly, it wound up being the perfect spot. The fireworks were great, the walk back was short, and we were all in bed at a reasonable hour. That's a win!

We knew we had to get up early the next day to go to the National Naval Aviation Museum at NAS Pensacola. One of my unspoken agreements with Ben while on the Loop has been that we stop, explore, and learn as much as we want to. Although the 5 of us have varied interests, we continue to find and enjoy something for everyone- history, military, science, animals, exploration, nature, novelty... you name it! This is one of my favorite parts of our summer adventures.

Getting to the NAS was a small adventure in itself. Lyft and Uber aren't allowed on base, so we called a taxi company and stated that we needed a taxi driver who's base-approved. We hung out by Jaco's waiting for ours to arrive, which took a few tries to get one who had the right approval. 

When the approved driver finally arrived to pick us up, he took us to the east gate. The sentry turned us around and sent us to the west gate, which is exactly where we told him to go in the first place, but he insisted he could go through either gate. Apparently, once you have civilians in the car, east gate is a no-go, even for drivers with clearance for both. NAS Pensacola is one of only three bases in the world that allows civilian entry, so it was pretty cool to be allowed there at all. After a fatal shooting in 2019, access was tightened up significantly, which is why the west-gate-only rule is in place. Our driver gave us his number and told us to call him for a ride back to the boat so we didn't have to wait and find someone who had base clearance again.

The museum itself was incredible. So. Many. Planes. This was everything I expected the Air & Space Museum in DC to be and, IMO- wasn't. We watched two movies, wandered through more aircraft than I could count, and we all took advantage of the obligatory photo op- sitting in an old Blue Angel cockpit with actual controls. That alone was worth the trip.

Leaving, our driver tried to take us out the east gate again. The sentry turned us around again. The driver was unhappy with this and decided that he wanted to talk to someone to understand why. We didn't realize this meant he was going to park at the west gate and get out of the car, resulting in a different gate sentry approaching us in the car with his AR15 slung over his chest. Ben informed him that we just wanted to go home and we didn't know anything about the driver's intentions. The driver got back in the car, still grumpy about the situation, and drove us back and dropped us at Lucy's in the Square, where we had street tacos and played some games before walking back to the boat. We ventured out again a little bit later for boba and called it a night.

Mount Vernon to Elberta, AL

We cruised down the Mobile River into Mobile Bay. We passed by the impressive AUSTAL shipbuilding facility and admired the Navy ships docked there. 

We spotted the USNS Harvey Milk, still with that name on its stern, despite recent changes. Ben recognized the USS United States, which he remembered seeing in Philly during our 2023 leg of the Loop. It’s since been towed down here, where it's awaiting sinking to become an artificial reef.

Container ships lined the bay, stacked eight containers high. It was fascinating to watch the giant magnets unload them with precision. Our eyes were glued on this as we passed by.

We also took care of some boat chores. We defrosted the fridge, one freezer, and the ice maker. Monthly defrosting is a must or things get soggy fast, and we noticed that was starting to happen.

The highlight of our day was when we spotted our first dolphin in the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GICW)! Still, no matter how many times we have seen dolphins, we all rush to look for them as we pass by. This time, Hattie had to join in on the fun. She gets excited and runs out to the boat deck with us as we all run to see the dolphins.

Pickensville to Sweet Water and Mount Vernon, AL

We knocked out a few more locks today, but not as many as yesterday. Our day started at Bevill Lock & Dam. Then at Heflin Lock & Dam, we were flying out of the gate at 10.7 knots thanks to the current. 

At Demopolis Lock & Dam, Ben asked the lockmaster what the water level was compared to normal levels. He told us the water is 15 feet higher than usual. Ben told me that explains all the trees and debris we’ve been dodging. We clocked 10.7 knots through there, still moving strong. 

We averaged 11 to 11.5 knots most of the day, which was a nice change after so many slower days fighting the current. Having the current with us today helped make up some of the time and distance we lost yesterday from all the locks. 

We anchored for the night on the river, off to the side of the channel.

Locks today: 3

Locks of the summer: 41

Locks of the loop: 155

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Coffeeville Lock & Dam was our last lock until the Okeechobee Waterway in Florida!

While we were waiting at Coffeeville (we had to wait for a barge to go down, pleasure craft to come up, and then our turn to go down), Roo spotted the first alligator of this trip right outside the lock. She was so excited to have spied it first! A little further along the route, we spotted another gator. 

We wrapped up the day by anchoring in David Lake off the Mobile River. Tucked inside was a barge marina of sorts. I worried we would have a ton of barge traffic in the middle of the night, but thankfully it was smooth!

Locks today: 1

Locks of the summer: 42

Locks of the loop: 156

Dennis to Pickensville, AL

This morning started off with a bit of urgency. We didn’t have cell service in our little anchorage, so Ben hailed Whitten Lock & Dam on the backup VHF radio. The lockmaster told us we’d better hurry or we’d have to wait for a barge to come through before us. Ben told them we’d be right there.

Once we got into Whitten Lock, it became clear why you don’t want to anchor just below it. The force of the water release from that 80-foot drop would make for a rough night.

Between Whitten and Montgomery Locks, things got interesting. There were two barges that had gotten into trouble, one being the one we’d have had to wait for before going through Whitten. Both barges, drafting 8-10 feet, ran aground while trying to pass each other in a super narrow section of the channel. One was heading upriver, one downriver, and it was just an overall bad spot to try to make that pass.

Ben, being Ben, knew how the barge thrusters kick up sediment, which causes shoaling, and he knew how to navigate the channel safely with our 3.5-foot draft. He got permission to pass the first barge and eased us by.

But when we got to the second barge, we had to wait for the green light from the captain to proceed. Just as we were passing the tail end, we ran aground. Ben had to spin us off the shoal, carefully maneuvering us free.

As we went aground and Ben started spinning us, I was convinced we were getting way too close to the barge, so I went downstairs to my room to quietly freak out (without annoying Ben). When we were finally free, I told him the whole thing felt like an icy road pileup but on water. I asked how he stayed so calm as we got so close to the barge and he calmly replied that we were never even that close to it. Ooof. I’d be totally fine if we never had to do THAT again.

We kept moving through the day, locking down in Montgomery Lock & Dam and Rankin Lock & Dam. We stopped at Midway Marina to fill up with diesel and water. (I really liked the cute trees growing in the water, just outside of the channel.) Then it was on to Fulton Lock & Dam and Wilkins Lock and Dam.

At Wilkins, there was a family of geese hanging out inside the lock. Roo and I joked about whether they’d stay the whole time or fly off, but they just stayed in, even after we left. Maybe they live there? We loved that little show while we locked through.

Onward to Cochran Lock & Dam, Aberdeen Lock & Dam, and we finished the day with Columbus Lock & Dam. At Columbus we had to lock through during a downpour. It is always interesting to wear a life vest with a raincoat- which one goes on top?!

We finally anchored in Pickensville, just a few miles north of the next lock where we’ll start in the morning.

Locks today: 8 (the most for this year!)

Locks of the summer: 38

Locks of the loop: 152