Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. (1 Peter 4:9 NLT)
Every ADVENTure is richer when shared.
Before we left on this great journey, Les was in contact with Bob Austin, a fellow C-dory owner and veteran boatman, who lives along the route we planned to take to Florida. Les asked if we could stop by to say hello, and to meet Bob and his wife, Marie.
To our suprise and delight, they invited us to dock at their place for the night, when we passed through. We were very honored. When we arrived we thought we’d offer to take them out to dinner. But instead, we and our dog, Kokomo were honored guests.
Marie had planned on feeding us dinner and breakfast. Bob offered to take us to town to pick up any supplies and to give us a tour of the Pensacola area. We left Kokomo with Marie and their poodle, Angel. Kokomo got to play in their yard to her heart’s content and was treated to Marie’s southern hospitality. (Marie gave her treats, got her a little bed out and fed her, too.)
Bob and Marie have literally sailed the world, and Les and I were like sponges soaking in their stories and adventures. Bob willingly shared stories about how he first got into sailing and the many places he and Marie had visited over the years.
Bob showed us the yacht club, the naval area and the revival of the downtown area. Next, we enjoyed a drive over the Three Mile bridge to Fort Pickens at the Gulf Islands National Seashore, near the entrance to Pensacola bay. We continued to be enthralled by Bob’s life experiences and his easy way of sharing all things historic, civic and nautic.
Arriving back at their home, Marie served us a delcious meal of chicken, broccoli, corn and warm rolls, followed by the best cherry pie ever.
We spent the night on our boat, and completed our stay in the morning with access to a hot shower followed by coffee, fruit and danish.
Bob and Marie are angels in disguise, I’m sure of it.
Bob hoped into their boat (Thisaway) with little Angel, as his co-pilot, to lead us out of their bayou and back to the Perdido bay, where we headed toward Pensacola bay and 60 more miles ticked off toward our destination.
Tonight we are enjoying a quiet anchorage, before a long day of travel tomorrow to our home base for the rest of December in Panama City Beach.
In the meantime, I’m still pondering Joseph and Mary’s dilemma. Last we read about him, he was trying to figure out what to do with the news that his betrothed was expecting a child. He went to sleep and had a dream. In his dream, an angel visited him with this explanation:
God’s angel spoke in the dream: “Joseph, son of David, don’t hesitate to get married. Mary’s pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God’s Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus—‘God saves’—because he will save his people from their sins.” This would bring the prophet’s embryonic sermon to full term:
Watch for this—a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son;
They will name him Immanuel (Hebrew for “God is with us”).
(Matthew 1:20b-23 The Message)
How are you experiencing the “with”ness of GOD this season?
Lastly, here are some photo highlights from today’s journey:
Kel: I am reading these posts as I come to them. (As you can tell, I am behind in my email reading.) I love the beaches of the Gulf coast.