Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Graves in the National Cemetery at Shiloh.

Sue and Carol dressed in Union and Confederate Uniforms.

We got to Grand Harbor yesterday late in the afternoon. The cruise was beautiful. We got right through the Pickwick Lock with no wait. I saw Rosie (Rennie and James' friend) last night at the laundry room. She had just come back from Columbus where she had gone to the doctor for her fingers. She hurt her hand trying to bring up a fouled anchor line. She has to have an operation on Monday. They are only two days cruising away from finishing the loop. So, today they took back the rental car and left on their boat toward Columbus. I hope everything goes smoothly for them on the way back.

The four of us (the Mayers and the Sagels) took the courtesy car and went to Shiloh. That was really fun and educational. We went to the museum, saw a movie about the battle, went to the national cemetery, and did a driving tour with a CD. Afterwards, we went to the Rib Cage for a late lunch. All in all, a great day.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Loretta Lyn's Plantation House.

Sue at the Rock Memorial of Patsy Cline's Fatal Plane Crash Site.

Rennie, James, and James' son Charlie joined us on Thursday afternoon. We had moved our boats to Cypress Creek which was only 30 river miles from our anchorage at Duncan Bay. All three boats left on Saturday for Pebble Isle. We enjoyed our time at Pebble Isle. The people were really nice. Their restaurant was yummy ( they have a large grill outside in a covered screen room where they prepare the best smelling hamburgers and steaks. The scent lures you in like a fish to a hook.) They also have a decent courtesy car that you can use in two hour increments.

On Saturday, we made an executive decision to stay at Pebble Isle until Monday morning. Rennie and James left on Saturday without us. Norm, Sue, John, and I borrowed the car and went to Walmart for a few groceries. Along the way, we passed a sign that said the Patsy Cline Airplane Crash site was 3 miles down this one road. So, John humored Sue and me and drove to the crash site. It was down a pretty big hill and all that was there was a large rock with the date and names of the people who died in the crash. There was a little cross and flowers beside it, like you might see along the highway where someone has died in a wreck. Norm and John were NOT impressed. Sue and I took pictures which I will post when we get somewhere with WIFI.

Sunday Sue and I reserved the courtesy car back to back, so we could have it for four hours. We went to Waverly, to the Loretta Lyn Plantation and Museum. We used the GPS to find our way and the road it told us to take was closed. After that, poor Martha (the GPS) got all besmuckfuddled and took us along one lane gravel roads that turned out to be driveways. We found ourselves in front of a farmer's house where we decided to pull over and call the museum. The farmer came down to our car. I told him we were lost. He said, "Are you trying to get to Loretta Lyn's?" I told him we were. He said, "I bet you used your GPS. It happens all the time." So, he told us how to get there. It was well worth the trip although it took us 1/2 hour longer to get there than it should have. We could have spent another 3 or 4 hours there, but we had to have the car back at 2:00. We had a good time.

This morning we left Pebble Isle. We cruised to Beech Creek Island where we dropped anchor for the night. The Tennessee River is so picturesque. We saw deer on an island that's only visible because the water is low. We saw a dirigible, probably coming from covering a football game yesterday. There aren't many houses along today's stretch, but the ones that are here are nice to look at. It seems strange that out here I can get online when I couldn't at Pebble Isle. Everything is fine and dandy.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

We stayed put yesterday waiting for Rennie and James. They are taking their boat to Florence, Alabama which is near Joe Wheeler State Park where we are going. However, they are having work done to their boat which wasn't quite finfished yesterday. Hopefully, they will join us today. Even so, we will move a few miles to a different cove and anchor for the night. Kentucky Lake is beautiful. There are so many coves and quiet niches to be investigated. Yesterday I went on Norm and Sue's dinghy to the Rock Quarry. People have painted graffitti on the rock surfaces, but the general consensus is that it looks nice, so they aren't removing it. I will post a picture when I get one from Sue (I forgot to take my camera with me).

Can you believe today is the first anniversary of us selling our store? That time has certainly flown by. We've had some great adventures since then and hope to have many more along our traveled path. John is starting the engines. I've got to go.....

Ready to Go!

Diane, Mom, Jenny, and Me

This past Wednesday, I took our van home to store it for the foreseeable future. That night I spent overnight at my Mom's. Thursday morning, my two sisters picked us up and we drove back to Kentucky Dam Marina. Jenny, Diane, and Mom spent Thursday through Sunday here. They took a room at the lodge. We ate a lot, we went to the Bar-B-Q Festival in Paducah on Friday, we went out for a breakfast cruise on Saturday morning and then to see the show "Variety" at the Badgett Theater in Grand Rivers. Every night we played cards at the lodge in the lobby. It was so nice to be together and I miss them all already. It's going to be Christmas time before we see our family and friends at home again.

Tomorrow we are casting off our lines and heading out. Preparations have been completed. Food, fuel, water, clean clothes, and charts have all been loaded aboard. We plan on traveling slowly on the way to Joe Wheeler State Park. We have enjoyed our time here this summer, but we are anxious to get moving again.

September 21, 2010

We went home last Wednesday through Sunday to get one last grandchildren fix. We had dinner with each family and then one night we all got together at Jay and Cynthia's house. I thought that was it until Christmas time, but on the way back Sunday, John suggested that I take the car back tomorrow and leave it there. We decided it's going to be too difficult to drag the car from place to place when we won't be spending much time anywhere. My sisters and Mom are coming to spend the weekend (Thursday through Sunday). I am riding back with them so I get to spend a little more time with them.

Norm and Sue decided the same thing. So, they are selling their van to Norm's brother. Norm is keeping it until we come back from Cancun. That way we will have transportation to the Atlanta airport. It's nice for the four of us to brainstorm these kinds of decisions. There are so many situations that come up that wouldn't be an issue if we were staying put.

We are getting excited. We leave here on the 28th for Joe Wheeler State Park. It's time to get moving again. It's been nice to be close enough to home to visit and have guests, but we are all anxious to be underway again.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Lutis, Sagels, and Mayers anchored out in Kentucky Lake

Replica of The Pinta

Oh my goodness! It's been so long since I've blogged. Sorry. Since the last you've heard from us, so much has happened. Two weekends ago, on Friday we went to Green Turtle Bay to tour the Nina and Pinta replicas. That was a lot of fun. You can find out about them by going to TheNina.com. Be sure to use the word "The" or you get a porn site. The crew told us stories about how the poop deck got its name and why women tell their children or husbands "No elbows on the table".

That Saturday John and Norm went to Paducah to pick up a rental car for our friends Ed and Kyle. In the meantime, Sue and I went to a fabulous craft show in Grand Rivers. We bought a couple of things, but I got many ideas for future gifts to make.

Sunday was spent getting ready for our company. On Monday, Mike and Linda, and Ed and Kyle arrived by boat from Lighthouse Point in Aurora, Indiana. We visited awhile, went out to dinner and then Ed and Kyle had to drive back to Cincinnati to work all week.

Tuesday brought Charlie and Joan to Kentucky Dam State Park . Wednesday we anchored out and had a wonderful grilled salmon dinner. Charlie and Joan stayed until almost dark and then took their jet boat and went back to the lodge. Thursday brought Dave and Donna. On Friday night, Ed and Kyle were back and all twelve of us went to Patty's for dinner.

Saturday, Charlie and Joan had to leave. Boo hoo. We already miss them. We were so happy to spend some time with them. The rest of us went to Green Turtle Bay for a boat show. We looked at boats until lunch time. Then, we had lunch at Miss Scarlett's. Then we all played miniature golf and then we drove little race cars around a track. It was a lot of fun. Mike won the race and got to do a lap around the track holding the checkered flag. We grilled out on the back of our boat and ate dinner out on the picnic tables. It was a fun! fun! day.

Sunday brought another departure when Dave and Donna left after breakfast. We hope they had as much fun as we did while they were here.
The rest of us anchored out last night. It was perfect. We swam in the lake, grilled chicken for dinner and hit the hay pretty early. There's something about being out in the air all day that just makes you so tired.

Today we came back to Kentucky Dam Marina from our anchorage in Dunkin Bay. It's sad to think that tomorrow all of the rest of our company will be leaving to go home. It's been so much fun being with everybody. We were sorry that Dean and Debbie couldn't make it, but we are grateful for the ones who did.

On Wednesday we'll be driving home for a few days to see our family one more time before we take off for Alabama at the end of the month. The time surely goes by in a hurry. September 30th is one whole year since we retired. It doesn't seem like it at all.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

We have a new boat neighbor as of yesterday. Therefore, our happy hour group continues to grow. Last night we were out at 5:00 P.M., as per usual. When the ship store closed, they asked us to watch out for the replicas of the Nina and Pinta. They are going to be at Green Turtle Bay for the weekend for tours. They were supposed to arrive around 7:00 P.M. last night to our harbor, just for the night. Well, we stayed out until about 8:30 P.M. and at that point, gave up. About 9:10 P.M., a lady knocked on our window and asked John if he could tell her how to get to the restaurant. Her name is Constance and she is the current cook on the Nina. They were told there is a restaurant within walking distance. Well, we offered to drive them to a restaurant or to go pick up carry out for them, but they all needed showers and by the time they were finished, it was after 10:00 and they opted to skip it.

They were not informed that this is a dry county either. So, we supplied a couple of beers and sat and talked with them for an hour or two before going back in. This morning we watched them take off for Green Turtle Bay. Tomorrow we plan on going there for a tour. Most of the crew are volunteers. The Captain and Pilot are the only ones who are not volunteers. They sign up for at least 4 weeks at a time. They are not required to be experienced sailors. It sounds like fun with a minimal commitment of time.