It was a great morning with light winds and cool temps that warmed with the sun. I went to the office at the Yacht Club to pay the bill and talked to the manager about the forecast weather. The winds tomorrow are supposed to be out of the north about 20 mph with gusts to 33 mph. I was concerned about any surge in Fly Creek. She called one of the members and I talked to him for a few minutes and decided we needed to move.
We originally planned on 4 days in Fairhope and then a 1 day stop at Lulu’s before spending some time at the Wharf in Orange Beach. Lulu is Jimmy Buffet’s sister and we stopped there last year for lunch. There is a marina right next door but not much else. It is real touristy. We decided to skip Lulu’s and go directly to Orange Beach. I called and they were able to assign us to a slip in the main basin right in front of all the restaurants and shops.
We got underway about 10:00 and it was a great cruise on Mobile Bay. The wind was light and then it pretty much died. There was a lot of traffic on the ICW and a couple of boats we have seen along the way and talked to (Sun Drum and Sanctuary), were at Lulu’s for lunch. They waved as we went by.
We are starting to get used to seeing the pelicans again. They like to sit on the pilings looking for fish. There is also an abundance of herons around. They make a loud screeching sound when they take flight but graceful to watch.
We arrived at the Wharf in the early afternoon and the temps were in the mid 70’s. After we were tied up Candy and I did a walk thru the complex to get a lay of the land. Last year we stopped for 1 night and it was later in the day that we arrived. We tallied 6 different restaurants, a cigar bar and a whole raft of boutiques style shops. There is also a 12 screen theater complex and a ferris wheel. Not sure what the story is behind the ferris wheel.
I did get a call from a friend of ours in the Detroit area. He was lamenting the weather and wanted to know where we were and what it was like outside. He said there was a hint of snow in the air in the Detroit area. We chatted for a few minutes and he was able to find Orange Beach on his road map atlas as we talked. We are going to feel some of the effects of the weather that is in the Midwest. The wind coming in tomorrow and on Wednesday the high is supposed to be in the mid 50’s. They also say that it will be 70 again on Friday.
We are waiting for Pete and Carolyn on Humbug. They are having some work done on their boat and they went to New Orleans for a couple of days. They should be back on the water Friday or Saturday so we will hang around the Wharf and enjoy the place a little.