Pat volunteers to drive Ray and Jean's car on to Apalachicola and get our Sojourners Permit so that Jean can experience cruising on Happy Happy for the passage from Port St Joe to "Appalach". Along the way we see bald eagles and more dolphins and Jean gets a smooth uneventful ride.
We arrive in Appalachicola without any further motor/fuel system issues. The "weather window" continues to look good for a Friday departure. Do we go or stay? Getting stranded 80 miles out in the open Gulf could be a bad day. Because we will have to cruise 3-4 hours along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway to Carabelle before we make the turn out into the open waters, we decide we're going for it. Even if we have problems a couple hours out into the Gulf we can turn back.
Pat does get our permit but ends up having to "purchase" two permits because they expire on my birthday (a couple weeks from now). The Sojourners Permit is Florida's way of collecting additional real estate property tax from boaters who travel thru the state (even though we pay our local state taxes!!!!).
What a mixing bowl of emotions to sort thru today. We decide to head out to the local Piggly Wiggly after dinner to get ice cream!!!
Oh yeah, the title quote comes from some folks we met from Wewahicthka (you just have to go there one day, during daylight hours only!).
Local state wildlife employees using a radio locator to track the movements of manatee/dolphin.
