Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Alabama



10/27/19  Sunday

     We woke up early, still unsure if we were going or staying!  We are in Columbus, Mississippi.  About 7:45 am, Karl announced, "Let's go!"  I knew he was getting antsy, so I was prepared and we quickly got off and underway to make that first lock opening at 8:00 am.  We were traveling with 5 boats, so locking through was not as difficult.  We went through 3 locks and traveled 70 miles.  The rain held off, but it was a cloudy, dismal day.  We anchored in a beautiful, quiet cove, along with Aquaman (Andy and Cindy).  We were able to get out the paddle boards and go to shore to walk the dog and run.  We enjoyed a peaceful evening, listening to the birds and water sounds.  We absolutely loved it.

Aquaman at anchor



We were having to dodge big logs, like this one 


10/28/19  Monday

    We were up early and ready to fall in line with the other boats to make our way to Demopolis, Alabama.  We were among 5 boats and traveled 54 miles to Demopolis Marina.  We went through 2 locks and I am happy to report all went smoothly.  We were captivated by the beautiful wildlife.  White egrets and blue herons gracefully flew in front of our boat from one side of the river to the other.  We were the lead boat again and Karl did an excellent job of dodging the logs and debris in the river.  The white cliffs were very pretty.  We pulled safely into the marina and Salty was just as happy as we were to be in port.  We heard that nine other Looper boats were due to arrive later this evening!  We had another decision to make, either to travel tomorrow or stay, knowing that rainy weather was forecasted for Wednesday and Thursday (Halloween!)  Our plan was to go early the next day, traveling with Southern Cross.

Southern Cross 

Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway

Halloween Greetings at MidwayMarina!
Jamie Whitten Lock, 84 foot drop


10/22/19  Tuesday
     Our adventure continued on the "Tenn-Tom" Waterway, which was built to connect the Tennessee River to the Tombigbee River so boat traffic could get through.   Next stop was Fulton, Mississippi at the Midway Marina.  We traveled through four locks to get to our destination.  The first lock was the Jamie Whitten Lock and it was by far the highest lock we have been through.  It is 84 feet!  This lock was closed for several weeks in September, due to an oil discharge accident involving a damaged oil barge.  Thankfully, the spill was contained in the lock and did not spread into the river, but I imagine that the clean-up must have been very difficult and costly.  It delayed a lot of Loopers as well.

Scary at Midway Marina
She actually is holding a fishing pole
Sunset


     The marina was very nice and we enjoyed getting to know some fellow Loopers who docked along with us.  The restaurant was great.  Karl and I decided to stay an extra day and the day was delightful with perfect sunny weather.


10/24/19  Thursday

    We traveled 60 miles today, along with 12 other Looper boats!  We all navigated through 4 locks together, which proved doable, but was time consuming!  Some boats rafted up with other boats and the dock master was very busy instructing us of the order in which we could enter, etc.  It was kind of interesting, but when we finally reached our destination in Columbus, Mississippi, it was getting dark and we were worn out.  Karl led most of the way and he did a great job.  There were a lot of logs, trees and debris in the river, so we traveled slowly and carefully, dodging the potential prop busters along the way!  We bumped at least twice on something, but amazingly the props came through ok.

Pretty Railroad bridge


     We got settled into the Columbus Marina around 6:30 pm and the last boat in our caravan came in well after dark.  We knew we were in for some bad weather, so we were happy to be in a secure location.

White bluffs, starting to see a little color change in the trees
White Pelicans



10/25/19-10/26/19  Friday and Saturday

     Rain, Rain, and more rain!  There were about 17 looper boats here and we all tried to make the best of the bad weather.  We used the loaner car to go to Walmart, but that was about all we did with a car.  It really stormed!  Good days to catch up on reading and watching TV.   We watched FSU football, they finally won a game! We all gathered under the covered slips to have docktails one night, which was fun.  We met some new folks and we enjoyed catching up with ones we hadn't seen for a while.  Everyone was talking about where they were heading next, all downriver of course, so we knew we were in for some boat "congestion!"


Visit To Lexington, Ky



10/17/19- 10/20/19

    We drove to Lexington, Kentucky to attend our 50 year high school reunion.  We enjoyed seeing and catching up with friends that we haven't seen in years!  We also attended the Keeneland races over the weekend.  I laughed at some of the names of the horses, because they now remind me of boat names.  How do people come up with their boat name?  Some names are very original, and unique, incorporating their name in it, or their job, or some bit of humor.  Some of my favorite names of our Looper boats that are traveling among us this year include: Aquaman,  Chasing Eighty, Curti-Sea, Done Diggin', Phantom, Whiskey Business (from Kentucky!)  These are just a few, all the names have a meaning to their owner.  It is funny that we now refer to our friends as "Southern Cross'" or "Pegasus" or "Breakaway!"

Keeneland Race Track


     We loved visiting with Mom and our family in Lexington.  We had a great time, but knew we needed to get back on the boat and get on the river system, we still have 10 locks and many miles to go on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway!

Karl, Mom and Carolyn at Keeneland on Saturday

 
We went to Keeneland on Sunday with our good friends from Lexington, Don and Liz


Keeneland

Paddock Area








Saturday, October 26, 2019

Tennessee and Mississippi

Pebble Isle Marina


10/10/19
    We reluctantly said our farewells to Green Turtle Bay, Kentucky, which turned out to be among our favorite stops!  We traveled on the Kentucky Lake for 6 hours and finally entered Tennessee.  We arrived at Paris Landing State Park, Tennessee around 4:00pm. The marina is owned by the state and is very nice.  There is a restaurant on site.  We had docktails with several Looper couples, some we had never met before.   Doctails are when we set up an impromptu cocktail hour on the dock.  We all bring our own drinks and share appetizers and enjoy besting each other with boat stories of the day!

    The next morning, we walked around the state park.  It started to rain and it rained all day, so we caught up on things on the boat.

Fall is in the air


10/12/19

    We traveled about 43 miles to Pebble Isle Marina in New Johnsonville, Tennessee.  This is a small, marina with a nice restaurant and friendly people.  There were about 6 transient boats there and we got to know them all.  The Verizon service was poor, so internet was not very good.  We only stayed one night.  In the morning, the owner of the marina made homemade cinnamon buns and coffee for all of us!  It felt like we were staying at a bed and breakfast!

10/13/19

     We traveled 62 miles on the Tennessee River to our next stop, Clifton Marina in Clifton, Tennessee.  We saw some familiar boats, Mountain Wave was there and some new people.  We had drinks with some couples who were from New Zealand, who had just bought their boat (Somerset) near St. Louis and are cruising down the river system to Mobile Bay.  They plan to ship it home.  It was fun talking to them and we traveled with them the next day.  It was hard to understand them on the radio, due to their thick Kiwi accent, so Karl and I kept asking each other, " What did he just say?  Did he really say that? "

Foggy morning view from Clifton marina


10/14/19

   We woke up to a foggy morning again!  We traveled 62 miles on the Tennessee River to Grand Harbor Marina.  This marina is on Pickwick Lake and borders Mississippi.  We really like this marina, it is very nice, clean and has a pool, tennis courts, condominiums, a rec room and a courtesy car.  It is very hilly here.

10/15/19

Borroum's Drug Store, Oldest drugstore in Mississippi

Corinth, Mississippi


     We took the courtesy car to Corinth, Mississippi to get a rental car.  We looked around this city, which is full of Civil war history.  We visited the Civil War Interpretive Center, which told the story of the siege and battle of Corinth during the Civil war through exhibits, videos and artifacts and a beautiful courtyard with a flowing fountain pool with stones marking the battles of the Civil War.  It was quite striking and meaningful.   We ate lunch at Borroum's Drug Store, the oldest drug store in Mississippi, built in 1869 by a former Confederate Army surgeon and it has been in the family since.  We had great hamburgers and fountain drinks.

Shiloh Battlefield

10/16/19

     We visited Shiloh Battlefield today.  We were very impressed with this area and learned a lot from the movie that was shown before we walked around the battlefields.  This was where a 2 day battle was fought between the Union and Confederate soldiers on April 6-7, 1862.  It was one of the bloodiest battles of the civil war, ending with over 23,000 deaths.  The battle was a victory for the Union soldiers.  There was a self-guided tour around what is now a national park.  There are numerous monuments that mark the events of the battle.  It was a strange feeling to stand on these grounds where so many young soldiers died in battle.   It was a humbling experience.



Monday, October 7, 2019

Work on our Boat and Looper Party!

Yacht Club getting ready for fall!


10/7/19

     We are still in Green Turtle Bay, getting work done on our boat.   The mechanics changed the oil,  fixed the coolant leak, and installed new air seps.   Karl replaced the control panel on the air conditioning unit on the fly bridge and so far that seems to have fixed it.  It has been nice to stay in one place for a while.  We enjoyed a Looper party at the Yacht Club last night.  There must have been about 60 people there!  We rented a golf cart and could zip into to town for lunch and groceries, fun way to get around besides walking or biking.


Mom's Birthday in Lexington, Ky


Happy Birthday Mom!


10/1/19 

     We rented a car to drive to Lexington to celebrate Mom's 95th birthday!  It was a great day!  All the siblings were there, Gene, Glenn, Carolyn and me.  We enjoyed a wonderful birthday dinner at the Lexington Club downtown.  Carolyn did a great job of planning it and Rusty hosted us. 

Karl, Sandra, Gene, Carolyn, Mom, Mackie, John, Glenn
Rusty, Charlie, Joyce, Beenie, Karl, Gene, Mom, John, Glenn
Carolyn, Sandra, Mackie

Gene, Carolyn, Mackie, Glenn

Mom enjoyed the flowers and many cards that were sent to her!

Family Fun at Green Turtle Bay Resort in Kentucky!

Dinner at the Thirsty Turtle with Gene & Sandra and Carolyn & John


9/27/19   Wonderful visit!

     My brother, Gene and his wife, Sandra came from Minnesota to visit us in Grand Rivers, Kentucky!  We were eating dinner at the Yacht Club and in walked my sister, Carolyn and her boyfriend, John!  What a surprise!  They drove from Lexington to spend the weekend with us, too!  We were bowled over!  I was so happy to have all of us here together!


Deer on the resort property


     We enjoyed a great Saturday visiting the Land Between the Lakes.  This is a national recreation area between Lake Barkley and the Kentucky Lake.  It is a nature area with campgrounds, and plenty of biking and walking trails.  We took the dogs with us, Salty and Carolyn's cute dog, Bogie.  One of the attractions is a Bison and Elk prairie that we drove our car through.  We saw bison, but the elk were hiding!.  We took a trip back in time visiting a working 1850's farm.   We saw farm animals (pigs, sheep, oxen, chickens), old cabins, sheds, gardens, a blacksmith shop and a tobacco barn.  The folks who were working the farm were dressed in appropriate attire for that era.  We went to a Nature Reserve where we saw barn owls, a bald eagle, red wolves, turkeys and other rescued animals. We also got a look at the night time sky at the planetarium.  We drove back to the marina, rested up and then had a fun dinner at the Thirsty Turtle on the resort property.  We really had a wonderful day!  Carolyn and John drove back to Lexington the next morning.  

1850's Settlement

Karl stirring the pot to make apple butter
   
Screech Owl

Coyote

Bison


Oxen



     On Sunday, we took the boat out on the Kentucky Lake with Gene and Sandra.  It was one of those ideal days on the water!  Warm weather, delicious lunch, swimming in the lake, paddle boarding, a fun dingy ride to the "party hole" and great company!  We relaxed and had fun.

Gene and Sandra

Salty on the paddle board

   
A  Great day on Kentucky Lake
   

Karl at the helm

Sandra looks pretty relaxed!