Who Needs Turkey!

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Thursday, 25 November, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

We are in Mobile, happily tied up at Grand Mariner Marina on the Dog River at the western edge of Mobile Bay. But I get ahead of myself.

This morning we watched as Trevor and Sara wrestled a tree that had floated up against their boat. It had to be 25’ long and stuck out both sides of their boat and was against their anchor rope.

The trip through the industrial and maritime sections of Mobile was not nearly as bad as it could have been. Since it was Thanksgiving morning, most everything was shut down, just a few tugs and tows were moving. I imagine that on a normal day, it can be pretty intimidating cruising in that area with all the big ships and tows. We kept looking for the I-10 bridge over the river, but finally realized there was no bridge, the highway goes under the river. We passed the battleship, Alabama, and then we were in the ship channel in Mobile Bay. The water was a little choppy, 2-3’ waves. We passed a tow coming in and got a kick out of all the seagulls hitching a ride on the barges. There was a shrimp trawler dragging his net around and around in the middle of the channel with a cloud of gulls following. Then a fast tow came around us from behind and another trawler dragging his net was ahead. Finally we were past the trawlers and out of the wake of the tow and the water settled down a little.

Just before we got to the bridge over Dog River on our way to the marina, Sara radioed that they’d apparently hit something. They heard a clunk and the engine slowed, then they started feeling vibrations. We think they probably bent a prop on some submerged debris. Lord knows, there has been plenty of floating junk the last few days. Sara plans to dive down tomorrow and check it out.

This afternoon Sara’s friend, London, and her husband, Christian, and son, Sammy, came by bringing dinner. They fixed arepas, a Venezuelan soft corn bread filled with chicken and avocado. Delicious! We had a great visit with them and enjoyed playing with 4 year old Sammy. So who needs turkey for Thanksgiving. This was one holiday meal we won’t forget.

We do miss being with our family for Thanksgiving. We are thankful to have Sara and Trevor with us, and so happy David and Michael and their families had their dinner together. We’ve got much to be thankful for.

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Photos

Sunrise
at Big Bayou Canot

Anhingas
what time does the game start?

Mobile
waterfront

Sea Gulls
hitching a ride on a barge

Shrimp Trawler
with a cloud of gulls

Tow
coming up from behind in the ship channel

Sammy
playing with lighthouses

Welcome visitors
London, Sara, Trevor, Christian

Comments

[Laurie Gray]

Happy Turkey Day
We remember so fondly entering Mobile Bay as it was the end of our adventure just two years ago. The pictures bring it all back! Still up in the air as to our plans in January as John just got a possible consulting job and since these jobs pay us "travel bucks", we'll have to see how long this one lasts. We are currently in Los Angeles with John's sister enjoying Thanksgiving. Our son is now stationed at Camp Pendleton as a 2nd Lt and will be getting married in December. Lots of changes in our lives! We're thinking of you. Be safe on the water . . . Laurie and John