We were anticipating checking in at Baton Rouge with my online friend Connie, but she reported in with a stomach bug (no thanks) and too many children to take care of, so we re-thought our day.
I guess the past week's trauma had finally made it's mark, and I was tired and a bit out of sorts as a result, not having slept that well the previous night.
We decided to mess around in the morning..which is easy to do when you have nothing much to do, and go for a tiki-tour in the pm.
We left the boat around 2pm with the idea that we would drive across Lake Ponchartrain (the Causeway) to the North Shore again, but venturing north, instead of south, as we did last time. We wanted to navigate around the top of the lake this time.
Our first port of call was to be Covington. This is where our current neighbor (on Big Fish) Tim lived for 21 yrs when he was married (currently single, if anyone is looking for a nice fella!:) ) and he was happy we were going to see his old stomping ground. He didnt want to come with us!
We had the 'girlfriend' with us, of course (GPS) but didnt quite know where in Covington to go..as in ...what is your destination??...
We turned a little too soon into a Starbucks (yes, there is that name again!) where we enjoyed a hot drink (it was cool and a bit drizzly).
I have to interrupt here for a moment and tell you that the weather is getting colder. It is a bit tricky to know whether to wear Jeans or shorts. or take both...usually a good idea, no?
Wwe enjoyed sitting outside with our drinks before taking a walk around the shopping complex, which really was a Restaurant complex, in truth. Another ZEA restaurant was there, and we were a bit bummed it wasnt either lunch or dinner...we might have gone there for either, we enjoyed our previous meal there so much.
Goodness, it sounds like we eat out all the time...but believe me, I cooks more than we eat out...ask Tim! he is the guest a lot:) even if it is just for dessert:)
So, we ventured forth again..it was after 3pm, by this time, so yes, we could justify the stop for coffee!
This time Waz set the GPS for the 'center' of town in Covington. We nearly fell over laughing (we were seated fortunately) because the center of town was literally the DEAD CENTER...the Cemetery!!! how fortunate for us. We like those things, as you might know by now. Except that it was raining large drops, which meant we were confined to the vehicle.
We did happen upon a Pumkiniere...well, ok, a church yard full of pumpkins.
When we pulled up to photograph them (Waz took pic), there was a pile of roten pumpkin which looked like someone had parked ON them:)
There really was nothing else to take photos of...you have seen all the victorian homes, so a few more would have you yawning, I fear...yes, lots of overgrown vegetation made more drab by the weather..lots of old homes needing repaint and repair jobs..this was the Historic part of town, by the way.
We took at least two wrong turns in our quest for the 'right' highways to get back to the city, and I think we didnt anticipate that it would take us so long to get home or that the highways we were driving on were in fact bridges, though the natives tell us 'those arent bridges!!'
Waz had a bit of a challenging time taking pics to illustrate this blog, so bear with us and the slightly blurred photos. We were ding the speed limit of 70mph, so that forgives us, somewhat.
I didnt feel that safe driving that fast, in the damp, mainly because you have to really pay attention to the road and the traffic, despite it being a sunday. This, like any other large city never sleeps.
Something else we had to contend with as we got closer to the city...there had been a major football game on in the Mercedes Benz superdome...the New Orlean Saints playing the Buffalos (from???). They are rapid Saints fans down here..I guess that much should be obvious, as any city in the USA is rooting for it's home team.
Back to the highways...
They are really a bit confounding. You are driving along Hwy 55, the trees and tangled mess of vines etc lines the road, and every now and then, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, there is a long road going off to the side, either left or right into a subdivison. Weird! There isnt even a 'town' per se within spitting distance. Covington had the usual Strip malls along the highway, but the Historic part of town was cute and old and fussy.
As we joined 55 to Interstate 10, we found ourselves on a raised highway above the swamp and marsh beyond. This roadway (highway) was rather mind-boggling to be perfectly honest. It was two raised (like bridges) all in concrete, about 20 feet above the water, with traffic going east and the other west (like us) back to the city.
It is the Manchac Swamp Bridge at 36.69 kms long. One of the longest bridges over water, in the world. It opened in 1979, it's piles were driven 250ft beneath the swamp, at a cost of $7 million per mile...(this is 1979 prices!)
This was taken at the beginning of the divided highway just as it left terra firma on the Nth Shore.
Our view of things.Lots of RV's...Sunday is the day they change locations, it seems.
This is TRUE Louisiana Swamp! It was a bit cool for Aligators we think, as we didnt see a one!
All those tire marks apparently get made by inattentive drivers...mostly trucks, apparently. It snakes its way over the top of Lake Ponchartrain and below Lake Manchac..between the two, I guess.
It got VERY tiresome, especially as the road was a clackety clack road...the surface was broken up (summer heat expansion joints) and makes for rather unpleasant riding.
Coming towards the open lake
...and the pylons that go right across it
...the rail bridge that ran parallel to the highway for most of the way.
Homes were literally built in the middle of the Marsh on no readily discernable solid land...I guess it must have been there!
The smoke in the distance is from a refinery.
By about here, I was in overload. The speed of the vehicles, the super fast idiots who wove in and out of traffic, and the fact that we were yet a good half hour or more from home meant no more photos! Sorry!:(
We thought NZers were bad drivers. They have nothing on the idiots in New Orleans. This was especially apparent on sunday after the big game. We can only surmise that they were fuelled with beer and the fact that 'their' team won. Yes, the Saints won decisively...yay!
We got home around 6pm as the light was pretty dim...as you can see in the photos. Coming back into the city on a ten lane wide interstate at dusk was not much fun. Due to heavy traffic from the center of town we opted to get off the interstate early, after we recognized the roads we could travel to get home 'the long way'. In fact, it turned out to be a rather nice drive through suburban streets. there was also virtually no traffic around and the speed limit was 40mph, thankfully.
We slept like the proverbial, fortunately, and today dawned bright and clear.
Monday
Knowing this was our last day for preparation, I went to the supermarket around 10am, and came back just in time to spend time with Dwight, the Marina owner when he came to pore over the charts with us. We had to have the rental car back at noon, but we were finished with Dwight by 11.30am
Dwight had come by the boat to show us (on the charts) where to go and where not to. He had just returned from Florida on the reverse trip, but he has also made the trip we are about to embark on, about 6 times. He is semi-retired, but loves being a Captain for Hire, and does many boat transfers per year. He was able to give us insider knowledge and tell us what and where to avoid, and what his choices are here there and everywhere. Very valuable insights too. Nothing like BTDT (been there done that).
With the car returned, we had nothing much left to do but eat lunch and take a break prior to our appointment at the fuel dock around 2.30pm. We took some time out to read and do some necessaries and then slipped the ropes for refuelling. The wind was out of the SthEast, so we approached the dock from the Starb'd side this time. Plenty of help when you need it, too. Tim gave us a hand both places. We also pumped out the smellies, while on the fuel dock.
We decided not to spend the night on the fuel dock, but return to our poles. This proved harder than we thought at first. It quickly proved that there were two currents running in the canal..one outside the poles and one inside, because every time Waz got close to the poles on the starb'd side, which was our guide in this wind (about 7 knots) he would be pushed starb'd instead of port which is the way the wind was pushing the front of the boat.
A minor challenge which he overcame after a few false starts. All retied, we retired for a cup of tea. As you do:)
I decided to do a final load of washing around 4.3pm, and put it in the drier. I also took some additional time out on the cockpit sofa to read..and Waz joined me there for a bit and a coffee.
I finished my book, so I can start another on the next leg of the journey.
Waz has seen to all the necessary in prep. for tomorrow's early getaway at daybreak.
Dinner tonight and boiling some eggs for salad and sandwiches. I had bought a loaf of brown bread at the supermarket, so we can have sangers for the next few lunches. I also bought some turkey breast from the deli, so we have a little variety. Because they are going to be long days, the need for simplicity is evident.
You may not hear from us for a few days, but I will be sure to use the voice recorder where and when I can to remind me what to write when we have internet capabilities again.
So, here I am signing off until we get to our anchorage tomorrow night, or the following night after we cross Mobile Bay, Alabama.
Time to relax and have an early night. Ciao for now.
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