Crustacean Travels

 Got up late and lazed the morning away with a long hot shower and preparing for the crossing. Looks like we will have other Loopers join us for the crossing on Wednesday.  We like company!! Left about 11:00 to leave Carrabelle River and go east toward Alligator Reef where we will stage to cross to Steinhatchee.  We traveled with MVLive de Life, Canadians Sasha and Graham behind the barrier island, Dog Island,  on this 60 degree bright sunny day. Once past Dog Island the last barrier island and the end of the Gulf Intracoastal, we are technically in the Gulf of Mexico and heading almost due east.  The coast is now called James Island, although it is not an island, and there are a scattering of homes and low rise condos on the beach. On our way to shore to find an anchorage, We had four dolphin escort us by surfacing in our bow showing us the way in.  What a nice escort! We anchored just off the beach which is forested and lined with homes.  Nice to stop early as tomorrow will be a long

On this drizzly cloudy morning, we slept in to let the worst rain pass us by.  Weighing anchor in the off and on drizzly rain, we headed out of Smack Bayou back into the East Bay section of the Intracoastal Waterway, which is 25 miles long and between 1-2 miles wide. Along the bay Panama City is on our north and an undeveloped marshy forests is to our south. The further we traveled up the bay, the less development we saw and the forested shoreline returned. Sorry but my pictures are through the windshield due to rain!!! Even in the rain we had dolphin join us in our bow and wake.  The rain does not matter to them, they still like to play! As we begin to reach the end of the bay, it narrowed with more marshes and bayous like the one we anchored in last night. East Bay ends and the Intracoastal follows Wetappo Creek .  Much of the creek is marsh grass with many oxbows.  It surprised us to find a small community of about 20 plus stilt houses quite a ways from civilization.   Avid fisherme

 Weighed anchor on a cool sunny day. Yeah!  Headed east in Santa Rosa Sound which narrows the further east we go. The protected seashore continues on the barrier island and homes line the mainland shore. We started playing Christmas music as we travel.  Have to get in the spirit! Had to Google the strange three legged tower on Santa Rosa Island and found that it belonged to the Eglin Air Force Base and it is used to test Hi Tech Weaponry.  Most of the beach in this area belongs to the base. As we get further east, we can see the high rises on Fort Walton Beach on both the mainland and on the island.  Many homes and marinas line the shore. Going under the bridge connecting the beach to Fort Walton, we enter the wide Choctawhatchee Bay.  This bay takes us to the entrance of East Pass which leads to the Gulf.   Dolphin began jumping out of the water to race to greet our boat as we approached the pass and rode with us until we turned into the pass. In the pass we went under another bridge,