Stuck in Houma

I should have mentioned earlier that we arrived in Houma yesterday afternoon, and will probably be here through Monday. I would have continued this morning, but found out yesterday that my USCG documentation renewal was never faxed, so I can't move the boat till that's taken care of. The USCG is very active here and all the way down to the Mexican border, so chances of getting stopped before we get to Galveston are pretty high. I'll call again tomorrow and find out when to expect it by fedex.

Paw watch:

After posting the last entry from New Orleans, we walked around the French Quarter for a while, but didn't stop anywhere, and finally started heading back to the boat around 1800. My iphone told me it was just under 6 miles, and since it was so nice out, I figured we'd just walk.

However, Zoe was worn out by about halfway -- she'll just stop in the middle of the sidewalk and rest whenever she gets tired. A short time later, I got a blister on the top if my right foot, and had to start walking barefoot. Neither of us had done much walking lately, and we weren't making very good time at that point, so the short 2 hour walk was looking more and more like 3 or 4.

My phone was almost dead, so instead of trying to find and call a taxi, I decided to carry Zoe and continue on. I carried her across my shoulders sorta like you might see in a nativity scene. It wasn't bad, and she didn't mind, but it wasn't long before my bare feet started get sore too.

I had no way to treat the blister, but needed to find a way to cushion it for the next mile and a half so I could wear my shoes. Other than some receipts and a few dollar bills in my wallet, I had nothing on me -- I'd forgotten I had my bandana around my neck. I thought about using the paper receipts, but figured they'd get destroyed pretty quickly and I'd end up with a shoe full of spitballs, so I tried a dollar bill.

It worked great. If you ever need to make a quick pad for a blister, try using a dollar -- the paper is almost indestructible. And with all the druggies using them to snort coke, they probably make a good anesthetic too -- at least it stopped hurting during the walk.

When we got back, I noticed I'd lost my last pair of glasses, so we walked down to the local drugstore the next morning to get some new ones -- I stocked up on cheap ones this time. It wasn't far, and though both of us were a little sore, it wasn't until we got back that Zoe started limping. It got so bad that she hardly got up during the trip, and couldn't climb the stairs into and out of the cabin.

She's still favoring it today, but otherwise seems fine. I gave her a half of an aspirin a few times, but couldn't tell whether or not it helped -- maybe she could have used a dollar bill too?