HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Wednesday, November 23

Well, we did finally find a place to anchor last Sunday.  However, it was in a little nook right at the edge of the ICW and we lit our spreader lights as well as our anchor light to ensure that all passing tows/barges knew we were there.  That being said, we then slept like rocks.  I don't know whether it's the constant isometrics involved in just balancing yourself in the cockpit all day or what, but Al and I (always night owls) have become early-to-bedders who sleep the sleep of the dead.  Morning finds us weighing anchor at 6:30 and heading out for the day's (average) 65 miles.

Interestingly, who knew that you would actually see the colors of fall foliage while sailing through Lousiana swampland in November?  It's not quite the same as Bucks County, PA, in October but, nonetheless, it's still very pretty.  (We have yet to see an alligator.)

We spent Monday & Tuesday nights at a place called Shell Morgan Landing (lousy weather, forecast for Tuesday, in fact did hit, so we hunkered down).  With this exception,  since leaving Galveston the weather has been absolutely glorious, with highs in the low- to mid-80s and lows in the low 60s.  All good things, however, must come to an end...and our end is in sight.  Tomorrow (Thanksgiving) and Friday are set to be gorgeous days.  However, Saturday we're slated for scattered thunderstorms, followed by a low of 37 degrees (brrrr!) and a high of 57 (brrrr again) on Sunday.  Unfortunately, the following 10 days will be more of the same:  lows in the low 40s (as in 40-41) and highs in the mid-50s.  Florida can't come soon enough.  (After repeated delays, our friends Daren & Nancy on s/v Flying Dogs have decided to head directly south from Rockport to Mexico en route to their final destination of Costa Rica rather than join us on the ICW to the Florida Keys.  One of their determining factors was that they don't have a generator and one of Nancy's goals is to never be cold again.  Nancy, be glad you didn't come with us!)

Back to Louisiana.  We are currently anchored about ten miles southeast of Morgan City.  We had planned on staying at the public docks at Morgan City; however, the strong creosote smell at the docks made Sue so sick that we couldn't stay.  It's just as well.  We've found that we actually enjoy spending the night "on the hook" more than we do at a dock.  (Which is just as well, since that's what we'll be doing the majority of the time once we get to the Bahamas, Virgin Islands, etc.)  One interesting side note:  upon leaving the public docks at Morgan City, we took a wrong turn and headed away from the ICW.  By the time we realized our mistake, we had successfully, albeit very, very slowly, taken Wind Dancer (who has a 53' mast) under a 49' bridge.  Now that's excitement!  (And magic!  Lord only knows how we did it.)

Friday could find us in New Orleans, where we're tempted to hang out, drinking Bloody Marys and eating gumbo while waiting for Saturday's weather to pass.  However, we think we can make it past New Orleans a little ways, so that's probably what we're going to do.  Come time for bad weather, we'll anchor out, Sue will bake some bread and perhaps some shortbread cookies, we'll watch a jillion episodes of Boston Legal on DVD, maybe get some reading in, and life will be good.  It has been so far.  Fair winds, friends.  More later.