On Deck...

Not an alarm like: All hands on deck!

The weather weasels were predicting thunderstorms for last night and this morning.  Didn't happen.  It was windy, with north winds in the 20s, and cloudy.  A good morning for lounging.

We all have different routines when we're home... as shown by our boating and dolphin watching.  Izzy seems to prefer staying inside when she's home.  She has a tower by a large window looking out towards the canal, where she can keep an eye on things.  But, she has no interest in walks on the leash when we're home.  To make sure she gets some outdoor time, we let her out on the deck when we can be out there with her.

The frontal passage moved on through by noon, leaving behind sunshine, clear blue sky, a north wind in the low teens, and temps in the low 70s... a refreshing cool change (Hey, that would make a good boat name!).  Little Izzy let me know she wanted to go outside...

I sat out there with her, taking in the lovely cool afternoon.

She did hop down from the chair and walk around a bit; even contemplated how to circumvent the "kitty gate" on the steps down from the deck...

Can't say I blame her - it is lovely out there.  I think I am at least partially responsible for that: I put the cover on the boat last night, in anticipation of the predicted thunderstorms...

Yep, blue sky and sunshine.

:-)

Dolphin-palooza!

Less wind today.  Abundant sunshine.  A few degrees cooler, and maybe less humid.  About the only thing that would make this day even better: some dolphins.

Heading out on the boat, the water is much calmer than yesterday...

Our first view of dolphins before we got to the turning basin...

We stayed in this area for a half hour or so, watching the dolphin activity...

Some fishermen on this boat went close by the dolphins, but they slowed down - one in a row...

Yes, that is our island in the background - we hadn't gone far.

We decided to head for the ship channel to take a look around.  Wearing my new HUK shirt...

Joan said, "They must have done some 'spring cleaning' - that shrimper is looking good!"

Look to the front of the boat - a dolphin bow surfing...

We found a bunch of dolphins in this area...

Yes, they came up to our boat...

These guys didn't slow down, but they didn't run right over the top of them...

Another shrimper that has been "spiffed up"...

Back to the dolphins...

That is South Padre Island in the background...

A full breach!  Um... all I got was the splash...

But, we both saw it.

They ran along with us as we made our way back towards home...

I was surprised that there weren't more boats out there today.  We really didn't see any other boats besides those fishermen and the shrimpboats.  All this time with the dolphins, and not another boat around.  Time to wave good-bye to them...

Back around the island, and into the canal, heading for home.

Nice day.  Easy running.  We've been out about 4 1/2 hours between yesterday and today, and only used 2 gallons of gas.  Pretty inexpensive entertainment.

A New Caddy...

No, I wasn't on Let's Make A Deal... but, my Honey did get me a new caddy.  A hose caddy.  And two new "never kink" fresh water hoses to put in it, for the motorhome.

It's Friday.  No TGIF feeling here, other than: no house chores today.  We made a trip to the grocery store this morning, to make sure we have stuff to last through the weekend... we are seeing heavier traffic these days on the weekends - people heading to the beach.

Another breezy day, but heading out on the boat...

The wind is blowing a solid 18, gusting to the mid-20s.  Heading down the Port Isabel Channel towards the Brownsville Ship Channel, we are going right into the wind.  I keep our speed at a comfortable 4.5 knots, no spray.  Joan got out the lunch she made for us.  I took the boat along the south side of the ship channel to get some protection from the wind...

We were on the lookout for dolphins - saw one in the ship channel, but it disappeared after two surfacings.  No photos.  I turned us back in towards the PI Channel, putting the wind behind us... better: our potato chips weren't trying to blow away.  ;-)  We saw two more dolphins behind us - I rotated, and they disappeared.  Looks like this will be a no-dolphin-photos kind of day.

The birds were hunkered down...

You know it is windy when the birds aren't flying.  See if you can find the birds in the scrub brush...

We weren't ready to head home, so we decided to take a look around the former shrimp basin.  On the way to that, we passed this small bait shrimper...

This boatyard is South Point Marina...

Some of those boats on the hard have been there for years; at one time, they were someone's dream... now, neglected.

Turning into the shrimp basin channel...

There are a few shrimpboats in.  In better days, the shrimpboats would be stacked 3 deep, unloading their catch.  The fleet is a fraction of what it used to be.  Here's one boat that has seen better days...

On one side of the channel...

And just opposite from that...

Kinda hard to sell luxury waterfront home lots when the view across the channel is dilapidated.

This shrimper has fresh paint...

Haven't seen one painted dark gray before.

Not far to get home for us, and then...

Yep, a couple dolphins right before we turned into the canal.

Running into the wind, up the canal, there were a few birds along the shore on the outer canal...

The wind was coming right down our canal.  We rotated at our dock - it was easy to stop, since the front of the boat was right into the wind.  We tied off - home.  Joan took our stuff from the boat up to the house while I hosed the boat and put it away.  She and Izzy were waiting for me on the deck when I was done...

Windy, but still a pleasant day (88º) in the Tropical Tip.