What Now

We were greeted by good friends and did some catching up the first night home.  Then the after action began in earnest on Friday.  We took 3 full van loads of stuff off the boat.  The extra food, dirty laundry, storm gear, etc., etc....  We waded through 4 months of mail, mostly junk.  We enjoyed another welcome home gathering on Friday.  Friends remind us of why we came back!

For now, we're working our way through paperwork and starting on our to-do lists then we start dreaming about the next trip.  I really appreciate all the words of encouragement I have received about the blog.  It started out as our journal but I'm really happy people have enjoyed it.  Keep posted for the next phase!

Home

It was a strange feeling as we approached all the familiar places we know so well.  So many emotions hit us but mostly good ones.  We know we'll have more great sails with great people and it is true, Life is Good.

Entering "our own" bay.

Coming home to "our own" club.

And, "our own" slip. 

Panama City and Homeward Bound

Our stay at Panama City Marina was short but sweet.  The folks there are so helpful and we met another sailor with plans for a Bahama cruise and shared information with him.  We left with much more subdued winds and watched the scenery go by.  It was a very strange feeling being so close to home.  We looked forward to seeing our friends but knowing that this adventure was drawing to a close was a bit sad.

After so many days of rain and overcast, it was nice to see at least some blue sky.

The Navy conducts training in the wide open area of the bay.  Here a helicopter is towing a mine sweeping platform around.  You have to be careful to stay clear of their operations.  You can see some of the wind affects on the water from prop wash off the rotors.

This is the tow vehicle recovery ship.  They are responsible for keeping lookey-loos out of the way.

Even though its been a few days since the rain, the runoff is still coming on strong.

In the ditch, we saw plenty of signs of erosion.  We've heard reports that some areas received over 7 inches of rain within 2 days.  Even for Florida, that is a lot.

All our sails were soaking wet so with the low winds we hauled them up or out one by one. 

Our last sunset of the trip.  God made it a good one!!

We thought we'd decorate the bowsprit with some of our conch finds.  Actually, they are piled in heaps all over the islands.  Anywhere there is a place serving conch, you can have all you want for souvenirs.  Of course, they do smell!!!