We’re back.

Things we are remembering about Florida:

• Salt water means salt on the boat
• Salt on the boat means scrubbing her down after each travel day
• EST (Most of the Panhandle is CST, but it changes around St. Joe’s River)
• Fresh Florida oysters
• Palm Trees
• Dolphins
• Big Water
• Tides
• Confused seas
• Crab pots
• It’s BIG!

We left Mobile last Sunday- Crossed the Bay into the Gulf ICW. Mobile Bay is a tiny version of the Gulf of Mexico. We expected a pretty easy crossing however; the weather forecast and the weather didn’t agree. Instead, we had 4+ foot waves when we left the Dog River and turned into the Bay. Theres no turning back. The silver lining was that everything subsided gradually and we just eased into a beautiful afternoon and evening. A day with dolphins, eagles, king fishers, pelicans, herons, and a spectacularly beautiful anchorage at Ingram Bayou in Elberta, Alabama.

The rivers into Florida are big and Florida bays are big too. But, the inlets remind you that theres a small ocean off your starboard side and that you are a speck of life out there.

Nights two and three were at Two Georges Marina in Shalimar. night four, was an anchorage a couple miles east of Panama City. We had to find a place we could tuck into and out of a strong northeast wind and we did. Anchored at Parker Bayou, a few miles past the center of Panama City. It felt great to drop anchor after and 8.5 hour day. Thanks to the dolphins for entertaining us throughout the day.

We pulled out at sunrise to head to Apalachacola, FL. 60+ miles east into the wind against foul current. S-L-O-W. about halfway time changes from Central to Eastern. Not sure we gained or lost anything.

The Gulf Intracoastal runs all the way from Texas to Carrabelle, Florida. Apalachicola is the last second to last stop along the way. It’s a cool little town with a Main Street, a narrow creek with narrow docks. It gets very shallow from here out and you have to be very cognizant of the tides. (Thank goodness for GPS!)

We crossed the big Apalachicola Bay on Thanksgiving morning, to the last stop of the Gulf Intracoastal and our last stop (literally where the GIW ends) before crossing the Gulf of Mexico, Carrabelle, Florida. We are watching a variety of weather sites to determine when the best and safest window is for us to cross. The Gulf thinks it’s an ocean and believe me, it can get very rough out there. We are staying The Carrabelle Moorings Marina and each afternoon there is a Captain’s meeting to discuss departures and to “team” up. There’s no cell service out there so boats use a specific VHF channel to communicate with one another while crossing. Currently, it looks like Sunday is our best weather window. If that holds, we will anchor out at Dog Island, next to the inlet, and get a dawn start for the 80 miles from here to Steinhatchee.

Super grateful to be right here, right now. I’m good waiting until Sunday to leave. Traveling from sunup to sundown is exhausting. It is beautiful and exciting (sometimes) as well, but it takes a lot of stamina and focus to navigate and do all the things that need to be done. David says, “Not many people could do this trip”. I believe it because it’s not really “a trip” in the traditional sense. It’s more like a mission where you have to cross a lot of boundaries, learn things you never thought you needed to know, see things you never imagined, face your fears (which you made yourself), raise your frequency, recognize you are a spirit keeping a body alive, and there are extended periods of absolute quiet. It reminds me of a metaphor where water and waves are symbolic of change. Amending my way, but it goes something like this: Imagine that each day is like a tidal wave and you get to encounter all that the wave brings to your shore, and the wave recedes and it takes away things you thought that you needed but never needed, and it keeps crashing like this, day in and day out; it changes what you see. And everything is impartial, sun shines where it shines, waves hit where they hit and reshape the shoreline, and things get swept away. We are in change with all that we witness. Another moment, another miracle. Life is the best teacher you’ll ever have.

That’s it for now from Betheship– Alive and well in a buoyant world!