Shopping Day

Dog River Marina was a nice stop for us to catch up on laundry, boat maintenance, grocery shopping and fellowship with other boaters.  The marina service department sent a diesel mechanic to Viridian and walked me through my first oil change.

I also had expert help from our friends we have been cruising with down the Tenn-Tom.

All went well and Viridian got us across Mobile Bay, 44 miles into the Gulf ICW, past Lulu’s Restaurant and to a marina called The Wharf.  This place is on the GICW along Portage Creek just after you cross under the Foley Beach Express Bridge south of Foley, AL.  We nailed a stern-first docking between boats that were as wide as we were long and we tipped our dock help from the treasure chest we keep filled with gold and silver $1 coins.  The nice young man who helped get us in lit up when I gave him the 5 coins and said, "Wow! My Grandfather used to give me these.”  (These coins have been somewhat of a hit with dockhands since we left.) The Wharf is a high-end marina with tons of open air shopping within walking distance from our slip.  We spent the evening exploring the shops and dining with friends as another fine day on the Loop winds down.

That's the news and here's the views:

We are here

Today's route from Dog River Marina to The Wharf Marina, AL

All stocked up and ready to depart Dog River Marina 

 As calm as it gets on Mobile Bay

 Smooth sailing on the Bay today

 

South down the commercial shipping channel.  You can see another Looper boat on the horizon

 Commercial traffic in the shipping channel.  This ship was a monster but it looks tiny in the photos.  We watched it come up over the horizon from the Gulf and passed on the one whistle about an hour later

 Capt Sid from Dog River


Where wild caught shrimp come from

I bet they don't own a lawn mower

 Shrimpers in the channel

 Gulf Shores, AL   miles away

 Hey! Look at that!

 Entering the GICW from Mobile Bay heading East

Boats everywhere

LuLu's Restaurant (Sister of Jimmy Buffett)  Hey! throw us a cheeseburger!

Stores everywhere at the Wharf Marina

Our Looping Pals and Crew of Moni-Jean, Rick & Monica

Tons of boats

Fresh made chick pea & kale (without the kale) Crock-Pot Soup to cook overnight