Demopolis Marina, day 2 & 3

Tuesday & Wednesday, October 28, 29, 2014

The last couple of days have been spent lollygaggin' around at the marina, watching tv., hanging out with other Loopers, swimming in the pool and reading.  We did laundry, re-provisioned the boat and I got a haircut. (Note: if you are a person who has a coddled your locks and had them professionally coifed at high-end salons for years, DON'T go to the Walmart in small town Alabama and ask for a little trim.  Yikes! Thank goodness for ponytails).  

Now we're about to cast-off and start the last and most challenging leg of our river journey.  It should take about five days through some very remote back country of Alabama for five days.  When we're through we will be in Mobile Bay in the GULF OF MEXICO!!!  Whoo-hoo!! We're looking forward to the plentiful anchorages down there and long walks on the beach.

We will be away from internet for much of the next few days but we'll try to update when we can.

Demopolis, Alabama

Sunday & Monday, October 26  27, 2014

Like usual these days, we waited for the fog to lift a bit and then we were off.  Three boats travelling together, we had a pretty long day planned.  We've slowed our speed down even more which our dear Pearl the Perkins diesel engine LOVES (not to mention tons of money saved in fuel) and putt-putt-putted down the Tenn-Tom.

Jeff caught a picture of this guy swimming across the river.  Not sure what he is, maybe a timber rattle snake?  

The area we are travelling is very rural and today we were blessed:  Grant, from As The Crow Flies lent us his awesome zoom lens so we  had a blast taking pictures of all the wildlife.  We anchored out at MM224, which made for a short run into the marina this morning.

A quick story:  After a long day on the rivers we anchored in a little side creek.  Tired, I quickly curled up to read.  Absorbed in my book I was slightly aware of Jeff puttering around, checking stuff out around the boat.  He wasn't happy with where we were anchored and wanted to weigh anchor and move the boat upstream a bit. So laying my book down with a sigh, knowing he was right and the boat had to be moved, up I went to the fly bridge to drive the boat while Jeff lifted the anchor.  Drat.  The ignition seemed to stick and wouldn't turn over, so I (mistakenly, being distracted and tired) decided to dart downstairs to start it from the downstairs driving station.  Mistake.

Remember those roadrunner and coyote cartoons where Wile E. Coyote is about to fall but pauses for a second, looks at the camera with a forlorn look and then whoosh, down he goes? Well, that's pretty much what it felt like by the time I remembered that Jeff had one of the hatches in the salon floor open.  We locked eyes, then whoosh, down I went -- into the bilge with a girly scream, followed by the crash of the anchor as Jeff dropped it to chivalrously dash to my rescue.

Instinctively, worried about getting burned on the engine (which I had landed on with a thud), I somehow scrambled to get outta there in a hurry. I'm not even sure how I managed that but I have a vague memory of a crab-walk-like movement being involved.  Yikes!  I'm lucky.  I could have been seriously hurt out there in the backwoods of Alabama but apparently the old girl still bounces.  I'm fine, with only some colourful bruises to punctuate my story at cocktail hour.

Another story:  Because of my bruises, Jeff generously took on more of the driving than he usually does, giving me time to rest and heal.  He was enjoying taking pics with Grant's zoom lens, seeing what kind of wildlife he could shoot.  I took the helm for a bit so he could take a short break and within seconds I spotting this gator, our first one, grabbed the camera and snapped this picture.  We didn't realize is at the time but if you look closely you can see that she/he has a baby that she/he is protecing.  Jeff was proud of his snake pictures but he had to admit that my gater trumped his snake.

Jeff took this shot as the alligator started to move into the river and I was squealing with delight, dancing around on the flybridge.  No swimming for us from now on unless we're in a pool AND have checked it carefully first!

We are now safely tied up to a dock at a marina in Demopolis, Alabama.  The temperature is in the eighties in the afternoon and there is a pool that is crying out for attention from Northerners (the locals think we're crazy.  Too "cold". HA!)  Jeff has our little t.v. hooked up to cable and we are lazing about watching some good old t.v.  Life is good.

Tenn-Tom continued

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Stats:
MM 450 on the Tenn-tom to MM 286

Our travel down the Tenn-Tom continues.  It has been a pleasant few days, peacefully cruising down the river, watching the wildlife and the foliage change as we venture farther south.  It is getting markedly warmer, even downright hot in the afternoons, although the evenings are remaining nice and cool for sleeping.

We are travelling with two other boats now (As The Crow Flies and Last Mango, the other two either dropped off or moved ahead).  We have been anchoring out, often near something of note to visit in the late afternoon after we drop anchor, and then enjoying dinner on one boat or another.  Lots of fun!!

Today we anchored within walking distance of Waverly Mansion, an original antebellum home.  This plantation once fed over a thousand people a day.  It had been abondoned for years and local legend was that it was haunted.  College kids would come and sleep over on a dare.  Amazingly, nothing had been too badly damaged over the years and many of the unique and historical features are in tact.  It has been purchased and taken over by a family who have put their heart and souls into restoring it as best they can without any public funding.  The owner is a story teller extraordinaire and a quintessential southern bell.  For ten dollars each she took us through the house, keeping us spell-bound for hours.  Absolutely delightful.

From Left to Right:  Jeff & Susan, Gran Vida; John & Karen, Last Mango; Grant & Cindy, As the Crow Flies.

For those of you behind us and wondering about our anchorages:
MM 412, in Bay Springs, we dingied over to the visitor centre for a hike.
MM 377, on the top of the Glover Wilkins Lock in 9 to 15 feet of water (don't go close to the ramp)
MM 337, entered the channel from the South, anchored in 12-15 feet (four boats, lots of room), dingied to the Waverly Mansion, a short walk from the boat launch ramp just under the old railway bridge.
MM 286, in 15-9 feet, (four boats, lots of room), we made a quick stop on top of the Tom Bevill Lock to visit the old Snag Boat and visitor centre.

All three stops, Bay Springs Visitor centre, Waverly Mansion and the Snag Boat were well worth the visit!!

Looking up the stairs at waving Loopers at the Montgomery visitor's centre

We are now in alligator country although we haven't seen any yet even though I've been looking hard!! I'm a little bit nervous about them.  Last night we anchored beside an island that apparently had wild boars on it and I thought I heard something vaguely "snort-like" but we didn't see anything.  Jeff?? We continue to see lots of birds and turtles and even a few palm trees.

wading through the water hyacinths.

We have a relatively long day today that will bring us close to Demopolis Alabama, our next marina stop.  We'll head in there tomorrow morning. The temperature is supposed to be in the eighties and they have a pool so we're looking forward to some downtime, shopping etc.

Tenn-Tom

Wednesday to Thursday, October 22-23, 2014

We're now on the last leg of the river system portion of our trip, the Tenn-Tom.  We are usually out of range for cell phones, not to mention internet, so our updates will be sparse.

This is pretty much what we see all day:

For the most part, the travel is uneventful and very relaxing.  Easy boating.  We are travelling with five other boats.  That way we can all lock through the twelve or so locks at the same time, making the travel more efficient.  In the evenings we anchor out and some of us get together for pot-luck dinners, stories and laughs.  It's great fun!

Today we anchored by the Tenn-Tom Museum which allowed us all the opportunity go get out for a bit of a hike. Jeff said when he saw me leading this line-up it was easy to tell I was a school teacher.  It comes naturally to me.

Grand Harbor Marina, Day Two

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Stats:
Nothing.  Just stayed put at Grand Harbour Marina.

We had an easy day today.  We got up early because we're so used to that schedule.  In cruiser circles it's called "boaters' midnight", which is really 8:30.  We tend to go to bed early and get up early.

So, we got up at 6:30 or so, had coffee and got busy with our chores.  The boat has been spit-shined, vacuumed, scrubbed inside and out, etc. etc.

We were going to anchor out tonight but we decided to just stay put and have a relaxing afternoon and evening at dock.  Unfortunately, the wonderful pool they have here is closed for the season.  I don't quite get that.  It was hot today and there was their beautiful pool all closed up!  So we just hung out on the dock visiting with other boaters as we were all doing our chores.

We all finished up around 3:00 and enjoyed great "docktails" with John and Karen's (from Last Mango) gas powered blender.  Seriously.  This thing is the BOMB (figuratively speaking, we hope).  It is a converted two-stroke weed eater engine converted into a blender.  It starts with a pull-cord and sounds pretty much like a chain saw.  Ingredients go in the pitcher, and voila, margaritas on the dock without the need for a plug.  Awesome.  It sure draws a crowd!

Roe wanted to learn "Canadian".  She was so happy to receive her first "toque"

We stayed up late for boaters (it's 9:30!!).  Jeff was delighted that he hooked up our little T.V. to the cable on the dock and he is now peacefully snoozing on the couch with the first game of the world series on.  Gran Vida!!

Grand Harbor Marina

Monday, October 20, 2014

Stats:
From MM 207 on the Tennessee River to MM 215, Grand Harbor Marina.  9:00 - 10:30.  8 Miles

We had planned to get up early and make the short run to Grand Harbor Marina to meet up with other Loopers for a museum visit but those plans got quickly kiboshed when we looked out the window. Fog.  Lots of it.  Thick as pea soup.  We were staying put in our little corner of the lake.  Through the mist we could hear voices and a boat putting along, getting closer.  Then there they were, right beside us.  Funny to hear the guys reacting to their surprise in finding a trawler anchored there in the mist. Yes, buddy.  We're here. Thanks for approaching slowly.

Eventually the sun did its thing and we started to inch on. It was amazing how quickly the fog dissipated once it got going and a clear blue sky was revealed.

We pulled into the Marina and docked behind the boatAs the Crow Flies. They are the folks we met back in Nashville.They had a courtesy car booked for the morning for a trip into a Civil War Museum and they had kindly delayed their departure until we arrived.  The Museum at Shiloh is where one of the first big battles of the Civil War took place.  The U.S. does a wonderful job of preserving their history and it was actually quite moving.  They started with a movie that explained the battle followed by a driving tour around the park showing where the actual battles took place.  It was very sobering to think that this 1000 acre wooded park is where 23,000 young soldiers died.

The afternoon was spent doing chores like boat cleaning and reprovisioning the boat.  Later in the evening we enjoyed "docktails" on the dock with the folks from As the Crow Flies.  On the right is a picture of Jeff, Grant and Cindy trying to attract the garpike so I could take a picture.  Unsuccessful, so I took a picture of them instead!

Today we'll do a little laundry and slowly start poking our way down the Tenn-Tom canal.

Pickwick Lake, Alabama

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Stats:
MM 150, anchored behind Double Island to MM 207, Pickwick Lake, anchored just on the top side of Pickwick Lock.  57 Miles.  8:15 - 6:30

If you read yesterday's blog entry, we can almost say "Ditto".  Pretty much the same.  We waited for the misty fog to lift and weighed anchor, headed upstream.  It was a lovely, sunny day with the high about 70 degrees.  We took turns on the helm.  I'm absorbed in a good book and on my time off I curled up on the couch for a good read, Jeff watched a bit of football on T.V. on his break.

Misty morning.

Jeff is always trying to catch the "perfect" bird picture.  Sure enough, as we were leaving the anchorage this morning, a bald eagle swooped by RIGHT over the boat.  The perfect photo op!  And where was the camera??  Downstairs.  UGH!  This shot is a consolation prize.

We fought current all day and by the time we pulled up to the lock, which was our destination for the day, they were letting water out and the current was crazy!  While waiting for the lock if we put it in neutral the boat would quickly start to turn around and/or travel backwards.

We were lucky with our timing of the lock.  Just as we were getting close we heard some chatter on the VHF that four boats were waiting to lock through.  It was going to be about 45 minutes until they could get into the lock and coincidently, about 40 minutes before we would be there to join them.  Perfect!  We pulled up just as they were entering and we were able to drive right in and lock through.

After the lock we just pulled over off the channel and dropped the hook for the night just as the sun was setting.  Tomorrow we will finish the last ten miles or so of the Tennessee River before we hang a right onto the Tenn-Tom canal. This is a canal that connects the Tennessee and Tombigbee Rivers. The plan is to dock at a marina for the night and meet up with some other Loopers.  Then it's off to explore the Tenn-Tom and some of it's anchorages.  

We may not be able to post every day as some of the spots are quite remote and we won't always be able to connect to the internet... so don't worry.  We'll catch up when we can.

                                          We are seeing many more houses along the shore.  

                                   It's strange to see trees growing out of the water.

                                                       A Tennessee "raised bungalow"

                                                                       Our backyard for the night.

Tennessee River

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Stats:
Kentucky Lake, MM 88 to Tennessee River MM150, anchored behind Double Island, 7:15 - 5:30 (stopped for an hour at Pebble Isle Marina).

Working on his golf swing (not easy to do on a moving boat!) Yep.  He really did...and had a GREAT time doing it!

Through a very beautiful mist, we weighed anchor and putt-putted out of our little bay, continuing our trip down Kentucky Lake.  The day was mostly a travel day and uneventful, but amazingly relaxing and pleasant.  We stopped in at Pebble Isle Marina to buy fuel (the best price on the lake!).  The folks there are great.  We had heard that they sell delicious cinnamon buns so as we were getting filled up we asked.  Randy, the owner, popped into the kitchen to put some on for us!  We ended up spending an hour or so visiting with Randy and his wife and eating DELICIOUS cinnamon buns (on the house).  This is a GREAT stop with very friendly and accommodating hosts.  If you're looking for a marina in the area I would highly recommend Pebble Isle.

                                                                                     OH! You can see my aura. 

Kentucky Lake eventually narrowed down and became the Tennessee River.  We're not exactly sure where that happened but somewhere along our trip today we also crossed back into Tennessee.  Hmm... no road signs?

This is a close up shot of the area we are in right now.  There are two rivers coming offthe Ohio River (the "U" up there in the top left corner) -- The Tennessee (on the left) and theCumberland (on the right).  We took the Cumberland to Nashville and now we're working our waydown the Tennessee River.  

This is a screen shot from my iPad of all the places we've stayed so far on our trip. We're getting awfully South!!

We safely anchored behind an island just as the sun was setting, heated up some leftovers and snuggled in for a quiet night.  Tomorrow should bring us close to the end of our time on the Tennessee River.  Next we'll take a canal that joins the Tennessee and Tombigbee Rivers, appropriately named the "Tenn-Tom Canal".  We should be there by tomorrow or the next day.

Kentucky Lake

Friday, October 17, 2014

Stats:

Green Turtle Bay Marina to Anchorage on Kentucky Lake MM 88.  7:30 – 5:00

67 miles upstream.

We let the boat warm up well before we left this morning to make sure she wasn’t going to overheat.  And she didn’t.  She performed swimmingly.  It’s great to be moving again!

An old abandoned building.  It doesn't show in the picture below but it is covered in graffiti.  It's weird, on the charts they often mention places that must have been here before the river was damned and the lake created.  It will say something like "Dover Station (historical)" and you'll see a shallow area where something must have been.  It's a little ghost townish.   It makes me wonder about times past and the history of the lake.

Railway bridge to nowhere.

We had a lovely day in warm, sunny weather, tooting down the Kentucky Lake.  There’s not too much to report.  It is obviously a man-made reservoir with little islands of trees sticking out here and there.  It more scenic than we’ve seen for a while.

We anchored in a little bay with the bow facing west so we can sit on the bow and  watch the sunset after dinner. We’ve got steaks and veggies on the grill.  Later we’ll watch a movie and call it an early night.  It’s getting chilly in the mornings with an autumn bite to the air so we’re eager to get a little more south.  Tomorrow will be another cruising day.  We'll lay down some miles.

                                                                                  Our backyard tonight

Green Turtle, day four

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Stats:    Zero

It was the impeller.  Jeff was exactly right.  It was not installed properly and was not functioning at all.  As I understand it:  there is this thing called a "woodruff key" and it became displaced when the mechanic put the impeller in, so the impeller was just sitting there with the shaft spinning around inside of it and no cooling water at all was being moved.  Oopsie.

It's a machine. Stuff happens.  I understand that.  But I am kind of disappointed that the service department gave us a bit of a run around.  It seems to me the FIRST thing they should have said was "Let us double check that the impeller we just installed is working properly."  They didn't.  They tried very hard to convince us that the impeller was just fine and it was the heat exchanger or a thermostat etc. etc.

If a customer didn't have the background in mechanics that Jeff does they could have easily, and may have, replaced many more parts, spending much more money.  Luckily, Jeff does have that background and he was able to demonstrate to them that the impeller was not functioning at all.

They sent another guy over and he was great! With Jeff observing and learning the mechanic replaced the impeller and did it properly, professionally and double-checked his work.  Great!  They repaired it and did not charge us for the dockage for the additional time while the mis-repair was rectified. (Although, we did have to insist on that.)

All in all, sh!t happens, the problem is resolved and we are satisfied with the results.

So now we're good to go.  First thing in the morning.

This a wall of murals showing
the history of the area

The rest of the afternoon was spent in the town of Paducah, Kentucky.  We signed out one of the courtesy cars again and went in to check out the River Museum that we've heard so many good things about with Mike and Marian from the boat Midas Touch.

It was indeed good.  Lots of interesting information, history and models of locks etc.  But the best part was the simulator.  They have this little room with screens all around.  You can choose a simulation of a tow with barges, a power boat or a coast guard vessel and you get to pretend drive.  It's a blast!  The weirdest thing is, because you are surrounded by screen, when the boat tilts to the side it REALLY feels like the whole room is moving.  I had to sit down and watch the floor to make sure it wasn't moving because it really felt like it was!  We had great fun with that.

Susan chose to drive a Coast Guard
Boat.  We were worried that they would
take away the keys to the boat if we screwed
up, but we both did fine.

Jeff, driving a barge.   Despite our best cheering for him to
slam something he didn't hit a thing!

.

Green Turtle Marina, day three

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Stats:
A few miles...  A couple away from Green Turtle Marina and a couple towed back.

We did some shopping, completed our maintenance items: an impeller change (just precautionary, because it hadn't been done since we've owned the boat and we wanted to make sure it was okay), an oil leak fix (minor), filter change and fuel line bleed.  We were good to go...  we thought.

We got a few miles out and suddenly, out of the blue, our engine temperature started to climb.  It had never done that before and, um, that was what the new impeller was supposed to prevent!  It got hot enough that we had to turn it off to prevent serious damage and there we were, in the middle of a narrow channel between the two lakes (Barkley/Kentucky), right under the bridge and drifting towards one of the bridge standards.  Quick action was required.  I used the bow thruster to fend us off as best I could while Jeff put the dingy down and hopped in.  We quickly tied a tow rope up and between our "Georgian Bay 9.9" Yamaha pulling us and the bow thruster fighting the wind to keep us straight, Jeff was able to inch us away from danger.  That is until I turned around and saw a tow barge turning into the channel.

It was an "exciting" few moments but it all turned out okay.  We contacted the tow and he was actually just repositioning his load and was NOT heading our way as it appeared.  After changing our undergarments we contacted BoatUS and they came out to get us, again.

                                                                     Here's Jeff and our valiant "Georgian Bay 9.9" towing us to safety.

So we spent the day back at the marina working with the maintenance staff trying to diagnose the problem.  It seemed obvious to us that the first place to look was the new impeller but they seemed sure that wasn't the problem.  Jeff is working away on it now, trying to make sense of it.  A thermostat?

It was a cold, rainy day anyway so it was a good day to be tied up with our electric heater plugged in but a bother nevertheless.  We want to get going.

Ugh.  Mechanical problems.