On the hook

As anticipated passing through the New Orleans area proved to be very interesting.  We left 'the Casino' early. It was only six miles to Harvey Lock, the gateway to the Mississippi River.  We had a hard times making contact with the lock master - finally had to call him on the phone ( I mentioned that we started early).  We had a short wait but the big shock came as the lock door was opened and we can face to face with a very dense fog bank that came as a shock.  Also we had to make contact with a traffic controller who cleared us to the Industrial Canal, a few miles downstream on the opposite side of the river.  Using the radar we were able to make our way south on the river.  It wasn't before the before the fog bank  came to an abrupt end, as fog will do, and we could see part of the city of New Orleans.  When we arrived at the Inner Harbor Canal, the proper name for the Industrial Canal, we found that a barge and tow boat was waiting for the lock to open.  Because the barge was flying a red flag (dangerous cargo) we were not able to lock through with it and had to tie up to a dock and wait our turn, a little over an hour. What make transiting through the Industrial lock more interesting is the proximity of three bridges that must be called for coordination to open.  Two of the bridges had restricted hours for opening to accommodate rush hour vehicle traffic.  We passed through a very industrial area and finally got back into ICW.  The scenery has taken a big change.  The ICW was wider and for a while seemed more interesting. Also we often out in more open water.  There are several hugh flood control projects going on.  Lots and lots of your tax money at work.  Despite the delays in the NO area we arrived at the Rigolets, our planned destination early enough to keep on going to the east.  There is a very strong cold front passage forecast for late this week and we want to be in a place where we can be in a marina when it goes through.  Presently we are anchored about two miles north of the ICW in the lee of a marsh that is a few miles south of Clermont Harbor, MS.  We had happy hour on the fly bridge and watched a beautiful sunset. 
Hope all is well with y'all,
Capt John and First Mate Sue aboard DEBRIEF
and Colby, too.