In the last post I talked about the Barges (Tows) and we had an opportunity to photograph some to show you, today.
The photo below shows two barges, one in front of the other. We didnt see what was being loaded onto them and we couldnt get close enough to find out. It is hard to show the scale of them, but that oil tank you see on the deck is probably 60ft long.
We tried to find a way to photograph these barges a bit closer, but it turned out to be a private road, and though I might normally push the boundaries on that one, I didnt in this case. We were in No Man's Land and there was nobody around should we get into trouble. Caution being the better part...etc.
After spending the morning (almost the whole of it from 9am onwards) cleaning the boat...well, 3/4 of it (not the top flydeck), scrubbing, soft cloth washing and then squeegeeing and drying, we had a quick lunch and decided to go and check out Hillmans Seafood. This place had been recommended by our night security guy who is the font of all knowledge around here:)
We had been talking to him while hanging over the bridge that connects two of the parts of the marina. We were watching the shrimp jumping away from the Trout and Red Snapper that swim in the water, lit by the security light, at the side of the bridge. The night stalker birds line the estuary on the rocks, waiting for small fish and shrimp to come within striking distance. We can watch them for ages. Fascinating!
(We have found the best time to do this is after around 9pm. They seem to be the most active after that.)
So, we trotted off down Hwy 146 to Hillman Road, just before the San Leon Bridge. We had no idea what we were looking for other than Hillman Seafood and a Red Door, as described.
As you can see, the Shrimp Boats are right outside the processing plant and store. Well, I wouldnt call it a store. With a concrete floor that is wet, of course, large bins full of different sized shrimp iced down, and very cool aircon!:) the smell is very salty/fishy (as you would expect) both inside and out.
You can just see the bridge in the background, if you can make it out from the other stuff in the photo.
We have been down this highway so many times, but never stopped. We have looked over the side and remarked on all the shrimp boats, and the small Bayou, and thought we should investigate at a later date.
Just under the bridge there is a public boat ramp. I couldnt resist this photo of Three Men in a Boat:) She was a little close to the waterline at the back!
Outside the office (in yellow) of Hillmans Seafood, across the road from the store, was this wreck and anchor. These photos show both sides of the story.
Great jumping (and dead) fish....
Waz told me about these little fish that had jumped out of the water at some stage last night and didnt make it back into the water. This is on the almost water level back end of a catamaran. We get 'swarms' of these little Shad being chased by larger fish, mostly at night, and they break out of the water in what we term fishy fireworks...literally jumping in starburst formation. It is quite something to see, and there must be hundreds of them each time.
The nocturnal fishy entertainment is great. The same fish that jump out of the water all day long, to escape their larger predators, jump at night. Sitting outside at night is not quiet, as one would imagine. Lots of starbursts from the little fishes, and lost of plops...somtimes as many as six from each fish, swimming and jumping out of harms way. But I digress..of course...Where were we?
San Leon!
We had gone under the bridge to get back on the highway in the opposite direction, but saw a road that looked like it went along the waterfront. San Leon is a little peninsular (maybe no officially) or maybe just a small 'tit' on the coastline, as waz so aptly puts it:).
Well, we ended up following the coast, down residential (of sorts..more on that later) streets, numbered as 27th, 25th etc. Not knowing where we were, other than running parallel to the Highway (we thort!) we just kept our eyes on the water. It had to lead us back to Kemah in the end.(it did!)
We have been continuously warned about the debris in Galveston Bay. Most yachties and boaties we have met complain about this. As you can see, this 'thing' in the water just off land, is an Oil Well Head. These are EVERYWHERE. It may or may not be active. These along with sticks, posts, stakes, concrete piles etc are hazzardous to boats. This is why there are such things called 'Shipping Channels'. Most of them are detailed on maps and charts, so it is imperative that we stick to the channels when we leave this safe harbor.
This is typical of the shoreline. Most of it is privately owned, and there are keep out signs on chainlink fences on boundaries. Lots of private jetties out into the Bay with large lights on for fishing at night. This appears to be when a majority do their fishing!
This new looking boat lift has a swing for those balmy nights, and fishing light also. Maybe the fisherman gets his jollies on the swing while casting??
We had to do a chuckle at the spiked gate, stopping any casual person from going around and onto the private jetty. No hand rails anywhere else though. Some of these jetty are rather precarious, to say the least.. note the large light!
Speaking of which, every other street had an RV park of varying degrees of sophistication. Most have a pool, and lots have waterfront boat ramps. We tried to guess as to what kind of person would trapse down to San Leon (a bit of a backwater, to our eyes) to spend the summer fishing???
Lovely waterfront homes are neighbors with derelect buildings, building pads where the home was obviously swept away by the Hurricane ('08), and abandoned. Many for sale! $10k will get you a decent sized lot, sometimes with a building in need of something...remaking, demolishing etc.
One or two were noteworthy, and this one I couldnt resist...note the Texas star in the middle of the glass front door!
Where there would be native bush alongside the road in NZ, here there is scrub. Cane Grass, odd trees that look like Mesquite, and grasses...long grasses. It all has a rather unkempt look about it. I wanted to get out an mow!!:)
We loved this sign, in the shade of someone's large home on the waterfront. Says it all really!
Of course, after about 2 hours of tiki-touring around San Leon, we had to stop at a small convenience store for refreshments(trumpet ice-creams...nowhere near as good as their Kiwi counterparts!).
Our bottled water was too warm to drink (having been replaced in our car cooler by 2lbs of shrimp (gosh, did I forget to tell you we bought shrimp??)
What looked to be a derelect building with gas pumps on the side was tidy and immaculate on the inside. The owners were Indian (from India) and even had the appropriate accent. So many speak Texan:). This vehicle parked next to us...we had to laugh. We have seen the special edition vehicles all over the place, but never had one stop long enough for me to focus on it and snap. Is it bigger?? YEP! sure is.:) Of course. Everything is bigger in Texas:)
Just to get back to the cleaning of the boat...and no, this isnt our boat!!
This is a good example though, of the kind of build-up of muck that accumulates on the waterline of boats that just sit in a marina. This is the goop that the little fishes suck off. And people catch and eat them...blech!
(By the way..this boat is a home built steel hulled yacht...and you can see where the plates meet. Most steel boats do not show their plates!)
I cooked the 2lbs of shrimp in a garlic, lemon zest, lemon infused olive oil and white wine mix (salt and Pepper of course). Used some cold in our delicious salad for dinner (I started at 5pm, but it took so long it was after 6 when we finally ate) and put the rest in two baggies in the freezer. Instant food!
Our nightly walk was interrupted by puppy loves. So many people have large dogs on their boats. We met a lady from three hours north of Houston, with a Golden and a Lab on board. Both VERY friendly lovers, and we also went to have loves with Raven, the gorgeous black Great Dane/ Pit bull mix who lives aboard a 37ft yacht with her owner Will (34 yrs old). On the way back we were accosted by 'Skipper' a chihuahua who 'owns' the boat 'Work of Art'. We were rescued from this yappy madwoman by her owner Barbara. We also found out the history of this 'Mad Max'(my name for it) yacht turned whatever. See photos on previous post.
Barb and Art bought their yacht hull (67ft) in New Orleans some 12 years ago...Barb said with a large sigh. She is a patient woman!! They had to come to TX for the Seabrook Shipyard to haul her out so they could work on some aspects of her upgade. Barb said the trip was rather rock'n'roll, as she has no mast.
This is a yacht, ostensibly, and though she will eventually get her mast, she has to go everywhere (if she goes at all) under motor. They plan to motor down to Key West some time in the New Year to get her rigging put on. When fully rigged her mast will top 80ft, so she will be very limited as to where she can go inland, as most bridges only have a 50ft clearance...well, the big bridges do. They wouldnt get under the Kemah Bridge, thats for sure.
All of this is made even more amazing by the fact that these folks are not sailors. Have never sailed in their lives!!! Are they nuts? :)
Tuesday coming up...
No comments:
Post a Comment