Wow!!! We are finally to Morgan City. This has always been the destination where I thought I would feel like we were really on our way. I was right. We are tied up at the Municipal dock---not much to speak of as marina facilities go---but close to town (a 2 minute walk away) and 1 minute from Cafe Jojo's where we had dinner tonight. Their meal was very good--a bit overpriced ---but if you are ever here, order the seafood bread appetizer---unbelievably good. We got there about 5:45 and there was no one there--a bit suspicious--but by the time we left the place was full . I definitely recommend it.

I apologize to all my dedicated followers (all three of them) for not having posted to this blog for the last several days but it has been really, really busy--and the times I have had to write I haven't had internet access (I'm still trying to figure out how to write a post and keep it and then paste it into the site when I have internet. Trust me--it ain't easy --for me)
I last wrote after we were ensconced in the Bowtie Marina, south of Lake Charles and next door to one of their sinful houses of gambling. We had a wonderfully warm night's sleep that night and awoke to frost covered decks the next morning and temps in the 30's. After threading our way out through low tide water down the winding bayou from the marina we returned to the Calcasieu River and ran downstream 9 miles to rejoin the ICW. Shortly after turning back to the east on the waterway we came upon our first lock--the Calcasieu Locks. After a brief wait for a tow ahead of us ( a "tow" is a tug boat type vessel pushing any number of combinations of barges---1, 2, 0r 3 long --single or double wide---HUGE---)to exit the lock we entered. We never stopped--by the time we transited the length of the lock, the west gate had been opened and the water came rushing at us. We just kept going and exited the east side--only to be met by a pontoon bridge that was closed across the waterway. It soon opened and we passed through and continued on our way to our next stopping place for the night--an anchorage on the Mermenteau River , about 2 miles up the river above the ICW----=a beautiful anchorage in an oxbow off to the east of the main channel of the river. The only problem---I ran us aground in 4 feet of water--in soft mud--trying to get to the anchorage---Oh well--Dave got us out quite skillfully (one of many learning moments on this trip--Dave is truly a knowledgeable and skillfull (and clever) (AND REPUBLICAN) captain. I felt like I wanted to stay at this anchorage a couple of nights, it was so beautiful.

The next morning we rose early and returned to the ICW where we were met with a thick mist (fog) up to about 20 feet but in combination with the rising sun in our eyes we were blind and had to motor on relying on our chart plotter and radar. Fortunately the fog dissipated with the rising sun before we encounterd any traffic. Eventually we were met by a beautiful, sunny day that allowed us to relax and enjoy our trip to the Shell Morgan Landing in Intracoastal City --arriving there quite early--around 1:45 in the afternoon. After checking in we walked over to the Maxie Pearce Grocery, about three blocks away-- a fully stocked grocery, with some really nice steaks (which we had that night) booze--(I was out of Vodka) and a great deli from which we ordered "crabburgers and fries". This was Dave's disembarkation point as he had to return to Kemah for work. Gene Wallin arrived around 7:15 that night--just in time to share in the steak dinner.

Next morning we arose early again---0530---- and said goodbye to Dave. and Gene and I set off for Morgan City, Louisiana--about 60 miles away. Another beautiful and WARM day.

We had heard about a couple in a catamaran that had preceeded us by about two weeks who had been boarded by the Coast Guard and had to suffer the lengthy and humiliating inspection process at a place called Bayou Petite Anse. Well, we made it through there without seeing the Coasties and were patting ourselves on the back for having evaded them but about 2 hours later we looked in our rear view mirror and saw a Coast Guard Cutter--not one of their runabouts--a damn CUTTER--approaching from our rear. OK--so we weren't carrying contraband, drugs or illegal (excuse me--"undocumented" )aliens--but still--you get nervous---------They passed by without even a friendly wave.---I felt cheated--I wanted something to complain about---Big Brother--intrusive government, etc--They ignored us.

Arrived Morgan City around 1530. What an amazing place. It is an unbelievable (and literal) crossroads of the Gulf Coast commerce. An amazing amount of water traffic of all kinds---barges, crew boats, work boats, equipment boats---and then there was me--- a little 36 foot sailboat in the middle of the most important commerce in the US. It is so busy here they even have a system like air traffic control. Beginning at mile marker "one oh two" I had to check in on VHF channel 11 with "Berwick VTS" and advise them who I was, where I was and where I was going. Then they asked me to report back at each of several checkpoints coming into Morgan City. Tomorrow as we head out to Houma we will check back in with them and they will monitor us until we are well away from the morgan City area--amazing.

So, here we are parked against a creosote bulkhead next to a vehicular bridge and a railroad bridge--very noisy---in downtown Morgan City. Shortly after we arrived and while we were enjoying another of Peppi"s(sp) Bloody Mary's a trawler--" Aquaholic" --pulled in behind us. They're from our marina in Kemah but they're headed the opposite way--they're coming back from the Keys (tried to make us envious until I told them I was on my way to the Bahamas for 6 months) ---Zing!!!

So here I am, sitting in the cockpit typing this update--in Morgan City, LA--Whodathunk????

The pics below are of Shell Morgan--a fueling stop and the marina where we stopped last night--not Morgan City. I'll try to remember to get some shots of MC tomorrow to see if I can impart a taste of this incredible place.