Saturday, November 21, 2015

Rod's pictures: Incredible finds: Nov. 20, 2015

I just posted my latest blog and then came upon Rod's pictures on his phone.  I had to share them.  Some of them give a different perspective of what we have been experiencing.  Enjoy! 
Night vision sometimes
Incredible

Nashville at night from river

Bridge in evening in Nashville

Nashville in evening

Riverboat in Nashville



Ann and Harley

What can I say?  I get cold!

One of the many dams

One of the many tows for barges



An adorable old marina dog who loved his ears scratched.

Rod quips:  My next boat


The plant growth in one of the locks that drove the boys nuts.



Looks like snow



THE END:  Princess Mary!



                                   ANOTHER ADD ON TO MY BLOG 
The First Snow
We realize that our family and friends are enjoying or not enjoying their first snow of the season.  I love the first snow.  I can smell it, see it, feel it all the way down South.  Thank you for any pictures.  I am hoping that our grandkids are loving playing in the first snow.
 One picture I have is the first snow on the lake when the water isn't frozen yet.  It is beautiful. 
A great memory of the first snow is during my teaching days.  I was as bad as the kids.  I couldn't wait for recess.  The teachers would groan that the kids weren't teachable.  I secretly wasn't teachable.  I would get the kids all riled up waitiing for recess.  We would write stories about the first snow, sneak out for recess earlier than everyone else and form a circle, ready, set, fall to make snow angels.  It was so much fun.  I am hoping that any of my former 1st graders who are my facebook friends will read this and remember.  Recess with snow is a blast.
  On that note, this is the end of this blog for now.  Have a Happy Thanksgiving!


Friday, November 20, 2015

Nov. 19, 2015: The Journey Continues


Captains in the midst of planning our travel log
 
We left Green Turtle Bay Marina on Ann's Birthday, Nov.5, with plans to anchor out and celebrate the beginning of the next leg of our journey.  Due to shallow water, we eventually found an anchorage in the dark and had to postpone celebrating.  Winds and storms that evening = little sleep as the Captains kept watch.
Ann or Harley's Birthday celebration

     Harley's wise observations the next day:  be aware of the weather, check anchorage depth, stop between 2- 3 in the afternoon since it is getting darker earlier.  Warm weather does NOT equal summer.
     We have been routinely trying to anchor out followed by a stay at a marina.  Although the anchorages look beautiful,  the lowering of the water level which begins in August to prepare for
Winter and Spring rains, has been making the anchorages a little challenging.

                                                         A successful anchorage.

 We begin to travel in the morning shivering and by noon we are switching to summer wear.  Pretty nice.  Hope it continues.  The scenery is surprising.  Varies from an "Up North" feel to the typical Southern moss on the trees.  We have completed the Mississippi part of our journey and are now in Alabama.  We found out we were in Alabama by one of the Marina hosts:  "Did you see the phone booth while you were cruising?  That is where Alabama begins!  Only in the South!

    The fog off our boat in the morning.


                                                                                                                Phone booth = Alabama!

    The quaint Marinas usually provide us with a courtesy car to shop for groceries and/ or to dine at a local restaurant.  As we have before, when we arrived at the Columbus Marina (Mississippi) on Nov. 13, we were told of a nice restaurant in"town".  Concept:  small marina = small town.  Nope.  Doggone:  missed an opportunity to do some serious mall shopping.  Too late and we left that marina early in the morning.
     We have been able to take our dinghies out a few times which gives us a more up close and personal look at the incredible landscape. 


         I love driving the dinghy.. 

      I have been "at the wheel" several times with Captain Rod quietly watching.  Ann, however, has truly earned her Co- Captain title.  I maintain my  Princess status.  Ann and I have also mastered the skill of lassoing(is that a word?) the pins (bollards, floaters) in the locks.  However, notifying the Lockmasters now requires a little more listening due to a difference in accents. 


    Following are some of the names of anchorages or marinas we have stayed at since leaving Green Turtle Bay.  Perhaps I will ask how the names originated and add to a future blog. 
      Leatherwood Creek ( storm night),  Cuba LandingCrooked CreekEagles Nest Island,  Aqua Yacht Marina - between Eagles Nest and Aqua Marina the landscape was amazing.  Lots of serated sandstone ( I think).  Kind of reminded us of the Northern part of the Mississippi in Wisconsin.

 At Aqua Marina we had our first pizza since leaving Port Washington! 
Bay Springs Marina in New Site, Mississippi was our next stop.  Love to know the background to the name New Site.  But the people there would probably want to know what the heck Stoughton means!
Smithville Marina, Mississippi - ummm - interesting and very rustic to say the least. Getting used to seeing rocking chairs on porches at marinas. The dog I fell in love with is a mascot.  One live aboard boater compared his boat to ours:  I like your boat: it's clean!


Columbus Marina in Mississippi - lots of plant growth in the water.  Some boaters had to rake the growth away in order to pull out.  Found out there were supposedly alligators in the water.  Information passed onto to me AFTER we left!

                                                         One of our Marina Stops

  Great restaurant, Hucks.  Had a taste of catfish.  Not the same as the last time I tasted it - on the Mississippi in Wisconsin.  Not bad.  But will never replace the Whitefish that several of my boating buddies love to tease me about.  Love my Whitefish.
Pirates Cove Marina - we were across from a sunken boat that was in the process of being rescued.  We took a tour of a Southern Mansion and the Paddlewheel Riverboat that was used to dredge the Tom Bigbee River.  It is incredible what people accomplished years ago with the lack of amenities that we take for granted.
                     Riverboat
                                                                                                                  Sunken boat


     We are currently in Demopolis Yacht Basin/ Kingfisher Bay.  Our plan was to stay here for 3 nights and begin the last leg of our journey to Mobile, Alabama which leads us to the Gulf of Mexico.  BUT we have weathered a storm and have become keenly aware of how the rainfall effects the water level of the river which will help decide when we are able to travel again.  The water level in the river rose over 20 feet plus!  Lots of branches, logs, and debris.  We will be spending Harley and Ann's Anniversary and Thanksgiving in Demopolis.  And so the journey continues......

One of the Marina Bosses!
  
   

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Life and Travels on the Loop: Nov. 3, 2015

 
 

         What our boats looked like from the bridge in Nashville.
 
This picture is for my brother, David.
            
                                                     Our water homes at Green Turtle Bay
 

                                                           This is Clarksville Marina.


This is the Team from the Nashville Sheriff's Department.

We were very grateful to get off the Ohio River.  The Cumberland River is a beautiful winding waterway consisting of a variety of landscapes including bluffs, rolling hills with gorgeous homes and great fall foliage.  Unfortunately, some of the time we spent on the Cumberland was with rainy or gray weather.  The fall foliage didn't always show its true colors. 
     Our goal was to take a side trip to Nashville.  Taking the Cumberland led us to Lake Barkley with a stop at Green Turtle Bay Marina in Grand Rivers, Kentucky.  We did see several "Loopers" but their travel schedule keeps them way ahead of  2nd Knot and Serendipity. 
     Following 3 days catching up with necessities, we continued to Nashville with an anchorage at Dover Island and a stay at Clarksville Marina.  We have been blessed with wonderful sunny and basically warm weather until our trip to Nashville.  Nothing is more exciting than trying to anchor or tie your lines in the cold, windy rain.
     Luckily our 2 full days in Nashville gave us a sunny break.  We had fun listening to music in several bars.  It is interesting how your perception of a city changes from a boat/water outlook versus driving through the normal, crazy road traffic.  At least that has been Rod's and my experience on our way to and from Florida recently.  This Nashville felt like a small town with lots of music, boots, hats, beer, and people enjoying music - some good and some - not so much.
     Our boats were tied near the Titans Statium and under a beautiful walking bridge.  We may not have met anyone famous but as we returned to our boats after a day of exploring, we met 5 members of the Nashville Sheriff's Department.  They were off duty and involved in a scavenger hunt.  They needed to dunk one of their buddies in the cold water.  We enjoyed helping them out.
     We made our way back to Green Turtle Bay - a 3 day trip.  We are preparing for our next part of our journey - The Tennessee River which will eventually lead us to Mobile, Alabama and then the Gulf of Mexico.   Perhaps there will be a side trip to explore.  As you can tell, we are not on a schedule.
      Life on 2nd Knot:  It is beginning to feel homey.  We each have our own bathrooms which is key to finding our own space which is important to our adjustment to being with each other 24/7 for the first time in almost 28 years of marriage.  Another adjustment:  we are both retired teachers:  our teaching/learning styles clash from time to time.  I could be more specific but lets leave it at that.
      My sleep schedule is backwards.  Riding slow on the river to save fuel and enjoy the scenery tends to put me to sleep.  We are on the water for several hours which leads to another adjustment - lack of excercise.  Walking back and forth on the boat just doesn't cut it.  And of course, checking out recommended restaurants like Patti's in Grand River tonight didn't help.  Had to test their potted bread and highly recommended lemon meringue pie!  Best part was bringing left overs back to the boat for our next meal. Several restaurants in the small towns near marinas have courtesy cars. 
     In case you are wondering:  YES, I am homesick.  Seeing ads on tv for the holidays is hard.  It doesn't feel like Thanksgiving weather but I hear that weather back home isn't typical either.  I think of my kids and grandkids and what they are doing every day.  Little personal side note:  CALL.  We are not in the boonies.  We do have cell service.  We even have TV - I just forget to turn it on sometimes.
        My homesickness was really tested today, Wednesday, Nov.4.  My pregnant daughter, Rachel, fell at school and broke her nose - before kids arrived.  Matt took her to ER, then hospital where she  and baby were monitored for several hours.  Both doing ok.  Will get her nose fixed Friday, hopefully.  I want to be there to wrap my arms around her but I know Matt and the kids will take good care of her. This is the hard part of a trip like this.  I wanted a Magic Carpet to whisk me away to Oconomowoc.  I also need to talk to Ryan and Nikki too.


This is a lock.

      Our blogs, both Ann and mine, may not be as frequent as expected because sometimes there is not much to tell:  running on the river, tie up either at an anchorage or marina, do wash, eat supper.   Oh, I forgot:  I am driving the boat for longer periods of time.  Rod sets the boat on Auto pilot and I just move the knob to the right or left and make sure that a red line is on the black line which keeps us in the channel. (not very technical.)
        I put pictures on!   Yippee for me.  I couldn't have done it without Harley's great tutorial.  Steps are written down very specifically.  The pictures are not in any particular order.  They are there and that is what counts.   Another side note:  If you ever want to visit Grand Rivers, Kentucky by land, we would highly recommend it.  Green Turtle Resort is wonderful.   Hope you enjoy both my blog and Ann's blog.  We work hard to entertain all of our followers.  Love ya, Mary and Rod
                                                         
This is the walking bridge in Nashville.