hollym’s Neighborhood

So, we've lost the clutch in the boat and are being towed in by Reynold's brother, Don.

 

You generally don't want to see this when you have the whole weekend planned around boating. Oh well, we decided to relax and enjoy the ride back to the docks.

 

The fishing trip became the Booze Cruise. LOL. Not really, but we did enjoy ourselves on the way back.

 

Pat explained how it was MY fault that he only had one pair of underwear for the entire weekend. I NEVER pack for him and told him that all those clothes weren't gonna fit in the bag he had. He said he'd take some out but instead he just zipped up what I had already thrown in, which didn't include clean drawers, and threw it in the car.

 

 

Don did a great job of getting us back to the dock. It's so amazing to me to watch someone parallel park a 54' boat with only a few feet to spare  between two other shrimp trawlers at the unloading docks...while talking on his cell!! Of course, he's been doing it his whole life. Don is also a top notch diesel mechanic. He towed both the boats we were on into dock then went to unload his catch.

 

 

 

We got to watch.

 

 

We were docked across the road from Coco Marina. Their restaurant is where blackened redfish originated.

 

Pat and Reynold took the little boat and went out fishing but it was too hot for me so Christy and I stayed behind on the yacht (technically called a trawler by the company who makes it). Pat caught this 3' black tip shark but they didn't manage to get it in the boat. Too bad...I LOVE shark steaks!

 

It was getting too hot on the boat so Christy and I walked down the road to the bar to get a drink..water for me. Pat and Reynold were headed back to the boat and decided to meet us there for dinner since it was really too hot to cook:-)

 

We enjoyed a nice sunset, showered and watched a movie. I went to bed early and everyone else retired around 10 so we could get up and go fishing the next morning.

 

I had never slept aboard a boat for more than just a nap so I was anxious to see if I could. Seasickness generally plagues me whenever I'm on a boat that isn't underway but I wore a patch all weekend and felt just fine. Pat and I both slept very well. Twice we were rocked pretty hard by boats passing that weren't obeying the no wake zone but still a nice night.

The next morning we set out after our morning coffee to do a little fishing. We stopped when we spotted a flock of seagulls diving at the water and got ready to fish. As we were motoring to the spot, a dolphin surfaced next to the boat close enough to spray Christy when he took a breath. Fun but it startled her a bit..lol. I told her she screamed like a girl. The shrimp were just jumping everywhere in the water. We were catching speckled and white trout as fast as we could bait up and pull them in. We didn't even have time to get out any of the 3 cameras aboard to take a picture. When we did hit a lull, we had to put the fish in the cooler from off the floor of the boat and grab a drink of water because the fishing didn't slow down much. We had plenty of fish to clean by lunch time and Pat and I needed to head home. Reynold promised to take a picture of the fish but was so worn out by the time he was ready to clean them all that he forgot. So, big, successful fishing trip and no pictures!

The good news is that he found a guy to fix the boat for $650! Whoohoo!  I hope we can go again...it was a blast!!

Pat's sister and her hubby have a new-to-them yacht. She's a great boat with nice bones that just needs a little TLC. They invited us down there (Chauvin) to spend the weekend with them in the Gulf boating and fishing. We arrived in time on Friday night to load most of our stuff on the boat, eat a sandwich, shower and sleep. First thing Saturday morning were here on our way!

We had to pass the drawbridge..swingbridge so Reynold radioed in to have it opened for us. On the way we passed this cool old boat.

 

It reminds me of our camping neighbors at Black Lake....one of them is named Skeeter. The bridge swung open to let us pass.

 

There are lots of cool things to look at along the bayou. The guys spotted a 7 foot alligator while we girls were unloading and putting away the groceries and making more coffee.

 

We were worried about the weather holding out but it turned out to be of no concern. We never even saw a threatening cloud.

Reynold let Pat drive.

 

We passed this rig they call the spider.

 

We also met a couple of boats being escorted in by the water patrol and game wardens...wonder what they did?

 

They yelled and waved to us as we passed...told us to have a great day...didn't look like they were having such a good day.

Reynold radioed his brother, Don, who is the captain of Capt. Wayne, a 54 foot shrimp trawler, to meet us so we could get some bait shrimp from him on our way to the island. We spotted him about the same time that Reynold realized that there was a problem with the yacht.

 

We had burned up the clutch in the yacht...bummer. Luckily Don was on his way back in with his catch when we met him so he was able to give us a tow into Cocodrie.

 

So, while we were being towed, the guys continued to assess the situation and make the necessary adjustments to prevent further damage to the yacht.

 

 

enough for today....tomorrow...the rest of the story!

Especially NOT when you're headed to Florida for two glorious weeks of sun, surf, snorkeling and seafood! I've been getting ready to go by replacing most of our beach gear and my footwear. I found these glorious flip flops at the Beehive in Ruston. I got brown and blue ones to wear with my new swimsuit.

 

And peace to wear with everything.

 

I couldn't resist the camo sparkly ones even though I have very little to wear with them.

 

I got this great bag to take to the beach when I wear my black swimsuit.

 

Don't 'cha just love the fleur de lis flip flops? I couldn't resist the blue bag and had it monogrammed with a brown B to coordinate with my new blue and brown swimsuit.

 

Tomorrow, hopefully by noon, we'll be headed here:

 

Be back in mid-July! Happy Summer!

Yesterday we went out to Caney...mostly to play on the lake...you know, ski, swim, the usual. What the boys wound up doing was 'noodling'. Basically, you wade out in the water near a boat launch, look (feel around with your feet) for a hole or washed out spot, reach in either bare handed or with a stick and a treble hook and see what you can grab...or what grabs you! Here is what they grabbed:

 

Corey, Pat and Dan grabbed these catfish from under our local boat launches. One weighed 32.5 lbs and the other one was 35 lbs. They were cleaned and fried for supper and were DELICIOUS!!!

 It was a fun way to spend the afternoon and not a bad catch for our first effort. We would have released any other ones we caught because we just can't eat all that in a reasonable period of time and Pat will kill us if he had to clean any more fish!

Today is our 30th anniversary. I dug this pic out of the frame to post.

 

Happy Anniversary Babe! It's been a great ride...looking forward to the next 30 years!

Well...almost. We still have a couple of weeks but I'm getting in the spirit. I seem to have a mild case of food poisoning so I decided to spend the day online shopping for our upcoming vacation at the beach. Our old beach chairs had served us well but have seen better days. Here in North Louisiana, you can't buy beach chairs...guess that's because we have no beaches...go figure. Anyway, after spending quite a bit of time wondering whether to take the chance that I might not find exactly what I wanted when we stop for fishing licenses and supplies in Florida, I found some exactly like I needed.

 

As you can see, they have all the important features...CUP HOLDERS, book holder, multi position recliner, 12" seat height (so I can get my fat butt out) and PADDING...really excited about the padding since our old ones didn't have that.

Much to my dismay, my old swimsuit bit the dust this year. If it would last forever I'd probably never buy another one. But I have had to buy a couple. Here is the one I ordered today...just hope it fits!

 

Naturally, that lead to the need for a new coverup. So I found this one:

 

I think I have hats to match...will just have to wait and see when it gets here. Now if the EZ Up shelter is still in working order we're set. Oops! Except that I need a new beach bag....back later, gotta go shopping!

There's a really nice OHV/Multi use trail near Mena, Arkansas called Wolf Pen Gap. There are about 31 miles of open trails in, around, and through the mountains and woods of the Ouachita National Forest. These trails are nicely maintained by the United States Forest Service. We are most definitely novice riders although we've owned ATV's or motorcycles since we were kids and these trails fit the bill. Corey had left his Rhino in our care so we took it because if its comfortable ride and ability for us to sit side by side. We had been given some good advice about local trails but ultimately decided to just stick to Wolf Pen Gap due to time constraints and lack of knowledge about the local area. Had we been staying or camping in a more populated area, we probably would have discovered more areas to ride and sights to see but, as I mentioned yesterday, we were isolated on top of a hill. The trails are very scenic, usually, but they had been doing a lot of 'control burning' in the previous couple of weeks and much of the area was burned over and a little smelly.

We stayed on the really easy trails for the morning but then graduated to the 'more difficult' trails by noon.

I refused to try these though!

 

 

 

The dogwoods were in full bloom, the butterflies were out in force (once it warmed up a bit) and the wildflowers were fascinating.

 

There are numerous stream crossings. Most now have bridges built over them to prevent damage but there are still a couple that you cross through the water.

 

 

That one was up about 6" in the floor board! Hard to take pictures when you're holding both feet up.

 

 

 

There are interesting things to see along the way like this old abandoned mine (silver I think). The view inside isn't as grand. Why do people have to throw their trash on the ground!?!?

 

As I mentioned before, the butterflies were out. This one was especially fond of dog turds.

 

If I were a beautiful butterfly, I'd probably hang out here on these adorable wild irises.

 

 

 

 

Some of the views were really nice though once you rode to the top.

 

 

But then you had to make your way down again.

 

After all the riding we relaxed by the campfire at the cabin and grilled dinner.

 

Watched the sunset and tried out the hammock. No relaxing in that thing though! It hangs out over the hill...if you fall out you'll be at the bottom before you stop rolling.

 

More from our trip tomorrow! Have a great day!!

 

Pat and I decided to hang around town for Easter weekend since it was raining anyway. We enjoyed visiting with family Easter Sunday and seeing the pics of the new boat his sister and her hubby are buying. Corey and Brittney left for their newest job assignment in Florida Monday morning. after sitting around looking at each other for a couple of hours, we decided to go to Arkansas and ride the Rhino in the mountains. I called and found a cabin to rent for a few days since we really aren't geared up to tow the ATV with the motorhome and off we went! I love impromptu trips.

 

Our litte cabin was rented through Adventure Trails Retreat. It was quiet and secluded but near the mountains atop a hill with a nice view. We enjoyed the outdoor cooking area and the jacuzzi tub!

 

 

 

 

The wood were full of wildflowers! The violets growing along the hillsides were absolutely beautiful!

There were also lots of these

 

and a lot of these in both purple and white

 

as well as a few of these

 

Mena was in better shape than I expected. Most of the tornado damage was residential but some of the roads were still closed when we were there so we probably didn't see the worst of it. I'll cover some of the really neat things we saw while riding the Wolf Pen Gap trails in my next post. Have a great Saturday!

In my last post I mentioned meeting the North Louisiana Geocachers at the Pickle Barrell in West Monroe for lunch on Saturday. What a great group they are! While I was there ‘pickin their brains’ about all things related to geocaching, I mentioned how cool it was to find nice geocoins. LSUFan brought me one of the prettiest coins I’d seen..the Louisiana geocoin from 2006. I took a pic of the front and the back to show you what it looks like but the pictures really don’t do it justice.

 

 

It’s a really pretty coin. I’m so excited to be attending their event (see link in previous post) next weekend. Just wanted to share that with you. Thanks Bobby!  Have a great day!

Due to the extremely nasty weather of late, Pat and I couldn't go fishing this weekend as planned so that just leaves one option open...geocaching! Don't get me wrong, I would generally rather geocache than fish but we pretty much do things as a family. We headed over to the Monroe area because we also knew that the North Louisiana Geocachers would be meeting for lunch at the Pickle Barrell and we thought we might drop by to see what to expect from their "Third Time's a Charm" event next weekend.

Wow! What a totally dedicated group! They have all sorts of very cool things lined up for next weekend. Lots of activities for kids, a group night cache run on Friday night and a bunch of event caches...even a Whereigo! Don't worry that you don't have the equipment...they'll loan you theirs! How cool is that?!? They're cooking for everyone, have a really cool GeoBingo Game planned, and Easter Egg hunt for the kids, as well as goodie bags and door prizes. If you geocache, think you'd like to know more about geocaching, Lake D'Arbonne State Park is the place to be next weekend. Most of the activities are on Saturday but the night caching expedition will meet up at the Visitor's Center at 7pm Friday for those who want to pass a good time Friday night. I've never been to a geocaching event but this one sounds like a good one to start with. Here's the link for more information The Third Times a Charm Event

So, as I mentioned, we did pick up a few caches both before and after the lunch at the PB. I truly don't enjoy city caching much because you have to be so careful not to attract attention to the cache so that it doesn't get 'muggled'. We had to pass on no less that 3 caches yesterday because there were simply too many people around to grab them without being noticed. One of them was here

 

at this pretty lake near West Monroe. We did find one at another park on the lake earlier though.

One of the most fascinating things about geocaching is learning history that you didn't know existed. Like, for instance, that a very famous dog is buried at a school in Monroe.

 

Georgia Tucker is an amazing old elementary school with an interesting history. The story of how the dog came to be buried at this school in Louisiana is in the link to the school.

Geocaching will take you places that you might not have found but for the hunting of the cache...like this sculpture in downtown Monroe.

 

 I knew about the next place but had never been to the Ouachita Riverwalk. There was even someone water skiing even though it was only 50 degrees F out. Beautiful view though.

 

All in all...abandoned geocaches and all...it was a great day. We enjoyed meeting all our fellow geocachers and listening to their amazing stories. I'm looking forward to "picking their brains" at the event and learning more about Whereigo. We plan to place our first hides soon and want to be sure we do it right and that they're interesting for the finders.

I really should get busy scrapping all this activity but there will be plenty of time for that this summer when it's too hot to play outside. Happy camping, scrapping and caching!

Marvelous March has become Messy March. I KNEW I would jinx it by bragging on a great month last week. We've had nonstop rain and cold all weekend. Pat and I are stir-crazy so we decided to head to Monroe yesterday, with a little detour through Ruston to take Taylor some supplies, to do a little shopping and geocaching. Pat picked up a new pair of shoes at Academy and we enjoyed wandering around looking at stuff.

We wanted to do a little geocaching since we couldn't find any travel trailers to look at for Corey and Brittney. We selected a couple in a little-known park called Restoration Park. It is a restored gravel pit? I think. It was restored to a wetland area nestled next to I-20 in West Monroe. It has a nice, graveled walking trail that is 2.5 miles. I think we covered it all! Some places were a little tricky since we'd had so much rain but it was fun. Found both the caches. Here's a shot from one of the overlook areas.

 

After picking up 9 more caches in West Monroe and Monroe we headed to Riverside Coney Island to enjoy some music and crawfish. They were deeeeelicious!

 

The photo is titled "sorry" because I had to apologize for posting it for Corey and Brittney to see. They're working near Austin, Texas and don't have access to these wonderful crustaceans right now. Hopefully, they'll be back home before the end of the season.

Time for us to head to Mass. Have a super Sunday!