05-11-2015

Monday, May 11, 2015

Weather conditions:
High – 75
Low – 54

Rainy days and rainy nights…..

Zip….. Tent closes…… Plop…. Plop…… Rain on tent. These were the sounds last night as we entered the tent for the night. The wind began to blow. (I literally heard no wind one second and then heard severe wind the next – I heard the wind begin to blow.) The thunder rolled. We looked at the radar – the storm wasn’t tracking north of us this time. We had two storms come through last night, but we were safe and dry in our tent.

This morning the alarm went off at 4:00, just as another storm came through. John looked at the radar and said, “Go back to sleep.” He reset the alarm for 7:00. When the alarm went off at 7:00, John looked at the radar again and said, “We’re not going anywhere today.” No shower or laundry today.

John set up a tarp, with plans to cook and eat breakfast (cheese blitz casserole) under it. Water added. Food boiling. Crack of thunder. Wind blowing. Rain pouring. Rain blowing under the tarp. At this point we both stand up and gather our breakfast and huddle in the middle of the tarp. And that is where and how we consumed our breakfast. When the rain died down, we left the breakfast dishes (one pan, one lid, and two spoons) and went to the tent where it was nice and dry.

Another day of rest. This time it really was rest. What else can you do on a sandy beach when it’s raining – sleep! And that we did most of the morning. When we were done napping and the skies were done leaking and rumbling, we emerged from our tent to eat a peanut butter and jelly wrap (The jelly was one of our gifts from Rhonda and David from New Harmony.) and hang some things out to dry. Then John worked on our schedule, especially where we will pick up our next food package, while I read.

We have noticed A LOT more traffic today. We even witnessed three barges passing each other at once – one going downstream, one going upstream, and one (empty) passing another (full). There have been various kinds of loads. Some are hauling coal, others what appears to be rock and sand, and tanker barges, which we assume are hauling everything from cooking oil to fuel.

After a restful afternoon, we chose BBQ beef stew (made with dehydrated bbq mashed potatoes – very delicious!) and pineapple upside down cake (using my pudding-making trick explained yesterday) for dinner.

After dinner, we did some after-rain chores. We uncovered our cockpits, which were somewhat covered by our cockpit skirts. (Remember, the skirts have an opening in them for us to sit in when we are in the boat.) Our life jackets were placed in the sun to dry. We used two very Important items on our gear list to remove the quart of water gathered behind our seats – bilge pump and sponge. Now that the sun was not covered by the clouds, we put our Sherpa on its solar panel to charge.

John is now enjoying the last bit of our time on the beach to play his guitar. I’m so glad he brought it. I would have given up my pillow to ensure he could bring it. (Shhh…. don’t tell him!)

Tomorrow is another early morning – 3:30 – so we can beat some of the wind. But the benefit is a shower and laundry! (small joys)