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.