Birthday and Christmas present from my daughter

Yes we were in Lowes Saturday afternoon just doing some shopping and lo and behold my daughter grabs this microwave and says Happy Birthday pop. That is much needed for my boat one less appliance that I have to purchase myself. I'm very thankful for that much needed and very nice-looking microwave. So we're just moving on down the road working on the Carrie Michelle. Today's kind of a dreary day about 55 degrees kind of dis chills you to the bone out there. But I'm fixing to get started on the stairwell take it apart and get all painted up and get ready to to reinstall it and get the handrails on it. That'll be one less project that I have to do one completed well I guess that's it for today until next post y'all have a blessed day, Herald

Right now waiting for a free hand out

Yeppers he's sitting right there at the back door of the paradise Bar and Grill waiting for somebody to give him handout. The bad part about feeding the birds is they get lazy and they don't want to go hunting for their food. Well that's about it for the rest of the most y'all have a blessed day in may God be with y'all Herald

Second part of the Great American Loop

Well  we  made made the the east coast of the loop, and actually we came from Brownsville ,Texas to the  NewYork boarder. Now it should be about mid May and we're fixin to start the other half of the great American loop. As we get started the first thing that we should see, should be the great lady Statue of Liberty. What I have read this is where the tricky stuff comes in. We're going to go through the canal which is a little bit on the north side will get out of canal we're going into the Great Lakes. From the Great Lake we're going to be take about a week going through their listing all the sites. Then we're going to head down to you by Chicago and this is where you going to have a problem if you're tall. Maximum height at Chicago is 19 feet again maximum height at the Chicago bridge is 19 feet. If all is well at home now here we go again go down to the Mississippi for a little ways. We're going to cut out of Mississippi we're going to get into the Tombigbee from the time baby we're going to head on down south of the Mobile River come out in the Gulf. There's two ways you can go from there you can go to the right and go to dog River marina or go to live and go to Fairhope Marina and spend a few days and do some sightseeing whatever you might do. I hope y'all will continue to follow the blogs to wonder if I learn it and hope you have kissed some of your friends and I'll pick up on it in this follow us and see how we do in the meantime have me about it for today until next posting have a blessed and wonderful day.

Herald

The Great American Loop Info

This picture is of the Great American Loop. The loop consists of about seven thousand five hundernd miles of rivers and by ways. All in all there is about twentyseven thousand miles of rivers you can travel in the U.Us.Now that is a lot of water to go sight seeing on.

The Great American Loop starts at the Inter coastal canal waterway in Brownsville,Texas, then you will proceed east to Florida. This leg of the trip is about eleven hundernd miles by the ( ditch) that is what alto of folks call the Intercostal Waterway.

Here in the Florida panhandle is where you leave the Intercostal waterway and cross the Gulf of Mexico for about the eight to ten hours,that is depending on which port you go into. Here you will pick up the Lake Okeechobee Waterway and moving along to Key West Florida. When you make to Key West, I am sure you will be like us you will want to stay a few days and do the sight seeing thing. Just remember this should be a trip of a life time.

Now it is time to move on,so this is where we pick up the Atlantic Intercostal Waterway. We will travel this for about a thousand miles.  I have read a lot about no wake traveling thru here and they really enforce it too. DOING THE LOOP IS NOT A SPEED RACE,IT IS A SLOW MOVING SIGHTSEEING TRIP. According to what I have read, to do the loop rite it should take two years if you do it the way it should be done.Well this should about the first year of travels, I am guessing.

Well until next posting have a great day,
Harold

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Rain and then more rain

Well good morning to all of you that may be reading this blog.

Well yesterday was a very wet day here at my daughters house. After all said and done it rained 3 1/2 inches here. That also put a lot on the low water crossing under water too. As of now we or playing it by the ear to see what we or going to do today, I think shopping is out too. Lola think we had enough of that Thur. and. Fir. to last a few days. People are plum crazy out there ,wanting to fight you over a little of nothing. So to me it is really not worth it.

I still have not really figured out this now blog program ,cat use I 9am have a lot of trouble down loading my pictures and I really have some good ones that I would share with you.

Well until next post have a great day.Harold

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Your Dreams

Most people have a dream or dreams all there lives. Most dreams start when we or kids. What is your dream? Just think about it. Well my dreams have always been weird to most people , but let me tell you something. I have been to a lot of places and done a lot of things that most people would not do or have not had the orpatunity to do them. I have been back and forth the U S and I have been up and down it also. One of the most fun and memorable times s when my oldest daughter and I traveled the East cost on our motorcycles for a month. What fun it was too.I have fished the Red Man circuit for two years. I was president of one of the largestes BASS Clubs in Texas. Have fished some of the best rivers in the US for big catfish. Icought a huge 103# blue cat on the Mobile River with my good friend Bill Bird from Alabama. Have caught big red fish with my good friend Robert Dee from Mt. Vernon,Al. Have been all over Colorado camping and studying the old mines(the American or really taking a beating on that project) that is what I have found from talking to over a hundernd people.
So my major dream now is to travel the Great American Loop with my good friend e Sherliy and the Carrie Michelle that I am in the process of comply redoing it. Depending on the route you take it will run between 5700 and 7500 hundernd miles of boat travel and take you about two years or a little more. Hopeful we will be leaving sometime next year if all goes well.
So the Main thing is never give up on your dreams and they will come true one day for you.   

Just look straight ahead and keep on dreaming, Harold

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What a madhouse

Well good morning folks. Hope if y'all went shopping the last night that everybody made it home safely. I went to Walmart to get me here and man it was bumper to bumper side by side elbow to elbow people fighting over everything you don't know how to be a log in put out two or three of the same thing in and people going to start fighting over and got to call the cops and the cops are swarming their place that's the kind of ridiculous if you ask me but they're trying to get people in the store for their Black Friday stuff. But it becomes a dangerous situation like I think they had 360 inch TVs for 488 have you don't think people that you just need to look at it again what they do other than that we left Walmart and went to bed and bath. If you're my daughter and One in the box on that smell pretty stuff for for her body I guess. Other than that I had a wonderful Thanksgiving and birthday I'm glad they're birthdays are still coming .

Yeah she saved all the crab boil fixings  and it has a nice smell to it. Yes sir it is smelling real nice in there now she's making fish stock. Well that's about it for this morning so I hope everybody has a great and blessed day here going shopping be careful watch out for the idiots. Herald

Happy Thanksgiving to All

What or you thankful for ?

Well I am very thankful for all of the men and women that defend this country and the ones that gave the ultimate sacrifice. I am thankful of my famliey and the things that they have done with there lives. Where else can you do as you please as you want to? I can tell you, no other place then right here in AMERICA. I here so many people bitch about what is going on here. Well let me tell,you a little something, if you do not like it then get your butt out and vote all the old ones out of office and if you do not want to vote then shut up and get out of here and see how other countries do the people. Well it is just that simple.

If just stop and look around we are still a very strong country. JUST DON'T PUSH US TO FOR, CAUSE I CAN TELL YOU ONE THING , WHEN YOU PPUPUSSBUNCH OF RED NECKS OFF YOU OR IN TROUBLE. Well just look around and think of what you or thankful of .

Well y'all have a blessed day, Harold

Supper for tonight

Good evening folks this is a supper for tonight One crab Ola. Here we going to have a little hole down crab boil for my birthday . I tried to post since this morning when I got them but evidently blogger was off and I couldn't posted. But I left South Texas and came to San Antonio to be with my kids for Thanksgiving so no work on the Carrie Michelle's this weekend. Crabs, shrimp, new potatoes, corn, and some boudin sausage. So that's going to be for supper tonight so in the meantime you all have a blessed evening. Until next posting have a great evening and a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow. Herald

What a beautiful sky

Just a shot across the harbour this morning

Good Morning to all

Well it is going to be a beauful day here in So. Texas today. Right now at 6:am it is 59 degrees and heading to 74 degrees with a breeze BM them blwning from.the north at 7mph and gust at 15 mph. So all in all it is going to be a great day for working on the Carried Michelle.

Today , I think will mount the onborad battery charger and work on the stairs as and get the hand rail done, then if times permit I think that I might start getting the berth
ready to paint the ceiling.

Well that's it for this morning, so y'all have a great day. Until next posting be safe, Harold

Ready to paint the kitchen and helm ceiling

Well I got all the bad spots taking care of on the ceiling scrape down wire brushed all I have to do tomorrow is move things out get the old roller out and get to painting. Will slowly but surely things are falling in place it just takes time and money. I have found what works for me to keep from getting burned out I have 7 or 8 projects going at one time. That way when I get tired of One I skip over and go to the next one. So that's pretty much what keeps me occupied and keeps me from getting burned out. Oh yeah I forgot I do sleep a little time in to do a little fishing out there in the harbor . Yep you always have to have a little R&R and that's my R&R catching any fish. Other than that that's just about what's going on today I did get two wrongs all sanded down and stand out for the ladder I got two lateral send it down ready to paint and get it painted tomorrow I did get some stainless steel cut for the railings two or 3 I think.

If you like what you read and you're enjoying it leave me a comment and tell me your thoughts not that I'll change anything but you know you never know I might. Space well that's it for today folks like I said if you enjoy reading it leave me a comment until next posting you all have a great evening, Herald

Removal of the old AC unit on

Well that's what I did yesterday day afternoon was get the old condensing unit from the basement of the boat yeah we're in house has a condensing unit that blows air through it in a boat you have one that circulates water through it its called of water cooling unit. But they're just a place looking for place to happen spring water the water goes everywhere get an internal water leak there goes your condensing unit compressor is gone. So I opted to put a Coleman up on the fly bridge like on a Motorhome so that's what type of ac unit the Carrie Michelle will have. Other than that that's what I wanted to post this morning being I didn't get to yesterday. I've been working on the staircase rungs today. Gotham sanded stained later on this afternoon I'll oil them. So until next post y'all have a great day enjoy the beautiful weather wherever you are here in South Texas is to plum pretty, until next posting have a great and blessed day Harold

Stairwell for the Carrie Michelle

Well good afternoon folks what a lovely day it is here in South Texas. And I've been laid up for the last 6 days with some terrible gas pain in the foot today was a blessed day too large day he came through for me. Work down there staircase all day well not all day most of the day, got it all dry fitted. So tomorrow I will work on the handrails make them out of the stainless steel tubing. That's going to be an all day job cutting fit. Most ladders at UCL Boat or straight up and down I made this especially for my lady friend cuz I know straight up and down be hard for her to get up on top the flybridge. And it and if you can I get on the fly bridge you going to miss a world of beautiful stuff cuz thats where most of everything you can see 15 miles further than you can't out of helm. So that's about what I've done today besides taking out the old air conditioner out of the basement. Now I can install my other 50 gallon water tank. By installing the other tank. Give me about 120 gallons of water not that I'll need it but I'll have it. Gotta go right along with mine 260 gallons of fuel along with a 50 gallon gray water holding tank. So I think this a good for tonight I'm kind of tired it's time I try to shut it down and rest awhile beings I've been under the weather.

Until my next post y'all have a blessed evening and may the Lord be with you and bless you in any way he desires thank you for reading this and I hope everybody will continue on a journey with me Herald

What is The Great American Loop

Well good afternoon folks. Well I told you that we were going to be traveling the Great American Loop in the Carrie Michelle. You say what is the loop? Well the great American loop is 7500 - 5000 miles of river depending on which route you take. We will be starting in the South Texas intercoastal canal headed to the East Coast intercoastal canal. From there we'll travel north woods towards the Hudson River and see the Miss Liberty up there in cut across and go into the Great Lakes come down the Chicago River and Ohio River and get into the Mississippi River take the cut at the Tombigbee River make our way to the Tennessee River and head up towards Chattanooga to watch Spira Lake and that will probably take us all summer then some will be traveling about 10 miles an hour. If you want to do it right you have to go slow so you can see the beautiful sites out there and stop here and stop there. So will be in for a long boat ride. It would be a dream of a lifetime to do this. There is so much beautiful country up thru there that the average person never sees the cause you have to visit it by water. So stay tuned to us and will keep you posted on our travels and the progress on The. Carrie Michelle. Until next posting have a blessed day and a great one too, Herald

Shrimp casserole

Cooking time

Prep time 30 minutes
Cook time 45 minutes
Ready in 1 hour and 15 minutes
Yield one 9 x 13
casserole dish

Shrimp casserole ingredients
1 pound or peeled and deveined shrimp
3 cups of cooked rice
Two and a half cups of chopped onions
One and a half cup of chopped celery
1 cup of chopped green bell pepper
Four or five cloves of garlic smashed
1 stick of real butter
One can of tomatoes with green chilies
One can of mushroom soup
1 tablespoon of Tony Chachere's original Creole seasoning and no more are you will get it to hot
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 cups of grated cheese
Salt pepper to taste

Instructions

In a large skillet add the butter onion celery bell pepper and garlic and saute, after you get the onion clear at Tony's, Worcestershire sauce, mushroom soup, tomatoes with chili, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper and 1 cup of cheese and mix well. Now add the shrimp and rice and fold in, then poured into your 9 by 13 glass dish and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. The last 5 minutes sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top

Hope you enjoy this kid is a very good casserole easy to fix not much preparation time and your family I love it enjoy

Until next post have a great and blessed day, Herald

A Shot Across the Harbor

This a pic. from across the harbor,down here in So.Texas. It is very peaceful and quite here and a good place for me to work on the Carrie Michelle. One of the good things is you can get fish and shrimp every day here plus it's fresh too.

Well this evening my foot is a little better then this morning so maybe I can do something if is not raining.

Well that's about it for today,hopefully tomorrow things will be better.

Have s great evening till next posting be safe.
Harold

Well day 4 with the gout which is better

Well its been 4 days now I still have the gout its not as bad as it has been I just got up and did a little bit of walking today but it kind of hurt so hopefully tomorrow it'll be better and I can start working on the Carrie Michelle again well bad part about this is its just put me for five days behind schedule but soon as things get better for the staff to work a little harder at it get things done the next big project is ground ground in the boat for a lightning and just a regular ground and then that'll take some time 2 to 3 days 4 days I'm not for sure but it's very important that you get your Boat grounded and there's two types of ground you have your regular ground and you have your RF ground for your radios you can't put them together because of this it well cause a tremendous electrolysis between each one of them and then your anodes will be eroded away quickly well that's about it for today till next post and have a great day Herald

Well Day Three of the Gout

Well this is the third day that I've had the gout   like it is I can't very well  do anything on the Boat so I'm just laying around trying to get well. they say its a 3 to 10 day dealing even though my foot's got a lot better it still very painful and I can't walk on it yet but sooner or later I'll be up and about and get back on the boat and just take some pictures and get you posted with what's going on and let you see what the Carrie Michelle really looks like she's a beautiful young lady we have been getting ready to take that trip down to the ditches I called the intercoastal from there we will go on down to the Florida Keys and spend a few days down there actually we will be spending a few weeks and then from there we will head up to the east coast through the the intercoastal canal to the  Hudson River and see the Miss Liberty what a great statue she is.Other than that I'm just biding my time where I can get up and start moving around .One for my good friend Wesley  because he's brought me food and he brought me water so I can survive this until I can get up an move around.
Its tough when there's nobody around , closest relatives 200 miles from me I'm here by myself working on the Carrie Michelle waiting on my lady friend to get here in February but It don't do me no good right now so my good buddy Wesley is helping take care of me so until the next posting you all have a blessed day   Harold

Program

I do not know much about this program, but I will and try it. My main conceten is writing about the Carrie Michelle and get it posted. The last two days I haavbe been fighting the gout and does it hurt too.I just have to wait and set it out and let the hope by tomorrow it will be all gone and I can get back to work as time pass. I sure miss the work that I have been doing on the Carrie Michelle.Wellu7 I guess I better turn for the night.

Until next posting have a great evening,
Harold

Program

Bad Day for Working

Well today is an awful day to be working here.The wind is blowing at gale force and the rain is on the way too,so that makes it for a bad day to get any work done too. So with today being like it is I will do some reading and studying the waterway maps. The waterway maps are a lot different then the highway maps. One of the main things is learning all the markers that or on the water to mark the different.  things and what they mean too. There is so much out there in the water that it is unreal and it changes every day and sometimes every hour it will change.

The two most important things to have on your boat or (1) is a two way radio and the next is a (2) good GPS/deapht finder. With the radio the VVHS may not work all the time , but a good short wave will work most ofnthe time and a good deapht finder will tell you the deapht all the time and that will keep you from running aground.

If your the Captain of the boat then you need to train your partner about all things on the boast due to something happening to you.So there is a lot to learn about boating.
So until next posting have a great day.

The Carrie Michelle and Myself

Well good morning to all of you.
 I have been living in Tn. this year and I moved back to Tx .in Aug. of 2015. When I came back I wanted a boat again. Being I have lived in Tx. most all of my life. Well I settle in South Texas and bought The Carrie Michelle. When I got her she was stripped down to just a bear hull. So I started into fixing her up to be herself again. Most of the people did not think that I could it,well here it is Nov. and Nova.about 60% done with her. I have almost redone all the electric and getting ready to build the battery banks. The electric will have shore power hook up, 3400 amp hours of battery power with 2000 watt converter. Hoping I will be able to get about 1500 Watts of solar power. I have all ready installed 70 gallons of fresh water storage and 50 gallons of gray water storage. So that is what I have done so for and she is beginning to look like herself again.

 

The Carrie Michelle

About the Carrie Michelle, the Carrie Michelle is a twenty eight foot Penn Yan. She has a beam of ten feet and weights in at a hefty ten thousands pounds. What a girl too.We will be using her to travel the great loop this summer. The Great American Loop is a 7,500 mile trip and   is a two year trip if you do it rite. We plan on leaving Texas in mid Feb. heading to Fl. for a few mounths and then head up the eastern inter coastal canal.

The Carrie Michelle is equpied with 140 gallons of fuel, 120 gallons of fresh water, 50 gallon of gray water storage. As the galley she has is equpied with a ref/fr, stove with an oven, and a freezer, plus a micro wave. She is powered with two 90 Hp Yamahaw that should push her along at 10 to 15 knots per hour. On board there is a radar unit, chart plotter, gaps, fish finder,two VVHS raradios.So that is about it for The Carrie Michelle.

Until next post have a great day