We are now back in society, where the towns we encounter are popular vacation towns on beaches with all the amenities rather than searching for necessities among minimal civilization Traveling along the GIWW is fun but offers new challenges.
The waterway is very clear when marked well but it is easy to veer off the narrow channel into shallow water. There are numerous reports of grounding along this route over the past few days. Dolphins love to swim in these areas and watching the cormorants and pelicans is amazing.
Visiting Flora-bama was a must. Sam had a spring break trip here back in College and as we explored this enormous establishment with 5 stages and a myriad of bars and food services, we could just imagine this place crawling with spring breakers. This week the place was hopping with locals attending the Frank Brown songwriters festival and we were able to dock for free on a public dock right out front of Old River Bar – within walking distance of everything ‘bama. We walked the white sandy shores until it started raining. The perfect thing to do now was to post up along an upstairs rail overlooking a stage filled with awesome talent.
A short cruise east was the annual Pensacola Blue Angel homecoming air show where we anchored for the night. This is just like tailgating – Florida style: beaches and waterways filled with boaters, campers, tents etc. There was a bonus night show (planes flying low in formation with blinking lights) to cap off the night.
We found another couple free town walls down the GIWW at Fort Walton Beach and White City. We pulled our bikes down and cruised around town. There was this cute oasis of food trucks, complete with healthy bowls & smoothies and cute little sitting nooks. We found Fockers, home of the mother focker, with a great happy hour special to watch the 1st half of the Alabama and LSU game. Since we were getting hungry we left in search of the sign for 99 cent tacos and 99 cent drafts. Lo and behold it was a gem of a place: a Cruse Thru liquor store/drive thru taco joint. We ordered and ate outside watching the rest of the game. Met some guys in the ‘palm tree business’ – these hurricanes certainly keep these guys busy. Learned a little bit about the care and maintenance of palms including how to truck them safely.
Drive thru shoppin’ 
New fishin’ pole!
Watch the channel ! 
Still sad signs of Hurricane Michael from a year ago. 
Pretty Potty Plants 
Gettin’ chilly in the golf cart ride to town.
Next up is the much anticipated Gulf crossing. Some choose to take the big bend route hugging the Fl shoreline while others choose to cross the roughly 170 mile from Carabelle Island to Tarpin Springs, which we plan to do. We are just waiting for a weather window i.e. low winds and wave. Many boats have attempted this crossing but few have survived to tell………..no just kidding. We will leave at around 4 pm and arrive around 9 or 10 am. See ya on the other side!
Our trail so far and next
Loopin' with Mike n Pam 