Day 2 of the 200-mile stretch was a long day. We were the last ones out at 7:15am. Early in the day was nice with the breeze, but then we started getting the promised heat (37°C!) by around 2pm.
The sun at our back burned so badly. We would really like a sun shade for our rear window.
We considered anchoring at 2pm but I begged Greg to keep going. There’s no way we could run our generator continuously until dark when it would be cooler. We had to be careful with our fuel until we got where we were going.
Much as I love boating, I have to say that this stretch of the Mississippi was a lot like the really boring part of the drive through New Brunswick. Nothing but trees.
We like seeing barges just for a little diversion.
Speaking of which, Little Diversion was going to be our first anchorage, but we just motored on by. We went past Angelo Tow as well and finally decided to stop at South Brown’s Bar, which is not too far from Brown’s Shoot. Let me tell you, Brown’s Shoot was a good name for the anchorage as the water was very shooty.
I had a few drinks once the anchor went down and really wanted to go for a swim. The beach looked so close. I knew, though, with the speed of the current and my current state of inebriation, it wouldn’t be wise. I was tempted to tie a line around my chest and jump in, but Greg said “No, no, no”. Greg is the more level-headed one in this partnership. Plus, he’s the captain so I have to do what he says. In my heart I really knew that that was the right decision, especially given the colour of the water and the dead fish parade.
I didn’t know how not good an idea it was until the next day.
I sat on the edge of the swim platform and kicked my legs in the water. The next day, my legs were a mass of spots. It could have been bug bites. I did dance around the helm naked and laid down for a bit on the bench. But I don’t think so. I do not love that muddy water. Boston Shoot was not my home.
We both had cold showers which did very little to cool us down. Thank goodness the mornings are cool. If I had to wake up in this heat, I think I would just lie in bed until I melted away.
