Dec. 18                        Bay Point Marina

It was rather quiet on the boat.  Now we have to wash and clean.  But today was the day we were going to celebrate Christmas with our close boating friends.  Carl and Greg Vernon picked us up at 11 and we went to Peppers in Ft Walton where Jim and Sue Starke, Larry and Jane Pfieffer met us.  We had so much fun talking about ole times and catching up.  Missed our friends Larry and Theresa though.

Dec. 17                          Bay Point Marina

Today was our last day together.  It has been an awesome two weeks.  I never had to put out or pull up an anchor, nor capture a bollard in the locks.  I was so grateful cause don’t think my strength was quite ready yet for that.  They worked at getting everything into the suitcase but had to leave some stuff for us to send.  We left the boat about 1 pm and headed to McQuires Irish Pub in Destin which was on the way to the airport.  We had so much fun talking about our time together and eating those huge sandwiches and sampling the great drinks.  We took them to the Ft Walton airport to fly out at 5:30.  It was hard to say Good Bye but what memories we made.

Dec. 16                Bay Point marina

Everyone slept in again trying to catch up on all our 6 am getups. The girls worked on packing their suitcases.  We went to Bayou on The Beach for lunch and again ate oysters, Who Dat shrimp and muffalota. Tammy, Brenda and Diana wanted to go to the beach cause this was the warmest day so far, 72’.  We dropped them off and Roy and I headed back to the boat.  We barely got to the boat and they called to come and get them that they were freezing. I left Roy at the boat and the girls went back to Pier Park shopping.  We did not get back to the boat till 6 pm.  I think they ran out of money. We emptied all of the leftovers out of the fridge and that was our dinner.   They finished packing and laughing.  We went to bed and I think they stayed up till 4 am.

Dec. 15                   Bay Point Marina

EVERYONE slept in.  We had a good hot breakfast and the ladies went shopping at Pier Park for four hours.  At 3 we picked up Roy and all went to Hunts Oyster Bar for some yummy oysters. I think we downed about 6 ½ doz oysters plus grouper throats and buffalo shrimp.  Of course they had to buy T shirts. We drove through the park looking at the Christmas lights and then back to the boat.  USAirways had sent us an email stating that their flight leaving at 2;30 was canceled and they were now leaving at 5:25 which now put them into Wilmington at 9:30 and they all had to go to work Thursday. Brenda and Tammy both called USAir, complaining till they got free round trip tickets to anywhere in the US and also $75 toward another ticket. We finished playing the Long Game of cards which took us till midnight to complete.  Roy hit the bed early.

Dec. 14        FINALLY   Bay Point Marina  10 miles

We actually did not set the alarm for the first time in 20 days.  We went up to the Gazebo and had bloody marys with Gospel bluegrass with Greg and Carl.  Today was Greg's birthday.   About 10 we left the dock and did not even touch even though it was low tide. As we turned into the Big lagoon, Mike and Tracey met us on their little boat.  We pulled into Bay Point at noon.  The boat next to our slip had his dingy in our slip so we had to sit out in the water idling while he put it up on his boat.  The captain did a great job backing the boat  in for a starboard tie. 

Our friends had organized a dock party at 3 pm to welcome us  back to Bay Point.  There were about 30 folks, friends and loopers.  Carl and Greg came also.  It was just so great to be back even though it was a little cool on the dock.  We had eaten so much at the dock party, I made ham and bean soup. We played the Long Game but only played three rouunds before we crashed,

Dec. 13        Carl & Greg Vernon’s dock  297       77 miles

It was another great day on the water.  There was hardly a cloud in the sky and the weather was 68-70.  After helping us get off the dock, the girls went back to bed.  There were lots of dolphins again.  The water was as flat as a pancake again.  We have been blest with such great weather. The tide was in our favor and we cruised at 9 to 9.5.   

We were at the Vernon’s dock by 3 pm.  It was so good to be back in Panama City and see our good friends, Carl and Greg Vernon.  Seems like it had been a long long time. 

Kissing the

dock cause

WE MADE IT

Dec. 12      Ft Walton City free Dock  GICW 223       40 miles

We left at 7 and the water was so calm and the St Rosa Sound was flat as a pancake.  We had lots of dolphins following us and Diana got some great videos of them.  The girls slept most of the way . There was absolutely no traffic, not even tows. We were tied to the dock about 12:30.  Tammy has had a bad sinus infection so we walked to what we though was a walk in clinic but they no longer took walk ins so we got our exercise.  Brenda, Tammy and I spent the afternoon shopping the miracle mile while Roy and Diana stayed at the boat and worked.  Brenda made shrimp allfredo that was to die for. Had a great sunrise when we we left.

Dec. 11      Pensacola Navy Base  GICW 185     25 miles

We waited till 8 to leave. Diana had bought the wrong size tshirt and needed to exchange it so was at the door when they opened at 8.  We pulled into the Navy Base at 11 and Jim Starke from Eagle One was there to greet us.  We quickly made lunch as the girls were going to go to the Air and Space Museum on Base.  Jim, now our taxi, came back at 1 to take the girls to the museum, then came back to the boat and picked up Roy and I and took us to their home in Pensacola.  They had done some remodeling, added a pool and complete landscape which was absolutely great.   Then the girls called that they were ready to be picked up.  Sue had made a big pot of chili for all of us so we loaded the food into the car and they took us back to the boat. Then Jim and Roy picked up the girls and took them to see Joe Patti’s fish market. When they all returned to the boat we had a great dinner of Sue’s awesome Chili.  Thank you Jim and Sue.

Dec. 10      The Wharf     GICW 160     32 miles

We untied from the dock at 7:45 and headed across Mobile Bay.  It was forecast to be 5-8 winds but actually was 10-15.  Our boat does not like a falling sea and with the current and the tide going together, we rocked and rolled.  Our couch was in the center of the salon but nothing got broken. It was quite the experience for the crew. They were glad to get to the Lagoon and to the Wharf.  Our friend Jerry Reichstetter came aboard for lunch. Brenda has made an awesome salad.  The girls went shopping at the Wharf and Jerry took Roy and I to their new home in Gulf Shores.  Rosemary, his wife, was not feeling well but we did get to visit with here for awhile and renew all times.  Roy and Jerry started the Harbor Village Yacht Club in Aug. 1989 and we have boated together and been close friends ever since. Jerry took us to this local restaurant for a delicious Italian dinner.  It was so good to see them. The girls stayed at the Wharf, went ice skating, window shopping and a little bar hopping.

Dec. 9           Dog River Marina  West side of Mobile Bay  28 miles

We had anchored out since Dec. 3 so everyone was ready for a long hot shower.  Diana pulled anchor at 6:45 and pulled up a 4’ limb.   There was lots of activity as we went through the ports of Mobile.  We got to the fuel dock at Dog River at 11. We filled up cause the fuel was 3.39.9 and we got a free nights dockage. We had used 300 gals since we left Nashville.  Brenda fixed us a delicious lunch of vegie stuffed portabella mushrooms and were they ever good.   We all took showers, did a couple of loads of laundry.  Keith and Bobby on Kim Jo IV were there.   Bobby went with Brenda, Tammy and me to grocery shop.  Roy and Diana cleaned up the anchor and then filled up with water.   We all went to dinner together at the Grand Mariner for Crab Claws and were they ever yummy.  We again brought lots back to the boat.

Dec. 8      Big Bayou Canot  tt 9      91 miles           9 hrs

Our daughter, Brenda’s birthday is today.  When we got up at 6:30 to pull anchor it was an awesome sunrise. 

There was lots of tow traffic.  NO LOCKS.  There were some wild turkeys on shore and turtles on logs. Seemed to be lots of debris that we had to dodge. We averaged 10.5 mph and were doing so good we made it all the way to mile marker 9. We were anchored by 4.  Tammy gave Roy and I a haircut on the bow of the boat.  We had steak to celebrate and played cards. The trains ran all night but we still got a good nights rest.

Dec. 7       Ole Lock One   tt 100        45 miles

We decided we would stop at Bobbies Fish Camp for lunch so we did not pull anchor till 8.  We got there about 11. The crew walked around. Bobbies is like going back to the 1950's. About 11:45 we walked up to have lunch.  They opened right at 12. The walls are covered with antiques and pictures.

 
 We had a great lunch and took half of it back to the boat. Roy had ordered a fish dinner for the lock master also.

 By 1:30 we were in Coffee`ville lock and out by 2:15.  This was our last lock so Brenda and Tammy took over and let Diana and me rest.   We got to Ole Lock One about 4. The current was running about 3 mph and we were cruising up to 11 mph. There was a sailboat anchored right in the entrance and they said it was too shallow,  We had asked the lockmaster what the water level was and he said it was about 2  ft above normal.  We did not have any problem going in nor anchoring.  We had a rowdy game of Greedy.  We had the place to ourselves except for a few fisherman.

Dec. 6        Bashi Creek       mm 145        69 miles      9 hr

Roy called the Demopolis lock at 6:15 and they said they would have it ready so come on down.  All we had to do was untie from the bollards on the barge and we were on our way, in the lock by 6:45 and out by 7:30.  The tow traffic picked up quite a bit.  We got to Bashi Creek about 3.

    Tammy and Diana cutting limbs so they
     would not hit boat.                                                                  Diana on roof                                                                                                         breaking limbs
  Diana & Elvie
dropping anchor.

Dropped the anchor just past the boat ramp but it did not hold and we were soon in the trees on shore so pulled it back up.  Went up closer to the mouth of the creek and dropped it again.  This time the wind had came up and was blowing about 15 mph. Now we were in the trees on the other shore across from the ramp.  We tried cutting down the limbs but we just kept moving closer so pulled up anchor again.  This time we dropped it right in the middle and the wind blew us to one side but we were not in trees.  

We had dinner and were playing dominoes when Diana called us all outside to see a beaver that was very upset cause we had crashed his house when we anchored.  You could see the wall the beavers had built that the boat pushed down.  We did get to finish our domino game.

Dec. 5.    Fosque Creek   TT 214     57 miles     8 hrs

We were up at 6, called the Heflin lock and was ready so we pulled anchor and headed for the lock.  As soon as we left the Sumter Landng we had pea soup fog and were driving by radar. It took us an hr. to get to the Heflin lock and we were finally through the lock by 8:00. Tammy and Diana were sore from exercise.  By 10:00 it was 73 and we were shedding layers.  Now we are flying at 9.5 mph which for us is fast. We did so good we were to Demopolis by 1:30.  

We pulled into Fosque creek to anchor and

when we passed the tow tender at the Coast Guard station, we asked if we were allowed to tie to the barge down in the pool.  They said sure so we did and then went exploring.   Today we got several games of Sequence in on the aft deck.  The weather is awesome.  We sprayed all the leaks we had found with Flex Seal.  It worked on the areas on the fly bridge we had done so did the rest of the leaks the rain had found. Roy and Diana worked on the anchor wash down.  Roy taught Diana how to start the generator so now she will be the official generator starter.After dinner we did the exercises again even though they were sore.

Dec. 4,   Sumter Landing  TT270    64 miles       9 hrs

We left the dock at 6:30 with the entire crew up.   Stennis Lock was ready for us and we were the only ones in the lock.  Diana did all of the tieup which was great.  This was the first lock for Tammy and Brenda.   About an hour down river, we saw a buck with a full rack of antlers crossing the river.  So pictures were taken to send back to the guys who are hunters.  When we got to Bevil lock, we had to wait for another pleasure boat to join us in the lock but it was only about 15-20 minutes.  At 3:30 we were anchored in Sumter Landing.   We were the only boater but there were campers on shore with camp fires.  The girls played the Long Game of cards and Roy cabitzed.  We had made Gulosh in the Crock Pot. So we finished our game at 8 and ate. I had to do my exercises so Tammy and Diana decided to do them with me. It did not take long for all of us to head to bed. 

Dec. 3,       Columbus marina   TT334  o miles

Yea, got to sleep in.  Roy got up at 8:30 and yelled immediately for me.  I thought something had happened on the boat but it was a message from our daughter telling us they were in Charlotte but may be diverted to a different airport cause of weather.  Shock, Shock we had her coming in on 4^th, Thursday.  We did not even have a car to go to the airport to pick them up.  So we called Enterprise in Columbus and all three at the airport but there were no cars available so we called our daughter at the airport to see if she could get a car which they did. In the meantime Roy had Ty and his son come and look at the generator cause we had problems when at anchor with it kickin off.  Found that the fuel filters on the generator and engine needed changing.

Finally at 1:30 they were at the boat.  Rick and Josh, (brother and nephew) were on their way to Columbus with our car but would not get here until 3 or 4.  So Joann went with all of us back to Profits Porch.  Yummmy again!!  We brought sandwiches for Rick and Josh back to the boat. About 4 Rick, Joann and Josh left to go back to Nashville.  We were so grateful that they brought us our car.

Now Brenda, Tammy and I went grocery shopping while Roy and Diana filled in water and checked the engine.  We got back to boat, put away what groceries we needed to and then headed to airport to return rental car.  Roy followed us in our car and we went to Hucks for dinner.  When we got back to the boat at 9:30, finished putting away groceries, we were all exhausted and ready to hit the hay.     What a day we had!!!

Dec. 2       Columbus Marina   TT334         25miles       3 ¾ hr

Roy got up at 6:15 and called the lock.  They were waiting for a tow to get there, would lock him up and thought it would be about 1 ½  before he could lock us down. It had been raining for several hours and was still drizzly when we left the dock at 7:15.  We had all our rain gear on to tie up in the lock. We were out of the lock by 8:30. A sailboat, 85% locked down with us.  We got to Columbus before 11 am and the rain had stopped.   T,  Jimmy and Allen(T’s son) helped us in. Not many transients here.   It was good to see them. We had spent a winter here so were pretty familiar with the staff and area. Signed in, got courtesy car and went to our favorite place, Proffit’s Porch, for lunch.  The seafood gumbo, red beans and rice, seafood salad was just as good as always.  Mr. Profit greeted us. We took JoAnn on the historic home tour by car.  Roy wanted Mexican food for dinner so I got a night off cooking.  Mia Toro’s is excellent here in Columbus.  This is the last night JoAnn Short, our sister in law will be with us.  She has been a big help going thru the locks as I am strong but still not where I need to be.  Thankful she was there. In 2 days our daughter, grand daughter and friend come.  Very Excited.

Dec. 1      Aberdeen Marina  TTmm358.2    36 mi   6 hr

Had another early morning getup at 6 and left for the lock at 6:30.  We had called the lock and they told us to come on down but we still had to wait about 30 minutes for a tow to be locked down and then the basin turned around. Sensation and Roy El' were the only ones in the lock The second lock was only 5 miles but we had to wait about an hour cause now we are following that same tow down river and he was still being locked down. The third lock was 13 miles farther and we again had to wait.  When we called the fourth lock, Aberdeen Lock, we were told that they had tows and dredges locking up and down and it would be 2-3 hrs.  Well Columbus is 22 miles from that lock which meant we still needed at least 2 ½ hrs before sundown to get to Columbus. It was 1:00 and there was no way we wanted to go in at dark so we chose to stop at Aberdeen Marina for the night.  To go into this marina you wind through the trees in a small marked channel for about ½ mile.  This Marina is behind a Filling Station on a busy highway so it is a little noisy.  It is still $1 a ft for dockage which is great.  But we are tied to the dock, safe and get to rest even a bit.  Should be into Columbus in AM.

Nov. 30    Midway Marina  TT mm 94           56 mi     9.75 hr

We left before sunup at 6:45.  It was cloudy and windy.  The temp was 59 so did not need heaters today on the fly bridge.  We met 3 tows today and were passed by two pleasure boats, 20’ Robablo named MySharona and a 112 ft named Sensation from the Marshland islands.  They both speeded way ahead of us so we went through the locks alone. 

Captain and Navigator

The first lock, Whitten, went great and we locked down 83’.  At the second lock, Montgomery, we had to wait about 45 minutes for a tow going down and then he had to fill the chamber. We went down 30'.  At the third lock, Rankin, the lock master had just locked down a sailboat and was locking up a tow so we had to wait for an hr.  We did not get in the lock till 3:00. Went down 28'.  We just barely made it to Midway Marina in   Fulton, Ms by sundown, 4:30.  Sensation was here and also a Gulfstar sailboat.  We are enjoying the 70 degree weather with the boat open.  At least we don’t have to worry about raccoons coming aboard.  Will enjoy Smoked Gouda Pork Chops tonight.

Nov. 29,   Grand Harbor   TT449     64 miles      1 lock 9 hrs

Pulled anchor with NO FROST, TEMP 49.  There wasn’t even dew on the windows. Goodbye cold weather.  It was overcast but so much warmer.  We left at 6:45 am.  We seemed to be the only crazy boaters out there. Saw a herd of white goats on Wolf Island but was too late to get a picture. About noon we caught up with a fuel barge going the same way we were so we increased our speed to get to the Pickwick Lock before him.  We got to the Lock at 1:30, locked up 53’ and were out of the lock by 2:15.  We were so fortunate we did not have to wait. We got to Grand Harbor at 3:30.   They have cable TV so Roy was watching football by 4:00. Mike O Malley and his friend Tom on My Sharona, a 20’ center console Robablo stopped in.  They are doing the Loop and staying every night on shore and eating out all the time. Not sure that would be ‘my cup of tea’. Suppose to only get down to 55 tonight.

Nov. 28,    Jeter Towhead Anchorage TRmm153  58 miles  9 hrs

Well, we are back on the early morning getups.  Everything was frosted over, stiff electric cords, stiff lines and ice on isin glass on flybridge.  We casted off at 7:15.  Again Roy had the fly bridge toasty with those magic propane heaters. Temp was 28. It quickly warmed up with the sun and soon we were able to shed jackets and turn off the heaters. Only met two tows today. Went by this neat private home built like a lighthouse.  There are still ‘crazy’ fisherman out there in those little boats. We anchored at 3:20.  Our anchorage is protected from the south wind that is blowing.  The temp got up to 57 today and we are headed south. 

Nov. 27.    HAPPY THANKSGIVING  from Pebble Isle marina.

It did not snow but it is Cold!   Sure was nice to ‘sleep in’. Bill, the dockhand, had brought us their ‘signature’ cinnamon rolls for us to bake for breakfast including the frosting to put on them. Yummmy!  One of the folks at the marina came over to see if we needed the keys to the courtesy van but we didn’t.  About 2 pm who should show up but Randy and Tammy, the owners of the marina, with a pecan pie.  It was so good to see them and visit together.   Our sister in law, JoAnn Short, from Hermitage, TN came about 5 pm.  We had baked a hen with stuffing, mashed potatoes & giblet gravy, Corn pudding, salad and pumpkin pie.  We were pleasantly stuffed and night time came fast. By 9:30 we were all ready to hit the hay for an early morning get up.   

Nov. 26,       Pebble Isle Marina    TR 95   58 miles    8 hr

Cold! Cold!  Frost everywhere again.  We used the hairdryer to get the frost off the front isin glass again.  Roy started the butane heaters about thirty minutes before we left and put them on the fly bridge so it was nice and cozy when we got ready to leave.  My hands were so cold yesterday so today I put on plastic sterile gloves(left over from infusion days) and then my regular gloves. What a difference when your hands don’t get wet!  We pulled anchor at 6:45 and it was a nice clean anchor. No fog today, no tows and only 2 little fishing boats.  Lots of ducks and geese.  They say 200,000 ducks migrate to here and 25,000 Canadian geese so this is hunters paradise. We did hear shots now and then.  Roy left me at the helm and I forgot that when we entered the Tennessee River, the green buoys were on the left(port)side and the red buoys were on the right(starboard) side so I kinda got out of the channel.  How quick we forget! We pushed it up a little to beat the rain and also to be able to fuel up before the rain came in.  We got to Pebble Isle about 2:10, were fueled up by 3 and within 15 minutes the rain came.  We took on 365 gallons.  

Since they are closed tomorrow, they brought us cinnamon rolls to bake for breakfast which is their tradition to serve Loopers. We are plugged in and nice and warm.  It is forecast to snow tonight.  Will spend Thanksgiving here.

Nov. 25    Anchored in Higgins Bay    TR mm 37.3        68 miles

We pulled anchor at 7:30.  We had to take the hair dryer to the front isin glass to melt the frost from the outside and then wipe it down so we could see to drive.  It was 33 degrees.  Roy had the propane heater going on the fly bridge so it was nice and toasty .  We got about a mile down river and hit fog.  We stopped, put on the radar and saw something blocking the waterway.  We blew our fog horn every five minutes.  We inched our way till we got to the tow with 9 barges that was banked but almost blocking the river but we could get around them.  We drove for about 30 minutes in fog.  We only met two tows today.  There were quite a few little boats fishing cause the weather was clear and no wind.  Saw lots of deer blinds on the water where you can drive your boat in to shoot ducks. Our grandson would love it.  We were anchored today by 3:30 and had a beautiful sunset on the Tennessee River.

Everything on the boat is still working great.  Hope to get warmer as we head farther south. 

Nov. 24,   Hickman Recreation  86.3 miles         CR 87.7          9 hr 20 min

FINALLY. WE HAVE LEFT NASHVILLE.

After 18 months of medical surgery and rehab for both of us, we are back cruising.  We had planned to leave Sunday, the 23 but wind and rain delayed us till Monday, the 24^th.  We left the dock at 7:00 am and it was 53’, sunny and the rain had passed but had 20 mile hr winds.  The current was running about  3mph so we were flying for a trawler.  Got to Cheatham Lock about 9:45 and was out of the lock by 10:20.  We got to Clarksville City Docks, mm 125, about 12:25 and decided it was too early to call it a day so continued on to Hickman Recreation , mm 87.7.  It was 4:20 and the sun was close to setting but we made it before it did.  We passed three tows but saw no pleasure craft at all.  The boat is running great so far and we are snug as a rug in our anchorage.