Our cruise from Houma to New Orleans was pretty much uneventful and the weather was beautiful. We stopped for the night at the Boom Town Casino on the Harvey Canal. It was Robyn’s birthday, so we enjoyed a fabulous birthday dinner at the casino where we enjoyed meeting and talking to two interesting and funny Italian sisters!

The Harvey lock was closed for repairs, so we had to go through the Algiers lock. The Algiers lock was the first lock we had gone through with other commercial traffic. One large tow, two small tows, Robyn’s Nest, and Milady were all packed in the lock. Our stern was 10 feet from the back gate while the bow was over hanging the back of a tow. Needless to say, we were all a little apprehensive, but it went very well! As we progressed through the morning, the wind continued to pick up, making maneuverability more difficult with locks and bridges. Around 1:00, we made it to Seabrook Marina, which will be home for Robyn’s Nest for the next two months.

We are now home for the holidays and will work to refill the cruising kitty. Our second day home welcomed us with a little November snow. I, for one, cannot wait to get back to the gulf coast and warmer weather! We are both back at our jobs and are grateful to our bosses for working with our boating schedule.

So, there you have it. The first leg of our Great Loop cruise is history. When we return to Robyn’s Nest in January, we will continue without Milady. We had an incredible time with Kevin and Melinda, and will greatly miss their company and friendship. The purpose of their trip was to dock their boat in Pass Christian, Mississippi, Kevin’s home town.

We will return to the Nest the first weekend in January. Our goal for the next leg of the Loop will be Georgia. We will then come home again in April for our daughter’s wedding. We wish you the very best holiday season. Until next time...