[Rhodes22-list] Easter cruise

[benonvelvetelvis at theskinnyonbenny.com]

   One of my most enjoyable Easters was probably 4 or 5 years ago.  It
   was a two-day voyage over Saturday and Sunday.  In order to find a
   passable span under a long bridge, it took a 25-mile sail to go from
   one town to another that was 5 miles away by car.  We motorsailed a
   short way up a river, and tied up to a free public dock (including
   shore power) in the middle of a little town.  We walked to a nearby
   bar for drinks and fried oysters, then returned to the cockpit to
   smoke a cigar and polish off a couple bottles of wine.  On Easter
   Sunday, the town looked like a deserted ghost town.  I walked to a
   convenience store for donuts and a newspaper while the admiral
   percolated coffee in the galley.  We started the return voyage and had
   the whole lake to ourselves for almost the entire day.

   It's been far too long since we had an overnight voyage, so we're
   heading out again this weekend.  We'll leave Friday evening, and let
   the wind and tide forecasts influence our destination.  For friday, it
   will probably be a nearby anchorage all alone in a gunkhole or bayou.
   We'll try to hit civilization Saturday afternoon, and then complete
   the circuit during the day on Sunday.

   Since I've never replaced my charts of the Mississippi gulf coast, our
   trip will most likely be to the more familiar towns on Lake
   Ponchatrain.  Then again, maybe we'll venture boldly toward
   Mississippi.  New Orleans is a possibility as well.

   I'll post a note and some pictures some time next week.  Hope you all
   have a happy holliday.

   Ben