English Navy Cove, FL. – Fort Walton Beach, FL - November 4, 2008

We didn’t have a long way to go today, so we didn’t leave until 8:15. It was overcast this morning and a little chilly. About late morning the sun came out and it warmed up considerably.

One of the barrier islands we passed was marked restricted on the charts, was undeveloped and had nothing but several radar domes and a tall observation tower. The water on the gulf side of the island is a training area for US Navy pilots to drop ordinance so we figured the radar and tower was support for the training. We saw a C130 military plane flying around and Darrell saw a couple of fighter aircraft.

We had our first dolphin sighting since we’ve been back in salt water. Several of them were playing in the waterway. Beth didn’t get pictures of them.

We docked at Fort Walton Beach at 1:00. Fort Walton offers free overnight docking. There is no electricity, but it is a very nice pier with fingers and is within walking distance to town. We walked about a mile to West Marine and Napa and stopped at Publix for groceries on our way back to the boat. The waterfront area is anice park and the main street, just a block away, has a number of bar/restaurants, and neat shops
- a nice place.