A Little Cruising

Sue waving us good bye on our way out of home port.

Jude and I signed on as crew with our friend Andy as he headed from Grand Isle to the Florida Keys and beyond to the Bahamas. Our portion of the cruise was to be from Grand Isle, across the Mississippi River, up to Gulfport, MS. We were then to follow the coast to Pensacola where we would head out into the Gulf to Tarpon Springs, FL, a 7-8 day trip, which would include a 50 hour passage of open water in the Gulf of Mexico. Jude and I were looking forward to our longest offshore passage. The longest we had ever made was a 24 hour run up Lake Huron from Bay City to Tobemorey.

The entire trip was to begin the first of November, even before Jude and I arrived in Grand Isle. One thing led to another and the trip was delayed. Finally we were set to leave the Tuesday before Thanksgiving until Andy’s daughter could not bear having her parents off somewhere for Turkey Day. So a big dinner was planned and guess who did not show up. Okay, this brings us to Friday after Thanksgiving. Now I am not a superstitious sailor, but one should never step a mast with out having a coin, heads up, under the base of the mast; have a drink at sea without offering one to Neptune; never rename a boat without a proper ceremony; and NEVER begin a sailing journey on a Friday.

Captain Andy

So the Saturday after Thanksgiving we set sail. November 28, 2009, the sailing yacht Happy Ours, a 40 foot Irwin center cockpit ketch, left Grand Isle headed for the Bimini with a crew of Captain Andy, Jude and myself. Oh yes, one other glitch in the trip was that Andy’s wife Sue was called to jury duty up in New Orleans and was to meet up with us further along the route. Of course the logistics of getting her along the coast to where the boat was at was just a typical cruising sailor’s headache.

Tough Sailing.

The first day was wonderful. We were out of the marina by 0700 and had the main sail raised by 0715. Not a lot of wind but we had a nice motor sail from home port, across the Mississippi River, down the Baptiste Colette channel and anchored behind Breton Island. Now let me explain that Breton Island no longer exists in the manner that most of us would think of an island. It was washed away by which storm, I am not sure. But the only thing left is a shallow area that has about one to two feet of water over it. We had a peaceful night at anchor to include the visits by the ever present dolphins.

Sunset at Breton Island

Sunday morning was another wonderful day. At 0715 we had the anchor up and we headed north to the Gulfport Yacht Club. After another rather benign day on the water we arrived at the dock by 1630. (4:30 PM). Little were we to know that these two days of 65F were to be the last of the good weather. I was definitely glad that I packed lots of warm cloths.

Jude on Watch

Monday was a bit cold and rainy and we were a day a

head of schedule so we decided to at GYC and watch the New Orleans Saints play on Monday night football. No disappointments there, the Saints beat the New England Patriots without any problems. So we had two nights at Gulfport and the cold weather had set in. This was to be an unfortunate condition that would follow us for the rest of the trip.

Living with the cold.

Tuesday morning we left at 0640 headed east toward Ocean Springs, MS. The day was less than favorable. Captain’s log shows winds that day at 24-30 knots with the wind right on the nose. We were very thankful that Happy Ours has a complete cockpit enclosure. We met up with Andy’s friends from town and had an excellent seafood meal to include oysters on the half shell for $5 per dozen.

Schuck and Suck

That night was the full moon and a storm out of the south. The marina flooded at high tide and we had water over the dock. At 0100 Andy is up checking the boat, given all of the thunder and lightning. Upon checking the weather radar on his computer he discovers a couple of water spouts moving at over 60 mph within a mile of us. Glad we were securely tied to the dock.

The next day, while waiting out crappy weather, we borrowed a car and did a little visit of Ocean Springs and a little reprovisioning (an electric heater for the captain’s quarters the vee berth and salon already had heat). Unfortunately the weather still had not warmed. We were still having temp in the 40s but that was to soon change, it got colder. This was beginning to remind me of sailing Lake Superior.

So now were are up to Thursday and time to move on. We left Ocean Springs and headed east across Mississippi Sound and Mobile Bay. The plan was to move on to Lulu’s just east of Mobile Bay (the bar owned by Jimmy Buffett’s sister.) We arrived there at 1700, tie up and head into the bar/restaurant only to find out it is closed for two days as they are refinishing the floor. Time to move further east. Another half hour on the water and we find another marina to stay at. It was dark and I was steering. The “windshield” on the boat is plastic and difficult to see through (that is my excuse) and we ran aground. Okay, I ran us aground. We backed up and headed across the canal to the marina. Hey, it was dark and the river had a curve in it that I did not know was there! Oysters on the half shell for $8.50 per dozen, we had 3 dozen and quality beer for $10 per pitcher!! Hey, in Alaska we pay $5 per glass. We had another great dinner at the Wharf, a bar in Orange Beach.

We are now back on schedule to make it to the Flora-Bama for the weekend and the Florida vs. Alabama football game. Again, wind in the wrong direction, we motor on. We arrive on Friday mid-day, cold, but dry and no rain. The Flora-Bama is a bar, right on the beach and right on the state line between Florida and Alabama. It is a dump (my kind of place) that is located between all of the beach front condos. It is a collection of different buildings and outside bars. Out front is a trailer that sells t-shirts and more. Across the street is another bar, the Silver Moon, and the docks. The entire place is owned by Joe and run by quite an eclectic group of folks, from retired cops to drifters who have finally found a place to land.

Bras on Display, Yes sir, yes sir three lines full.

Friday night at the Flora-Bama was everything that Andy had promised. The band was a couple whose music was country and bawdy. Jude and I left by 9 PM and by then we had met a couple at the next table who told me she had not had sex for 4 months (her Navy husband was deployed and she was out with her brother in law); met another couple from Florida who were up to celebrate her birthday and she eventually ended up on stage with the singer mooning her and she beating him on the ass with a (never mind); and last but not least watched as another young woman who was very proud of her bare chest (rightfully so) and proceeded to show it (them?) off to all of us. Andy had called it quits earlier so he missed the show. Plus that Sue, Andy’s wife, was to arrive.

The blond on my left is the one with her husband deployed. I can see why she goes out with her brother-in-law. Keeps the Land Sharks off.

On Saturday the four of us actually watched the football game at the Silver Moon. Free Gumbo, warmer than across the street, and cheaper beer. Plus that they have free WiFi. Jude and I were there from 10 AM, when they opened. I even won a door prize, a thermal coffee mug that says I took second place in the 13^th Annual Mullet Man Triathlon! I now have proof of my athletic powers! This stop turned into another one of those small world stories. The guy sitting at the table next to us was from Hope, Alaska. He works the oil business on the North Slope and has two weeks on and two weeks off. He also winters here.

It was now Sunday morning and time to set off for Tarpon Springs. The temperature was now down to a cold 30 F, with a 25 knot cross wind and current as we attempted to leave the dock. With a small crash and minor damage to the mizzen boom, we were off to Pensacola and the open Gulf of Mexico.

We motored east in the Intercoastal Waterway for about an hour before it was Jude’s turn to run us aground. Again, we backed off with no damage, only her pride. Another hour or so and we were at Pensacola and ready to head out to sea. Up with the sails and south we go. Finally we were able to shut the engine off!! The seas were running about 6 feet and we were hard on the wind, but we were finally under sail. The weather was sunny, 4-6 foot seas and a 20-25 knot breeze from the south east. Once we got to the end of the channel, about 3 miles out, we turned the boat on a course of 117 degrees magnetic. That was the end of the sailing. The wind and waves were right on the nose again with a weather forecast of this for the entire trip down to Tarpon Springs. We bounced and rock and rolled for about another 45 minutes and the Captain said enough, lets head back. For those of you who have been out there know how much his words mean: “It is better to be at the dock wishing you were it sea, rather than be at sea wishing you were at the dock.” We turned around and headed back to Lulu’s. We got there about 1600. No tails between our legs just disappointed.

The next morning we headed back to Ocean Springs where we tied up the boat and we all headed back to Grand Isle by car. We were gone for 10 days with only 2 days of temperatures above 65 F and only a couple of hours of sailing. We ate out almost every dinner with great food. I gained 5 lbs. It was another case of typical costal cruising sailing; 90% boredom, 10% terror, but 100% enjoyable. We had a great time.

Rob

Grand Isle, The Northern Most Caribbean Island

The question comes how did we ever land in Grand Isle (GI). It was Feb 02 when cabin fever was setting in. We were thinking about where we wanted to go for spring break that was coming up in a mere 8 weeks. (I really do hate winter.) Carrie and Eric wanted to meet us in New Orleans for Easter weekend. Sounded like a plan. Eric had to go back to duty and Jude and I had another weeks vacation. We have always liked to travel to the end of the road, so where from The Big Easy could we get to the Gulf of Mexico and find the end of the road?

OK, get out the Rand McNalley. We had been east of New Orleans before so the direction needed to be west. We have followed the roads next to the Mississippi in the past. They are always rather disappointing because of all of the levees you cannot see the river anyhow. The next road to the west that heads south is LA1. This looked like a good idea. Next step, check it out on the internet. The lodging choices seemed rather slim, but the rates were off season. April, off season, right on the beach? It sounded even better now. So Grand Isle it would be.

Upon leaving our hotel in New Orleans, the bell man warned us to watch our speed in Golden Meadow. I am glad he did. I have heard stories where they have ticketed other police, in their police vehicles, for doing 4 mph over! Off to Grand Isle. One hour out of New Orleans we got sidetracked. There was a Cajun jam session at the library in Thibodaux that night. That was our first experience with the people down here. We had a great time. Checking out of the Holiday Inn in the morning reminded me we were down south. I left the door open while I was fetching and toting and a 3 inch cockroach wandered in.

It was time for us to head on to the end of the road. As we traveled we were presented with sights never seen by us. As we drove south we were following a slow moving river (now I know it is properly called a bayou). The further along we went, the more boats we saw. Not a lot of pleasure craft, but all different sizes and shapes of shrimp boats. After about 30 minutes of driving we went over a little hill (levee) and entered the salt marshes of the coast. This was something that we had never experienced, a unique beauty.

Another 30 minutes of travel brought us to the “town” of Grand Isle. April 2, 2002 and the place was nearly deserted. We stopped at the little tourist office (seen on left with the new butterfly dome) and asked the girl working there what there was to do on the island. Her reply was rather simple, “fish.” I noticed a sign on the wall of the place that said “We will take you sailing for a smile.” Okay, so I bite on that. She makes some phone calls and we are set up for a 4PM sail. We then ask her about a nice place to stay and she tells us that she is from Cleveland and has only been on the Island a couple of weeks. Hmmmmm, she works in the tourist office?

We end up getting a room at the Breakers motel, right on the beach. We drag out the lawn chairs and proceed to get sun burned. By about 3 PM I am getting a little more curious about our upcoming sailing trip. I figure this guy Captain Andy has one of three things on his agenda:

1 He is a Southern Baptist trying to convert us,

2 He is going to try to sell us Real Estate.

3 The guy likes to sail and doesn’t want to screw around with getting licensed and insured.

Time for a phone call. “Hey Andy, this is Rob and we are supposed to go sailing this afternoon. Do you want me to bring something; soda, beer, chips?” His answer was “Whatever.” Well at that point I knew he was not some Baptist trying to convert us.

We get to the boat and meet up with Andy and Sue. Also along for the ride is Linda, the girl that set up the whole thing and her friend Wayne. Wayne is also a sailor. Now, what makes this unique is that there are only 2 sail boats on the Island, Andy’s and Wayne’s. So basically all of the sailors on the island are on board. Off for a fantastic sail. This was the first time sailing with the dolphins, great fun. After a couple of hours, we ended back at the dock and finished drinking what ever we had brought. Out of booze, no problem, we all head back to their house. We sit there for another hour and drink up all of the wine they have. It must be time to eat, so off us all head to the local restaurant. By the time the evening has ended, we have made some new friends. So I wake up the next day, my birthday, feeling the way I should the day after my birthday.

Skip ahead to 2005. I had just retired from Corunna and Katrina made its first landfall just east (a mile) of Grand Isle. Two weeks later Rita hits to the west of Grand Isle. We were to head out in the RV for our first winter south and decide we should do some volunteer work. We contacted the Red Cross and got caught up in their red tape. So, we give Andy and Sue a call on Grand Isle. “Do you need any help down there?” So in October 2005 we get down here and helped a number of people clean up their mess. We stayed in Sue’s campground, ate our noon meal with all of the others at the Red Cross feeding station, and worked our butts off. While doing this we made some tremendous friends that we will have for the rest of our lives.

We have now come back for our 3^rd winter down here. There is nothing to do but fish, sail, read, play on the computer, and hang out. There is one grocery/hardware store (doubles as a bank, it has an ATM), two gas stations, three restaurants (none of which are very good), and a bunch of bars. It is a 45 minute drive to the nearest town to shop, and that is just a Wal-Mart. It is an additional hour drive to Houma, or a two hour drive up to New Orleans.

Oh yes, one thing I have since learned since arriving here is that this is not the end of the road, it is the beginning!

Rob

New Baby in the Family

Before (21 Sep 10 PM), After (22 Sep 7:30 AM) and Results.

Willow Emilie Livengood was born this morning at 5:25 AM Pacific Time. She weighed in at 7 lb, 13 oz and standing 20 in.

Jude and I arrived on Sunday night, there was a baby shower yesterday and a birth this AM. Not bad timing. Jude and I will be here at Carrie's house for another 2 1/2 weeks. More pictures to be posted later. I figure I will do that separate as that those who like baby pictures can enjoy and those who only look to be polite (like me) don't have to.

Carrie had the baby at home using a mid-wife.

Rob

Our New Home Pt 2

Let me continue and see if this goes any better. The gentleman running the Bobcat in the previous post is Ron Lillie. He is an Army friend through Amanda and Julius. While he was deployed his kids became our surrogate grandchildren. As a matter of fact, they came to meet us at the airport one time and when we were making the boat trip last year we visited them near Mobile, AL. Ron will finally be medically discharged from the Army at the end of the month and will be able to get back with his family. Ron was here to help build the deck over Memorial Day weekend. He put in over 24 hours during the 3 days running the equipment. Without his help, we would never have gotten this far with the project. Thanks again Ron. Anyway, here is the finished product.

Notice how that it is a pretty good distance to the neighbors house over the hot tub. Also notice the two white tables over the flower pots. The moose got one again last Saturday morning. The moose was on the deck. Our bedroom is the window closest to this end of the deck. You can also see how well the grass has come in and what the moose did to our flowers.

The deck and grass project was finished by the end of June. We began the month of July bringing Ron back out to the house to help me build Jude's Yarn Shop. We built an 8x14 foot for her yarn and knitting supplies. This project went faster and better than the deck as you can see in the following pictures.


Also here are a couple of pictures from around the house. Looking out the back, our lot goes half way to the street/tree line on the other side of the gravel pit. The gravel pit itself gets limited use. We have seen the owner takes gravel out only once this summer. The white chairs are at the campfire pit. The building is my workshop.

As Labor Day weekend is almost upon us, Ron is happy that we are out of projects and that he is heading home. Jude and I will be working putting people on the ships on Friday and we will be working in the Hotel on Monday putting people on their flights home. The birch trees have a yellow tint beginning to show as summer is beginning to come to a close.

I hope this gives you a little insight as to where we live.

Rob

Our New Home Pt 1

OK, some of you have been asking to see our place here in Wasilla, Alaska. First of all Sarah lives just down the street. Well, about 5 miles down the street and across the lake. Actually Wasilla is about 50 miles north of Anchorage. Wasilla is a town of about 6000. It is located in the 25,000 sq mile Matanuska-Susitna Borough. A Borough is similar to a county. We are about 20 miles from Palmer with a population of 4500 people. There are many housing projects and subdivisions that are close by that are not within either of the city limits. So I would guess the area has a population between 15,000-20,000.

We are 6 miles out of town and shopping which includes Home Depot, Lowe's, Fred Meyers, Target, Sportsman's Warehouse, Sears and Wal Mart. Of course there are numerous support businesses including some with unusual names.








We bought a simple 3 bedroom, one bath ranch, on a slab so no basement and no storage. We are still working on that issue. When we were looking, Jude took three steps into the house and that was the end of the looking process. The open kitchen/living room arrangement were the clinching items, especially for Jude.















I was please with the outside in the sense that we have never had this much property, 1.35 acres, and the neighbors are a good distance away. All of the lots in the neighborhood are at least an acre. We will never have anyone build in between us. But as with everything there are always surprises. We first looked at the house in March with a foot of snow on the ground. What I thought was 2-3 foot snow drifts turned out to be a yard that needed proper grading!

Jude and I had a sauna when we were in Canada but decided to switch to a hot tub here in Alaska. Since installing, we have used it every night at Happy Hour time. However we needed a place to put it. So the first project was to build a proper deck (12x32) off the back of the house. This turned into more than I had bargained for. First, it was actually to be 14 feet, but they do not sell 14 foot timber up here, so okay, we will go with 12 ft. Then I discovered that this deck could not simply be placed on blocks on the ground because of frost heaves. That meant footings that went down at least 4 feet.
But, becausee the hot tub was to sit on the deck that some of the footings would need a two foot diameter, one foot high base. Oh, did I mention that the "soil"






around here is a medium quality gravel, meaning sand and rocks that seem to be cemented together. Bring in the heavy equipment.















This post is giving me fits! I will publish and finish all later.

Work Is Not A Four Letter Word

I awoke this morning to the sound of our neighbor's beagle howling her little heart out. This is usually a signal that there are moose in the area. This meant that I needed to go protect the flowers that are just growing back and the first of Jude's tomatoes that are starting to turn red. As long as I am up it must be time for a new post.

I left off with the dip-netting that was taking place just down the street. We made two trips down there with mixed results. The first day Julius got one and Jude, Amanda and I got muddy. Jude and I went again the next day and got 7 more Reds. It became time to leave when Jude got stuck in the mud. What's up with the mud? With all of the glacier action up here there is a tremendous amount of what is called glacial flour. The grey mountains have been ground down by the glaciers. The material is as fine as powdered sugar. Mix this material with water and you get a frosting type material depending on how much water is there. Every once in a while someone will go out on the mud flats and get stuck. When the tide comes in they have been drowned. Where we were fishing, this was not an issue, but the mud was still there. The freezer is now full and we are slowing down on our fishing. As a matter of fact, we have not been fishing in two weeks.

Jude and I have a job! We are working for Princess Cruise Lines checking passengers onto their Alaskan Cruise. We went to a job fair back in March and were looking for part-time seasonal. Our biggest qualifications were that we are retired teachers. I guess that means we can put up with a bunch of crap and still keep our temper! I have been real good until a woman came up to me the other day and said, "You lost my luggage!" I answered a little to quickly and just said in somewhat of a sarcastic voice, "I DID?"

We work every other Wednesday in Whittier, AK. We leave the house at 8:45 AM and drive to Anchorage to punch in by 10. We then board a bus, excuse me, COACH and head down one of the most scenic drives in Alaska, Turnagain Arm. The road follows the water with snow capped mountains on each side. The trip takes us about an hour. Timeliness is important because to get to Whittier we must pass through a 5 mile long, one lane tunnel. The tunnel is open in each direction for only limited periods of time, westbound on the hour and eastbound on the half hour. In between times the train uses the tunnel. The tunnel was built during WW II for transporting supplies by rail.

We arrive at our work stations at 11:45 and begin checking in passengers at noon. We scan their passports and credit cards then give them their room keys and send them to the ship. There are about 20 stations where the guests check in. The passengers arrive by coach whenever the tunnel opens. This means we have a flood of people show up at 20 minutes to the hour. Depending on how buses come through the tunnel depends on when we get our break. Sometimes there are only a couple of buses with about 45 people on each one. During these "tunnels" we are done in 10-15 minutes. Usually there are 4-5 buses and we work longer, right up until the next tunnel. The day usually ends with the 8:30 PM tunnel. We rush to get the last load on the ship and make the 9 PM tunnel. Then it is a one hour trip back to Anchorage and then another one hour drive home. Actually it is a lot of fun and we work with some great people. More important, nothing to bring home and nothing to worry about, all for a big $9 per hour.

But wait, there is more. Working in the travel industry has some great perks. Jude and I do not work enough hours to qualify for a free cruise, but we do qualify for a 50% reduction on a regular price cruise. Better than that, we have the opportunity to do what is called familiarization trips, or Fam trips at a very low cost. Actually no cost, just big tips. We have done a one hour glacier boat trip, a 6 hour glacier boat trip on Prince William Sound, a tram ride up the side of a mountain, a train ride to Talkeetna, a 2 hour boat trip on a braided river (not much different than the 90 day trip down the rivers), and the coup de grace, a one hour flight seeing trip over Denali National Park. We also can stay at any of the Princess Lodges here in Alaska for a room rate of $35. In addition we get 25% off on food and I think 30% at the bar! Not a bad gig for part time.

These pictures were taken on our flight over Denali. Notice the blue color in the picture. That is pools of water on the surface of the glacier.

Driving home from work two weeks ago at 10 PM, we had something happen that had not happened since we arrived back in Alaska in May. The headlights came on! That's right, it was getting dark! We saw street lights for the first time! Today sunrise was at 6:15 and sunset will be at 9:45. We are now losing over 5 minutes per day.

Moose Like Inpatients But Not Geraniums

Our Life in Alaska

Sorry it has been so long to update all of you on what we are up to, but we have been busy! OK, so what is up with the title? We have some Alaskan tales to tell. Since we have moved in we have been busy with some major projects around the house; building a 12x32 deck with hot tub, doing some major moving of dirt in the back yard to make is level and building Jude a 8x14 workshop for her yarn business. More details on that will follow. What I do want to share is what our life is like up here.

During the building projects Jude and I have taken time off to enjoy ourselves and Alaska. None of the breaks have been planned, they just sort of happen. The first example was last month when Jude and I were on the way to Lowe's for more building "stuff". We were half way there when the cell phone rang. (Yes, we have cell phones in Alaska.) It was our friend Charlie over in Copper Center letting us know that the Reds (Red Salmon or Sockeye Salmon) were beginning to run. We pulled the truck off the side of the road, had a brief discussion, and went back home to pack up the trailer for a few days of fishing. After a 3 1/2 hour drive we were at the designated fishing hole and started to fish. The limit for Reds is 3 fish per person per day. After 3 days of fishing we had 18 fish in the freezer, 9 each. We left the camper there and came back to Wasilla for the weekend and the Iditarod Volunteer's Picnic. That evening Amanda and Julius (daughter and her husband) drove over to the camper and fished the remainder of Saturday and Sunday. We headed back over on Sunday and met them on the highway. There luck was not as good as ours, only two fish and a speeding ticket. But, one of those fish was the FIRST fish ever for Julius. When we got there the run was about over. We fished for one more day and only got one fish. Time to head for home and work on the deck.

Let me break for a moment and talk about the salmon here. There are five varieties here in Alaska: King or Chinook, which are the largest (the record is over 90 lbs); Sockeye or Red Salmon in the 3-8 lb range (our favorite); Silvers or Coho; Pink or Humpback or Humpies; and Chum Salmon or Dog Salmon. The Chum are called Dog salmon because they are used for dog food up here. We did notice a store in the lower 48 selling an Alaskan Salmon called Keta. After a little research we discovered that this is also another name for Dog Salmon. Ah yes, marketing! Salmon will run in schools up the different rivers here in Alaska. The Kings wander up all summer long. Then the Reds start and the Kings slow down, then the Reds slow down and the Kings take center stage again. In July the Reds make a second run and then in August the Reds slow and the Silvers start up until fall hunting season.

The deck was started Memorial Day Weekend and finished by the end of June. For the Fourth of July weekend we started Jude's workshop. Amanda and Julius have a friend, Ron Lilly, who is in the process of getting out of the Army and is still hanging around up here waiting to be discharged. This has been good news for us. He is a member of a combat engineer team, meaning he knows how to build things!! He was here all of Memorial Day weekend running equipment and on July 3, helping me get the rafters and roof put on Jude's Yarn Shop. If he is still here for Labor Day, I think I need to give him a rest!!

Anyway, life in Alaska and the title to the posting. About 2 weeks ago Amanda called us up and asked if we wanted to go dip-netting. Dip-netting is for Alaska residents only and has the proper name of Personal Use Salmon Fishing. The limits are larger, 25 fish for the head of household and 10 fish for each additional person living in the house. It involves getting a large landing type net, 4 feet across, a set of chest waders, and getting out in the ocean at the mouth of a river and wait for the fish (salmon) to swim in the net. Now this may not seem very sporting, but it is still challenging and a bunch "sportier" than the commercial guys with their gill nets. The challenge is not only getting a fish to swim into your net, but not to have the waves go over the top of your waders or down your sleeves. I was successful at keeping the inside of my waders dry, but not me sleeves. Great fun in 55 degrees and a light rain. There must have been 2-3000 people there. Looked sort of like a big tail gate party except with fish. On the first day, Julius, the non-fisherman got 4, Jude got 2, I got 1 and Amanda got a flounder. The next day we went out and got a total of 18 more fish. Yes, our freezer is getting full. Later that week I went down with a friend, he got 6 and I picked up one more. I stayed dry, he poured water out of his waders!!

Again, back to the title. When we got home from our dip-netting experience I went out on the deck to just look around. We have 4 flower pots on the deck, two with Geraniums and two with Impatiens. Perhaps to be more correct I should say two with Geraniums and two with a bunch of chewed up plants. It seems that the moose had come by and ate all of the flowers off of the Inpatients but did not eat the Geraniums. Looks like next year it will be all Geraniums. Maybe that explains why it was so hard to find any Impatiens for sale at the beginning of the year.

Yesterday we were getting ready to go somewhere when I looked out the window and saw momma moose with two calves right across the street. They munched over there for a while, crossed the street and munched on the underbrush in my neighbor's yard, came walking right towards us and went through our back yard and stopped just to the edge of our grass area and were munching on our underbrush. We must have watched them for 30-40 minutes. I will never get over the thrill of seeing the moose up here and the dolphins down on Grand Isle.

Yesterday a new stream was opened to dip-netting and it is 10 miles down the road from our house. It seems that this stream has not been opened since the mid 90s. Guess we will have to try it out today!

That's all for now, but with the major projects done I plan on updating soon with information about our house and our jobs with Princess Cruise Lines.

Rob