Day on the Cruise: 196-199
From: Dog River Marina, Mobile, AL
To: Dog River Marina, Mobile, AL
Statute Miles: 0.0 SM
Time: 0.0 Hrs
Cumulative Miles: 5,183.5 SM
On Board: Susan, Chuck, Maggie, Trooper, Peanut
We stayed at Dog River Marina on the Dog River at Mobile, Al until November 21 when we returned home for the holidays. The 21st marked the end of our cruising for 2013. We were tired and burned out and needed to recharge the batteries with family time.
Before leaving Dog River, I visited with Linda at Dog River Marina and completed a work order for the 1,000 hour maintenance on the main engine, generator maintenance, some minor electrical maintenance, and some gel coat repair. We are also going to get the boat hauled and the bottom cleaned, along with zinc replacement. The flybridge bimini top will be replaced along with the Isinglass panels on each side of the flybridge. I also spoke to Sonny Middleton, who owns Dog River Marina. Sonny and his crew were at the AGLCA Rendezvous at Joe Wheeler in October.
We enjoyed going to lunch with Rick and Leila of "Sun Gypsy" at the original Wentzell's on Dauphin Street in downtown Mobile. It has changed a lot since I was last there. The gumbo is still the best around! We also took Rick and Leila and Chris and Lynn from "Let's Drift" over to Fairhope for lunch and shopping. It was a lot of fun.
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| Lunch at the original Wintzell's on Dauphin Street in Mobile. Still has the BEST Gumbo! |
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| Leila buys her Christmas Top in Fairhope |
The last day at Dog River, we took Rick and Leila to Dauphin Island, and we rode the car ferry across Mobile Bay to Ft. Morgan, Gulf Shores, and Orange Beach. We checked out a marina in Orange Beach where we want to stay in January when we strike out again to finish the Loop.
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| Aboard the Car Ferry Between Dauphin Island, AL and Ft. Morgan, AL |
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| Susan and Leila and Rick from "Sun Gypsy" |
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| Leaving Dauphin Island |
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| The "Sun Gypsy" Crew |
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| The "Blue Moon" Crew |
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| A large Gas Rig at the mouth of Mobile Bay |
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| Approaching the Ferry Dock at Ft. Morgan |
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| A Big Pelican welcomes those aboard the Ferry to the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay at Ft. Morgan |
Thanksgiving at home was a lot of fun. We had our daughter and son and their families come in for the holiday. We got to attend the very exciting Auburn - Alabama football game in Auburn where we saw Auburn pull out the win by running a failed field goal attempt back 109 yards for a touch down! War Eagle!
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| Chuck and Cannon Celebrate the Auburn Win. Hey Saban, "Got a Second?" Want to "Run Something By You" |
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| Fans storm the field after the game. Auburn - Alabama is a VERY intense rivalry! |
We made two trips back to the Mobile area before Christmas to keep our grand daughter so Ben and Amanda could attend Christmas events. We visited Dog River Marina each time to evaluate the work being done on "Blue Moon". The yard folks picked up the pace and I was pleased with how the work was progressing. On the second trip, we decided to get Dog River to troubleshoot the erratic autopilot and to have them reprogram my chartplotters to use C-Map charts instead of Navionics charts which you can't get very readily anymore. This is a great example of the dreaded planned obsolescence concept.
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| "Blue Moon" in her slip at Dog River Marina |
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| Winter in a boat yard in the South. Kind of dreary! |
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| The Big Travel Lift at Dog River. |
We were busy at Christmas. Ben and Amanda and granddaughter Charlotte visited us the weekend before Christmas. We traveled to Jacksonville, Florida to have Christmas with daughter Beth and her family. It was a lot of fun to spend time with them.
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| Grand daughters Annabel and Ava from JAX |
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| Grand daughter Charlotte on her Daddy's lap |
After the Auburn -Alabama game, the Tigers went on to beat Missouri in the Southeastern Conference Championship game and earned a berth in the National Championship game in Pasadena, CA. We were allotted two tickets for our season ticket block. Susan and I considered making the trip, but in the end, Ben and Amanda wanted to go. We also had plans to get back to the boat to restart our trip the day after the game, so we gave up on going to Pasadena. Ben and Amanda did go on the trip and had a great time.
On Sunday the 5th, we visited a good friend and her husband near our home. She has pancreatic cancer, and she is in a lot of pain. She is pretty much spending her days resting, and Hospice has been called in to supervise and give care. It was tough to see her in that shape. Evelyn, we are thinking about you and praying for your well being. We are also keeping husband Hugh in our thoughts and prayers.
So, that pretty much sums up our break. Lots of family and lots of travel! We are anxious to get back on the water to "Finish this Thing"!
Thanks for Reading!
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