Day 24 - Pensacola Beach to Destin, FL

We had a larger crew today with Matt and Erin here so they took the Blue Fin and cruised from Pensacola Beach east to Destin where we caught up with them by car for lunch.  Don't worry though because we had to return to Pensacola later in the day and I operated the Blue Fin on the way back so I still claim credit for making it all the way to Destin even though I did this part in reverse. So with that we're going to claim our ending point as Destin, FL.  I'll have to figure out how far that is from Watergate Marina in St Paul sometime but for now it's enough to say it's a lot. And even though I knew this was our last day, we played it like it was just another day on our trip. Matt and Erin headed out around 10:30 AM with the Blue Fin loaded up with fuel and beverages enough to make the 40 mile trip to Destin. Mary and I drove the route through some pretty nice barrier islands with great beaches and white sandy dunes.

Everything needed for the trip to Destin and then some. Nobody goes thirsty on the Blue Fin.

Doesn't this scene shout with irony?
Luxury abounds but the port-a-potty still stands front and center in it's dominant role. Our first stop along the barrier islands.

We made a brief rendezvous with Matt and Erin in the Gulf Islands National Seashore near Navarre, FL
We came by car and they arrived in the boat.

This is my first boat traffic jamb. We decided to find a place to eat in Destin Harbor which I'd described as a tourist concentration camp.  Boats, people, restaurants, fishing charters, motels, marinas, shops, no parking, hot, sticky, smelly... Are you getting the idea?  It's an interesting place but I wouldn't make it my only reason to travel all the way from Minnesota.    

Destin has their own pirate ship.
I wonder if they ever do battle with the pirate ship I saw at Orange Beach.

A party zone in the sandy shallows. You can step out of your boat into 2-3 feet of water.
Vendors setup pontoons as small businesses catering to the partiers.   

The shoreline inside Destin Harbor is continuously lined with all variety of distraction. Having arrived here by car and leaving by boat I'd say it's easier to find places from the water side than from the street side. 

The Blue Fin is tied up on the right, we're nearby at an outdoor table at AJ's restaurant, and this kid is doing stunts for the passersby.  It was all too much and having seen this I know we've gone far enough on this adventure and it's about time for Mary and me to come home. 

The Blue Fin arriving at the ramp in Pensacola.
The end of its short foray with saltwater and tomorrow it begins the long road journey home.

Mary working hard to put things in order for the long road trip back to Minnesota. Notice the closeness of the trailer fenders to the boat bottom. Tomorrow we'll need to do some work on this to keep them from contacting the boat's bottom. Matt had changed the rollers around on the trailer in order to lower the boat and better nest it down between the two fenders. Looks like the fenders themselves will have to be lowered too and we plan to replace them with more commonly available rounded fender skirts. That will have to wait though until we're home and for tomorrow we might just hammer these old ones down to get them out of the way.

To put a nice bookend on our journey it seemed fitting to pose with the captains hats we were presented with at the beginning. They survived the trip without getting the least bit dirty or soiled. We didn't use them even once to pull rank on anyone we saw and I'd gauge that the folks we met along the way were at minimum 99% friendly.

Tomorrow we'll hit the road and plan to be home by Tuesday. For some perspective it roughly equates that one hour of car travel nets the same distance as one day of boat travel.  24 days on the water and 24 more hours on the road and this adventure will be all over.