Gemini Loop: Grand Harbor Marina and Florence

We spent two nights at Grand Harbor, which allowed us to visit Shiloh and get some grocery shopping and laundry done. The Cooper and Confetti were there also. We went out, along with new friends Steve and Bradd, to celebrate Lace Lacey's birthday. The Grand Harbor folks recommended a restaurant and we were in for a delightful surprise! There were sharks, fish, alligators, palm trees, pirates, hula girls... it was great!

Yesterday, we left Grand Harbor and headed for Florence. We kept slowing down for bass boats out fishing, and getting buzzed by them passing us. Turns out, there is a fishing tournament at the marina in Florence. Our marina is hosting 150 little boats!

We borrowed the loaner car and went into Florence last night for "First Friday". It is a music and art festival they have once a month. We had a great time! There were lots of sidewalk vendors and activities for kids. They had a machine that made soap suds shapes that floated like balloons. Kind of hard to describe, but I took some photos. The ones they were making when we went by looked like the Mickey Mouse logo, but later they were making bats. I guess because it's October, some of the people were wearing costumes - their little dogs too! We found a really cool cantina (Rosie's) and had some great Mexican food.

This morning, the fishermen headed out at dawn. They were actually pretty quiet, considering all the big boat motors. We will be leaving later this morning for Joe Wheeler State Park - only about 20 miles, but two locks.