January 24, 2014, Friday at Panama City Marina NM 290

Friends said they were leaving this morning since weather better, we took our shower, shopped a little in the gift shop/office.  Neat things to buy but not much room on the boat for non essentials.  12:00 Departed the Marina  with thoughts of catching up to the group again on down the ICW.  15:30 entered the ditch after passing a tow pushing a barge.  Passed on the anchorage we had planned to stay at because it was too soon to stop.  Plan to try White City where there is a free dock off the ICW.  18:30 Arrived at the White City dock in the DARK.  It got really dark about 18:00, Curt used the spot light to guide me down the center of the ICW.  Came around a corner and saw a green and red light shining on the water in front of us.  As we got closer saw the trees on the starboard side all lit up with white, like a spot light.  With the channel feeling very narrow in the dark, pine trees fallen in the water along the edge we had the nightmare thought we were meeting a barge.  Oh My!   As Curt stood on the bow flashing the light from side to side on the dark banks of what seemed even more narrow, we got closer to the red and green lights now realizing it was the lights from the tall bridge right before the docks of White City.  As we inched closer realized the white lights on the trees were the lights from the docks.  Whew, not a barge to move out of the way of.  Happily pulled in the dock and to our surprise was able to plug into the electrical outlet with the extension cord that Joey gave us at the last minute before we left Minn.  Barely long enough to reach.  We've got electricity and heat for the night.  Yeah.  Tow we had passed went buy with not much of a wake rocking our boat.  Will be a good night sleep. 30 minutes in the dark, dark, ICW was plenty.  Don't want to do that again, had previously wondered what it would be like.  NWS Warning of sleet until 2:00am.  No accumulation because local temps expected to remain above freezing.  In Florida!?

 Forgot to mention the Hydrofoil Navy boat coming fast, fast, fast at us, we got out of his way quickly, the wake was not nice and he didn't even slow down to see if he swamped us.  The second one we got out of the way from quickly too.  Can believe he can go under the narrow passage of the bridge that fast.

 As you can tell with the multiple pictures he was impressive.

 Down the ICW, campers on the side

 Red balls all over the sides of the canal,Curt calls them Land Mines,but they are Crab Pot markers which like to get caught in peoples props stopping their motor dead in the water.

 Looking back and forth down the waterway, too cold for alligators to show their face