Space Shuttle in Houston Ship Channel -what a way to end our 20 day trip!!!

Space Shuttle in Houston Ship Channel -what a way to end our 20 day trip!!! Posted: 01 Jun 2012 02:46 PM PDT After yesterday's failed attempt at returning to our home port due to the bridge being close from 0700 to 1700, we took no chances by getting an early start. We left Moody Gardens at 6:18 a.m. headed for the Galveston Causeway Railroad Bridge. This was not without some trepidation since I had tried unsuccesfully 4 times the night before to call the bridge keeper on the VHF radio... As we approached the bridge, it went down, but there clearly was a train on the causeway approaching the bridge.

Ultimately, we made it through the bridge and were finally on the last leg of our 20 day adventure.  The picture (left) shows the base of the SE (Galveston) side of the new bridge. The base of the new bridge is formed by vertical steel pilings. Once the base of the old bridge (red barge) is removed, the new channel will be 300 feet wide instead of the older and much more dangerous width of only 105 feet.

When we were about 4 miles from our turn from the ICW into the Houston Ship Channel, I noticed the unmistakeable silhouette of the space shuttle crossing our path up ahead... Sure enough. We had heard on the news last night that the shuttle was about to arrive in Galveston on its way to the Johnson Space Center. About the same time we heard the Coast Guard announcing that there was a 500 yard exclusion zone around the barge carrying the shuttle. We were going about 3 knots faster than the "shuttle" so we caught up to her entourage in the Ship Channel (picture above).

There were 3 tugs (one pulling, one pushing and a "spare") and at least 7 small Coast Guard boats forming the safety zone around the shuttle. We proceded to pass even though we were well within 500 yards by virtue of being in the Houston Ship Channel.

We were allowed to pass, but several of the patrol boats (photo to the left) kept between Lucky Us and the shuttle. Just a friendly reminder...

This really was pretty exciting! Neither of us had ever seen a shuttle launch, landing, etc., but this special opportunity was a pretty cool substitute!    

Here is yet another picture of the shuttle taken during our point of closest approach. I love this view of the shuttle complete with "UNITED STATES" in big bold letters on her side.

...and oh yes, we arrived safely back at our dock on Clear Lake about 2 hours later.  On the way from Galveston Bay into Clear Lake boats were starting to gather to watch the shuttle arrive along with seemingly dozens of patrol boats from several state agencies as well as various counties and cities.  There are 10,000 boats on Clear Lake, and quite a few of them were going to create a huge traffic jam. Personally, I just smiled to myself since we had already had our own special moment all alone with the shuttle.

     Well, that's it.  Our 20 day trip to Brownsville/Port Isabel consisted of 15 days with at least a few miles travelled on the water.  We covered about 800 miles and saw lots of beautiful scenery, wildlife, etc. Yes, we are happy to be home, but I am not at all sure that we were ready for the trip to end.  I guess that all is well.

Return trip from Port Isabel -Day 7 plans change...

The plan to head back home from HarborWalk Marina today got "derailed". -pun intended...  After hearing the weather forecasts this morning, we decided to head back early. We left the dock about 6:45 am, and about 15 minutes laer, we had exited the marina and were in the ICW headed East toward Galveston.  At this point we noticed the Galveston Causeway Railroad Bridge going down presumably to let a train pass.  Then the Coast Guard came on the radio to announce that the bridge was going to remain closed today from 0700 to 1700.  Well, there went the day!
A few minutes earlier and we would have made it through the bridge since we were only a little over 2 miles from the bridge. What to do? Well we decided to head to the Moody Garden's Resort and Convention Center. This is a fabulous resort with all sorts of amenities, including a small marina.  Plus, we were running short on food on the boat which suddenly became a concern since we were not going to get home for lunch or dinner or ??? We docked at Moody and unloaded our trusty scooters for a several hour trip to Wahlgreens drug Store, Tuesday Morning, Randall's Grocery Store and back to Wahlgreens to pick up 2 prescriptions for me. The Admiral prepared a wonderful (fresh) salad with hot BBQ chicken for lunch. After the hectic morning, a nap seemed in order, but the nap was quickly interupted by a half hour thunderstorm.  Another squall line moved through about an hour later. Then the sky cleared in fairly short order.  Under a beautiful blue sky, we walked up to the hotel for a very nice dinner followed by:

After dinner, we walked out to the pool and as you can see, magic happened. Well, we had worn our swim suits under our "dress" clothes.

     The pool was warm,and the whirlpool was even warmer...  A nice end to a day that was quite a bit different than we had planned.  Guess that's part of the equation - be flexible. After all, we are retired.

     Okay, so we will try again to set off for home in the morning.

Return trip from Port Isabel -Day 6

We are ever so slowly getting closer to home.  Today was another intentionally short day as we travelled from Freeport to HarborWalk Marina and Yacht Club. HarborWalk is on the mainland about 5 miles West of the I-45 causeway bridge into Galveston. The trip from Freeport only took about 3 1/2 hours so we arrived for a late lunch aboard Lucky Us.  The transient slips are along the pool complex between the yacht club and the marina store/fuel dock.

The picture on the left (above) shows Lucky Us docked stern first with the pool complex just behind.  The picture on the right (above) shows part of one of the two pools with Lucky Us barely visible to the upper left of the low, scrub palm tree. We spent 3+ hours enjoying the sun, warm water and even the whirlpool.  The last picture is of the Admiral and says it all - this retired life is pretty good!

Sadly our plan is to depart for home in the late morning after logging some pool time. There are some thunderstorms predicted for the Houston area for late tomorrow afternoon and evening so the option of staying here an additional day is probably not there...

Return trip from Port Isabel -Day 5

Today is Tuesday, May 29, and it is our fifth travel day on the trip back from Port Isabel to home. Today's trip from Port O'Connor to Freeport took just over 8 hours with once again excellent weather. This is one of the more scenic parts of the trip in terms of man made structures.

The Caney Creek Swing Bridge is one of two remaining between Galveston and Brownsville. We went through the other swing bridge in Port Isabel.

The two other man made "wonders" are the Colorado River Locks and the Brazos River Floor Gates. Due to the lack of flooding, both sets of locks were open, and we were able to get right through with no wait (knock on wood).

   We arrived in Freeport actually Surfside, which is across the ICW from Freeport on the Gulf of Mexico, showered and headed out to the Red Snapper Inn in Surfside for dinner. The picture above shows the Admiral on her electric scooter headed down the dock on the way to dinner. Personally, I get a big kick out of seeing the Admiral nicely dressed for a dinner out at a real restaurant and riding off on her "chopper"... 

   Later tonight we heard this loud engine noise and looked outside to see this:

It is a huge barge mounted drilling rig that was pulled by two tugs  and pushed by a third.  Hence, the loud noise as all three tugs were working very hard. You just never know what you are going to see... We were very grateful that this huge tow passed us while we were safely docked for the night rather than while we were out cruising the ICW as it would have been a tight fit for passing.



Return trip from Port Isabel -Day 4

After four nights in Rockport, it was finally time to continue our homeward journey. We left the Rockport Yacht Club at 8:00 am and headed over to Key Allegro Island Marina for fuel (and a pumpout of the holding tank). That done we set off toward the ICW to continue on to Port O'Connor.  Beautiful weather all the way! We were obviously still "recovering" from our wonderful cruise with the grandkids. Terry, claims that she does not take naps, beat me to the punch after lunch when she announced that she was going down below to "lie down". It could not have been a nap, but she did sleep for over an hour (women???).  We had a relaxing evening and were asleep by 10:00.

Today's picture is of me (John) doing some "Captain Stuff".  I include this not out of vanity but out of ...frustration (I guess).  There were 40 plus pictures from the trip with the grandkids. I was in only 2 of them, and in both of those pictures, I was cut off above about mid-chest...  Now, lest any of you forget what I look like - here is a picture of me...

Extra, Extra, Read All About It...

Yesterday was supposed to be our third and final "lay day" in Rockport, but...

When we realized that our grandkids (and their parents) were spending the Memorial Day weekend only 15 miles away in Port Aransas, we offered to provide a "Dolphin Watching" trip on Lucky Us. We arrived in Port A about 9:30 amidst great excitement. There was another couple with their 2 kids (ages 2 & 4). Talk about busy! There were 5 kids between the ages of 7 weeks and 4 years. 

In the picture on the left (above) Bob is holding a sleeping Katie (age 7 weeks), and yes, when she was outside, she wore her infant life vest! The vest was a little tight under her chin, but she slept through most of her first ride on Lucky Us.

A little dolphin watching from the flying bridge. The dolphins were not very cooperative, but the watchers were enthusiastic anyway.

What a happy "pilot" (Granddaughter Sarah in photo to left).  Except for Katie, all of the kids had plenty of opportunities to steer the boat. I just turned on the autopilot, and then the kids could turn the wheel all they wanted, and we kept going in a straight line.  Wonderful invention that autopilot...

     After dropping everyone off back at Port Aransas, The Admiral and I had a delightful lunch as we motored back to Rockport for the night. It was early to bed with a LONG nights sleep for the grandparents! Grandchildren are an absolutely great gift, but they are tiring!!!

Return trip from Port Isabel -Day 3

After a nice day off (lay day) in Port Aransas, we set out from Port Aransas for our next destination - Rockport. Our lay day included scooter trips to the beach to swim and have lunch as well as out to dinner. I was the only one brave enough to test the surf with 25 knot winds... Probably not one of my best choices, but the water was warm...

The second picture shows one of the electric scooters loaded with a bag of swim gear and lunch -let's not forget lunch! We did find a nice sheltered spot for lunch along the ship channel in from the Gulf of Mexico.

Normally, we would have stayed another day in Port Aransas to wait for the winds of up to 29 knots to subside, but the trip to Rockport is short with only about 18 nm on our chosen route.  We were in the Intra-Coastal Waterway (in a "ditch" or dredged channel) for all but about 3 miles so we were pretty protected from the wind and waves. However, the last three miles were in Aransas Bay which is wide and open with pretty good sized waves.  Lucky Us handled the waves with no problem, but the dingy, which we store on the swim platform did shift somewhat precariously... Fortunately, there was no serious problem. but we will be rethinking the dingy storage and tie-down once again. Well, this is sort of an extended shake down cruise after all.

We plan to spend three nights in Rockport before we continue our homeward journey. This retirement thing is pretty good...  We do not have any reason to rush!