My Captain enjoying his new toy.
Captains in the midst of planning our travel log
Ann or Harley's Birthday celebrationWe 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.
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 Landing, Crooked Creek, Eagles 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!
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
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......
Love it Mary! So glad you are having such a great experience!
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