We've had a busy few weeks making our way along the Alabama Gulf Shore and Florida's "Forgotten Coast". We feel fortunate to have had a weather window that worked out to cross the Gulf of Mexico from Carrabelle, FL to Clearwater, FL in time to enjoy Christmas week with Linda's family in St. Petersburg. We hope you all are enjoying the holidays and looking forward to a Happy and Healthy 2025!
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| Christmas Greetings from Kyra |
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| Sunset at Orange Beach, AL |
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| Beautiful travel day to Pensacola (Blue Angels practicing from their home base) |
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| Some days everything sparkles |
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| One of Kyra's favorite travel days |
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| The original fiberglass trawler tug Willard Voyager 30 "Last Tangle", flanked by the derivative designed Nordic Tug "Stuga" and American Tug "Emilie B". The owners of the Willard pointed out this unique meet up in Pensacola |
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| It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... |
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| Two Georges Marina, Lake Lorraine, FL |
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| Unique liveaboard |
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| Starting to see more storm damanged boats |
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| Holiday colors everywhere |
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| Another great cruising day |
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| Shrimp boats outside of Port St. Joe |
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| Sun setting behind Emilie B |
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| Florida fall foliage |
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| Working marina in Apalachicola, FL |
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| Apalachicola, FL |
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| Sun setting over the marina in Apalachicola |
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| Staging for the gulf crossing in Carrabelle, FL - we squeezed into this slip |
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| It was a great spot to watch the boat parade and fireworks |
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| 18 boats in the parade - loved the size of this tree versus the boat |
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| We could not have been any closer to the fireworks |
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| Monday afternoon, heading out into the Gulf of Mexico, the 3 boats ahead are taking a slightly different route |
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| Sun setting behind us |
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| A beautiful end to the day - there wasn't much to see looking forward, the clouds rolled in, and the nearly full moon was not visible |
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| Tuesday morning in the gulf - cleared up as the sun got higher |
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| We ended up just in front of two of the boats we left with |
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| Success! Marker #1 on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, we'll take advantage of the ICW around FL and back up the east coast to the Annisquam River in Massachusetts |
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| After a 23-hour passage, we are safely in Clearwater Marina, enjoying the beautiful weather and a good night's sleep |
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| Clearwater, FL |
Dolphins welcoming us into Linda's brother's neighborhood in St. Petersburg, FL
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| Ready to tie up just 2 doors down from Linda's brother |
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Emilie B's home for the week - we are so very happy to be here!
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We were greeted by dolphins when we got to Mobile Bay and have seen them many times since. Have captured a few on video but have decided it is much more fun to just watch.
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| Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! |
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| Making our way from Fairhope, AL to Carrabelle, FL - staging location for crossing the Gulf of Mexico |
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| Crossing the Gulf of Mexico, a much-anticipated milestone |
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| Our Christmas travel route :) |
