Lulu's -- Like Margaritaville, Only Better

Day 192 |  Mobile to Ingram Bayou  |  6.2 Hours  |  39 Miles  

Our departure time was set for 8:00 and I slept in a bit, missing the nice sunrise (picture courtesy of Oar Knot), the frost on the railings, and the discovery of a large piece of debris that partially blocked our departure path. The marina staff was very helpful and a workboat came over and removed a section of dock, clearing our way. We started our engine at the designated time, cast off our lines and began the process of squeezing through the boats and the pesky piling in the middle of the fairway. The wind had mercifully laid down, but there was still a pretty strong current. Thanks to Chris and Roger (Miss Utah) for helping fend off as we tried a few times to exit. We finally put ourselves on the far side of the piling, and used it to help keep the current from moving us towards other boats. We got out without ever touching fiberglass, but it was way too much excitement to start my day.

The Dog River Channel and Mobile Bay were both calm. We and Miss Utah had a smooth trip across. As I was storing our docklines and fenders on the stern, a dozen pelicans (brown ones now) were zipping up from behind us. I looked forward and saw a shrimp boat on the horizon. The pelicans were heading for their spot at the breakfast buffet. A bit later, we saw our first lighthouse since Chicago, the Mobile Bay Lighthouse. It dates back to 1885 and is a screwpile light, based on the ones found in the Chesapeake Bay. In 2002 its tower and Fresnel lens were removed, replaced by a solar powered red light on a pole. The lens is on display at the Fort Morgan Museum. Hopefully one day they'll rebuild the top light tower to restore its original appearance.

Across the bay, we intersected and then followed the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GICW). We were excited by our first dolphin sightings, but at the same time still mesmerized by the gracefulness of the blue herons. An odd ship passed us carrying artificial reefs.

Santa came out on the dock to wave hello. Docks of all sizes lined the GICW and pelicans stood guard at most of them. Today was a treat as we planned to stop at Lulu's in Gulf Shores (AL) for lunch. After a tough start to the day, things turned in our favor as there were no boats at the restaurant's dock. Crossroads and Miss Utah filled up the entire space. Tied up, we headed inside, passing by the Fountain of (errr ... for) Youth. If you look closely you can see where Barry filled his side of the fountain with water and it is spewing forth.

Lulu's is probably most famous because it is owned by Jimmy Buffett's sister Lucy. It is quite the complex and we walked through imagining what a rocking place this would be on a summer weekend. The food was good as well (better than we've found at Jimmy's chain restaurants). I had shrimp salad with fried green tomatoes and Barry had gumbo and a crab melt. We did hit the gift shop and picked up a few things before heading back to the dock. Chris and I wanted a photo of the boats, but the angle was not very good. The best shot was Chris leaning over the rail. The sign on the dock alerted us to more wildlife that we're anxious to see. We pulled away from the dock, escorted by more dolphin.

The GICW runs alongside a road, which had nice Christmas decorations on the light poles. We only had about ten miles to go to reach our anchorage for the evening in Ingram Bayou. Flying overhead were some of the Navy's Blue Angels. Miss Utah set her anchor and we rafted up on her starboard, Liberty on her port. I chatted for a while with Aunt B and found all about how today's festivities went. For close to 30 years I have always been at her house this weekend to kickoff Christmas. It is difficult to be away, but everyone is trying to share the holiday spirit to make it close to being there. I tried to describe to her how the boats are rafted together and we just hop over the rails to cross between boats. She asked that I wear my safety shirt and be careful. The final photo is me standing on our caprail preparing to cross over the rail onto Miss Utah. All three crews visited until the sun began to set, then we crawled back over the rail.

We will depart tomorrow morning and continue east on the GICW to Pensacola. We have reservations at Palafox Marina which is located downtown. We're looking forward to being able to get off the boat and walk around a larger city ... and maybe see some Christmas lights at the same time.