Two whole days! We have two days before we planned to head for home. I've asked myself many times, "how long will it be until I tire of walking the beach?". I'm still waiting to find out! But I'm getting ahead of myself... lets go back.
We planned our day around the weather. Lighter winds in the morning said GO FISHIN'! It was still and beautiful. You could hardly tell where the sky stopped and the bay began.
We plopped the kayak into the water and loaded up our gear. It's been a long time since we did any kayaking and Bruce was ready to sell it. I convinced him to keep it for a while and I'm glad he agreed.
We actually did a pretty good job of skimming along in the kayak for having so little recent experience. I sit in the back and guide the boat along. Bruce is positioned in the front seat for fishing. He cast his lure up against the reeds on shore and it wasn't long before he had a strike!
He caught a fabulous black drum! This will be some good eatin'! Fry that baby up with a little Zatarains and some broccoli... YUM!
Unfortunately, no more fish were caught but we did some practicing with the paddles and saw all kinds of fish and birds.
We began to get warm so we returned to the boat. We dug out an old tarp that I had made into a sunshade. It was musty smelling but our cats are getting warm. Now we really look like "Boatbillies"...
I'll probably pattern our new sunshade after this one as it works really well. For now, it'll have to do...
Next, we headed for the beach thinking it would be a nicely marked pathway. The sign said 2.5 miles to the Gulf of Mexico. No sweat on our rugged little folding bikes, right? Well...
We rode a while in the dessert-like heat... we travelled abandoned runways and shell roads through brush. Buzzards circled patiently overhead. Some spots were loose sand and we had to walk.
Bruce worried that we were going the wrong way, had taken a wrong turn. We turned back and found a sign pointing the other way. Finally we were on the right track.
It seemed that we rode on for hours when finally we found the end of the trail and the beach! We parked our bikes and plunged in!
Ahhhhh! Life-giving, cool, clear water! My face was purple and I was sweating profusely! But we made it!
The beach was deserted except for about a thousand pelicans. They cruised in a line up and down the beach.
Bruce and I enjoyed our solitude. We walked a little bit but thinking we had a lot more physical exertion ahead of us in getting back to the boat, we just sat in the water and soaked up the cool.
All too soon, it was time to head back. We had a much better time returning and even found a short cut. Funny how it always seems faster returning that going...
We were invited to our "neighbor's" place for dinner so we got cleaned up and went over.
We spent an enjoyable evening with them and even had some of their fresh fried fish to go with our offerings. It's funny how pot lucks just seem to happen in the strangest of places...
The night was cool and we slept well enough. I was still nervous about the raccoons...
The next day was almost a repeat with a couple of exceptions. It was gorgeous and still...
And we went exploring on the kayak, further honing our skills...
But this time we caught no fish. We tried every lure we had but nothing. I guess they are all full from gorging themselves on all those fiddler crabs.
Back at the boat, we took a long rest inside to get past the heat of the day and then we set out in search of the second beach access point.
Brent (our neighbor) told us that there was a better spot with less of the beach eroded away. Come to find out, we had been almost there on the previous day when we turned back. This time, we found it quickly and parked our bikes where the big sand began, walking the rest of the way...
Again, as yesterday, birds were the only inhabitants of the beach. The rest of the pelicans of the world were hanging out here...
We frightened this big fella off and took his stick!
We had been warned against losing the entrance to the beach, so we marked our spot well...
Bruce began shucking his clothes the minute we reached the water. I looked both ways up and down the beach... saw no one and, with a big grin... followed suit.
A conversation kept recurring in my mind in which my (previous) coworkers learned that there would be nakedness when we went cruising. I laughed out loud thinking that it took us barely three weeks for the nakedness to occur!
We had a marvelous time playing in the water in our birthday suits and laying on the sand. We took a short walk but I got nervous when a small fishing boat came into view and seemed to be coming way too close to the beach. I just KNEW those guys had the binoculars out so I tried to hide behind Bruce, who had his hat covering his nether regions. Hey! No fair! I snatched up a couple of clumps of sargasso weed and covered myself "Eve" style, then dashed back to our clothes as the boat buzzed out of sight! It was fun while it lasted and has given me many moments of mirth in remembering...
We made the hot trek back to the boat to find Jezabelle standing watch. We were hot and sweaty again but had some chores to do. We loaded the kayak and bikes in readiness for our morning departure before we showered and settled in.
We had our dinner while Jetsam patrolled. It's good to know she's always on watch. We enjoyed the cool breezes in the cockpit until bedtime.
Morning found us with a bird invasion. I think they were ready for us to go so that they could reclaim their territory. The birds and rabbits here come surprisingly close. The place is a retired Wildlife Refuge and I guess the beasts feel safe.
We left the dock just before 8 am with a dolphin escort. We never did get over to check out the lighthouse. I guess that will be left for our next trip here.
We had a great motor/sail home with one exception. the trip took ten hours and boy were we tired when the boat was tied safely in her slip.
It is a very strange thing that when we're out on the boat, its a boat. But when we're back in the slip, it's a home again. Even the cats seem to feel this way. It makes no sense. I wonder if the two will merge at some point, or if we will ever be traveling away from home while Cruising... things to think about.
Anyway, we found Army Hole and enjoyed it's offerings. There are no amenities there, no water or electricity. There is an anchorage called Lighthouse Cove just outside the dock area so if there are too many boats there, or if the mosquitos are too bad, it's no worries. We would love to come back here again, maybe on our way out in October...
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