And Willie Said: Day Two, Surfside Marina near Freeport TX -- Tuesday, August 9, 2016

As much as we would enjoy spending more time at the Sanctuary Resort, we make plans to continue east.

We are graced with an interesting sunrise as we leave.

Captain checks the WX and plots our course. It will be a long day, so we cast off at 7:30A for Matagorda to take on fuel. No one takes the time for breakfast before we get underway, so at 8:30 it occurs to me that Herb may be hungry. Yes, he is! So Pearl scrambles egg and sausage for him and he takes a break while Joe takes the helm.

My camera gets a workout with so many exciting things to see. There are quite a few fishing boats, and one that we like to call a 'three story condo'. Oh, I miss the photo op, but maybe there will be others.

Shrimp boats are a'coming, there's dancing tonight!

In Matagorda Bay seas are less than 1 foot. For landlubbers, we are south of Ganada and Louise on TX Hwy 77.

It is hot! Whose idea was it to go to the Bahamas? Or to go east? Uh, east is where the sun rises, and if we go east, what is in our faces?

We get the heat of the sun, which is too hot if there is no breeze. Herb says he wishes he had an umbrella. Pearl to the rescue; she just happens to have one on board. He discovers that holding it up to shield himself from the sun helps to keep him cooler -- or less hot -- and also causes a nice breeze.

We must be stirring up a school of fish; the seagulls come from miles around to follow the boat. Now and then a pelican dives down beak first and comes up with a fish. They are so much fun to watch.

What is different here from the cruising in the Pacific Northwest is that we don't see any logs, but here in the Intracoastal we definitely watch the depth, as there are sand bars that could catch you off guard.

All locks are open and we easily cruise through, the first one being the Colorado River.

I love the overpasses and check Pearl's paper Texas map to see where we are, learning this is the Colorado River overpass. On the map I see TX Hwy 60 south to Matagorda, then the bridge, which is Hwy 2031.

We arrive at our intermediate destination for fuel, even though the tank is still half full. There is a small fishing boat at the diesel pump and not enough space behind for our size vessel. Will the hose reach to us? The attendant thinks not, so we tie up to the pilings and wait. 212 gallons and $399 later, we move on out, now at 11:40A.

Herb calculates we used 112 gallons from Port A to here. It is 39 miles to our destination for the evening, Surfside Marina, so lets go!

For the Caney Creek swing bridge ahead, Herb calls the attendant on Channel 13 to request the opening for us. He responds, "Yes, sir. We'll get her ready for you. As soon as you see a safe opening, come on through."

Oh, no! A log! How in the world did that log get here from Dodd Narrows in Canada!!! We have plenty of room to miss it and do not disturb the seagulls taking a break from fishing.

Gee! We begin to see lotsa barges, barge after barge, after barge. I love this one that looks like she will run smooth over us! We also love to hear their pilots talking to each other to announce their size and situation for passing or overtaking each other. This tug is pushing two barges breasted up (side by side) and two strung out (a single one behind another single one.) Pearl gets into the fun by counting the barges being pushed as we pass them.

Oops, another log with seagulls resting!

We approach the Brazos River floodgate and see a barge coming through. Skipper reduces speed and we hold back at 5.7 knots. However, we hear a transmission saying, "Come on through, Cap'n."