A Couple of Good Days!

So we didn't make it out of there Wednesday.  The wind was still a little whippy and the water a little rough.  So we rented a car and pretended to be normal people.  We had some lunch at Wendy's, did some shopping and Wal-Mart, and watched the new Harry Potter movie.  Yay!  (Side note: I thought Harry Potter was pretty awesome.)  After those adventures, we turned in the rental car early (didn't want to get up in the morning to take the car back), and went out to dinner.  Hemmingway's had $1 fish tacos and $4 mojitos.  Yum! 
Here's the last hint of Wednesday's sunset.

Yesterday, we woke up to much calmer breezes.  The water in the marina was pretty low; the sand was actually above water in the middle of the bay.  We made it out of there with no problem, though.  Once we got to the other side of the bridge (3 times under that bridge was quite enough), we hoisted the sails and cut the motor.  Our speed was okay for a little while, but the wind was blowing northeast instead of the north that was forecast.  Northeast was not the ideal wind direction.  We finally decided 3 mph wasn't going to cut it, so we turned the motor back on and took down the main sail.  Well, then we realized the genoa (front sail) was filled up pretty nicely, so motor-sailing was in order.  And we did that all day!  It was awesome! 

And pretty.  Check out that sail! 
We saw beaches aplenty.  Totally wanted to stop and take a stroll, but we're on a deadline.  We also saw dolphins!  I even got a picture of one (it's toward the right side, about halfway up).  Look!

We stopped in Fort Walton, at the city marina (free!).  Mom's cousins came down to see us.  We went out to eat at Red Lobster.  So yummy!  I could write a whole blog on the food, but I won't bore you with that.
This morning (it's Friday, right?) it was cool, but sunny.  We headed out all ready to sail again.  Hoisted the sails once we were out in the big ole Choctawhatchee Bay.  We did okay for a little while, but eventually our wind totally failed us.  So we took down the main again and started up the motor, hoping to recapture the magic of yesterday's motorsailing.  Not quite so magic.  The wind coming from behind us wasn't keeping up, so we took down the genoa, too.  No more rainbow to let Dad know where we were (he loves that sail because he can see us from miles away).  So it was a pretty boring day, but we don't mind boring.  Boring beats crappy every time.  And now we're anchored at the eastern end of the bay.  Just hanging out with the parents, debating on hamburgers vs. pork chops for dinner.  One of those difficult life choices we have to face.  Ah, I think we're settling on hamburgers.  Whew!
Tomorrow night we're going to stay at the Panama City Marina.  Yay, showers!  And possibly Chinese takeout for dinner.  It's amazing what you crave when you're out on the water.
So we've had a few good days!  It's nice to report that.