Welcome back to the continuing adventures of Remedy.

Last year we were underway on the Great Loop. When we returned, lots of things needed tending. We were very busy for the four months.

Don and Ann Thomson's annual Extravaganza, the Thanksgiving French Picnic Cruise to Double Bayou, set the partying pace for the season.

Our TMCA Xmas Boat Parade entry was highly successful. It is described elsewhere on this web page. My personal contribution was the design and planning for the Ferris Wheel.

Commodore's Ball was reunion time with several who came cruising with us on Remedy:
    Tom and Sally Curran (came twice: Jacksonville FL area, also Potomac to DC and Chesapeake Bay),
    Sam and Charlotte Pakenham-Walsh (Trent Severn Waterway),
    Ed and Dorothy Hearon (Marathon and Florida Keys).
    Philip Kropf (Hudson River and Erie Canal)
    Barbara Lowenberg (Down the rivers Chicago to Green Turtle Bay)

Boat Maintenance became a heavy duty in January. We took the boat to Pier 77 in Galveston to get bottom painted, the props were refurbished, and all of the fiberglass dinks suffered in the locks on our Great Loop Trip repaired. The yard allow you to work on the your boat, so I spent two days cleaning and waxing the hull.

As soon as this work was finished we headed directly Double Bayou for a relaxing weekend with the club. Can you believe we went 7000 miles on the Great Loop before running aground on our second time back at Double Bayou. It was a great weekend with Ed and Hope Reh on Promise, Frank and Sue LeGrand on LeGrand Amour,

Sacramento Side Trip In February Marion took a side trip to Sacramento for the birth of our latest grand daughter, Allison Maria Austin.  She is a big healthy girl and will most likely be the last child in that generation. Next round will be great grand children, but there are no immediate prospects.  Meanwhile back in Seabrook, I was gainfully employed sitting the cats, and getting the 3208 Cats ready to purr for our next trip.

Mardi Gras in Galveston   Mardi Gras with the TMCA was a blast. This time we did the first weekend.  It's less crowded and every bit as much fun. There were afternoon Parades on the Seawall followed by Party time on the Strand. Here is some of the action.

Marion goes for the Beads

 

TMCA Mardi Gras Parade Crowd

 

Cancun 2001 Sam and Charlotte Pakenham-Walsh joined us during our week in Cancun. They too had an exhausting Mardi Gras week. We picked the perfect time to be away from Houston where it rained all week we were gone. The weather was warm, breezy and sunny in Cancun.  Daily tennis, and sunfish sailing and righting, filled the week.

No trip to Cancun is complete without a day at Playa del Carmen. It's a couple of hours by bus to one of the most beautiful beaches on the Mayan Riviera. We had a light lunch of nachos, quesadilla, guacamole and ice cold cerveza at the Tarrana Cantina on the beach. Rating food *** price $ and topless scenery ***

I found two helpers for my Drip Castle project.  The three year old boy was more excited by the waves than getting his full body tan.
 

We strolled the shops in town. I found a souvenir pin for my hat, Sam found a hat, Charlotte a gem stone bracelet, and Marion found silver earrings.

At a the beach side Cantina we were entertained by the antics of a strange looking animal that came in on his owners shoulder.It scurried about searching for food scraps. We were told what it was but quickly forgot the name.

"Its found in Crossword Puzzles," said Marion. "26 Down," I quipped, "Mayan Raccoon."

Farewell to Seabrook

Our last two weeks were filled with family farewell dinners and two Cruises with the club. The Offatts Bayou cruise was well attended by the sailboats, Utopia, Promise, LeGrand Amour, New Life and Otro Mundo. Land cruisers included crews from Sorciere' and Cracken.

The March 17 Cruise to St Patty's Day at Double Bayou ended up with only one boat, Valley Girl. All the rest took the long drive around the bay for the special seafood dinner. There was a large turnout and we were properly hugged, toasted, roasted, and wished "gute fhart" and "a good trip too".

We started missing our friends before we even left.