Q's End: Licence to Travel: Dog River Marina

Dog River Marina is a serious working Marina. Not only do some fishing boats dock here but most Loopers bring their boats here to be repaired....and there is an awful lot of repair work being done. I do need some work done but mine is minimal compared to everything else that is being undertaken. In fact the owner himself suggested that I wait until I got to clearer water to have some zincs put on my shafts. Evidently, in saltwater it is necessary to add more zincs than the customary single large zinc on the transom. Anyway, I have lined up a diver in Port St. Joe to do the job. I will order the zincs online and save about $15 for each of the six zincs that I need. I wish that I would have thought about that last winter.

It was like old home week here at the marina. There were at least a dozen Loopers that we had met before here at the marina. We decided that we needed to celebrate a couple of birthdays (ie. Joan's on the 12th and Carol's on the 14th) before everybody went off in different directions. Windsong is getting work done on the catamaran and won't continue the loop until January and Serendipity is headed home for a couple of weeks over Thanksgiving. The first place that we tried was the Mariner Restaurant. Excellent fried crab claws. We had a big platter as an appetizer for all six of us and everyone raved about them. My seafood platter as an entree was also very good. The shrimp was probably the best fried shrimp that I have had thus far. The only thing that was mediocre at this restaurant was the stuffed crab.

Most of Thursday was spent around the marina and getting things done. I did take Jay to the airport to pick up his rental car and spent some money in the West Marine store which is on site here. That evening the six of us went to Wintzell's, a chain which advertises that they have the best oysters. NOT. Linda had the oyster platter with four different preparations (eg. rockefeller, broiled, bacon & cheese, Wintzell's special?) and was not impressed. In February at a bar in Panama City Beach with Len and Carol, the oysters were much, much better. The $3 pitchers of beer may have clouded are judgement somewhat but the oysters were much better.

After another trip to the airport on Friday morning to pick up Serendipity's car rental, we used it to do some tourist stuff.....first stop, lunch. We just picked this place on the causeway and we done good. Linda's shrimp boil was very good and my seafood basket of scallops and shrimp was very, very good. My scallops had to be one of the best that I have ever had. There is obviously some good food in this area.

The USS Alabama is the battleship that we spent the afternoon on.

This display was particularly well done because there were 3 self directed tours and many of the areas were open for you to access (eg, engine / steam room, gun turrets, crew's quarters, etc.). The second photo shows Mitch from Serendipity in a smaller gun turret on the side of the ship. I think, what I will do, is finish off this day and then just add a number of photos which you might find interesting.

Jay and Joan of Windsong left for Boston but it was easy to replace them. ;>) Mark and Susan from Squivot joined us at the Mobile Yacht Club for dinner on Friday night. Here is a photo of the gang: Mitch and Carol from Serendipity on Linda's side of the table and Mark and Susan with me.

Linda and I are setting off on our own in the morning as Serendipity drives home to New Jersey on Sunday and Squivot continues to wait for repairs to be completed. Squivot is actually only about 20 miles from completing the Loop. We may actually be there when it happens if the weather cooperates. They left Texas last year and crossed Mobile Bay and entered the GICW at that point to start their loop.

Enjoy the photos.