On to New Orleans. #54

Tuesday, June 11

We left Pt. Cadet Marina at 6 a.m. but not before our friend David stopped by with doughnuts. He had gotten in too late the night before to rendezvous with us. That's southern hospitality. We were pleased to see him again.

We took off down the ICW and it was a beautiful day. The ICW was hopping with lots of barges, fishermen and pleasure craft. We cruised down the ICW most of the morning.

Arlene cooked us eggs with spinach, cheddar cheese and feta cheese. It was yummy.

We invented a way to have shade for the helmsman. The sun in the mornings can be brutal now.

The afternoon was spent going down a canal that led through the swamps and to the north side of New Orleans. We passed a couple of barges and saw one tugboat with no barge. Other than that it seemed we were the only ones going down the canal that day. Franci enjoyed a turn at the helm.

Just before arriving in New Orleans we passed a massive flood gate structure. It's new and no doubt is part of flood control following the Katrina disaster.

We made it to our marina site at the Seabrook Marina by 5 o'clock. We had to go under a lift bridge with a clearance of 50 feet. They don't start working the lift until 8:30 tomorrow morning so we are hoping the tides are in our favor and can get under in the morning as well. We, of course, plan to leave very early.

A neighboring boat helped us identify and dock into our assigned slip. This ws once again a place with RV sites as well. Later, after showers and a few cocktails, we would meet up with the same folks again. We enjoyed dinner together at a nearby restaurant. They had many good stories to share. They have now sold their home and businesses and live on their boat. They own land in the Grand Bahamas and may someday settle there.