After our first day's sail we stopped at Oak Harbor Marina in Slidell. The docks were a bit rickety and we had to borrow electricity from a neighbor because our slip's power was not working. But the showers and bathrooms were clean, and there was a restaurant right at the end of the pier--Phil's Marina Grill--where we ate the first night.
Our next marina stop was at the Municipal Harbor in Bay St. Louis. The bathrooms and showers were nice, and the laundry was free. There were beaches right on either side of the marina. We took a sunset stroll and the next day the girls played in the sand and shallow water when we needed a break from homeschool. We were also located right near the town so we could check out the shops and restaurants (though no grocery). We enjoyed ice cream at Creole Creamery! This was a lovely stop.
After that we spent a couple of nights at the Gulfport Municipal Marina, located right next to a wide beach where we enjoyed trying to play beach volleyball. One of the nights, we took about a 10 minute walk to the nearest restaurant --Shaggy's--and had a great meal there. There was an aquarium right next to the marina that we did not get to visit. And the down town was fairly nearby also, but it was mostly banks and law offices. I needed to stop by a pharmacy--that walk took almost an hour!
We had a couple of nights at anchor and then stayed one night at the Homeport Marina on the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) in Gulf Shores. This was after a rocky night at Dauphin Island and a bumpy day of motoring through Mobile Bay. We decided to relax and have dinner at the dockside restaurant Lulu's, which had beach volleyball on site (and other activities that probably open up in the warmer months). After dinner we took an Uber to and from a nearby grocery store to re-provision. What a long day!
Then we motored along the ICW through Pensacola Bay to Chico Marina in Bayou Chico in anticipation of a stormy cold front coming through. This marina had simple bathrooms and laundry ($2.90 a load!). But we were kind of isolated from any shops or restaurants besides some boat work facilities. The girls and I walked around the residential neighborhoods surrounding the marina, most had "private road/no trespassing" signs. And though we could see the beautiful Pensacola Bay through the trees and between the houses, we did not find any shore access. One of our days in Pensacola, the girls and I took a short Uber ride to the downtown area. We visited the Pensacola History Museum (nice variety of exhibits and manageable size!) and the Children's Museum, and had a nice pizza lunch at Graffitti Pizza.
After that we were at anchor until Port Saint Joe where we tied up at the Point South Marina. The facilities here are brand new (they rebuilt after Hurricane Michael), the laundry is free, and there is essentially a gift shop on site with nicely curated clothes and outdoor/fishing gear (and cold drinks). And the marina is basically on the edge of the small fishing/beach town. The Piggly Wiggly grocery store is probably a five minute walk and next door to Bluewater Outriggers, which has all kinds of fishing supplies, boat supplies, vacation gear, and more. Its only another two blocks to Reid Ave, Port Saint Joe's main street with restaurants, ice cream shops, and other cute stores. And the Ace Hardware is a block past that. It turned out to be a good place for us to rest and regroup and deal with some repairs. We also had a couple of high wind cold fronts blow through and were glad to be in a safe harbor.