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We left Galveston on 12/27/12 regardless of the weather. It was very windy from the cold fronts that had blown through the area. We couldn't sail because the wind was in the wrong direction so we took off down the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) just to get on our way. We had to cross Boliver Roads to get to the ICW and that was pretty rough, but once in the ICW the water was a lot calmer. It was extremely cold and nasty all day. We had four layers of clothing on. We made it to Taylor's Bayou outside of Port Arthur and spent the night anchored in a wildlife management area.
Friday,12/28/12, we woke up to warmer weather. Thank goodness. We pulled the anchor up and the chain and the anchor was covered in the lovely Texas clay and mud. Tried to get it all washed off but was virtually impossible. So the anchor locker and the deck were full off black sludge. Mark cleaned the deck later when I was at the helm. I made an error reading our guide book thinking we were supposed to go all the way up to Lake Charles. We weren't, but it was only a few mile mistake, so we stayed at the casino L'Auberge du Lac due to my error. We ate dinner at the casino in order to get a free night's stay. Glad we stayed tied to the dock because it was another blustery night.
Saturday, 12/29/12. We woke up and decided to get coffee and danishes/croissants for breakfast before taking off from the casino in the cold, cold weather. We headed east and went through our first locks on the ICW. A lot different than I expected. We just passed right on through. Got to the far end of the lock and the lock master had to swing a gate out of the way and that was it. These locks are basically to keep the salt water from coming in to the river so the farmers can use the river water for irrigation. We had planned on anchoring this night and actually tried, but the ICW was too narrow and dangerous with the tugs and barges coming through, so we continued on in the dark until we got to Intracoastal City. Had planned on staying at Shell Morgan Landing as they had transient slips but they were too shallow so we had to stay side tied to a barge dock on the outside of their landing which was fine. It was a very long cold day. We heard from Trish and John on Mariah. They were now traveling the ICW and were 2 days in front of us. The weather chased them from the Gulf to the ICW. We told them we would meet them in New Orleans.
Sunday, 12/30/12. We were off before sunrise on this morning in the freezing cold. Think it was 32 degrees. The sun rose for the first time. It was an absolutely beautiful sunrise, however, I didn't get a picture. Will get sunrise pictures when it isn't so cold. Was nice that there was not a lot of commercial boat traffic because it was Sunday. Intracoastal City is a big off-shore drilling drop off and pick up point. We passed into the Atchafalaya River and at some point on the river saw our first eagle. It was sitting in a tree and then took off. It had a fish in his claws. Was an impressive sight. We arrived in Morgan City, LA at about 3:00 pm. Was nice to arrive in the light and early enough to not have dinner and go to bed. We scoped out the waterfront area and found a hardware/boat supply store and mailed a letter at the post office. Great that they were within walking distance. It is the historical section of town. Not really much there.
Monday, 12/31/12. This morning we decided to stay here another day because we were tired and the boat needed a few minor repairs. We had to walk to get fuel because the fuel dock is under a bridge we cannot get under. We got a ride back from one of the fuel company workers that had to go to another location. That was nice as it would have been a long walk back with full fuel containers. As I was filling the water tanks we met Ken and Simone. An Australian couple scoping out the dock we are at. They are on a 45 foot Pearson named Bear Sniff, heading east about half a day behind us. They were excited to meet another boat going cruising. They may catch up with us in New Orleans. In the mean time they are going to dock here when we leave so he can make repairs to their boat. Tomorrow we head for Houma. It evidently is a stop not to be missed. Hope the water is deep enough for us to get into.
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