Day 64 - November 16, 2012: A new milestone - The Intracoastal Waterway

Today we cruised south on Mobile Bay, turned east, and entered the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) for the first time! This 3,000 mile long waterway runs in three large sections starting in Brownsville, TX, and ending in northern New Jersey. It follows the coastline inside a series of islands and keys and is comprised of inlets, salt water rivers, bays and sounds. Because it is protected from the open ocean, we will be running here whenever possible.

Section of the Intracoastal Waterway

Right away, it became clear that the ICW was going to be strikingly different from the inland river system we have been in for the first 1,950 miles. Instead of silt-laden fresh water surrounded by dense trees with occasional small towns, there are salt water channels surrounded by huge marinas, tourist destinations, and large urban communities. We will be seeing boats of all kinds, including military, commercial, pleasure craft, and, of course, loopers and snowbirds doing seasonal transitions between the north and south.

Orange Key on the ICW with large tourist hotels on Orange Beach

One of the first tourist attractions we saw was LuLu's Restaurant, which is owned by Jimmy Buffet's sister, and she has filled the place with Jimmy's pictures and memorabilia. It faces the ICW, so we docked right in front, went in and had lunch. My meal was aptly named the "Cheeseburger in Paradise." That is good marketing. Some say that if you are lucky, you may run into Jimmy himself.

LuLu's Restaurant

Anne after a great Fish Sandwich

This is from our anchorage in Ingram Bayou. No matter whether you are on the inland rivers or the ICW, nature provides a curtain of color to celebrate the end of each day.

Sliver of the moon over sunset