Month: November 2016

11/25-11/27/2016. Ft. Walton Beach – Carrabelle, FL

Thanksgiving in Ft. Walton Beach…… Not where we thought we’d be for Thanksgiving, but we had a great time and enjoyed a wonderful buffet dinner with 10 other boaters.  Now it was time to get back to cruising.  Boat neighbors from Seabrook Marina, Steve and Deidra Greenwell aboard their Marine Trader, Osprey were waiting for us to catch up with them.  They left Seabrook 10 days before us and had been doing a lot of anchoring as they headed east.  Now as the Big Bend crossing neared, we were hoping to meet up and make the jump together.   Continue reading 11/25-11/27/2016. Ft. Walton Beach – Carrabelle, FL

11/19-11/25. OrangeBeach, AL to Ft. Walton Beach, Fl

Maggie peeks out the bedroom window waiting for our return.

We stayed at The Wharf, Orange Beach for three nights while a front blew through.  We were glad to be tied up as the winds picked up to about 25 mph and the temperature dropped about 20 degrees.   Tim made a pot of his famous Timmy White Beans and did some research on our Raymarine.  Monday a couple young guys from 30 degrees North came over to try to help solve the problem. Continue reading 11/19-11/25. OrangeBeach, AL to Ft. Walton Beach, Fl

11/14-11/19/2016 Houma, LA to Orange Beach, AL

As I write this, we are cruising through Mobile Bay in amazingly calm waters. This is a good thing because the forcast is for wind in the 20s tomorrow night. Watching and talking weather has become an intrigal part of our morning and evening discussions. As Dauphin Island lines our starboard side and invites us to come anchor and enjoy its pristine white sand beaches, Mother Nature says she is going to whammy us on Saturday. So choices have to be made. Continue reading 11/14-11/19/2016 Houma, LA to Orange Beach, AL

11/10-11/13/2016. Lake Charles, LA to Houma, LA

It was great having a day off from cruising to sleep in as late as we wanted and start working on getting into “chill” mode.  And we did have a lazy day.  Did a lot of nothing and enjoyed it immensely.  Gayle and David Koons joined us for dinner on the boat and I didn’t even have to cook.  Remember that lasagne that our super cook neighbor, Lisa, made?  I zapped it again, put some in the freezer and still have some left for lunch.  It is sooooo good.

It gets a bit congested out here.

Our next stop was Intercoastal City at Shell Morgan.  For those who don’t know, there is very little at Shell Morgan except a place to tie up and the cheapest fuel around.  Tom and Sue Ann from TagTeam, a sport fisherman out of Port Aransas, were already tied up and lent us a hand with our lines.  The next morning we were on the fuel dock taking on 470 gallons of diesel.  Ka ching, Ka ching.

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Fueling up at Shell Morgan.
Maggie supervises the fueling.

Berwick City Docks was only about 5 hours down the ICW from Shell Morgan and just up the Atchafalya River.  Now we were getting into the old, small town Louisiana.  The city docks are free which is reasonable since there’s not much there.  No electricity or water, but a nice park atmosphere with pavilions and swings.  Tim and I took a short walk to Bayou Lagnappe for dinner. Their specialty is boiled blue crabs, but we were to tired to have to work for our meal and opted instead for the shrimp and fish basket. 

Sunset at the Berwick City Dock.
 
Next stop- Houma.  We’ve been to Houma before and really liked the area.  Boats tie up at the City Dock for $25 per night.  Its a deal and includes electricity and water.  Tonight dinner was at the Pit Stop, a true dive.  Chicken and sausage gumbo with mustard potato salad.  Its a Houma classic.

Mmmmm, gumbo with mustard potato salad. A classic.
Maggie makes friends with a sailor girl also named Maggie
Houma- we’re starting to get the distinguishing ICW mustache.
 

We had thought about staying another night, but we see a potential weather window opening for our crossing to Mississippi.  We decided that we will cross from Venice, LA to Gulfport, MS.  The forecast is for light winds and 1-2’waves on Wednesday.  To be in Venice for  that window, we will need to leave tomorrow for the Industrial Locks.  The lock is closed, but we’ll tie up there and then head down the Mississippi River to Venice.  That will leave us in place for the crossing.

11/7- 11/9/2016 Seabrook, Tx to Lake Charles, LA

It’s been a long time coming, but we are actually doing it. We’re cruisers. We have no schedules, no gotta dos, no bosses other than the boat. Our last scheduled appointment was our departure from Seabrook Marina at 11am. Continue reading 11/7- 11/9/2016 Seabrook, Tx to Lake Charles, LA