Entering the GICW, Homeport Marina, and the AGLCA Rendevouz at the Wharf

Thursday we left Fairhope and headed south to the channel in Mobile Bay that enters the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GICW) , the inland waterway created in 1949 for commercial transportation but also used for recreational boating. It was a smooth course and we saw an old lighthouse building, and started seeing more dolphins. We left at 8 am and arrived by 11:30 am at our first stop, Homeport Marina in Gulf Shores to stay for 2 nights. These are nice floating docks so we didn't have to worry about the tides. It is also famous for being the location of Lulu's restaurant, the one started by Jimmy Buffet's sister Lucy. It's a great seafood place and has a sand beach area, band stages, an arcade and climbing structure for kids. We had a great dinner and listened to a performer, Angela Easley. Friday night our new friends, Roylana and Yves from Kingston, Ontario Canada, offered to drive us in their loaner car to Gulf Shores Beach to a famous bar and grill called The Pink Pony Club to watch the sunset. The building has survived all of the hurricanes since the 1950s. The dinner, fellowship, and sunset did not disappoint!

Saturday, November 15 we headed only 3 miles to The Wharf Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama. It was the fanciest marina we had come across so far with a very stylish Boater's Lounge. We had made a reservation months ago when we signed up for the AGLCA Fall Rendezvous. We got a monthly rate as we knew we would head home for Thanksgiving after the conference and we needed a place to leave the boat. AGLCA (America's Great Loop Cruisers Association) is the organization we joined while exploring the idea of doing The Loop. They have 4 conferences a year, called Rendezvous, which are 4 day seminars to learn about the loop, and also for current loopers to gain information about the next routes coming up on their loops. We learned a lot about our upcoming Gulf Crossing, and then going around Florida, including the Keys, and all the way up the east coast to Norfolk, Virginia. The Wharf itself not only has a marina, but condos, many shops and restaurants, a movie theater, a ferris wheel, dolphin excursion boats, a pool, and is next to the Orange Beach Event Center where the Rendezvous was held. On the day we arrived we met back up with Todd from back home and watched the Iowa game on our boat. We had dinner at one of the outdoor restaurants, Ginny Lane, where we could see our boat (notice the first photo below). During the week when we were not at the Rendezvous we explored the shops, and several restaurants, Villagio Grille, Gulf Babe wine bar, Kentucky Mist distillery, Tee Off, Crush, and The Southern Grind. There is a nightly laser show we could see while eating outside at Villagio Grille. They were doing a lot of Christmas decorating and even added a spot to see Santa, a Christmas train and an indoor ice rink. Tim took a walk nearby and saw the "don't feed the alligator signs" (as if anyone would!). I enjoyed the many blue herons who were not afraid of people at all.

The Rendezvous was very informative and a lot of fun. There were 370 attendees. We met many other wonderful loopers, including prospective loopers and "gold loopers" who have completed it more than once! We were one of the "looper crawl" hosts meaning we opened up our boat for others to tour to get an idea of what boat they may want to do the loop in. They seemed to like our boat and also that we had placed pins on the map route of where we had already been. One of the highlights of the Rendezvous was that we had Robert Youens speak to us the last night. Many of you may have followed this AGLCA member who recently completed the loop for a speed record! He completed it in just over 19 days in his aluminum jon boat called Ageless Wanderer. He has a lot of boating experience but is a very humble man and was surprised at how he ended up with such a following. He plans to get a larger boat and convince his wife to do the more typical loop with him. Friday we left for home for Thanksgiving from the nearby Gulf Shores airport. We were excited to see family and friends! We will continue the Loop for a few weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, exploring the gulf to Fort Walton Beach. Happy Thanksgiving! Next update will be mid December!