Friday, October 15, 2010

Coon Dog Cemetery

Rattlesnake Saloon

Yesterday was a most interesting day. We went to the Rattlesnake Saloon in Tuscumbia, Alabama. This bar is built in a cave. It's actually outside under a rock shelf that extends from the side of a rock cliff. While we were there, some people arrived on horseback. They tied their horses to a rail, like in the Old West, went in the bar for a drink, and then left. The parking lot is at the top and a truck with bench seats in the bed, brings you down this steep, windy, narrow, dirt road to the bar. They are only open Thursday through Saturday, from 11:00 A.M. until 10:00 P.M. They have a band each night starting at 6:30 P.M. It was way cool!

On the way back from there, we stopped at The Coon Dog Cemetery. Only pedigreed coon dogs are allowed to be buried there. It was built in 1937 and is the only one of its kind. Supposedly, its the dog cemetery in the movie "Sweet Home Alabama". You just never know what you'll get to see along the way.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Tuesday Paul and Patty came to visit. They were in Alabama and they took a detour on the way home to come to see us. We chatted, had Happy Hour, had dinner in the lodge, played Farkle, and then they left the next morning. We really enjoyed their time here.

Last night, we were awakened at 1:15 A.M. to the sound of a crash. We had a raccoon on the back deck. He ate a can coozie and part of the grill brush. Then he pulled the screen out of the frame in the galley porthole. The porthole was closed, so he couldn't get in there. John got up and closed all the other windows. We were grateful that the hatch above the bed was closed. Could you imagine waking up to a raccoon falling on top of you in the middle of the night? Rocky Raccoon was on the boat next to us too. They have children on board and the raccoon broke their water balloons.

Tonight we are going to a place called Rattlesnake Saloon in Tuscumbia, Alabama. This is a bar built in a cave. They are only open Thursday through Saturday and we are told they draw 900 people in one weekend. I'll let you know how it is. Hopefully, I'll be able to take pictures.

Mon., Oct. 11, 2010

Yesterday morning we planned on leaving Florence Harbor Marina at 8:00. So, we called the Wilson Lockmaster to see if there were any tows that we had to wait for. There was one, but it had 16 barges and the Lockmaster told us to wait about 3 hours before coming out of the harbor. Florence Harbor is right outside of the canal that leads to the lock. We listened to the marine radio and later heard him tell a pleasure boat that the wait was 45 minutes. So, we waited 30 minutes and got in line. There were four of us in the lock together. This is the biggest lift that we have seen so far. It says it has a 93 foot lift, but our depth finder before we went up read 26 feet and after it read 104 feet. Wow! It was extremely turbulent and really hard to keep the boat off of the lock wall. Both of us had tired arms when we pulled out of there.

We arrived at Joe Wheeler State Park around 2:00 yesterday. This park is in a beautiful setting. WIFI is only in the lodge lobby, so I hope that I still manage to keep up with the blog. I promise to try.

Today we stocked up on groceries. There is no courtesy car here. Norm's van is here right now, but after the weekend he has to travel in it for work. He won't be back until it's time to go to Cancun. So, what we have now will have to make it until we leave for Cancun.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

"Trail of Tears" Indian Statue.

Bicycle on ceiling of The Palace.

The Palace Ice Cream and Sandwich Shop.

Una the Lion at North Alabama University.

Delightful lunch spot!

Front of The Rosenbaum House.

Living room of The Rosenbaum House.

Portrait of Helen Keller.

The water pump where Helen Keller put it all together.

Today was an absolutely wonderful day. Rennie drove Sue and me all over town. First, we went to Helen Keller's Birthplace (Ivy Green). What a smart, remarkable person Helen Keller was. Her accomplishments are unbelievable. The tour was informative and interesting.

Second, Rennie took us to the Rosenbaum house which is a Frank Lloyd Wright house. We really enjoyed the tour. The lady who gave the tour thoroughly enjoys her job and knows so much about Mrs. Rosenbaum. The three of us, however, decided we would not like to live in that house. The furniture looks really uncomfortable to us.

Third, we went to lunch at Sweet Magnolia's. It could not have been nicer. The service, food, and ambiance was perfect.

Fourth, we went to North Alabama University. Their mascot lions are in cages on display for all to see. It was pretty warm, so they napped the entire time we were there. Oh, well.

Fifth, we went to The Palace Ice Cream And Sandwich Shop. This place was an old fashioned ice cream parlor. There is a bicycle hanging from the ceiling that they used years ago to deliver prescriptions (it used to be a pharmacy/soda fountain). In the restrooms, there are actual prescriptions from many years ago pasted on the wall as wallpaper. People disappear into the restroom and don't come back for 30 minutes because they are in there reading the walls. It's too cool.

Sixth, we happened, by accident upon a city park named The Spring Park. There were people preparing for a wedding while we were there. There was a petrified tree trunk that a sign said was 325 million years old. How do they know? There was also a beautiful waterfall, an Indian carved out of the front half of a tree, and a statue of an Indian woman that represents the Indians along the "Trail of Tears". After all of that, we were pretty tired and went back to the boat. What a great day! Thank you, Rennie, for chauffeuring us around all day.

Friday, October 8, 2010

We have been meeting so many people. Last night we had reserved the car to go to Freddy T's for dinner. A boat came in and docked behind us. The harbor master Barry told us that they would like to go to Freddy T's as well. So, we all went together and sat together. We had a really good time. Their names were Don, Donna, Karen, and Brian.

Today we left Grand Harbor at 8:00 A.M. We had another great traveling day on the water and ended up at Florence Harbor Marina. The harbor master here named Eva is extremely nice. She clued us in on all of the places to visit. We caught up with Rennie and James again here. Dinner was at Rosie's Cantina with Norm, Sue, Rennie, James, Bill (new acquaintance), Connie, (new acquaintance), John, and myself. See what I mean about meeting new people? It's awesome!

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.