Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Yesterday we spent the day picking up Norm and Sue's van. Sonny from Dog River Marina was kind enough to drive it up from Mobile, AL to Birmingham, AL, saving us about 4 to 5 hours drive time to pick it up. That was nice!

Today was spent doing chores and getting ready for a visit from one of our children's family. We are so anxious to spend one on one time with them. There is still some chores to be done tomorrow, but we'll get finished in time to relax with them. The temperature was about 86 degrees today. It was lovely!!!! It makes you feel more like doing your work when you aren't sweating before you start.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Jeff, Susan, and Kate came to spend the weekend with us. It was so good to see them. It's nice to spend some one on one time with our children and grandchildren. Kate is getting so big already. She smiles just about all of the time. The only time she cried while they were here, was when she was hungry or had a dirty diaper on. We took Kate to the beach and let her put her feet in the lake. She didn't mind at all. The water is really warm.

John and I went out in the dinghy today after the kids left. We swam in the lake and it felt wonderful. This could become part of our regular routine. The temperatures are supposed to drop a little next week. There are supposed to be no days over 90 degrees. That's better.

We met the President of Jefferson Yachts the other night. He keeps a houseboat here. We have met quite a few people. There are 2 other boats across from ours, who are here until October 1st like us. They are traveling together and both couples are from Louisiana. Another man came and introduced himself because he saw our AGLCA flag. He has a houseboat he keeps here as well. People have been so kind to us, asking if we need to be driven anywhere or borrow a car. It's fun to hear people's stories.

First Week at Kentucky Dam Marina

Monday: We rented a car and drove to Lake Cumberland to pick up our van. Patty and Paul had driven it there from Florida for us. Norm and Sue came with us. It was a very pleasant drive because there was very little traffic. We had reserved the car for 11:00 and it was 6:30 before we got back to Kentucky Dam State Park. We had dinner at the lodge before returning to our boats. It took up most of the day to get the car.

Tuesday: Sue and I drove around for two hours trying to find a laundromat. We used the GPS. It didn't really help much. The nearest one, according to GPS, didn't exist. The second closest one, was pretty run down and dirty. So, we had seen one Sunday night when we went out to dinner at Patti's 1880 Settlement. We drove to Patti's, but saw no laundromat. We drove back to the park. We asked at the lodge if they knew of a laundromat and they gave us directions for one in Calvert City. We found that one and finally managed to get our clothes clean. What an ordeal.

Wednesday: Today we checked out the campground at the park. Our children are planning to come here to camp and visit us. The campground looked nice, electric and water at each space, nice looking restrooms and showers, newer looking playground equipment for the kids, plenty of trees and the grass had been recently cut. We are so looking forward to them visiting. I spent the rest of the day embroidering prayer flags for when Gina and her team climb Mt. Adams later in July. It's still really hot and muggy. The poor air conditioner struggles all day long to keep the boat at 86 degrees. At night, though, it gets comfortable so that we can sleep.

Father's Day Weekend

We did arrive at Paris Landing State Park on Friday afternoon around 3:00P.M. It's a good thing because the office closes at 4:00P.M. We got the air conditioners running and showered and called the ranger to drive us to the Lodge for the Seafood buffet. It was nice and cool in the lodge and the food was good. After we ate, we went to our respective boats and chilled for the remainder of the evening. We had called Kentucky Dam Marina to see if they had available slips. Our reservation doesn't start until July 1st, but we got this far earlier than expected and wanted to get situated. They had no slips over this weekend due to a Poker Run on Saturday. They told us to call again on Sunday or Monday.

We spent all day Saturday at Paris Landing. We played Farkle and Euchre with Norm and Sue.

On Sunday (Happy Father's Day to all Fathers!), we made our way to Kentucky Dam Marina. We went slowly because Norm was running on one engine. we got here at 2:30 P.M. It's 97 degrees. The air conditioner is working so hard.

Around noon we went past a creek named Jonathan Creek. It made us think about our newest grandchild Jonathan. I'll bet he is getting soooo big. I can't wait to see all of the children and grandchildren now that we are this close to home.

Friday, June 18, 2010

This is the Mermaid Marina "mascot".

This was taken at Mermaid Marina. How did they get that up there?

This was taken at Freddy T's.

We have had no service since the last time I posted, so here we go. Wednesday we tried to get an early start (5:45), but we called the John Rankin lock and they told us to wait for an hour because there was a barge going through. We also went through the Sonny Montgomery Lock and the Jamie Whitten Lock on Wednesday. The Tombigby Waterway is mostly undeveloped and nice to look at. There are, however, lots of "jugs" floating to avoid, much like the crab pots. They have fishing line, weight, hook, and bait on them. No metal traps though. We stopped on Wednesday shortly after 3:00 at Grand Harbor. We were all so hot that Sue, John, and I all got in the swimming pool. Ahhh! After about an hour, a storm blew in and we had to get out. We borrowed the courtesy car and went to Freddy T's for dinner. What a cool place that was. When you see John, ask him about the men's restroom.

On Thursday, we discovered a diesel leak from our port engine. It leaks only under pressure and into the pan under the engine. We put absorbent pads under it and were told by a mechanic that we can wait until we get to Kentucky Dam Park to have it fixed. There was only one lock to pass through on Thursday (Pickwick). We stopped for the day at Mermaid Marina. Their restaurant is only open on the weekends, so we went to the harbor next door for dinner. It was called Fisherdock. They have live bands on the weekends. It sounds like a really good time. When I get to a place with wi-fi, I'll post a couple of pictures from Mermaid Marina.


Today , it's gorgeous out, the skies are clear, the birds are singing, and we are in the beautiful Tennessee River. It doesn't get better than that. We are planning on staying at Paris Landing State Park tonight .

Getting Ready

Today was spent doing all of the chores to prepare to cruise again tomorrow morning. We worked hard today. It's still very hot and we had a thunderstorm right at happy hour. Boo hoo. It's going to be an early night so we can be up and ready early in the morning.

We appreciate any comments you make on the blog. It lets us know someone is reading it.

ELVIS' BIRTHPLACE

The kitchen in Elvis' childhood home.

The bedroom in Elvis' childhood home.

Monday, June 14th, Sue and I went to visit Elvis Presley's birthplace in Tupelo. Our driver Mike took us there and then out to lunch. We got to see the Church where Elvis found his love for music, an Elvis museum, and we saw the house where he was born. The house consists of just 2 rooms, a kitchen and a bedroom and cost his father $180 to build. It is small. Really small.

After the touring, we went to a bar/restaurant named "The Stables". Apparently, it used to be the livery stables many years ago. There were pictures on the wall from the old days and the way it looked back then. It's across the street from the courthouse, so lots of lawyers eat there. Mike drove us around Tupelo and pointed out the highlights. We had a very enjoyable day and are grateful to Mike for his time and patience with us.

HOT HOT HOT !!!!!!!

We had another glorious day traveling on the Tombigby Waterway. We left Columbus, Mississippi at 7:15 A.M. and made our way upstream. A boat named "River Miles" pulled out of Columbus Marina at the same time we did. We ("Runaround Sue" & "Seas 2 Day") cruised with him all day. We passed through 4 locks, Aberdeen, Amory, Glover Wilkens, and Fulton. We stopped at Midway Marina in Fulton, Mississippi. "River Miles" went on, hoping to reach Pickwick today. For as many fishermen as we saw yesterday, today was pretty much the opposite. Today we spotted more people tubing and skiing, and pontoon boats out cruising. Not so much slowing down, speeding up like yesterday. There was one PWC with a man and a woman on it, riding the waves from our three boats. One of their passes over our wake brought them up and right smack into a green buoy. They didn't even slow down. They kept right on going. It had to hurt. Then we were chugging along when all of a sudden "River Miles" stopped dead in the middle of the river. He had run aground right in the middle of the channel. He got on the radio and warned us and the Mayers, and then complained to the lockmaster at the next lock about it not being marked. The lockmaster told him he would pass the information along to the people who could do something about marking the spot in the river.

Once we were tied to the dock and the air conditioning cranked up as high as it would go, we borrowed the courtesy car and went into Fulton for dinner at "Peking Palace". It was clean and very cool in the restaurant and we enjoyed our meals. When we got back to our boats, it still wasn't cool, but it's working on it. Tomorrow we plan to go into Tupelo, the birthplace of Elvis. This marina has a hot tub, a very, very small pool, and a lake. We should be able to cool off tomorrow after our trip into Tupelo.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Today is Tony and Cara's Wedding Day. We hope your future is filled with lots of happiness and prosperity. We wish we could be there with you tonight. However, we are in Columbus, Mississippi. Today is also Jay and Cynthia's Anniversary. Happy Anniversary!

We left our anchorage at 6:50 A.M. We passed through two locks, Thomas Belville and John Stennis. There were so many fishermen on the river today. Slow down, speed up, slow down, speed up...... We saw many gorgeous homes and lots of boats. We even saw a red telephone booth on shore sitting all by itself. I thought that was hilarious.

We are docked at Columbus Marina in Columbus, Mississippi. This is a nice marina. We borrowed the courtesy car and went into town. There were lots of old antebellum homes near town. They had signs in the front yard that had the name of the house and the year it was built. We enjoyed our self guided tour. The courtesy car was a Chevy van that would only stay running if you kept your left foot on the brake and your right foot on the gas at the same time. It was only running on about 3 or 4 cylinders and the rear tire felt like it was going to shake off the car. Driving was an experience, but we got there and back with no incidents. It's nice when the marinas have courtesy cars. We appreciate it a lot.

ON THE MOVE

We fueled up at Demopolis Yacht Basin at 6:00 A.M.and left at 6:30 with "Runaround Sue". We headed north on the Tombigby Waterway. We passed through Howell Hefflin Lock and Dam. The morning was wonderful. The sky was blue and there was a nice breeze. We grilled chicken while on the way for lunch. Yummy! Once we were through the lock, the sun was blazing hot. It was 93 degrees and extremely humid. We anchored out at Cook's Bend Oxbow near Carrollton, Alabama. It's supposed to be even hotter tomorrow. Welcome to summer. It's what we've been waiting for since winter.

JUNE 10, 2010

Today I received lots of well wishes for my birthday. Thank you all so much.

The handle did not arrive today, but we are moving on tomorrow anyway. Today was a nice relaxing day. Hot and humid, but nice all the same. We are anxious for a change of scenery. Til tomorrow......

STILL IN DEMOPOLIS

This is starting to feel like a second home. We know where the stores all are located. The bad thing is there are no fabric stores for 50 miles. Doesn't that stink? Well, our refrigerator arrived a day ahead of schedule. It came yesterday. John and Norm installed it. We went to the grocery store today and filled it up. We are ready to move on, except that Dog River Marina is mailing our handle for the windlass. Supposedly, it was mailed on Friday, but we have not received it yet. We will wait one more day and then call and tell them to figure something else out. The plan for tomorrow is to go for a dinghy ride to explore, if it isn't too hot and humid.

We heard this afternoon that our old store (Billie's Pony Keg) was robbed at gunpoint again on Sunday night. The surveillance video is on the Cincinnati Enquirer's web page. The images are very clear and we hope the police catch the guys and that this doesn't happen again. We feel really bad for the new owners.

Demopolis

Demopolis has a strange hold on us. We can't seem to just pass through. Our refrigerator should be here Wednesday. We have been eating things like Dinty Moore Beef Stew, Chef-Boy-R-D Ravioli, peanut butter and jelly(things that don't require cold).

Today we borrowed the service dept. truck. The speedometer is stuck on 120 mph. It feels really strange to be going 25 mph and have the speedometer say 120. Norm, John, and I all went to get haircuts. It feels so much better. It's supposed to be in the 90s every day this week.

Demopolis Yacht Basin is digging a new section of marina. This has been going on since before we were here in the fall. Supposedly, the new part should be done by Nov., 2010. They have remodeled the laundry and women's restroom and showers. It's nice to be spending this time with Norm and Sue. It makes the waiting time go faster.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

We had decided that on Friday we would sleep in and only travel 40 or so miles. We left Bobby's Fish Camp at 7:50 A.M. So much for sleeping in. We were only a half hour later leaving that the day before. We anchored out just north of the State Highway 10 Bridge. We did the bow to stern thing again and didn't swing at all on anchor. We were completely tied and ready to relax by 3:00. That was kind of nice to have some time to chill. We had leftover fish for dinner, played farkle, and then John got out his guitar and we sang until we couldn't think of any other songs to sing. What an enjoyable evening.

Today we got underway at 7:00 A.M. and hoped to reach Demopolis Yacht Basin. We had only seen one barge and one fishing boat all day until about 8 miles before the Demopolis Lock and Dam. Then 3 boats our size or larger, passed us. Their names were "Lady Michigan", "Last Chance", and "Galati". However, we all locked through together and we all headed into Demopolis Yacht Basin. We arrived here at 2:30 P.M. John says he'll be happier here this time than on the way down river because now he has his satellite TV. No more PBS.

We had dinner at the restaurant here at the marina. The food was good and the air conditioning was wonderful. By the time we finished dinner, our air had cooled the boat down and made it quite comfy. We will be here at least until Thursday due to the refrigerator issue.

MOVING ON

Port of Mobile, June 2, 2010

We were without wi-fi service yesterday, so now you get two days worth.

The fuel dock at Dog River Marina opens at 7:00 A.M. We were there and ready at 6:50 A.M. on Wednesday, June 2, 2010. After getting fuel, we pulled away from the dock at 7:30 A.M. The day was cloudy and humid.

Mobile Harbor is like a ghost town. When we came through in the fall, there were so many large ships and towboats moving around in all directions. It made us feel small and insignificant. On this trip there were only three tugboats moving and three ships docked. The docked ships were not being loaded or unloaded. They were just sitting there idle. It's really sad to think of all the people the oil spill has put out of work. Three nights ago, as we were having happy hour on the back of our boat, we saw a Carnival cruise ship leaving Mobile. We wonder if the passengers will have to make alternate return transportation.

We had a thunderstorm just like every day for the last 10 days or so. We only passed about 4 pleasure boats all day. I really thought we would see a fair amount of boats our size trying to head north away from the spill. Most likely, they got an earlier start than we did.

We stopped Wednesday at Bates Lake This is a lovely anchorage. We tied up differently this time since there is very little current and no wind. One of us is pointing upstream and the other is pointing downstream and we both have our anchors deployed. So we're thinking this is the same as having a front and rear anchor out. We arrived at 5:00 P.M. just in time for happy hour. All in all, it's been a great day!

Today, Thursday, June 3, 2010, we left our cozy anchorage at 7:15 A.M. We called Demopolis Yacht Basin to ask if we could have a refrigerator delivered there. Ours is running 65 degrees. We had to pitch a bunch of food and move the rest to the coolers.

We were held up briefly by barges that were scattered across the river. We think that towboat captain wasn't paying attention and ran his barges up on shore and they scattered across the river.

We stopped for the day at Bobby's Fish Camp. Bobby Dahlberg, the owner, passed away in February and his daughter is now running the place. We ate catfish at the restaurant. It was really good and a lot of food. We also had fried pickles. I don 't like pickles, but I discovered I like fried pickles. We arrived here at 5:00 P.M. Bobby's doesn't have electric service and our generator isn't working. It's 90 degrees in the boat. Welcome to the joys of boat ownership. It's always something.

JUNE ALREADY

We are leaving tomorrow at 7:00 A.M. Norm and Sue's boat is finished as of 4:00 P.M. today. (It was storming at noon today anyway.) It looks like we will be leaving just in the nick of time. The current projection is that the oil will hit shore at Dauphin Island on Thursday. As of tomorrow, we will have been here for 24 days. That's almost twice as long as we had hoped. We are looking forward to a change in scenery.

We've met some interesting people here. One man shared information on refrigerators with me. Another talked about the Bengals and the Reds and Marge Schott. One guy told me all about the county commissioner here who took his county truck to New Orleans, put alcohol and hotel rooms on a county charge, and turned his truck in to be worked on with drugs and alcohol inside of it. Then his mistress turned up dead. Wow! That guy is in big trouble.