May 2005

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Friday May 6, 2005
We are in Houma for 3 more days so we plan to get everything we need while we are here. Larry's friend has lent us a truck which has made things extremely easy to get our errands run. Unfortunately, our transportation has made us popular to the other 2 boats at the dock who both have engine problems. So, to make a long story short, West Marine saw a lot of all of us in 3 days. But Larry did not mind. We were happy to help knowing another boater would do the same for us if we needed it.

Saturday May 7, 2005
Larry tinkered around with the boat in the AM but in the PM we went to a crawfish boil. All of Larry's old oilfield friends had a great party and had us over. It was a great time with great food and we needed a day to just to eat and drink all we wanted.

Sunday May 8, 2005
We got groceries today and returned our loaner car. It was a day of rest and charting out the next few days. Looking forward to getting out of the ICW.

Monday May 9, 2005
Got into the Barataria Warterway today and stayed at Lafitte Harbor Marina. While going through Stump Alley, we saw a bald alley swoop down and catch a fish. It was really cool looking. We are trying to look for eagle's nests. We traveled 51 miles today.

Tuesday May 10, 2005
Headed for Grand Isle and stayed at Pirate's Cove . Very nice marina. We met a couple who had been sailing for 10 years. They had gone around the world and had some really cool stories. It was fascinating to listen to, but that is not my cup of tea. But is sure was neat to hear the tales they had to tell.

Wednesday May 11, 2005
Finally went out into the Gulf today. It was pretty choppy but we were only out for about 4 hours. We are headed for Venice, La. to see George, one of the supervisor's that used to work for Larry. He and Larry got to be really good friends and Larry wanted him to come over and go to dinner. He and Jamie, his secretary, came over and we went to dinner. They were really nice people. I know Larry won't miss Hilcorp stress but he certainly will miss the fine folks he worked with.

Thursday May 12, 2005
We stayed in Venice one day just to relax. We have a long day tomorrow and we are resting up.

Friday May 13, 2005
Headed To Ship Island today. We went out into the Breton Sound and sailed for about 55 of the 64 miles it took us to get there. Larry was so excited!!! ( Evidently that doesn't happen often) Ship Island is so pretty . White beach with sugar sand. The girls love running on the beach. We are trying to walk them as much as possible cause Sydney is getting a little chunky(as she tends to get). The park ranger saw us running with the dogs down the beach and said where we were was fine but if we planned to walk around the marsh area, he recommended we put the dogs on a leash cause there was an alligator that lived there who had not eaten for a while.

The dogs peed on the boat today!! No more worrying about whether they will go on a crossing. Like Larry says, " No dog has ever burst from not peeing. If they have to go bad enough,they will." And they did.

Saturday May 14, 2005
We stayed here at Ship Island for a day and it is so nice.There are tons of people coming and going all day fishing,on tour boats and just anchoring to swim. I can see why it is popular cause it is clean, pretty, and big enough that everyone is not on topof each other.

Sunday May 15, 2005
Last night was eventful!! At about 2AM Larry heard something and he got up to check the anchor. The wind had shifted and we were being blown toward the beach instead away from the beach. We had to pull the anchor and move the boat . The next morning,we heard on the radio that the boat next to us lost their dinghy. We had our first thunderstorm of the trip and it lasted about 15 minutes. We have been very lucky weather wise. We headed for the Beau Rivage Marina in Biloxi,Miss. We plan to stay a few days.The marina is beautiful and the service is excellent. We showered and got dressed like human beings for a change. The first time since we have left home,really.

Monday May 16, 2005
We rented a car to run some errands. We are trying not to eat every meal at the Beau Rivage cause it is ridiculously expensive. I got my first REAL massage and it was magnificent. We were going to leave tomorrow but decided to stay one more day and just lay around.

Tuesday May 17, 2005
Larry installed the new satalite dish we bought. Then we sat out by the pool. We walked to a seafood resaurant a few blocks from the marina.

Wednesday May 18, 2005
We were headed to Horn Island because several people told us it was the place to go, out of Horn, Petit Bois and Dauphin Island. So we headed there even though it was a short day. When we got there we could see a bunch of signs on the beach, but were too far to read them. So we went ahead and anchored and figured we would read them when we dinghyed the dogs in to pee. But when we anchored and swung around, we got close enough to see that they said, "AREA CLOSED KEEP OUT." So up with the anchor. We thought since Horn is 12 miles long, maybe there was another "area" that was not closed. We crept down the shoreline until we saw no more signs and dropped anchor again. Larry ate a sandwhich, we put the dinghy in the water, and as we were getting ready to put the motor on the dinghy, a park ranger drives up. Guess what? No dogs allowed on Horn Island as of May of 2004. The next island has no dogs either. We have to go to the next one which is about 20 miles away. So what we thought was a short day turned out not to be. So we anchored at Dauphin Island. But do you want to hear the funny part of all of this? While we were in the midst of all this island confusion... the dogs just peed on the boat. It was almost comical. You had to laugh. It was almost like they were saying, "Hey,we'll just go here if it'll make things easier." But Dauphin turned out to be a beautiful anchorage and we enjoyed it a lot.

Thursday May 19, 2005
We stayed at Robert's Bayou and ate at Pirate's Cove Resaurant cause they are known for their "greaseburgers". They were great! We have decided to stay an extra day. Larry and I read an article in the new Lat & Atts about a dog that got thrown from the dinghy and got caught in the prop. It impacted us because we never tie down S & F even though I usually hold on to them. We decided that we are devising a harness with a short line to hold them in the boat so that if they fall overboard, it is impossible for them to reach the prop. He is working on that today.

Friday May 20, 2005
We left Biloxi on May 18th and headed for Dauphin Island. It was a beautiful anchorage with white beaches and lots of wide open space for the dogs to run. We stayed there 1 night, then headed for Robert's Bayou. After eating at Pirate's Cove Restaurant and having one of their famous "greaseburgers," we left Robert's after 2 nights. We anchored near Pensacola before going back out into the Gulf to Destin, Fl. Wow, what a party town that was. We could hardly make it through the cut due to all the traffic. It was on a Sunday and the booze and bikinis were plentiful!!! We anchored there for 2 nights and then on May 24, we headed for Panama City where we are now. Panama City Marina is great. We are expecting some friends from Kemah to visit and stay with us for a few days this weekend and we are really looking forward to that. Next week we will be making a day and a half crossing to Clearwater.

Saturday May 28, 2005
Eric and Kirsten, our friends from Kemah, came down to see us for a few days. They drove from Houston and arrived late in the day because of Memorial Day traffic. We had drinks in the cockpit and went to dinner.

Sunday May 29, 2005
We motored to Shell Island to anchor out for a few days. There were a lot of boats and a lot of people on the beach. The island was long but very narrow so walking across to the Gulf side was easy. The sand was white and pretty. The dogs liked it until it got too hot. We just laid around and read and enjoyed the sun. Eric is a great cook so having him around is a real treat.

Monday May 30, 2005
Last night a storm blew in and Larry didn't sleep well, as usual. We woke up to still more rain. We had to wait until about 9AM to take the dogs in to pee cause we could not board the dinghy due to the waves. The rain stopped but the weather kept a lot of people away. Eric and Kirsten swam a little. The water was cool and refreshing. Since it was not very nice weather, we decided to move closer to shore for the next night.

Tuesday May 31, 2005
Got up and started making our way to the marina even though the rain was crowding in. Right as we approached the dock, it came down. Wind and rain are not the most favorable conditions to dock in, but there were 2 guys on the dock who helped us. We made it just fine, changed out of our wet clothes and went for lunch. Since this was our last time with a vehicle, Eric drove us to the store and we stocked up. We also got the makings for Margaritas and Eric made 3 batches when we got back to the boat. It was a fine ending to their visit.

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