Orange Beach, Gulf Shores, Perdido Key, Pensacola and Ft. Walton Beach

We came back after a wonderful Thanksgiving seeing family and friends. Since we were flying home again in 17 days for Christmas, we did not travel too far. We stayed longer at the Wharf in Orange Beach, Alabama than we thought due to a week of rainy cold weather. Despite this we were able to participate in activities at the Wharf, as well as renting a car to explore more of Orange Beach and Gulf Shores. The Wharf hosted a tree lighting complete with a visit from Santa by firetruck, a live nativity scene by a local church, and a drone show with Christmas designs. Our friends Roylana and Yves joined us for the tree lighting and dinner. We did have one nice weather day so we,  along with our friend Todd from back home,  took the boat to Perdido Key and had lunch at Sunset Grille. On the way there we got a photo of the Blue Angels practicing! Another highlight was that we finally got to see our other Canadian friends, Barb and Donn, who had been held up for a while due to mechanical issues on their boat! We had many fun dinners and even found the hidden speakeasy near the jewelry store at The Wharf.  A password is needed to enter the door that looks like a vault door.  We also reconnected with John and Claire who we had not seen since Paris Landing. Another car trip was to the infamous Flora-Bama bar and nightclub that is located on the Florida and Alabama border. Also, Tim and I had breakfast at a 50s diner called Sunliner in Orange Beach. We finally left the Wharf on December 12 to head to Pensacola!

Friday,  December 12 we headed to Pensacola to Pelican Perch Marina near downtown in Bayou Chico. It was a beautiful day and we were greeted by several dolphins around the boat and also by the Navy Blue Angels practicing near the Naval Air Station. We took an Uber into town to Nick's Boathouse and then walked over to Palafox Pier.  We also  saw the Pensacola Blue Wahoos baseball stadium all lit up for Christmas. Jaco's on Palafox Pier was a great place for dessert and to hear music.  Saturday was in the 70s so we took a dinghy ride around Chico Bayou and into Pensacola Bay. We also  saw lots of dolphins near our boat and many pelicans perching near our marina, thus the name "Pelican's Perch".  We  opted to stay in a hotel downtown as we had a free night from Marriott. We walked from there back to  Palafox Pier and downtown. On the way we discovered the beautiful Veterans Memorial Park. In the evening was the Pensacola Christmas Parade so we enjoyed that from the Kennedy Lounge,  and ended the night at McGuire's Irish Pub near the hotel, which we remembered from the 1980s when we lived here when Tim was in flight school with the Marines.  Sunday the weather did a complete change so we headed back to the boat to prepare to leave for Ft. Walton Beach. 

Monday, December 15 we left Pensacola for the Ft. Walton Beach area to a marina called Two George's in Shalimar. It was again a beautiful ride, though chilly. Once here we got settled in and then walked to dinner at Twisted Grape Wine Bar and Cafe. There was a freeze warning that night so the water at the marina was turned off until late the next morning, which was challenging since we wanted to get the salt spray rinsed off of our boat. We took a walk and got some photos of the area condos and water views. Later we rented a car so that we could drive ourselves to Pensacola Airport on Wednesday.  With the car we drove to nearby Ft. Walton Beach to the Boardwalk.  We enjoyed the beautiful white sands and sunset, views of the pier, shopping, and dinner at The Crab Trap. Wednesday we headed home until January 7th. The next blog will be after that when we move to Carabelle and wait for a good weather window to cross the Gulf! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!