Migrating Loons

Our stay at Steinhatchee was enjoyable  but we need to keep heading south. We continued on to Crystal Rivers, where we stayed for two nights. This town is famous for it's hot springs that attract lots of manatees to the waters here.  Pete's Pier Marina , a short dingy ride away from a conservation area with hot springs, was good a marina. Manatees seek out the warm water when the weather cools off and are very common in the area. On the first day, we arrived early enough to go for a dinghy ride and went to the spot the marina staff recommended to us.  So cool!  We saw our first manatees in the wild! We couldn't resist and decided to stay the second night so that we would have a chance to go swimming with them. We're really glad we brought our shorty wetsuits, fins, mask & tuba.   Tarpon Springs was our next destination, and we only stayed there one evening. (It's where the GICW starts being more protected, and the landing/staging...

We are sitting at the Tiki Bar at Sea Hag Marina, updating our blog (the wifi is better here). It's raining, so we are just hanging out and will probably leave tomorrow and head south again. We left Niceville last Sunday after having spent 5 days there. The local AGLCA harbor host are liveaboards who stay at that marina, so we got to experience the perks of getting to know them. A wonderful couple who introduced us to "little beers" during docktales, and brought us sight seeing in Destin.  They made our stay there very memorable. The courtesy car we had access to also left us with a lasting impression... Destin, FL: We stopped and anchored near Panama City, in Pearl Bayoo next. The destruction caused by last years hurricane Micheal is still visible. Boats washed up on shore, broken trees, buildings still being repaired... It's sad to see. Popular marinas are still operating, but are not to full strength yet. When we ...