Oct. 24-27 - AGLCA Rendezvous

The AGLCA Fall Rendezvous was held at Joe Wheeler State Park in northern Alabama. AGLCA is a group of people with the same idea of adventure and love for boating. The rendezvous consisted of guest speakers addressing ports of call, crossing the Gulf, boating safety and other information about the loop from here, around Florida and up the coast to Norfolk, Virginia where the Spring Rendezvous will be held.

Besides the seminars there were kayak races, a life boat drill, cocktail parties and Looper Crawls. During the Looper Crawls we were able to visit boats at the rendezvous and see how they live aboard. It was a good chance to get a few new ideas.

We left Port Lavaca on Saturday October 23 and drove to Little Rock, Arkansas and then on to Rogersville, Alabama on Sunday. The Rendezvous started at 4:00 with registration, happy hour and then dinner. We enjoyed meeting new friends and learning more about the Great Loop. The weather was wonderful most of the week (besides the day we had tornado warnings in the area) and we enjoyed the fall colors we don’t see in our part of the country.

Joe Wheeler Lodge

Looper boats at the Rendezvous

The view from our balcony

The start of Stan's race

The rendezvous was over Wednesday night and we drove to Memphis on Thursday. We took in a few sites, but mostly we enjoyed our room at The Peabody Hotel. Watching the ducks march out of the fountain, down the red carpet and into the elevator was very entertaining.

Memphis skyline

The Mississippi River

Rolling out the red carpet for the duck march

Leading the ducks to the elevator

Oct. 16 – Powderhorn Lake

Another beautiful fall day, so we decided to take the boat down to Powderhorn Lake. We anchored off shore and kayaked into Indianola Fishing Center for lunch. As you can see from the picture…we were quite a ways out…almost a mile! We sat on the deck, had lunch and enjoyed the view. After lunch we kayaked around part of the lake and out a little cut to the beach. Stan fished a little and I beach combed.

Indianola Fishing Center

View of the boat on the way back

After our work out we came back to the boat…I scrubbed the scum off the bottom of the boat and Stan went under and checked the prop and shaft. This was probably the last time it will be warm enough to get in the water. Then it was time to relax!

We fixed pizza on the grill for dinner, watched the sun set and then headed home.

Oct. 6-10 - Rockport Seafair

Wednesday October 6 – We planned on spending the weekend in Rockport and attending the annual Seafair. The plan was to take the boat down on Friday and be there before it started, but the Rockport Harbor doesn’t take reservations…first come first serve. So Stan decided to take the boat down on Wednesday while I was at work. I drove down after work and spent the night on the boat. We were docked right across from the event grounds. We were in the middle of all the celebrations. We spent the evening sitting on the deck, visiting with other boaters and listening to the music coming from across the street. The weather couldn’t be better.

Stan Arriving in Rockport

Thursday October 7 – I had to be at work for a United Way fundraiser we were having…would have loved to have the day off. While I was at work Stan enjoyed the day walking around the harbor and riding his bike around town. He spent some time talking to a lady that runs one of the bait shops on the harbor…she was picking crab. Stan bought a container of crab and made crab cakes for dinner. What a wonderful treat.

I had Daddy take me down to Rockport after work so we didn’t have to worry about getting our car later. We rode our bikes, visited with some people we had met here last spring, took a walk and enjoyed drinks on the deck. What a good way to spend the evening.

Friday October 8 – We had a slow morning…watched the sun come up, drank coffee, started stew in the crock pot and visited with people as they passed by the boat. It was great having the bikes to use. We spent time riding around the harbor, Rockport City Beach and even ran to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things.

We went to the Texas Maritime Museum in the afternoon…nice little museum. We had a great view of the harbor and Seafair grounds from the third floor observation deck.

Lots of boats have come in for Seafair and to enjoy the beautiful weather. We were invited to a cocktail party on the “Chekara” and met a lot of nice boaters. After drinks and dinner we went to Seafair…looked at a lot of nice arts and crafts booths and listened to the music for awhile. It’s been a wonderful day. If this is what the cruising life is all about…we are ready to go!

Sunrise view from the boat

"Rites of Spring" sculpture at Rockport Center for the Arts

The Pearl in Rockport Harbor

View of Seafair from our boat

Saturday October 9 – We had another great morning. I really enjoy waking up on the boat. We went back to Seafair as soon as they opened…it was a little hard to look at the booths in the dark. We picked up a few things and had fun visiting with the vendors. Then we went back to the boat to drop things off. It was nice being able to go back and forth to the boat. We had lunch at Seafair while enjoying the music

Marshall and Tuitti invited us to their boat "Sea Eagle" for dinner, so we rode back to HEB to pick up a few things I needed to make an appetizer. It was fun to see their boat and we really enjoyed the visit. Later in the evening we visited with Fred and Karen on their boat “Karen Ann”. A very nice couple from Freeport. It was fun meeting other boaters and seeing their boats.

Views of Rockport Harbor and Seafair from the Texas Maritime Museum

 Crab Races at Seafair

Sunday October 10 – We pulled out of the slip at 7:30 and had an uneventful trip home. I had fun watching the dolphins play in front of the boat. Stan enjoyed using the autopilot, it gave him a little time to relax and move around the boat. We arrived back at Nautical Landing at 3:56. Back to the real world!

Leaving Rockport Harbor

Sept. 29-30 - Trip to Palacios

Fall weather has arrived and it is wonderful. Since the weather was so great…blue sky, lower temperatures and no wind, we decided to take a trip up the coast to Palacios. We left the marina at 9:15 and arrived in Palacios around 1:00. It was a perfect day to be on the water. The best part of the trip was watching the dolphins play in front of the boat. The water was pretty clear and I could see them having a great time out running the boat. They can swim a lot faster than our boat can move! At one point I could see three. I love watching them play.

We docked at Serendipity Bay Resort. Their facility is very clean and everyone was friendly. Most of the boats in the marina are sailboats and the piers seemed a little small, but we had no problem tying up. We spent the afternoon wandering around the waterfront and having a late lunch at PMR (Palacios Mexican Restaurant). We spent the evening relaxing and talking to a few other boaters. It was a great way to spend a beautiful fall day.

Our trip back to Port Lavaca was just as nice. What a wonderful experience after a long hot summer.

Dolphins playing in front of the boat

My first attempt at adding a video to the blog.

 

Coming into Serendipity Bay Resort

Views of Palacios waterfront

The Pearl at Serendipity

Serendipity Bay Resort

Views in the harbor

 Sunrise view from the flybridge