We arrived at Grand Harbor, Ms as planned on Saturday but a little later. We were held-up for 2 ½ hours waiting on the Pickwick Lock. There was a tow which had to be split entering the lock when we arrived. As we were talking to the Grand Harbor Marina for docking instructions we were surprised to get a reply from Eddie L. from the boat Eagle’s Nest. We had met them in Waterford, NY and traveled most of the Erie Canal with them. We later saw them a couple of times in Canada and stayed in touch. They live about ½ mile downstream from Grand Harbor and had crossed their wake about three weeks prior. We got to Grand Harbor late in the afternoon and got the courtesy car to go to town to eat dinner. The marina is a beautiful facility with very new docks and condos on site. The dock master is a live aboard boater who really looks after the transients.
On Sunday we got the other courtesy van, a full size Chevy van, and eight of us went to the Shiloh Battlefield. We spent over half the day touring the battlefield. It was quite impressive as we drove through the area where nearly 24,000 Federal and Confederate troops were killed in battle. After touring the battlefield we drove to the Catfish Hotel for a Sunday afternoon catfish dinner. This was the best catfish we have had since we last ate catfish in Mississippi. Following this we made the ritual trip to the nearest WalMart. Shelly was able to contact Bill Wallace, a very good friend from Laurel, Ms and I had a nice chat with him while Muriel was in the store. Our cell phones have been useless most of the time we have been on the rivers. We decided to spend Monday at the marina so the women could get the laundry done. On Monday evening Eddie and Janice from Eagle’s Nest came over and we all had a chance to visit a little over the five o’clock hour. They also travel with Southern Comfort in the Erie. This accomplished, we took a leisurely departure about 10:30 on Tuesday morning.
We are really killing time until the AGLCA rendezvous which starts on Monday on next week. We have a week to make 60 miles up the Tennessee River to Joe Wheeler State Park and Marina. The first thing on our agenda was to visit a very small cove just off the river about 2 miles upstream, we are traveling on the Tennessee River, where there is a small water fall in the back of the cove. You can stick your bow right into the water fall. This would make a beautiful anchorage but would be very small for more than two boats. We entered one boat at a time to view the falls and then waited out in the river while the other boats entered.
We continued a few miles up the river to mile 225 and turned in to Bear Creek. A local boater had told us to run about two miles back into the creek, which is about ½ mile wide, and turn into the third cove on the starboard. This is a beautiful, uninhabited cove in about 15 feet of water. We immediately got the dingy down and put Shelly ashore on the south shore to hunt through a gravel bar for stones and then took Carlie to the north shore to run. She had a ball roaming the hillside. Afterward we all three went swimming in the beautiful water, 72.5 degrees. We are planning to eat aboard Blue Max tonight. They are making lasagna, Peggy is making a pie and Muriel will take the salad. Of coarse there will be a happy hour first.
Tomorrow we plan another short day to travel from this anchorage to Florence, Al., about 25 miles, where we will moore at a municipal marina right in town and walk to a Mexican Restaurant for dinner.
Well, it turned out that we could not walk to the restaurant but the marina had a courtesy car so we got the best Mexican food since we left NC. Then we made the ritual trip to WalMart. Before we went to eat, Muriel and I took the car to ride through the town of Florence. It is an impressive town. There are many older homes which have been kept in excellent condition. In the morning we called the next lock and found that he had only one tow coming down and none coming up so we got to going quicker than we had planned. We arrived at the lock as the operator got it ready for us to enter. We waited only a few minutes and entered the deepest lock we have locked through yet, 93 feet of lift. We were amazed at how quickly the lock filled. We were lifted and out of the lock very quickly. The next lock was about ten miles up the Tennessee River. As we arrived, a tow was exiting the lock and as soon as he cleared the lock the operator blew his horn for us to enter. We arrived at Joe Wheeler State Park Marina just after noon, a trip which could have taken several hours longer if we had not gotten right into the locks as we did.
It was great fun to see all the looper boats already at Joe Wheeler and then watch the others arriving over the next several days. What a group! Shortly after getting settled in at the marina Muriel and I took Carlie for a walk on the nature trail near the marina. Along the way we saw one herd of seven deer and a couple of smaller herds. Carlie goes crazy when she sees wildlife. There is a beautiful lodge right in front of us at the marina where the rendezvous meetings are held. Joe Wheeler State Park is an amazing facility, marina, lodge, rental cottages, golf course, and a lot of woods. On Saturday morning we rented a small van and got into Rogersville, the nearest town, to look around and Muriel got her hair cut. On Sunday we went to the Aero Space Museum in Huntsville. It was an eye opener to stand at the base of the Saturn V rocket and see the immense size of it. We were with Blue Max and Southern Comfort. As we stood there wondering at the rocket, it came out that Bill had supplied NASA with some of the parts used on the rocket engines. Amazing!! Muriel and Clarice and I rode a machine to simulate G-forces and then Muriel and I rode a ride which shoots you up to simulate the forces which the astronauts experience on launch. It shot us up and then coming down we were out of the seat, suspended in the harness, for several seconds.
Rendezvous registration was Monday afternoon with seminars running all day on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday on what to expect along our route from here on to Charleston, SC. There was time each afternoon for tours of the other boats and for a kayak race on Tuesday and a dingy race on Wednesday. Shelly and I entered the kayak race and Bill and I entered the dingy race. The dingy race required a navigator and the helmsman was blindfolded and the dingy had to go in reverse around a course with the navigator directing the helmsman. Bill and I decided we would do better with him rowing and without the motor. We won the race. Shelly won the woman’s division of the kayak race. Everyone said there was no doubt who would win the race when they say the determination on Shelly’s face.
The highlight of the week for us was that Ron and Connie Mercer joined us on Monday. It was great to see them. Ron looked great, well, Connie looked great also, but that was expected. Now we have to decide where we spend the next several weeks before we arrive in Mobile Bay.
Well, last night we decided we would not take the boat to Chatanooga but would rent a car and drive there. This morning Muriel went out to walk Carlie and came back and said, “it is so beautiful, we can not stay here, let’s get out on the water and go.” So we scurried around and got away about 30 minutes behind the other boats headed that direction. We had a beautiful and short trip up the Tennessee River to Decatur where we are in the municipal marina for the night.
We have pretty good strength on our air card so I will try to get this posted today. It has been a long time since I have had time when we also had internet access.
On Sunday we got the other courtesy van, a full size Chevy van, and eight of us went to the Shiloh Battlefield. We spent over half the day touring the battlefield. It was quite impressive as we drove through the area where nearly 24,000 Federal and Confederate troops were killed in battle. After touring the battlefield we drove to the Catfish Hotel for a Sunday afternoon catfish dinner. This was the best catfish we have had since we last ate catfish in Mississippi. Following this we made the ritual trip to the nearest WalMart. Shelly was able to contact Bill Wallace, a very good friend from Laurel, Ms and I had a nice chat with him while Muriel was in the store. Our cell phones have been useless most of the time we have been on the rivers. We decided to spend Monday at the marina so the women could get the laundry done. On Monday evening Eddie and Janice from Eagle’s Nest came over and we all had a chance to visit a little over the five o’clock hour. They also travel with Southern Comfort in the Erie. This accomplished, we took a leisurely departure about 10:30 on Tuesday morning.
We are really killing time until the AGLCA rendezvous which starts on Monday on next week. We have a week to make 60 miles up the Tennessee River to Joe Wheeler State Park and Marina. The first thing on our agenda was to visit a very small cove just off the river about 2 miles upstream, we are traveling on the Tennessee River, where there is a small water fall in the back of the cove. You can stick your bow right into the water fall. This would make a beautiful anchorage but would be very small for more than two boats. We entered one boat at a time to view the falls and then waited out in the river while the other boats entered.
We continued a few miles up the river to mile 225 and turned in to Bear Creek. A local boater had told us to run about two miles back into the creek, which is about ½ mile wide, and turn into the third cove on the starboard. This is a beautiful, uninhabited cove in about 15 feet of water. We immediately got the dingy down and put Shelly ashore on the south shore to hunt through a gravel bar for stones and then took Carlie to the north shore to run. She had a ball roaming the hillside. Afterward we all three went swimming in the beautiful water, 72.5 degrees. We are planning to eat aboard Blue Max tonight. They are making lasagna, Peggy is making a pie and Muriel will take the salad. Of coarse there will be a happy hour first.
Tomorrow we plan another short day to travel from this anchorage to Florence, Al., about 25 miles, where we will moore at a municipal marina right in town and walk to a Mexican Restaurant for dinner.
Well, it turned out that we could not walk to the restaurant but the marina had a courtesy car so we got the best Mexican food since we left NC. Then we made the ritual trip to WalMart. Before we went to eat, Muriel and I took the car to ride through the town of Florence. It is an impressive town. There are many older homes which have been kept in excellent condition. In the morning we called the next lock and found that he had only one tow coming down and none coming up so we got to going quicker than we had planned. We arrived at the lock as the operator got it ready for us to enter. We waited only a few minutes and entered the deepest lock we have locked through yet, 93 feet of lift. We were amazed at how quickly the lock filled. We were lifted and out of the lock very quickly. The next lock was about ten miles up the Tennessee River. As we arrived, a tow was exiting the lock and as soon as he cleared the lock the operator blew his horn for us to enter. We arrived at Joe Wheeler State Park Marina just after noon, a trip which could have taken several hours longer if we had not gotten right into the locks as we did.
It was great fun to see all the looper boats already at Joe Wheeler and then watch the others arriving over the next several days. What a group! Shortly after getting settled in at the marina Muriel and I took Carlie for a walk on the nature trail near the marina. Along the way we saw one herd of seven deer and a couple of smaller herds. Carlie goes crazy when she sees wildlife. There is a beautiful lodge right in front of us at the marina where the rendezvous meetings are held. Joe Wheeler State Park is an amazing facility, marina, lodge, rental cottages, golf course, and a lot of woods. On Saturday morning we rented a small van and got into Rogersville, the nearest town, to look around and Muriel got her hair cut. On Sunday we went to the Aero Space Museum in Huntsville. It was an eye opener to stand at the base of the Saturn V rocket and see the immense size of it. We were with Blue Max and Southern Comfort. As we stood there wondering at the rocket, it came out that Bill had supplied NASA with some of the parts used on the rocket engines. Amazing!! Muriel and Clarice and I rode a machine to simulate G-forces and then Muriel and I rode a ride which shoots you up to simulate the forces which the astronauts experience on launch. It shot us up and then coming down we were out of the seat, suspended in the harness, for several seconds.
Rendezvous registration was Monday afternoon with seminars running all day on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday on what to expect along our route from here on to Charleston, SC. There was time each afternoon for tours of the other boats and for a kayak race on Tuesday and a dingy race on Wednesday. Shelly and I entered the kayak race and Bill and I entered the dingy race. The dingy race required a navigator and the helmsman was blindfolded and the dingy had to go in reverse around a course with the navigator directing the helmsman. Bill and I decided we would do better with him rowing and without the motor. We won the race. Shelly won the woman’s division of the kayak race. Everyone said there was no doubt who would win the race when they say the determination on Shelly’s face.
The highlight of the week for us was that Ron and Connie Mercer joined us on Monday. It was great to see them. Ron looked great, well, Connie looked great also, but that was expected. Now we have to decide where we spend the next several weeks before we arrive in Mobile Bay.
Well, last night we decided we would not take the boat to Chatanooga but would rent a car and drive there. This morning Muriel went out to walk Carlie and came back and said, “it is so beautiful, we can not stay here, let’s get out on the water and go.” So we scurried around and got away about 30 minutes behind the other boats headed that direction. We had a beautiful and short trip up the Tennessee River to Decatur where we are in the municipal marina for the night.
We have pretty good strength on our air card so I will try to get this posted today. It has been a long time since I have had time when we also had internet access.
1 comment:
Wow! Congratulations Shelly on coming in FIRST PLACE! Yahoo! We are so proud of you!
We miss you very much and send you love each and everyday!
Love,
Chip and Michele
xxoo
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