Last NIght in Cajun Country

One really huge fire boat for offshore work

A strange thing happens the night before a long passage to a place like New Orleans with all the locks, traffic and bridges.  I am not sure if any other destination challenges one's tolerance of mental abuse and nautical "avoidance" skill as crossing the Mississippi River in New Orleans whilst trying to avoid the biggies and the closed "restricted" bridges.  Said bridges require one to plan ahead and be there before the land based traffic requirements.  During the rush hours, the bridges do not open, at least some of them.  The magic number for Why Knot is 52 feet.  Any bridge lower than that and we must wait for it to open.  If it does not open and is lower than that, we don't pass.  OK, so the plan tomorrow, given the 75 miles to the marina, is to leave at not later than 0600.  Bear has to muster energy from deep within her farm girl days and be topside, fully foulied, and ready to stand duty by then.  That is not an easy thing for her  but to date, she is ready and without complaint by the agreed time however early it may be.  The payoff is that once done, and we achieve the target port for the day, she can power down and her time is hers.  Tomorrow is to be the toughest day, most cruisers will admit and for which they often go offshore to avoid the New Orleans area, that we will have short of some really active port like New York.  Thus, it will early to bed and early to rise.  Those darn shore power cables will be warmed before I  roll them.  Not only that, but to maximize boat speed, we have brought aboard and stowed the dink.  This last night in Houma will not find us at the local Mardi Gras festival  but in the rack by 1830 tonight.  It was a wonderful, sunny day and we must have walked 4 miles in serch of stuff.  That is a good thing.  Last night we met a young sailor who is taking his boat first through the canal, Panama that is, then to Portland, Or.  He plans to do the mud ball, that is around the world, and you know, he might just do that.  We met a couple from Odessa, Texas who comes to Mardi Gras every year in Houma.  They keep the boat in Galveston.  Good to see folks from God's country, or that is what they call West Texas if one lives there.  So, by the time most reading this list get up on Sunday, Valentine's Day, Why Knot will have been underway 3 hours.