Our Stay in Fairhope AL

Fishing boats moored in Fly Creek



Beautiful sunset on Mobile Bay

Loopers at the Thanksgiving Feast
(Bob and Vicki in the front)

Look at that dessert table!

Having a meal with fellow loopers at Moe's BBQ

Chuck the cat making himself at home



Cool artwork in downtown Fairhope



Boat house? along Fly Creek



Our stay in Fairhope AL at the Eastern Shore Marina has really been a pleasant one. There are so many Loopers here that is seems like a mini-rendezvous! We arrived here early Monday afternoon and plan to stay about a week. Looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with all our Looper friends!

We have spent the last couple of days relaxing in the sun and enjoying the view of Mobile Bay. We've eaten dinner at the Fly Creek Café a couple of times and have even taken a great dinghy ride down Fly Creek. It is just a little creek that goes down by the marina. There are several houses along the creek and lots of live-aboard boats. Some are rather interesting……!

Joleen finally got here about 9:30 on Wednesday night. Just a little later than planned - she said her GPS got it wrong. Hmmm! Just kidding – just glad she made it. We've had a great time visiting and catching up on everything.

Happy Thanksgiving! What a great time we've had at the Looper Thanksgiving Dinner! A big THANKS goes to Bob and Vicki Riggs for opening their beautiful home to all us. What an extremely thoughtful thing to do. This is the first Thanksgiving that Mike and I have been away from our family. Being able to share this day with others was very special. Of course, we all ate too much as usual. Isn't that what it's all about!!

Black Friday! Today Mike, Jeff and Jim went to West Marine in Orange Beach. They dropped off Joleen and me in downtown Fairhope to do some shopping. It was a great day! The weather was beautiful. Fairhope is a great little town with a French Quarter feel and has several little specialty shops. I even bought a few Christmas presents. This evening several of us went to Moe's BBQ in Daphne. Great food and great company! This place is a local favorite and there's no doubt why. The sign on the tip jar by the order window read:

"Remember: every time a tip's not given – a young child receives a mullet"

Now, that's funny!

Saturday, Joleen, Dale and I did some more shopping. It's nice being able to get off the boat and actually do some shopping that isn't in the grocery store! We had more fun! I bought some Christmas decorations for NautiNell. Can't believe I'm buying Christmas decorations – when I know that I have boxes and boxes in storage back in Joplin. Oh well….. It's also hard to believe that Mike and I will be spending Christmas on our boat in Florida! You do know it's warm there! Right? This will be the first Christmas in my entire life that I didn't spend in Joplin. Can you believe that?! Hope Santa knows where I am!!!

After we got back, Mike grilled burgers and we kicked back and did more catching up. It really turned cold and the wind was blowing. We had planned to go out to dinner in the dinghy, but we nixed that when we stepped outside! Here we thought we'd made it to the warmer climate – guess we better keep boating further south!

Sunday morning it was pouring and it was even colder. We fixed a great breakfast of waffles, bacon and eggs. Why not! Had to show Joleen that we are really making NautiNell our home. What better way than to have the smell of bacon frying on a Sunday morning!! Later that day – taking advantage of having a car available on our own terms, we decided to go to Sam's, etc. Mike needed something from Lowes. Doesn't he always! LOL! Anyway, after a visit to Lowes, Sam's and then a stop at Publix we had filled Joleen's car to the brim. Hey, I'm getting my Christmas shopping done while I can! I'm just going to relax in the sand when I get to Florida! HA!

When we got back, Chuck decided to pay us a visit. Chuck is the marina's cat. He's 15 years old and one COOL cat. He goes from boat to boat looking for some attention and possibly a handout. The marina warned us to be sure to check our boat before we head out because Chuck has been known to be a stowaway. Some of the Loopers haven't been too happy about needing to return to the marina from the Bay because Chuck showed up after they had left out. Poor Chuck! He definitely has some stories to tell. Being the cat lover that I am, I wish I could take him with me. I really did enjoy his company.

Sunday evening we played the fun game of Mexican Train Dominoes. We had a ball – laughed so hard my side hurt! BTW - the winds were blowing like crazy and with the tide coming in – NautiNell rocked like crazy. All night long! I thought Joleen – being a non-boater- might not like it - but she didn't mind it one bit. Maybe it was the whiskey that helped – not sure!

Joleen left early Monday morning. We had planned to leave as well. However, the weather had something different in mind. It was cold, wet and windy. According to all the weather gurus – the Bay would be rough. A small craft warning was out so we decided we'd stay in. All the boats decided the same thing. It didn't even get to 60 degrees! And with the wind chill you definitely knew it was winter! Glad we are at least near the Gulf though – snow is being forecasted for northern and central Alabama for tonight! Possibly 2 inches accumulation! Sheeh!

It looks like we all will be here till Wednesday. The forecasters still say that the Bay is going to rough tomorrow. The winds will still be blowing out of the west – so no sense in pushing it. We're in no hurry. Well, maybe a little – it sure would be nice to be warm and in Florida! Soon I hope!!??

When we do finally leave we will be heading to Pensacola, Panama City and then on to Apalachicola where we will feast on oysters while we wait for the perfect weather window to cross the Gulf over to Tarpon Springs. The crossing is about 170 miles and will take us about 17-19 hours. There is no place to stop along the way, of course, so we will all be doing a boating marathon. Not looking forward to it, but it's better than trying to go along "The Big Bend" because that area of the coast is really shallow.

Till next time!

Admiral "C"

Joleen and me
"Old Friends"!

Made it to Mobile AL

Nice beach!  Put my toes in the sand..........



Beautiful sight





Allisons  aka "Fast Boats"
Pulled up to the beach
Of course, Mike had to go talk to them



See any gators?

Hunting cabin?

Scenery along the river

We did stay one more day at anchor before we headed in to Mobile. It was a gorgeous day and we were in no hurry. Unfortunately, I had an episode of vertigo and couldn't enjoy it. I think I must have been a bit dehydrated or something. Anyway everyone else had a good time.

Jeremiah, Cattin' Around and Lifestyles II joined us. Erika Lin and Loop Dreams headed on out.
Mike took lots of pictures so I'm posting some of them. Wish I could have been more a part of it. Oh well……

We left Monday morning and headed to Mobile Bay. The Bay was awesome to cross – no waves – no problems. We made it to Eastern Shores Marina in Fairhope on the "eastern shore" of the Bay early afternoon. We plan to stay here about a week. We're just a hop, skip and a jump from Florida!


Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!


Till next time!

Admiral "C"

Down the BWTB

Rafted up on the BWTB

Rafted up in the lock!

Locking down the BWTB

Waterfall caused by the Lock and Dam



One foggy morning



What a beautiful morning!



River Raft heading for New Orleans!



Loop Dreams on anchor with us one morning









Thursday morning – ONLY ONE WEEK UNTIL THANKSGIVING! Hard to believe that the holidays are here. This year with us on the Loop has gone by so fast! It soon will be 2012!

Anyway, we were up at 5:30 Thursday morning! The Lockmaster said to hold off about 45 minutes or so. So we finally left about 6:30 to head that way. We didn't have to wait long. There were 12 boats – from a 112' boat named Sensation to a pontoon boat - all locking through at once. We had two boats – Jeremiah and Lifestyles – raft up to us. It took about an hour but all was good. It was a little cluster when we all left the lock but no big deal.

Everyone was heading down the river. Some were trying to make it to Bobby's Fish Camp while others planned to stop at an anchorage called Bashi Creek (mm 145). Some of the boats were much faster than us some were slower. It all works out. Along the way we met several barges. We also saw more eagles. That is always so cool!

When we made it to mm 145 – Bashi Creek – we thought it looked great. While others passed it up to go to Bobby's we thought it was a great spot. However, it was still early for us and we knew there were a few slower boats behind us that would really need this for a stop. We decided to venture on to the next anchorage at mm 123.2 – Okatuppa Creek. It turned out to be a great anchorage too. It was at long day though – 93 miles. We anchored out with Blue Skies. The slower boats took Bashi Creek. Others went to Bobby's. Everyone was happy!

We woke up to 28 degrees and ICE on the deck again! We can't get south fast enough!! It also was very foggy for a while. When we finally were able to leave - the sun was shining bright and the sky a bright blue. Those that had stayed on the dock at Bobby's were ahead of us a little bit - we could hear them locking through. On our way to the lock – Blue Skies stopped to get fuel at Bobby's. We ended up locking through all by ourselves. Quite a change from yesterday when there were 12 boats. This was our FINAL LOCK for a long time now. We shouldn't have to deal with them again until we travel north up the east coast. That could be quite a while – I'm wondering if I'll ever get Mike to go back up to Norfolk VA to complete our loop. Once he gets to where it's warm – he may never leave! LOL!

We talked to Sweet Pea (Jim and Dale) along the way – they were about 30-45 minutes ahead of us. Jeremiah and the boats behind us were back about hour or so. We were heading to mm 63.8 – Three Rivers Lake. The river is really pretty with the sun shining on it. We are starting to see more sand beaches now. We've even seen deer along the way. After we locked through this last lock we were back at sea level. That means we will now need to think about the tides again. It's been quite a ride! It warmed up to a beautiful day and we traveled only about 60 miles today. That's better than yesterday.

The Three Rivers Lake anchorage turned out to be another great anchorage. When we got there, Sweet Pea, Erika Lin and Loop Dreams were already there and rafted up together. Blue Skies got there about the same time we did and rafted up with us. Not sure how he did that because he stopped at Bobby's and locked through behind us. He must have put the power down for a while!

We tried to leave about 8:30 this morning but when we were weighing the anchor – up come this huge chain wrapped around it! Mike finally was able to free our anchor but we couldn't bring in the chain - though he tried and tried. It must have had an anchor at the other end and was wrapped around a big stump or something. Anyway, after reeling in about 40 feet or so of the chain, Mike finally had to let it all back into the river. Whatever was keeping it stuck down there when its owner left it still had a mighty hold on it. No harm done – but no big prize either……

We were finally on our way around 9:00. At least there were no locks to contend with! It also was not near as cold as it had been yesterday. Our big plan today was to make it to mm 16.6 – Big Bayou Canot.

The river started to get a little swampier now with lots of Spanish moss and cypress trees. We kept looking for alligators and black bear – but no such luck. We did have our fair share of barge traffic though. Must be because we are getting near to Mobile and Mobile Bay.

One thing we did see though was a very odd little river raft. It was definitely homemade and quite colorful. They had packed it to the gills and were floating on down the river. We called them on the VHF and they told us that they were headed to New Orleans. Now that's an adventure! The boat wasn't more than probably 20 feet. It kind of looked like a small but stuffed garage going down the river!

Anyway when we got to the anchorage - it was a little narrow but had a lot of water. However we were told by the Alabama Marine Police that he strongly recommended that we not anchor there. He said it was too narrow for all of us – and that it would get worse with the outgoing tide. He also said that we would be hassled by hunters and fishermen using the area. He suggested that we go on down the river just a few more miles. It was only about 2:30 p.m. so that wasn't a problem. Off we went to mm 12.2 – The Tensas Cut-Off. About a mile up Little Briar Creek – we had plenty of water and it was much prettier anyway. We all rafted up and had a good time.

According to the weather – Mobile Bay may be a little rough tomorrow so we may stay at this anchorage for another day. After all - we're only 12 miles away from Mobile and we're in no hurry.
We have reservations at Eastern Shore Marina in Fairhope AL on the east side of the Bay for Tuesday and plan to spend a few days there. We may try to get in there on Monday if the weather permits.

We're looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with other Loopers at Bob and Vicki Riggs' home. They are Gold Loopers and have invited us all to join them. ALSO, Joleen, a good friend of mine is driving down from Joplin to visit us over the weekend. Looking forward to a good visit with her! She'll be our third visitor from our home town!
Till next time!

Admiral "C"

Here at Demopolis

Visiting with fellow Loopers



Doing what Loopers do best.....!



What a lineup!

Jeff and Linda of "Jeremiah"

Sunday morning we took a short boat ride to the marina in Demopolis only about miles. Several Loopers were already there. Even Jeff and Linda of Jeremiah were here. It was really good to see everyone. As the day went on –even more Loopers came in. We had a small "reunion" of Loopers at our Happy Hour at the Boaters Lounge. The last I counted there were well over 30 enjoying the good time.

We took the courtesy car into town with Jim & Dale & Jeff on Monday. We ate lunch at the Farmhouse and of course made a trip to Wal-Mart. Some of the Loopers headed out early this morning. However, they were forecasting rain and possible storms so we decided to stay at least another day.

It was a rainy Tuesday morning but not really too stormy. Now they were forecasting storms for Wednesday. We have also heard that there are no really good anchorages along the way so we may have to go all the way to Bobby's Fish Camp which is about 100 miles or so. Not looking forward to that.

We had a little get together this evening regarding the anchorages, etc. We did find that there are a few – it just depends how many boats want to use them. There is a real mixture of boats here - some travel fast, some slow, some travel longs days, some don't. We also heard on the weather channel that severe storms could be a good possibility in the next 24 hours so we were going to wait another day. There is really no reason for us to hurry along.

We were woken up early Wednesday morning to a real downpour. There was a tornado warning for our area but the winds didn't seem to blow that much. Several of the Loopers left early this morning. The town of Demopolis is only about 3 miles from the marina and suffered some wind damage. Several roofs were blown off along with broken windows. Glad it didn't do much at the marina! We also hope that our fellow Loopers that left this morning fared well.

After a couple more cells past over our area, the sun came out in the afternoon with a beautiful blue sky. The weather is supposed to be favorable for the next few days so we plan to hi-tail it out of here early in the morning. We also heard that the Lock just a few miles from the marina is broken – hope they get that fixed by morning!

Till next time

Admiral "C"

The Last of the Tenn-Tom



Fog on the river



Beautiful sunny and foggy morning on the river



The White Bluffs



After the fog lifts this is what awaits us



Sunset at Rattlesnake Bend
Picture doesn't do it justice



Okay, if you look closely you can see one of the deer









We woke Saturday to a really cold and foggy morning. There was even ICE on the deck of the boat! Not frost – but ice! So we took our time and even had a great breakfast of biscuits and gravy. We were able to leave about 8:00 a.m. We had about 60 miles to do today. There aren't many places to stop along this part so we wanted to get a good start. We had about 20 miles until we reached the Heflin Lock and Dam. Our timing was a little off though – we had to decide to bust a gear to get to the lock BEFORE the barge in front of us or to pull it back a bit and wait for him to lock through. We chose to wait and it only turned out to be an hour or so. It was then an easy lock through all by ourselves.

As we ventured on down we saw over 10 deer swim across the river right in front of us. It's hunting season here in Alabama and they must be getting flushed out. Anyway, it's really cool to see them swim. This part of the river isn't all that interesting – in fact, it can get rather boring. So we welcome the unexpected. We looked for signs of alligators, but didn't see any. Lots of muskrats and of course, herons.

Like I said before there aren't any good places to stop. There were a couple of places on the charts that looked like they might be good anchorages, but when we got there – they weren't good at all. We couldn't have even made it to them though the low water and thick brush. However, we finally made it to Rattlesnake Bend. This was a perfect spot. There was plenty of water and plenty of room. The water went back a few miles and of course made a bend and then flowed back to the river. At one opening there were several barges staged. We passed by them and found a great spot with about 21 feet of water. Perfect!

Just as we were getting there the sky opened up into a beautiful sunset with purples, reds, oranges- well you get the idea. I've posted a picture, but the picture doesn't do it justice. It was absolutely amazing. We toasted each other to another wonderful day – and prepared for our short travel the next.

Rattlesnake Bend is only 7 miles from Demopolis which is where we will stay a couple of days and hook up with other Loopers. Along the way today we passed the MM 225 which is the halfway point from Grand Harbor Marina to Mobile AL. Demopolis is at the end of the Tenn-Tom (Tennessee/Tombigbee) River and where the Tombigbee/Black Warrior River begins. It's referred to by most everyone as still part of the Tenn-Tom but officially it's not. There we've learned something. I guess this next part should be called the Black-Tom.

Till next time!

Admiral "C"

Tripping Down the Tenn-Tom

Traveling along the Tenn-Tom

What a beautiful day!

The snagboat "Montgomery" now at rest

I don't think it gets any prettier than this!

Sunset at our anchorage

Good Morning!

Monday morning we had a great breakfast of homemade Belgian waffles and eggs (I'm so glad I brought my waffle iron!). We left our beautiful anchorage at the waterfall to meet up with Sweet Pea and Erika Lin at Grand Harbor where we fueled up. Finally about 10:30 we were heading down the Tenn-Tom. Only 450 miles to the Gulf of Mexico!

The Tenn-Tom saves us from the wrath of the Mississippi River. Before it was built, the only way to get to the Gulf would have been to travel down the mighty muddy Mississippi. It is possible but not very forgiving for us "pleasure boaters". The Tenn-Tom is divided into three sections – the Divide Cut, the Canal Section and the River Section. First is the Divide Cut – just what it sounds like – a big gash (24 miles long) that the Corps made to connect the Tombigbee with the Tennessee. It's pretty much uneventful. It's been open since the mid-80s so the vegetation has covered most of the construction scars now. I understand that a whole town had to be relocated at the time of construction.

The Divide Cut finally ends and opened to beautiful Bay Springs Lake. This was a beautiful stretch of extremely clear water. Here we anchored with Sweet Pea in another great spot called Five Finger Cove. Erika Lin stayed in Bay Springs Marina not far from us. It was another great evening on the hook. We planned to go to Aberdeen in the morning - locking through five locks and traveling about 50 miles or so.  We've now entered the canal section, with several locks relatively close to each other.

Tuesday morning we were up early and rushing around to get NautiNell ready to head out only to find that we could slow down a bit. When we checked with the Lockmaster – we found that it would be about 1 1/2 hours before we could lock down. Something on the Lock had broken so they were doing some maintenance. SO we just hung out at the anchorage. No big deal…..! Finally we left and met up with Erika Lin at the Whitten Lock. We all got into the Lock and tied up only to find that we still needed to wait on another cruiser. It turned out that we waited over thirty more minutes. The Whitten Lock drops you 84 feet – even on a good day it still takes a while. Oh well, no big deal! It just shortened our trip "plans" a bit. It gets dark so early now that we have to quit traveling a lot earlier than we would like. Finally about 10:30 we were through our first lock of the day and underway. The next two locks (Montgomery and Rankin} weren't a problem. Since our travel time had been shortened we decided to stay at Midway Marina. We needed to get provisions anyway. However, one of our main provisions, of course, was beer and - guess what! Dry County! We were even told that it was against the Mississippi law to buy it elsewhere and carry it into a dry county. That would be BOOTLEGGING! Sheeh!

Later we all piled into the courtesy van to go eat Mexican (Los Compadres) and to make a stop at Wal-Mart for non-alcohol provisions. LOL! We added two more boaters to our group. Ed and Norman who were in a sailboat headed to nearby Pickwick Lake. When I said piled in – I mean piled in. This van wasn't very big! We were the only ones that really needed to shop at Wal-Mart. The others just got a sack or so. We had a load! The back door of the van wouldn't open so it was a little crowded on the way home with 8 people and an abundance of groceries. We made it, though – and the bread didn't even get smashed!

On Wednesday we woke to a rainy dreary morning. Erika Lin and Sweet Pea opted to say at the marina another day. Since it was forecasted to clear up mid-morning, we headed out. We had three locks to cover (Fulton, Wilkins and Amory) and were looking to make some miles. We had no problems or delays in any of the locks and made pretty good time. The weather turned out great after all. We ended up traveling with Loop Dreams from Texas - another boat that had spent the evening at Midway Marina. We hadn't met them before. We had planned to stay at a free dock near Aberdeen but there wasn't enough water to get over to it. At least when we tried we ran into 2 1/2 feet – so we backed up slowly and high-tailed it to another anchorage. Loop Dreams had tried it before us and ended up anchoring up the river a bit to Blue Bluff. This is where we anchored too. There wasn't a lot of water but it turned out fine. There
was a gorgeous full moon!

We had planned to make it to Pirate Cove Marina on Thursday. It would be about 50 miles and 2 locks. We were in a search for beer! We knew that Columbus Marina sold beer in their ship store. We planned to stop there along the way. However, when we got close to the marina, we decided that we'd just stop there for the evening. We had planned to take the courtesy car into town to shop and to check out the antebellum homes in Columbus. However, someone had the car for the whole day! We ended up just buying beer at the ship store and hanging out at the marina. They did have a good laundromat at least! NOTE TO BEER BUYERS! - Columbus Marina charged us $24.00 a case! We thought we were back in Canada for a minute or so! At least they had it and we had no choice, I guess. The real kicker was that they also charged us $10.00 for a 12 pack of Diet Pepsi. Wow, did they see us coming!! LOL!

Friday morning was beautiful. We got a late start (who is in a hurry anyway)! We left around 10:00 and locked right through the only lock for today. This must be the river section.  We traveled with Gold Leaf who left the marina about the same time we did - all the way to our anchorage. The scenery was wonderful. As we get farther south, more trees still have their leaves. The Tenn-Tom changes constantly from the typical river look to wide channels to high bluffs, etc. When we got close to Pirates Cove Marina we saw the 108 foot snagboat Montgomery. It was moored over by the bank. This paddleboat was used for six decades to keep seven of the main rivers in the south navigable by clearing out brush and trees. Pretty cool.

We finally made it to our anchorage at Windham Landing Cut Off. We had plenty of water and lots of protection from the wind and it's only about 70 miles from Demopolis AL. The Tenn-Tom ends just a few miles before Demopolis. We watched several muskrats as the sun began to set. We were told that we might see an alligator or two. We watched for them, but they didn't show themselves this time. Maybe that was a good thing! Anyway, we decided that we would go about 50-60 miles tomorrow and then on to the marina in Demopolis on Sunday. We will probably stay in Demopolis a couple of days before starting the Black Warrior/Tombigbee Waterway. We're still about 286 miles from Mobile!

Till next time!

Admiral "C"

Goose Pond back to Pickwick Lake

Sitting pretty at Goose Pond Marina

Well, Wednesday morning when we went to pay for our slip rental we found out that if we stayed for five nights, we got 2 more nights free. Guess what – you guessed it! We had stayed for our five nights SO here we were – ready to head out but we couldn't let FREE nights go to waste. LOL! SO we decided to stay a little longer. The forecast was calling for rain on Thursday so we thought what the heck.....!   We could find more to do around here. And we did!

Mike's Capt Morgan impression in Wilson Lock

View from inside the Wilson Lock
Big Gates!!

Anchorage at the Waterfall on Pickwick Lake
Beautiful and peaceful

Looking out on the Lake from the Waterfall
What a view!

Riding along - singing a song!!



Still alot of fall foliage along the river







Gorgeous Sunset



Storm that had just passed us

We finally took the time to go for a bike ride. There was a bike/walking trail all around the marina area. We must have rode a 100 miles – okay maybe 10 – it seemed like that anyway! It might have been about 5 miles, okay! Beautiful scenery – but a new hatch of bugs! They were everywhere! Still a good ride.  Though when we got back we had bugs all over the front of us! We must have been going really fast or maybe they were really slow stupid bugs! Who knows!

Several Loopers came back to the Marina from their trip to Chattanooga. We enjoyed visiting with them. Ray (our Harbor Host) made plans for all of us to go out to dinner on Thursday night. We really appreciate his hospitality.

We spent much of Thursday again working on the boat. Mike worked on our forward head again. It's working! I cleaned the carpet in our aft bedroom. I'm telling you – there is always something to do!!
No time for sitting around eating bon bons!

Ray was true to his word and picked up all twelve of us at 5:30. We were going to dinner at Barry's Bar-B-Que. It was about 20 miles from the marina. He had told us that it would be an experience and it was. The place is a metal building behind the owner's home out in the middle of nowhere. There was a little sign on a fence post showing where to go and where to park. Inside there was a buffet set up and lots of tables and chairs. It didn't take long for us to feel at home. The buffet consisted of broasted chicken, bbq pork and fried catfish along with turnip greens and peach cobbler, oh - and homemade peach ice cream. We met Barry himself - a good ol' boy from Alabama along with his son (the cook) and his aunt (the hostess). We had a blast visiting with everyone and no one left hungry.

Friday morning around 8:30 we finally left the marina. It was nice to get going again. We traveled with Brown Eyed Girl, Free to B and Something Special as far as Ditto Landing. There they all stopped for the evening. We went on about 25 more miles to a great anchorage at about MM 314 – Limestone Creek near Decatur. It was really nice to be out of a marina and on the hook. But it was a little chilly! We planned a full day of traveling for Saturday.

But on Saturday we woke to a thick, dense fog. There were five bass boats right near us in the cove and we could barely see them. It was good that we were big and they could see us! LOL! We weren't able to leave our anchorage until around 10:00. Just about the time we were weighing the anchor along came the threesome that had stopped at Dittos the day before. The fog hadn't been that bad at Dittos. We expected to be 20 miles ahead of them but here we were now in the back! HA! We traveled along – locking through Wheeler Lock and Dam. They were going on to Florence Marina and locking through Wilson Lock and Dam. We had planned to anchor in Wilson Lake. Wilson Lake is beautiful and has lots of great anchorages. On the way down we stayed in a cove "Camp David". This time we planned to stay at Six Mile Creek. This anchorage turned out to be an A++++ anchorage! There was plenty of water and plenty of swinging room. We had a great dinner and enjoyed the evening.

This silly time change! Set the clocks back an hour! I can remember not long ago when it really mattered to me to get that extra hour of sleep. That's when we lived by the alarm clock. NO MORE! We got up our regular time only it was an hour earlier! The trouble with this is that it will now get dark an hour earlier – so we don't really gain anything.

We left our anchorage about 7:30 heading back down the Tennessee River to Pickwick Lake. We locked through the Wilson Lock (about 90 feet drop) by ourselves. We heard a few boats on the VHF but only saw one cruiser and one tug. Plenty of bass boats though - in a hurry to get somewhere - only to hurry to get somewhere else. That's fishing!

We could hear Sweet Pea, Erika Lin and several other Loopers cruising into Grand Harbor Marina. We wanted to anchor out again – the weather was so beautiful. We anchored this time at the best anchorage ever! It's rated 5 stars in the cruising guides. It's the waterfall in Copper Creek at MM 218 on Pickwick Lake. It is wonderful. Peaceful and very protected. Tomorrow morning we will decide whether to go into Grand Harbor or to venture on down the Tenn-Tom to Bay Springs at Five Finger Cove. Stay tuned!

Have I mentioned lately how Mike and I are still saying each day that we can't believe we are doing this? Well, we still can't believe it. Every day we thank God for this great opportunity to experience our fantastic voyage. We are having the time of our lives. Although we do miss our family and friends, we have continued to enjoy each and every day to the fullest. Who knows what tomorrow may bring!

Till next time!

Admiral "C"

Time spent at Goose Pond

Mike and his little buddy

Little Pumpkin People showed up everywhere!

One of our little pumpkin buddies



Early morning fog



Beautiful sunrise early one morning

Dinner with fellow Loopers!

On Saturday (October 29) we left the marina in the early morning only to go about 8 miles. We were boating right along when Mike realized the port engine was running a little hot. He adjusted the belt only you to find that the raw water pump was leaking. SO back to Goose Pond Marina we went – on one engine. Always something! We were only there a few minutes when Sweet Pea showed up. Back together again! LOL There wasn't much that Mike could do - so we just relaxed and enjoyed the day.

That evening we went to dinner at a nearby restaurant called The Docks. What fun! Dinner was good – finally got my shrimp and grits! A dynamic duo was playing in the bar, so we had to go in and check it out. They were hilarious! A couple of good ol' boys playing, singing and telling stories. Of course, Mike and Jim both got in the act. Can't take them anywhere! LOL! It was great fun!

Sunday, Mike took the pump apart – after troubleshooting, diagnosing, rejecting and determining – we need a new pump…… He decided to not do anything else until he talked to the mechanic in the morning. Meanwhile more Loopers came in. We visited with everyone. We also watched the Nascar race. Woohoo! Oh and by the way – it was cold!!!! Sunny but cold!!!!

Happy Halloween! On Monday, Mike talked to "Diesel Dan". He is from the marina but he was in Aqua Yacht Marina for a few days. He wouldn't be back this way until Wednesday. Mike decided to order the pump on EBay and put it in himself. It only took a day to get it. Meanwhile, we went to town with Jim and Dale for lunch. We checked out the Unclaimed Baggage Store – a store that sells items that have been unclaimed at airports, train stations, etc. Quite interesting! Lots of stuff! Of course, we also made a trip to Wal-Mart.

The next day we decided that we just wouldn't make it to Chattanooga. Once we got the new pump installed we would head back down the Tennessee to Pickwick Lake and then on down to Mobile. It's getting cold and we're ready to fly south for the winter! Like Frank of Once Around says – "all those geese can't be wrong!" We hung out and waited for the pump to arrive. Now when I say we hung out – that doesn't mean we didn't do anything. I did laundry and cleaned the boat inside and Mike worked on the boat getting it ready for the new pump which included another trip to town.

Sweet Pea headed back to Pickwick Lake. We'll catch up with them in a couple of days. We met Ray and Patsy of "PatsyRay" here at the marina. They are AGLCA Harbor Hosts for this area. Ray offered to review our charts with us and fill us in on the Mobile to Florida area – especially the Gulf crossing. I'm a little nervous about that – but he assured me they haven't lost a boat yet! Good to know!!

Ray and Patsy invited us to go to dinner with them. Jan and Ron of "Jolly Tolly" and Steve and Beth of "Gemini" were also going. Sounded like a good time! We went to Stevearino's – a great inexpensive Italian restaurant. We had great food and really enjoyed hearing all the stories. Jolly Tolly is now a GOLD LOOPER having crossed their wake at Green Turtle Marina. They have lots of tales to tell. It was nice meeting everyone. Loopers are so nice!

The pump arrived on time so before we went to dinner Mike installed it. He needs to complete the project in the morning. If all goes well we will be heading out in the morning.

Till next time!

Admiral "C"