END OF A WONDERFUL JOURNEY

When we started our trip two years ago, we hooked up with "Whichaway" "Illusions" and "Osprey" at Steve's Landing in Port Bolivar. Steve's Landing was a neat little marina with a great restaurant and bar. From there we went to Lake Charles. We spent a couple of days in the area enjoying crawfish boils and casinos. When it was time to leave, "Illusions" and "Osprey" headed back to Kemah and we headed to Mobile, Alabama. Coming back through Port Bolivar, this is what was left of Steve's Landing, compliments of Hurricane Ike.




What "Ike" left on the banks of the ICW in Port Bolivar.



My Cin and Whichaway docked at Island Moorings, Port Aransas




PORT ARANSAS, TEXAS We arrived at Island Moorings Marina on May 14th (our 38th wedding anniversary). Our plan was to stay at the marina for one year. Whichaway is docked right next to us so it's nice to have them as our neighbors.

Our trip from Louisiana to Texas was good, no problems. When we cruised past Port Bolivar, you can still see the damage from Hurricane Ike. It really felt good to be back in Texas waters and coming home.

Our first weekend home was spent attending each grandchild's baseball/softball/kickball games. We have cruised over 13,000 miles from Canada to Bahamas in the two years. I'm back on land for 3 days and got hit in the face with a softball! Didn't break anything but very sore.

We had renters in our house for almost a year and both parties came to a mutual decision for tenants to vacate the house by May 29th. They moved out and left us with a filthy house including some stuff left in the house plus all their refrigerator food. So, Jess and I have contracted to have the inside of the house painted, air duct vents cleaned out, carpets cleaned, tile floor redone and a cleaning service to major clean the house. In addition to that, our yard and lot is a mess..overgrown with every kind of weed and stickers. Therefore we are having a lawn service to get the yard back in shape.

With all this happening, Jess and I have decided to move back into the house by July 1st. We just couldn't stomach to rent our house out again. We will start over from scratch. Take our time on renovating some areas of the house and take care of the Little My Cin as well as the Big My Cin. Anyone out there want to buy a 32ft Island Gypsy?

We had a wonderful trip, experienced so many neat things and now it's time to take care of home. We plan to take "small" trips here and there. But in the meantime, we have alot of work to do. If your down our way, come see us.

This is the last blog entry.....thank you for sharing our journey.

Love to all...Jess and Cindy

GULF CROSSING - LOUISIANA

Our Gulf Crossing was fantastic and smooth. The last two crossing's we made were done in a 20 hour run. This year we did the crossing in two days. The first run was from Tarpon Springs to Cedar Keys, a 70 mile run. The second day was from Cedar Keys to Dog Island, just outside of Carrabelle, a 116 mile run. This is how flat and calm the gulf was. It was certainly a nice run to end this part of the journey.



On our second day of the Gulf Crossing, we picked up a couple of "hitch hikers". The white bird circled our boat about 4 times before landing on the bow. She/he stayed with us for 50 miles. The little black and orange bird was all over the place. She/he landed on Jess's head and sat right next to my leg on the flybridge. We had swatted alot of flys while underway (and I never believed I would do this) but I collected them and fed the bird. The bird just set there and let me put them down right in front of her/him. Pretty cool and very entertaining.







When we made our Gulf Crossing, we went through Apalachicola heading west to Panama City. There's a restaurant in Apalachicola that has the "best" fried oysters! There is a stretch of waterway that goes through "cypress and low swampy area" called Harrison Swamp. Very beautiful area.



There is 16 miles of transit through a landcut known to some as the "Grand Canyon". This is between Panama City and Destin, Florida. It's very narrow but very pretty.





Perdido Key, Florida. Our marina that we stayed at was right next door to this beach/condos on the ICW. We were able to visit my sister Cathy and her friends. They hosted a great "crawfish-boiled shrimp" dinner for us and loaned us her car to replenish the boat.



We just left the Industrial Lock entering the Mississippi River. New Orleans is in the background. We had an "incident" in the Industrial Lock (a 10ft. lift). As we were securing our lines, the bow was swinging out from the wall (wind and current) and the lockmaster released our bow line. Jess tried to swing the bow back to the wall but the current/wind was to strong. The boat made a 90 degree turn in the lock. I screamed to the lockmaster to release our stern line (fear of cleat ripping from the boat) and when he released it, we went back out of the lock and came back in. Second try was good but we were so frustrated and embarrassed. I told the lockmaster that we looked pretty stupid....he replied "what makes you think so". HA HA HA. We cruised five miles to the Harvey lock which takes you back to the ICW. Our highest cruising speed going "up river" was 4.5 mph. Plus, our port engine overheated so we had to run one one engine. Then, we had to hold the boat in the Mississippi River for two hours waiting to get into the Harvey Lock. Not a pleasant day at sea.



St. Ann's Cathedral in the French Quarter. My mother was born in the French Quarters and years later lived right down the street from the Cathedral.



We are cruising through Larose, La. There are so many boat yards along the ICW that repair - paint the huge boats that go offshore to rigs. Pretty impressive. We are getting closer to Texas and I will do one last blog when we arrive in Port Aransas. If all goes well, we should arrive in Port Aransas May 15th or 16th. It has been so much fun, incredible journey but we are so excited to get back home to family.

GOODBYE BAHAMAS - HELLO USA

Sunset In The Bahamas. We are anchored out at Great Sale Cay - our last stop before we head to West End on Grand Bahama Island to make our crossing. We tried to make one attempt to cross and it was way to rough. We ended up staying five days at the Grand Bahama Island cruising from West End to Freeport and back to West End to cross. We enjoyed seeing all the island chains but the "fronts" that kept blowing in got very old. We are so ready to get back to Texas. It's been a great two year adventure but it is time to go home. You can double click on any of the pictures to see them better.




April 15, 2009...we made our crossing from the Bahamas to Lake Worth, Florida. The crossing was PERFECT. Very flat and no swells. As we were approaching the Florida coastline, a storm was heading toward us. The sun went down behind the storm clouds and this was the reflection on the clouds behind us. The storm wasn't bad...a free boat wash from mother-nature.



We are cruising the ICW thru West Palm Beach, Florida. The homes on both sides of the ICW are incredible, huge and rich. The two pictures below are just a sample of the many pictures I took.






We are entering the Okeechobee Lake from the east side of the waterway. The lake level was down so we were able to just cruise right thru the lock. The crossing is about 25 miles long and the lake was very calm that day. If there is a strong wind, the lake can be nasty.



This is Roland Martin's Marina just off the Okeechobee Lake. He is the famous fishing guide and has a TV show. Very neat marina with a great restaurant, band and the most incredible marine store I have ever seen at a marina since we have been on this trip. As you can see this channel is very narrow and Capt. Still had to back the boat in all the way to the end. By the end of the day, the whole dock was full with boats. The dock master told us it would be easier to leave the dock this way. Unfortunately, when we left the next the day, the wind had picked up and was blowing us into the dock. It took us about five times but we made it. Capt. Still is the best.



This alligator was at the end of our dock at the Roland Martin's Marina.



We are on the west side of the Okeechobee Lake cruising the waterway to Ft. Myers. This old boy was either yawning at us or letting us know he was hungry.



One of the many cuts to the Gulf of Mexico off the ICW. We were between Venice and Sarasota.



Edith and Ned Farrar, our good friends from Corpus Christi, flew to Ft. Myers and traveled with us to St. Petersburg. We had a great week of weather and cruising.



Everyone would ask us if we ever encountered "pirates" in the Bahamas. Never a problem. Here are pirates cruising the ICW in Florida!



We are cruising past Clearwater, Florida and there are these wonderful "little oasis" along the ICW. We are currently in Tarpon Springs waiting for our "Gulf of Mexico window crossing". Once we make that, haulin' our ship back home to Port Aransas, where we have rented a slip at Island Moorings. More to come later down the road.

GEORGETOWN, EXUMAS TO ELEUTHERA ISLAND

Georgetown...we spent a week in Georgetown and this is the last Cay in the Exumas that we visited. The next six pictures are of the area in Georgetown and heading back north to make our way to the Eleuthera Islands. We had a wonderful time in the Exumas even though the weather was not that great (alot of cold fronts and high winds). As you can see in the pictures, the water is just incredible here.













Cool lagoon at Musha Cay, Exumas.



We are passing Musha Cay in the Exumas (making our way north to Eleuthera Islands). As I mentioned before, Musha Cay is privately owned and visits to ashore are invitation only. This big boy was invited.



This is how the Bahamas looks when the weather is perfect. We are crossing the Bight of Eleuthera. It was an incredible day. We cranked up the tunes and beverage of choice and had a wonderful crossing.



The Admiral enjoying the fantastic cruising day and the great music.



My little Dancin' Devil



Just one of the beautiful yards on Spanish Wells, Eleuthera.



Captain Still



The "Motley Crew" enjoying cruising around Spanish Wells on the golfcart. Spanish Wells is a beautiful island.

EXUMAS

We arrived in the Exumas around February 18th to our first Cays. The first ones were Allen Cay and Highborne Cay. Here are a couple of shots of Exuma Sunsets. I have taken so many pictures of the sunsets, can't show them all. It is really pretty here and the waters are incredible. The only bad thing we have experienced are the fronts and high winds. We have had more "windy stay put days" then good ones. Therefore the pictures on this blog are "good days". More to come and hopefully better boating conditions.





Allen Cay...Feeding the wild Iguana's. When you pull up to the beach a bunch of them run out to great you so you can feed them.



The next four pictures are from the Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park. The park, the first land and sea park in the world, covers 176 square miles. It is a no-take zone of both land and sea - nothing living or dead can be removed from the park. Throughout the park you can explore the underwater beauty of coral reefs, hike trails, explore the many beaches and view incredible sunsets.





Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park Headquarters. The waters and beaches are incredible.



Warderick Wells Cay (part of the Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park) a Cranium Base, Upper Half Jaw Bone, 52' Sperm Whale found in July 1995.



Sampson Cay Marina. This marina was so nice. Very Bahamian quaint and expensive. But we had to fill water tanks and do laundry. They have hiking trails and about five different beaches you can explore on.



Anchorage at Black Point. You can see how clear the water is.



The big house on top of the hill is David Copperfields house. Musha Cay is a private island and visits ashore are by invitation only.



Leaving the Musha Cay. Beautiful waters and rich!



I thought this was a neat rock formation at Darby Island. We anchored just past this point and will head to Georgetown the next day. We put the dinghy down and cruised around in the shallow waters and chased about 30 big black sting rays. Didn't have the camera with me. More pic's to come from Georgetown.