Cleaning reward...

The wind switched from out of the south at a gazillion miles per hour to out of the north at a gazillion miles per hour, about 2:30 am.  And by "gazillion" I mean: it was gusting in the upper 30s.  And by "2:30 am" I mean: it was the middle of the damn night and the abrupt change of direction woke me up.  I checked outside to make sure the boat was still there.  Yep.

The wind kept up until mid-afternoon, when it dropped to 18 mph.  With the north wind clocking towards east, the humidity was down and the house was protecting the deck, the dock, and the boat... we moved furniture down to the dock, hosed it.  Joan swept the deck and wiped down the furniture as I passed it back up.  I took the cover off the boat and we shook the dirt off of it.  Then, I started cleaning the dirt off the boat.

"Since we're going through all this work, we should probably reward ourselves with a short boat ride, don't you think?" I asked.

"That sounds good to me."

I got the boat ready, and we shoved off around 5:30.  The wind was still blowing about 17, but it felt nearly calm after all the wind of the past few days.

Going down the outside canal...

Heading towards the turning basin, we saw one other boat out there...

A pontoon, with folks fishing.  Pretty protected water there with this wind direction.

Going down the Port Isabel Channel, we could see how high the tide was...

That area in the middle, behind the greenery, is under water; that's not how it is usually - the greenery is at the water's edge.

Just before the ship channel, this guy flew by...

The exposure in the ship channel is to the east; the wind had now clocked to easterly.  The waves built up to a foot, then two...

No problem, since we were running with the waves.  I turned behind the small island at the Y, keeping us in calm, protected water.  Another fly-by...

Another HUK shirt...

On the way home, we checked out these tugs that were tied off...

They look small compared to those drilling ships (above).

And from the front - each pushing two barges, quite a difference in size...

Heading back home.  No dolphins, but nice to get out.  Back up the canal...

And, home...

Another sunset...

The extend of my venturing outside today...

A little after sunset; the sky color is dramatic, but completely different from yesterday.

Cocooning...

It's never gonna let up... the wind is south at 29 gusting to 38.  Checking the hourly forecasts, it is going to be September before... OMG, we're never getting outside again... fire and brimstone coming from the skies... rivers and seas boiling... 40 years of darkness... earthquakes, volcanoes... dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!

If you said, "Ghost Busters," well, who you gonna call?  And, you get 50 bonus points.

Yeah, it's blowing like stink out there.  Still.  More of the same this afternoon.  Tonight.  Tomorrow, but the wind will change from the south to the north, and the temp will drop a bit.  Maybe it will blow back some of the dirt that made the trip north over the last couple days?  ;-)

Either way, along about Monday, everything we have outside is going to need to be powerwashed again.

In the meantime, we are watching movies.  Playing guitar and cooking.  Well, I've been playing guitar, Joan has been cooking.  It's better that way.

More of the same...

Wind and blowing dirt.  The wind was gusting into the upper 30s today... we got out of town.  A few things we had on our "next time we get to Harlingen" list, so we decided to make today that next time.

A few stops, a check on the motorhome, lunch, and (of course) Bass Pro Shop.  It was hot and windy in Harlingen, too, but not as much blowing dirt.  And... Bass Pro.

Joan presented me with another "Sophie's Choice" today: which guitar are you going to take when we hit the road again?  I have some time to think about it.  But, we are discussing it.  The trip, that is... I'm thinking the X20 needs to get more miles on it.

It may be a day or two before this wind relents.  In the meantime, it made for some unusual color at sunset this evening...

Some days you just don't feel like being social...

Crabby?  No, not me.

The wind was down some today, and no blowing dirt.  Planning to take a short ride, I went out to check on the boat... OMG, it is filthy!  Humidity and blowing dirt is not a good combination.  The cover had a layer of grit on it, and everything below the cover was a grubby mess.  I took the cover off, getting myself grubby in the process; hosed the cover.  Hosed the boat.  Then went over the seats and anything we'd touch with soapy water.

The wind is out of the east today, and our house is blocking the wind from the boat... warm and humid out there, with no breeze getting to me.  Yeah, we need to go for a boat ride, just so I can get some breeze.

Out our canal and into the ICW.  The water temp is getting warm, early...

It's the number in the lower left: 80.1º.  Not much of a cool breeze off the water.  In the turning basin, we saw two dolphins.  For one surfacing, and then they were gone.  The only other boat we saw to this point...

Border Patrol.  Your tax dollars at work.

Going south, we saw another single dolphin.  One surfacing, then gone.  That's OK, I am just happy to be out after the past two days.  We kicked back and enjoyed the ride...

Then, three more dolphins...

And, they were gone.  Not particularly social today.  We motored into the ship channel.  "Did I just see something off to the right?"  Nope.  Joan stood to look around...

Still just bopping along, we decided to head for home.  Ahead...

We saw several groups; not much surface activity, and none wanted to come swim by the boat.  OK, now we're headed for home.  Then...

Joan got some good photos, while I positioned the boat to keep the elusive dolphins in view...

Really, now we are headed for home - a late lunch at Russo's is calling my name.  We got a tail wave good-bye...

This fellow kept a close eye on us as we cruised up the canal...

I gave the boat a good rinse-down, and we headed out for that late lunch... or early dinner for the senior citizens.  ;-)

A cute kitty waiting for us at home...

Before we went out on the boat, Joan brought Izzy down to the boat while I was cleaning it... she stayed for a nano-second, then trotted back up to the deck.  She has only been on this boat at the dock, not while we've been out and about.  We'll pick a really calm day sometime.

Scooter Tag...

The wind died down today - sure left a coat of dirt on everything.  With the dew in the morning, followed by all that wind and blowing sand/dirt, our poor Honda was a dirty mess.  After lunch, we ran it through the car wash... it's white again!

We got out on the scoots for a bit, with a stop for Blizzards at the DQ.  I looked up the current tag on the scooter forum: your scoot by a taco truck or a grain elevator.  Well, tacos are a mainstay around here, and available in most of the restaurants.  That and the fact that there is no major employment that would lend itself to a food vendor truck put us out of the running.  Oh, and they don't put grapefruit or sugarcane in elevators.  ;-)

A bit of angst this afternoon: after a couple weeks of having my Emerald guitars in their cases, we got the guitar room arranged.  But, one of the guitars that was already on the wall had to go in its case and into the closet.  It was like a reality show: I played each; then played them again.  It came down to the Taylor 522 12-fret or the RainSong Shorty.  Sorry, Shorty.

No way either of the Emeralds is going back in the case - nice to have some variety when I sit down to play each day.

A warm one today - still 82º at 9:30 this evening.  I think I'll need to hose off the cover before I take it off the boat tomorrow... 'cause it's always cooler on the water.

Glad we got out yesterday...

Hot, windy, and humid today... with dirt blowing in the wind.  It ain't pretty.  One weather weasel called it, "25 gusting to 21"... really, I am not making that up.  Currently, they are calling it "SSE at 26 gusting to 33."  The temp is 83º, but will be over 100º further in the Valley.  Small Craft Advisory due to the wind.

I am calling it: fugly.

I went out in the blowing dirt to put the cover on the boat - trying to keep that fine sand from getting in every nook and cranny.  Pretty sure we have plenty of nooks, but not that many crannies.

I had thoughts of getting out on the scoots today.  That will just remain a thought, not a realization.

They can't all be like yesterday.  They are calling for "another cold front" this weekend.  We can hope.  ;-)

A day off...

No, we're still not working.

One of the prettiest days yet since we've been home: cool temps, light wind, and hazy sunshine.  After a leisurely lunch at Pier 19, Joan asked if we could find some pelicans... from the boat.  We are not seeing as many pelicans since we've been back, and those that we're seeing are juveniles.

As usual, heading out the canal...

I took us to the "Y" where the Port Isabel Channel meets the Brownsville Ship Channel - and a bird sanctuary...

Not a pelican, a Great Blue Heron...

Quite a few juvenile pelicans on the shoreline...

While looking at the birds, we got our first view of this...

OK, I guess we're dolphin watching, now... I mean, they did come to us.

Joan asked, "Do you want me to take the helm so you can shoot photos?"

"Sure."

"Where to?"

"You're driving."

About that time, several came right up alongside the boat...

We enjoyed their company for a while, then headed towards the jetties at South Padre Island.

A pelican...

The water was particularly beautiful today, getting more turquoise as we got closer to the Gulf...

No other boats around until we got into the jetties area...

Momma and a baby...

A day without tail is like a day without sunshine...

The Jetties are the huge rocks along the shore that define the Brazos-Santiago Channel; the water that separates the southern end of South Padre Island from Boca Chica Beach to the south.

Looking across the jetties, you can see some kite surfers (well, their kites)...

Heading for home, Joan wanted to kick back, so I took the helm...

It was a lovely down-wind cruise back home, wrapping up a gorgeous day on the water.  The weasels are predicting hotter temps and more wind the rest of the week; we have to take advantage of this cool stuff when we can.

Coming in our canal, we saw two black, orange and yellow birds flitting along the greenery on the side of the canal...

A Black-Headed Grosbeak, I think.  If anyone has a good ID on it, let me know.