We're going to Lake Allatoona!!!

[JimG]

Change of plans: we're picking up our Donzi at Glade Marina on Lake Allatoona on February 15. We're going to drive to Pensacola on Valentines Day, (recon for a summer trip we're going to take there...), then on to Atlanta on Saturday morning. Sea trial, inspection, suck it up on my trailer then go! :D

Celene, you listening? Any more Atlanta area Donzi folks out there?

JimG & Janet Marie

[olemissalum]

Hope the lake has some water in it by then. congratulations!!!! you have got to go by the Florabama on your summer trip, one of those places that is a hole in the wall but a must see.

[JimG]

So the water's down in the lake?

And what's a Florabama? (Sorry, I don't get out of Texas much...takes too long!)

JimG

[olemissalum]

the Florabama is a bar on the FL/AL line. The state line crosses down the middle of the bar. You can get there by boat. jimmy Buffett mentions it in one of his songs.
Last I heard the lake level was very low. by the time you get here should have more in it though. what kind of Donzi did you get???

[harbormaster]

Wooo Hoooo! Hurry up and get that thing back here.

[JimG]

We bought a 1970 18 2+3. It's coming out of West Virginia. We're meeting the seller at Allatoona.

The Florabama sounds cool. Never met a bar I didn't like!

Harbormaster, it's ALMOST here!

JimG yippie

[RH]

Congrats Jim! That looks like a nice original Donzi. I just love the color combo! Good luck with your trip and be sure to post some pictures! Welcome aboard!
RH

[Tomahawk]

Gee Jim, Lake Lanier is darn near full right now - just FYI. Congratulation on the Donzi. I will be at the Miami Boat Show when you are here, as will Big Grizzly, and Bad Tat will be out of town as well. Drive with care and good luck. :)

[ToonaFish]

Yeehaw! This just makes my day!

I get to meet Jim G and Marie, try to bum a ride, AND watch them christen the boat! I'm booked the 14th, a big Cupid Is Stupid party that I can't miss, so your timing is just perfect as long as you aren't meeting at some ungodly hour of the morning!

Will verify lake levels for you later this week, but I'm hearing that they are fairly decent... certainly a vast improvement on years past. May have to worry about debris, but I'll check on that too. I am so excited... even got new long johns that'll be perfect at 55 mph and 55 degrees. If Water's Edge is open, it'd be a lovely run for a sea trial and it's the only decent food on Toona.

Oh, and as long as you are cruising Pensacola, don't overlook Destin/Sandestin as vacation spots... I can't rave enough about that area and the beauty of their beachfront. It's about a six hour drive from there to Glade Marina... if, that is, you manage to escape from the Floribama!

Bunches,

Celene 'fresh blood'

[krakmeup]

OK - I want to watch Jim & Janet christen the new boat too, but are we talking about sea trial or vinyl pressing???? eek! yippie Damn, I wish we could be there too!! Have fun and be safe - definetly head a lttle farther east to the Destin area if you can - it's worth the time, and I hear Florabama is NOT to be missed!

Keith

[JimG]

Well alrighty then! :D

Celene, we're looking forward to meeting you! It looks like noon or so at Glade. I'll email you the details.

We're so excited!!!

JimG & Janet Marie yippie

[rae]

Congrats!!! :)
I'm going to have to agree with Toonafish and Krakmeup...Destin is prettier! :cool:

See ya Saturday! :D

Rae

[JimG]

Geez, we'll go to frickin' Destin, already! :D Krakmeup's been beating me up about Pensacola since I mentioned stopping there. Must be a real dump! :D :D

JimG

[JimG]

He he! Just kidding! I have fond memories of a childhood trip we took to Pensacola. :D

We're just stopping over for a night, but are planning a summer trip to Florida. So, if the schedule allows it we'll head over to Destin and check it out.. It's only a hour away.

Poodle, don't worry. The trailer will be empty on that leg of the trip, and I'll avoid the P-Town on the way home!

JimG

[JimG]

Toonafish, you'd better bring some pics of your Salukis. Marie's a dog NUT! :D

JimG

[ToonaFish]

Um, you may regret asking...

http://www.donzi.net/photos/MonogramandMonopoly.jpg

Bunches,

Celene "Scot's bandwidth is in danger"

[Team Jefe]

Hey Jim since y'all will be in P-cola, you should really head over to Destin. It is absolutely amazing (especially for a guy used to seeing Galveston beaches).

That is where the REVENEGE came from. I'm sure it misses the crystal blue water so close to the beach.

have fun and stay outts trouble wink ;
JEFE

[riverrat]

Look! Toona's Dogs are wearing red! eek! eek!
the rat says dogs beat people anyday! :D

[ToonaFish]

Good catch, Creek Critter... Salukis are noted for nothing, if not their fashion sense...

http://www.donzi.net/photos/mikey.jpg

hey look what I found...Flora Bama (http://www.florabama.com/front2.htm)

Bunches,

Celene 'spinning some Buffet'

[RPD]

Poodle... just because certain Pensacola members of this board have been known to take their Donzis 18s apart, doesn't mean that they never run again... there are lots of Donzis in P'cola and most of them are running....

Also, Destin used to be very pretty before the developers moved in... 35-50 years ago it was a little fishing village on absolutely beautiful water and beaches.... I lived in Fort Walton in the mid-50s and worked at Destin in the late 60s (I helped build those jetties you see going out into the Gulf) .... now it's a tourist trap, the water isn't as clear as it was, the beach is much less accessible, it's full of people who have never lived on the coast or experienced a hurricane and think jet skis are the ultimate watercraft....

Unfortunately, P'cola is now going the same way, but there is still some charm to the city if you get away from the crowds... lots of places to go by boat (power or sail), free boat ramps everywhere, parks every couple blocks with tennis courts, basketball courts, baseball diamonds, playgrounds, monuments etc... ride a bicycle across town or to the beach without risking your life, run without harassment from dogs or drivers... the 2 boat boathouse is the norm, and the 4 boat boathouse common... Bayou Texar in P'cola has produced a number of top skiers and wakeboarders, and a world barefoot endurance record, and has hosted national lever tournaments....

So you can go to Destin with the throngs of tourists and fight for a spot to launch your boat or pull it up on the beach, but leave me to my uncrowded dump anyday.

[BigGrizzly]

Sorry I'll be at the Miami show. Good luck on youe boat sorry to have missed you

[tailwind]

Great news for our Southern folks ! Makes it alot easier for us TX, LA, MS and AL folks ! Please repost dates and acomadations when able!

[Marie]

BigGrizzly, sorry to have missed you! Maybe when we head that way this summer, we'll talk some of you nice folks into meeting us somewhere.

Marie & JimG

[JimG]

RPD, thanks for the insite on Pensacola! (I was just kidding about the dump statement. I was giving the Krakmeups a hard time!)

I spent a few days there when I was a kid, and loved it. Some friends of ours went last year, and sent pics. The blue water and white sand was just gorgeous! We're planning a trip there in May or June of this year.

Since we are spending Valentine's Day in Pensacola, can you suggest a restaurant? We'd like to make reservations if possible. Looking for a romantic, quiet spot. I understand there is a Copelands there? Saw the listing on Pensacola.com.

Thanks! JimG

[ToonaFish]

Jim, I could recommend several spectacularly romantic restaurants... but each is located in Destin...

:rolleyes:

[JimG]

Well of course they are, Toona! :D


The owner called, my boat's in Georgia! Half way home, baby!!! :)

Bad news is: the tonneau cover didn't fare too well. (It's original, and was patched to a fair-the-well!) It, uh, didn't survive the trip! So, I guess I'll be ordering one of those!

JimG "about to pee himself!" yippie

[riverrat]

Well Jim, if that cover is the only problem.. then that's no big deal.. getting any sleep?? eek!

the ill Rat...

[RPD]

JimG....
Copelands is a chain... the original in NOLA was fine but all the others are just franchises....

In P'cola: in town there is Jamie's and Jackson's, both 5-stars and in the old part of town (P'cola is 443 yrs old) but easily accessible only by land.... Jubilee upstairs (there is a bar and grill downstairs) is 5-stars, on the beach and easily accessible by Donzi (you can see your boat from the window while dining).... Lilo's on south Palafox is supposed to be good and mooring is convenient (I've never been real comfortable with my fenders there so I haven't tried the food)
Stepping down to everyday great dining in P'cola, the local's favorite is the Marina Oyster Barn on Bayou Texar (owned by a former student of mine), great food, cheap, small, accessible by boat, but a long wait on weekends... Darma Blue across from Seville Square is a favorite, but not easily accessible by boat.... Manatee's on south Palafox street has good food, a great deck, and Donzi accessiblity, as does The Fish House at what used to be called Pitt's Slip (I don't know the name of the marina now).... also on south Palafox is The Screaming Coyote with a salsa bar that will test you stomach armor.... Madison's on 12th avenue is also a local favorite with great food and a nice atmosphere, but only accessible by land.... Hot Rock Sushi has more than just sushi, is a hole in the wall, and not accessible by boat, but used to be a favorite of mine..... of course, there is Seville Quarter with Rosie O'Grady's and others, good but accessible only by land, real popular with the Navy flight students... and Mcguire's Irish Pub is a popular local microbrewery....

On the beach: Flounder's is both 4-stars and great for kids and accessible by Donzi... Peg Leg Pete's is popular (my wife loves the carribean salad), accessible by boat, a bar at night and good for kids in the daytime....

In the dive category there is Trader Jon's, a landmark for the flight students for 50 years....

That's a quick list off the top of my head of some close in places, most of which I try pretty regularly..... there are others if your into a longer boat ride...

By the way, the FloraBama is kind of far out from P'cola proper, and really not accessible by boat (you don't want to beach a Donzi on the Gulf side of the island) but it is listed as one of the "best dives" in the US.... the annual mullet toss draws thousands of bikinis.... it's worth seeing once....

[David O]

RPD
What the Hell are you doing?
The last thing we need in Pensacola is tourist and their dollars trying to help make us a better place. If a place is full of history, the naval aviation museum, home of the BLUE ANGELS, Trader Jons, natural accessible beauty, quaint local restaurants and is considered a dump because it doesn’t have all the pastel cottages (all with exact same charm), concrete condoms (condos) everywhere you look, concrete paving everywhere you walk, people shoulder to shoulder. Then I proudly say “I LIVE IN A DUMP”
So please Bob, do not, I repeat DO NOT encourage anyone to visit us, let them take their money to the artificial towns where the greed runs rampant and the tourist gets taken. Let them go to where a material world is the priority, where money has transformed one of the most beautiful fishing villages of the world into the perfect material world.
Bob you are local as am I and us locals have always kept quite about this town. It is the transplants that usually are the ones spreading the word trying to get everyone else in the world to move here take advantage of the place and make us a better. Well, US is fine.

JIM and MARIE you are Donzi family, you are more than welcome to visit and with open arms but you must promise not to tell ToonaFish, rae and the Krakmeups or anyone else about the area. It is clearly obvious you succumbed to peer pressure and agreed to go to Destin but trust the local hometown people and your gut and stick with your original plans. You clearly have a place in your heart for Pensacola from having visited here as a kid, so trust your heart. Feb can be wonderful at the beach; many of us locals prefer the beach in the winter. May and June will be perfect for water activities and we promise you a good time.
If you want to see a tourist dump then by all means go by the Florabama it will be an experience. I have been there once in my life and I haven’t missed a thing.

Bring your boat at your own risk and if any of us (David, Gene S, Stuart) are around with tools in our hands, DO NOT let us near your boat. Stuart has an 18 2+3 and may see some things on your boat he likes.
Oh, Marie I have some Donzi tattoos that need their photos taken.

OK Stuart your turn.

[Marie]

Thanks for all the input, guys! We're calling for reservations today. Pensacola sounds like our kind of place. :)

We won't have the Donzi with us on this stop. Just the trailer. So, Madpoodle, I guess we're safe on this trip. But, come May, we're dragging the boat to P-town! We look forward to meeting you Pensacola folks!

Lake Allatoona, the Texans are coming! :D

JimG & Janet Marie

[David O]

Poodle
3 out of 4 running
you knows who has finally finished all the rebuilding, engine, outdrive, transom, etc. just waiting for the right weather to paint the transom and bolt it all back together.

[JimG]

RPD, thanks for the heads up on Jubilee Upstairs. My baby and I have reservations for dinner there on Valentines Night! Thanks for your help!

JimG & Janet Marie :)

[JimG]

Hey Celene! We'll be at Glade Marina at around noon. Stop by, we'd love to meet you! :)

Just look for the blue Dodge with the "...got hay?" sticker! :D

JimG & Janet Marie "too excited to sleep..."