We were trying to get to McRee Cove to anchor on Saturday when we ran aground. After that mishap and because the cove seemed incredibly crowded, we decided not to go there after all. On Monday morning (after, to my surprise, another very good night sleep at anchor), we decided to give it another try when Jason had a break in his work day. I was pretty nervous about running aground again, but we took it slow and made it in just fine.
When we arrived there were only a few boats, so we had the space to look around and find a spot to drop the hook. Its deep(ish) pretty close to the shoreline. I am surprised how close we are to the southern bank! 
Several times this afternoon and evening, a group of two to three dolphins has come into the cove. I think they are hunting. In all our dolphin sightings, I have never seen them splashing out of the water and twisting around. Once this afternoon I saw a dolphin chasing down a fish as it came out of the water, thrashing almost. The fish was in its mouth as it jumped up, the fish flew out, and then the dolphin caught the fish again as it splashed back down into the water. Very exciting! I was compelled to cheer for it.
The girls and I also went to the shore by dinghy to explore. We crossed over to the side running along the Pensacola Bay inlet and walked along to the Gulf. Then back again (with a break for swimming by the girls). We waded across the shallow area to Robertson Island--basically a big sand dune--and climbed up for a look around. Strangely, we found a mailbox up there. It was filled with shells. 
We also checked out an abandoned, beached sailboat. I wish I knew the story. The barnacles on the bottom make it look like it had been in the water a long time. But we also saw a notebook on deck with the pages flipping in the breeze. That could not have survived a rain!
By evening, four other sailboats and a few motor boats had tucked in to anchor as well, while the day motor boats and pontoons had left. The girls choreographed a new performance on the aerial silks. They are so enthusiastic about doing so and come up with an expressive story line (that they will not explain to me) to go along with their tricks. I love watching them.
Monday night was not as calm as the previous too. The wind picked up so there was some creaking and banging as we swung on the anchor chain and bridle. And a few hours in, Jason was awoken to the shallow water alarm going off on our navigation instruments. Eek! He has also set an alarm for a 2:30 a.m. deck check because we were anchored in such a way that we would probably swing too shallow if the winds switched to North. This was not predicted to occur until Tuesday afternoon, but the weather forecast is just a a possibility. We were ok at 2:30, but when Jason got up for work around 6:00, he found we were already swinging a little too close to shore. We decided to reset the anchor a little farther North.
We did some school work and then, at 10:30 a.m., the Blue Angels practice began. We had heard that McRee Cove is a great spot to watch the practice because the Naval Air Station is just north of the cove, across the channel into the Big Lagoon. We had arranged our schedule in hopes of catching them. As it approached 10:30, the Cove started to fill up with other boats. And the show did not disappoint. 
They flew in various formations, all around us and sometimes right overhead. When overhead, it was so loud and exciting the way fireworks can be (if you enjoy them as much as we do!). They did barrel rolls, flew upside down, flew fast, flew slow. Very cool!
Meanwhile it has gotten a little overcast and breezy. We are headed to a marina near downtown Pensacola this afternoon for what I consider a break (from the rolling and worry and stuckness of being at anchor)--although we will miss the beautiful sunsets and nature sounds around us. And we will stock up on groceries, pump out our holding tanks, and refill our water tanks.