Day 2 - Settling in for the long haul.

Awoke this morning to find the winds were still calm. But it is overcast and foggy. Ingram Bayou is a beautiful anchorage, located just north of Orange Beach. We have spent many nights here, and it is one of our favorite anchorages on the gulf coast.

Early morning in Ingram Bayou

The raft of six trawlers broke up at daybreak. Took them a while to get separated, then all headed out to the east. The sailboat remains. Having seen this boat here multiple times before, and always anchored in exactly the same spot, it makes me wonder if the couple is living aboard and this is there permanent spot.

We had a wonderfully peaceful night, and slept like the dead. I got up first and made coffee, and Paula finally followed the smell up the stairs. We took our mugs of steaming coffee to the top deck and watched the wildlife. Pelicans, Loons, and Osprey hunting. Pods of dolphin feeding all around the boat. Blue Heron wading in the shallows, snagging fish. We had breakfast up there, some of Paula's most excellent Pumpkin bread. Good stuff with some chocolate milk to wash it down!

Duke has decided to be stubborn about bathroom breaks on the bow. He has refused to go, preferring to wait for a much hoped for dinghy ride to shore. But I have not launched it yet, so he is going to have to make do with his AstroTurf mat on the bow. I figured he would be about to pop by this morning and would go quickly. Unfortunately, he was unable to hold it through the night and decided the ice chest by the back door was as good as place as any to let go. So we had a mess to clean up when we got up. Duke got fussed at, and banished to the bow until he did his remaining business. He toughed it out up there for six hours, shivering in the cool breeze. I went up there and encouraged him several times, to no effect. Finally, in early afternoon, he gave in and the dam broke! Have not had a problem with him since. He goes on command! :)

We were feeling decadent, so had Bloody Mary's, a late, leisurely lunch of leftover chicken & dumplings, and a long afternoon nap. Woke up feeling refreshed and relaxed. The wind started picking up, as forecast. We had hoped to continue on to Pensacola, but with 25-30 knot north winds forecast, I think we are going to be here for the rest of the week. 

We ate dinner late, since we had a late lunch. Fettuccine Alfredo with chicken was on the menu tonight, and there was nothing leftover this time! Wow, was that good stuff. Settled in to watch some TV, only to find that there are hardly any local over the air TV broadcasts here. Switched over to satellite and that was not working, either. The in-motion dish needs to be reprogrammed periodically, and this is one of those times. I did not feel like messing with it tonight, so put it off until tomorrow. So we just sat here and listened to the wind howl and read our books until bedtime.