After leaving Lake Arthur we found that the Autopilot was still giving "Rudder Response Alarms". That meant hand steering the boat until it was repaired. Our first stop was at Intracoastal City where we bought fuel for $.86 gal plus 4% tax. We spent the night plugged in on 30 Amp service. $20 a night.

Avery Island

In keeping with the idea of trying new places, I planned skipping Morgan City and Lafitte. Instead we would try Avery Island, Houma and the Boomtown Casino. All are new overnight stops for us.

Avery Island is a short 18 mile trip from Intracoastal. We would arrive in time for a full day of sightseeing.
The Petit Anse Bayou is well marked for the first three or four miles. At Marker 16, (destroyed by a tow) there is a fork to the right that takes you to Avery island. When we saw Marker 17 we went back and found the downed marker 16 against the bank. The Texas and Louisiana Cruising Guide covers the trip quite well.  There are several small canals leading off the main bayou so pay close attention to your directions and your depth sounder.
 

Avery Island is the Home of Tabasco sauce.  We got down the bikes, visited the factory and took the tour.

There is a small general store and Deli where we had lunch. I tried the Boudin poor boy and had a plain hot link sausage. Marion had a ham and cheese sandwich. We both had Ice cream for dessert. Total bill for two was under $10. Rating **$.
 

After lunch we toured the Jungle Gardens by bicycle.  There are lots of mosquitos, and there are birds that eat the mosquitos, and there are alligators that eat the birds.

The mosquitos eat humans, and the humans eat alligator in these parts. This completes the ring of life in the Louisiana swampland.

 More scenes from the Garden
 

Houma, and Boomtown

We had a very long day getting to Houma. As we approached the Achafalaya River we had to battle a 2 knot current for about 20 miles. The spring floods in the Mississippi basin had all of the rivers up. when we approached the Bayou Boef Lock just past Morgan city the lock master informed us that the lock was down for repairs for at least several hours. He recommended we take the bypass route. This takes you ten miles down Bayou Shaffer to the Achafalaya River, down the river two miles then back up Bayou Chene for about 12 miles. There you meet the ICW about 8 miles East of the Boef Locks. It adds about 14 miles to the trip.

We arrived at Houma and found the free moorings at the park between the Twin Bridges. Our day had covered 94 miles and we arrived just before sunset. And just before the rains started. The moorings have water hookups... but the electricity has not been connected. There is space for about eight boats in this small harbor off the ICW.

The next day we treated ourselves to breakfast out. The closest place to dine is the cafeteria at the hospital. Food was OK but inexpensive. Rating *$. We walked back in the downpour, glad to have the umbrellas and warm clothes. The trip was tiring because of the rain and the need to steer manually.
We did get in touch with a repairman who promised to meet us when we got in at New Orleans.

The rain mercifully stopped about an hour before we reached the Boomtown Casino. After some rather chaotic docking maneuvers we got tied up with an assist from a Casino Security Guard. That evening we ate at the casino's Seafood Buffet. As usual plenty of good food and a very reasonable price.

New Orleans

We rose early and were the only boat in the Harvey Lock. The Mississippi river is up about 9 feet and moves quite swiftly through New Orleans.  We were actually looking DOWN into the city from our vantage point on the fly bridge.

There was a long wait at the Industrial Lock and we were accompanied by a tow that took up most of the lock. It added some interest to the passage. Next the Florida Street bridge was down for some repairs. That added an hour. Then the L&N railroad bridge was somehow stuck down for a 30 minute maintenance visit. Our 18 mile trip took five hours with all the delays.

While underway, I gave the Autopilot repair man a call giving our ETA. No sooner than were we tied up, he came. The Autopilot had two conditions that could have caused the problem:  The pump motor connection was a little loose, and the brushes and commutator on the pump motor had some KRUD BUILD UP that needed cleaning. Both repairs done, the autopilot ran like a champ. After hand steering for a week we were both tremendously relieved.
 

We had missed seeing Rich and Marge Cusson the last two times we passed through New Orleans.  Rich Cusson was previously Commander of the US Coast Guard Cutter Dauntless based in Galveston. He had contributed several Cruise Reports to  the TMCA web page.  They are interesting and fun reading.  We had not seen him and Marge since the change of command ceremony for USCGC Dauntless three years ago, and his promotion to Captain. He transferred to New Orleans about that time.

I called to strike up old acquaintances. They came out to visit on the boat, and took us to the French Quarter for an afternoon of lunch, doing the sights, and Coffee and bignets at Cafe du Monde. It was a memorable and fun afternoon.