Go!!

   As I write this, we are tied up to a pier in Galveston.  We have just finished up a dinner of grilled steaks and potatoes and are relaxing on the settee in the salon.  Our first official day of cruising is at an end.  Today's completion marked the passing of a huge milestone.  It was the beginning of a grand adventure. 

      The passage was more or less uneventful, which when you're underway is a good thing.  The Houston Ship Channel was crowded but, everyone seemed, for the most part, to cooperate with each other and to know where they were going.  Listening to the VHF can be overwhelming to the ears but, it certainly makes me feel better to hear that the large tanker headed in our direction knows that he will be passing us.

   The soups that I made were a big help.  In no time at all, I had ladled some stew into a pot on the stove, brought it up to a boil, and served it to myself and my very chilly captain.

  

   Only one member of our feline crew decided to join us in the cockpit while on passage.   Silas finally got up the courage to check out the scenery and found that he thoroughly enjoyed it.  He only went below decks when it came time to tie up, and he only went then because we made him.

   Tomorrow holds our first overnight passage.  We will be stopping in Abbeville, LA. There are supposed to be good winds and chilly temperatures. So, we are planning on bundling up as much as possible and drinking lots of cider, hot chocolate, and coffee. 








   Mark Twain once wrote "Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do.  So throw off the bow lines.  Sail away from the safe harbor.  Catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore.  Dream.  Discover."