We pulled away from the docks at Treasure Island around 9am. We made the mistake of exiting the marina before the crewmates could help Mike, the captain, navigate. Jen and Kelly were still pulling in bumpers and tying up ropes and Mike got a little confused about which way to turn. He turned wrong and ran aground. Luckily, we were going slow and it wasn’t serious. Mike was able to back it out. A tour boat drove by and pointed us in the right direction. It probably won’t be the last time it happens. Markers aren’t always easy to understand and sometimes it takes more than one person to figure them out.

The rest of the trip was a really nice. The winding inter-coastal waterway was beautiful. It is mostly trees and very few homes. The sun was shining and it was peaceful. Jen and Kelly drove most of the time.

As we arrived in Apalachicola, we saw a long line of people at the park to get their picture taken with Santa Claus. It was that moment, we knew we were going to love it here.

We docked our boat in front of “Hey Jo” with no problem. The couple on “Hey Jo” gave us a key to the free laundry room and told us about the Farmers Market the next day. They were very nice. They said they bought a boat planning to travel and loved Apalachicola so much, they decide to stay. They’ve been there for 4 years.

Mike and Jen made a pork pot roast for dinner and Kelly did laundry.

Happy Thanksgiving!! We have so much to be thankful for, and thank God everyday for all of our wonderful blessings.

The dogs started the day barking at a bird. They never saw a such a large bird up close. We found out that the bird hangs out at the marina is seems to be normalized around people.

Mike and Kelly spent the morning watching the Lions lose to the Bears, while Jen spent the morning watching the Bears defeat the Lions… We’re a bit of a split house hold when it comes to sports teams since Mike and Kelly grew up in Michigan and the kids grew up in Illinois.

The girls did their hair and makeup and we left for dinner. We walked to Schooners for our 3:00 reservation. It was a little weird going out to eat for dinner and not making Grandma Schurman’s (Kelly’s grandma) stuffing recipe, since we normally spend the day in our pjs and cook dinner as a family. It was especially weird since our 4th crew mate and family member, Michael was not with us… Note to Michael – we love you very much and miss you always.

Thanksgiving this year, we have a lot to be thankful for.

When we drive home for Christmas we plan on having a “Make-up Thanksgiving” the week before Christmas.

Today was a slower day. Jen was sick so she spent most of the day sleeping in, doing homework and sleeping some more. Mike worked and Kelly did some marina planning.

After work, Mike and Kelly walked around Panama City and watched the sunset from the Bridge. They also went to a small seafood market and bought fresh tuna steaks which Mike seared for dinner.

The marina has a really nice grass area for dogs. We took the dogs there to stretch and explore other dog smells. Harley loved marking his territory everywhere.

After dark, Jen and Kelly took a shower at the marina. It started out as a really nice shower. It was clean, big and great water. Part way into washing hair, it turned ice cold. So disappointing. We were hoping for a nice long shower.

Since it was a work day for Mike, Jen and Kelly took turns driving today. It was a little chilly, so we drove mostly from inside today.

We saw tons of dolphins, they put on quite a show today. At one point we had 5 swimming in the front of the boat with us and 6 playing in our wake. Bonnie didn’t like the dolphins and barked at them when they would jump.

Made it to Treasure Island Marina in Panama City Beach, got a pump out before pulling into our slip. Mike did great docking the boat.

Snacked for dinner and called it an early night.

After a few busy days, we spent our Monday relaxing mostly… Well Kelly, Jen, and the dogs did, Mike worked.

Kelly worked on putting up some more of the netting to keep our puppies safe by covering up the openings.

Jen sat on the bow and updated the website and worked out. It was a nice calm day, we all really enjoyed watching the fishing charter boats backing in their slips… They go so fast! It was very impressive.

Spent another day on land. We got an Uber to take us to AT&T so Jen could get a new phone… Note to the Grandma’s, Jen’s number is still the same 🙂

Afterwards, we walked to eat some lunch at Which Wich and enjoyed seeing all the families in their “Sunday Best”. Then we went to Bass Pro Shops, Mike got some fishing supplies and Kelly got shorts. Lowes was next, we needed screws to repair one if our steps going up to the fly bridge.

We needed to provision, and the closest store was Whole Foods. We enjoyed the fresh produce selection, but were disappointed we were unable to get our processed favorites. Mike and Jen couldn’t get regular coffee creamer, all they had was oat, almond, cashew, goat, soy and coconut creamer. So when we get to Panama City a special trip to the store will be made.

We got an Uber back to the boat, and the dogs were very happy to see us… Teddy especially

Happy Saturday! We spent the day walking around the Destin Boardwalk, it was nice to spend the day on land. With Mike working full time, its nice to spend time exploring together on weekends. We saw tons of fishing charter boats, and had lunch at AJ’s Seafood and Oyster Bar. We ate raw oysters, oysters rockafeller, and seafood gumbo…YUM!

Jen took Harley for a walk around the Boardwalk, he did really good and enjoyed all the attention he got. After his walk, Jen took Harley to the bar for a drink. It was Harley’s first time at a bar, and he loved it! He loved sitting on Jen’s lap watching the football game and all the people at the bar. He was very tired afterwards.

Well at the bar listening to the band…Jen met Conrad Ricamora, who plays Oliver on the TV show “How To Get Away With Murder”. If you have never seen it, it’s on Netflix. It’s a crime/drama about law students who get involved in covering up and committing murder. He was so nice, and Jen got to dance and drink with him and a few friends. She had a lot of fun!

We started our engines, and pulled out of the marina at 1:00pm to make our quick 1 hour trip to Destin. It was a beautiful day, the water was calm and almost no boat traffic. While in route, we saw aircraft from flying as we past the Elgin Air Force Base. Jen was captain for the entire trip, and did great!

We pulled into the Destin Harbor, at about 2:15pm. We called the marina, and they directed us to our slip which was right next to Margaritaville. We were docked next to two other loop boats, they were very nice and had stories about the locks coming down the river.

When we use a surge protector when hooking up power to make sure the power is coming into the boat is clean and has no voltage irregularities. Mike is so awesome. He built this device to keep Wishes safe! Today when we hooked it up, the surge protector let us know there was an error on the marina’s power pedestal. When the electrician came out to look at it, indeed… there was power on the neutral. Which could’ve hurt our Wishes, so big thanks to Mike for keeping our baby safe!!

They moved us to a different slip, that had clean power. We had to pull into a slip with pilings, and no finger piers. The wind and current were a little strong, but Mike did great getting us into the slip. Getting our ropes took a longer than normal, as we are not used to only having pilings. It was a little stressful, but we did it!

Dewey Destin’s for dinner, it was yummy and had amazing Key Lime Pie. The crust was almost like a cookie, and the filling was the perfect balance of sweet and tart. When we go out for dinner, we joke that on our walk home we are burring off all the calories we just ate… pretty sure that’s not true at all but it helps us feel better about eating the pie.

Mike spent the day working. The dogs enjoyed a nice quiet day on the boat, as they were still tired from the park outing the day prior.

Kelly and Jen went to the Air Force Armament Museum, it was very cool. They had a variety of planes, bombs, and guns. It was fun to walk around and read about the different missions these planes were on, and how long the planes were in service before retiring to the museum.

Well walking around the museum, the thought of leftover German food for dinner was on our minds. It was just as good as it was the night before. We all went to bed full and happy.

HAPPPY 31ST WEDDING ANNIVERSARY TO MIKE AND KELLY!

Kelly and Jen rode bikes to get breakfast from Parlor Donuts. On the way we found a dog bakery called “3 dogs and a chick”. It smelled so good, like cinnamon and honey. We got them cookies that looked like a hamburger, chicken wing, and a bacon bone.

Parlor Donuts, has the best donuts we’ve ever had. They are so fluffy, it was like a donut, croissant, and puff pastry combined. It was absolute perfection!!

The girls took the dogs to park, as the walk was a little too far we put them in the wagon. Bonnie and Harley were so excited they didn’t want to sit down. Teddy as usual was chill about the whole experience. Once we got to the park, they loved playing on land. There were so many smells! They were tired when we got back to the boat and napped.

For dinner, we went to Bavarian’s Wirtshaus…OMG!! It was authentic German food, which we haven’t had in a while and were very excited. We wanted to order one of everything…..we settled for enough to fill the table! Our hearts and tummies were very happy and full when we left.