Ocian in view! O! the joy

Bonus question first: What famous American wrote the words in the post title in 1805?

Answer: Explorer William Clark entered this in his journal—complete with misspellings—after reaching the Pacific Ocean at the mouth of the Columbia River with Meriwether Lewis and the Corps of Discovery, 18 months after departing St. Louis.

Today we left Dog River, crossed Mobile Bay and reached the Gulf of Mexico, four months to the day after leaving Minnesota. Captain Clark’s words were in my head as we neared the Gulf and achieved another milestone on our Loop adventure. Unlike Lewis & Clark, however, I knew what to expect and had seen my destination before, giving me even more respect for those who have ventured off into the unknown to explore our planet.

It was our first travel day since December 15, a hiatus of 19 days, and we were both glad to cast off the lines, even if it was chilly and a little choppy. We had clear, sunny skies, light north winds and 1-2 foot (mostly) following seas on our 36-mile cruise. The last five miles were in the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) and protected waters, where we were treated to a squadron of brown pelicans dive-bombing for their dinner. We also saw about 10 dolphins, both on Mobile Bay and in the GIWW, but they did not cooperate for pictures.

We’re docked at Homeport Marina in Gulf Shores, AL, and plan to spend two nights here. Tomorrow’s forecast is for higher winds and rain in the afternoon, so we’re staying put. After arriving, we took a sunset walk around the marina and checked off another milestone—palm trees!