Our new friends and slip neighbors Mark and Maridee who spent seven years on the Loop, told us we need BIG BALLS to go through the locks??!!! They said there could be really strong currents so when you secure your boat to the lock walls there is a possibility of getting slammed against said wall – so you need BIG BALLS for protection (Good Idea)! My sister, Sandy, is still here helping us so she and I went on a hunt for BIG BALLS…..we found them! They were deflated balls so Sandy inflated them and now we have two BIG inflated BALLS. They also told us we need rubber gloves because the lock walls are pretty nasty. So now we have BIG BALLS and RUBBER GLOVES for protection going through the locks…….

SWAMPS AND ALLIGATORS!!!…..

Our new friend, Jim Vincent, stopped by to give us some advice about our trip from here to New Orleans. Jim is a retired airline pilot and does graphics as a hobby. He designed, created and installed the graphics (name) on our boat. He has traveled the route from Kemah to New Orleans many times and was kind enough to share his local knowledge. Thanks Jim for providing such detailed and valuable information.

The Guide Book – Skipper Bob’s – says as you travel from Houston to New Orleans you’ll find yourself surrounded by beautiful swamps, you’ll be spotting alligators, and beautiful birds around every bend. Interspersed with the natural shoreline, you’ll come across stretches of heavy industrial development, mostly associated with the oil and gas industry. Some extended stretches are without facilities so self-reliance is important! Also there is quite a bit of barge traffic….wow!

So, needless to say, the more local knowledge we can get the better prepared we will be! We west coast boaters aren’t used to swamps, alligators, skinny water, strong currents, locks, and tug boats with lots of barges……

More Boat Maintenance….

The engine mechanic was on the boat most of the day. Michael found a coolant leak. We are very happy to have found it and get it repaired before taking off.