MORGAN CITY TO HOUMA, LOUISIANA

We departed Bayou Petite Anse fairly early after taking the time to lift the dinghy out of the water and otherwise stow its parts as well as the outboard.  It was extremely cold this morning and our hands hurt bad by the time we were done.  But, we got it done and then left.  After a night of rain, it seemed like the water in the bayou was slightly higher so we had more water under the boat when we left than when we arrived.  Still, we left the bayou very slowly and made our way east towards Morgan City.

The trip to Morgan City was uneventful.  The Louisiana section of the GICW is a lot prettier than that in Texas because there are more trees.  The swamps along the edges remind me of scenes from the Deer Hunter.  I imagine it must have been even prettier before Hurricane Katrina wiped out the area.  There is evidence of the destruction in the form of trees torn out, broken in half, and otherwise strewn all over the place.  We have also begun to encounter vast fields of Hyacynths floating in the waterway.  Generally, these floating plants pose no risk, but you never know whether or not they are carrying a small branch of something just under the surface.  The tugs and barges just roll right over them like they are not even there.  We, on the other hand, do not want to risk damage to the wheel so we try to avoid them as best we can.

To get to Morgan City, you leave the GICW and go about a mile up the Atchafalaya River.   Before the Civil War, Walter Brashear, a famed Kentucky Surgeon and planter, bought up large tracts of land in the area and grew sugar cane.  Subsequently, he subdivided his land and thus began the first permanent settlement in the area, Brashear.  Because of its location with access to the Gulf, it was a strategic location playing a prominent role in the war between the states.  Brashear was actually occupied by Federal troops for over three years.  It was here that the Union troops planned the destruction of the Avery Island salt mines, the cutting off of rebel supply lines from Texas and the capture of Texas to restore her to the Union. 

After the Civil War, Charles Morgan came along.  He was a successful steamship and railroad entrepreneur.  He dredged the Atchafalaya Bay Channel and, as a result, Brashear became a trade center.  In 1876, the town was renamed Morgan City in his honor. 

Railroad bridge down.

Railroad Bridge up.

 Morgan City is quite quaint.  There is a downtown waterfront area where we walked and a historic district.  The city dock, while primitive at best, was quite easy to use and was very affordable ($20 per night including electricity and water.)  The payment of fees is on the honor system.  There is a little grey metal box screwed to a pole into which you deposit your money in an envelope.  The harbor master came down and greeted us, gave us a map of the town and told us where to go and where not to go.  Nice guy.

When we first got there, we got off the boat and walked through the historic district and found a nice dinner at JoJo's.  That was it for the day.  The next day, Hi John and Dennis, we stayed on the boat and did boat chores.  We had an endless supply of power and water so we used it to wash the mud off the boat and to do laundry.  Later that afternoon, we walked to a convenience store in a part of town the harbormaster may have told us not to go.  That evening, we saw someone Brenda recognized as a shady looking fellow we saw at the convenience store sitting on the flood wall over looking the dock where we were moored.  That felt uncomfortable.  We felt like we were being cased.  So, we called the police just to let them know we believed there was some suspicious activity afoot.  Within minutes, the dude was gone, probably because the police drove by.  Nevertheless, we buttoned up the boat tight for the night and stayed in watching movies.  We had a nice time in Morgan City.

Downtown waterfront - looks pretty dead - well, it is.

This is the historic government center, courthouse, city hall, and fire department - all in one.

Nice Post Office, eh?

This is a very cool park in the center of town.  It was decorated for the holidays.

Morgan City is a town where the petroleum industry and the fishing industry go hand in hand.  In fact, the emblem on the side of the town city vehicles is a shrimp overlayed on an oil rig wearing a hard hat.  Every Labor Day Weekend, Morgan City hosts the Louisiana Shrimp and Petroleum Festival.  Below are several photos of "typical" Gulf Coast shrimpers.

I got to get me one of these!



This morning, we left Morgan City for Houma.  Houma is a nice town, but there is really nothing for us to do here.  It is like an outlying suburb of the bigger city of New Orleans.  We stopped here to break up the travel days, as this is the last stop where there is a marina before entering the Harey Locks, the Mississippi River, the Industrial Canal, the Inner Navigation Canal, and then Seabrook Marina, at the mouth of Lake Ponchetrain and the City of New Orleans.  We have a long day tomorrow and it will be a journey complicated by significantly increased commercial traffic, bascule bridges, locks, the mighty Mississippi, and then weather.  Tomorrow night a significant storm is supposed to come in, so we want to be well tucked in there in New Orleans.  We plan to stay there for a week.  Our "bail out" plan is to stay in Lafitte, LA if we get too far behind due to delays to safely enter and cross the Mississippi and then the various canals we have to transit before we get to our planned marina destination.

Here are some photos of the day's run:

We had to transit the Bayou Boeuf Lock right out of Morgan City.  It was open so the lock master had us go right on through.

HEY HARRY!  THE NEXT TWO ARE FOR YOU, MAN.  POUR A TALL ONE AND ENJOY IT.

Here we are, tied to the City of Houma's brand spanking new municipal pier.  It is really a nice spot right off the GICW.

 I'm sure we'll have a lot more to talk about after we get to New Orleans.  Good night, all.  Talk to you again soon.