Month: October 2019

We left Midway Marina on Thursday and planned to lock through four locks and stay at an anchorage. When we left, we also picked up another boat to travel the locks with us from Midway, Serenity Blue. However, as we were making our way south, we also picked up another three boats at the first lock and it looked like we would all be traveling through the rest of the locks together. Their final destination for the day was Columbus Marina. We weren’t as optimistic as they were but advised we would see how the day went and possibly we would go to Columbus too. According to their website, Columbus Marina listed service and parts. Peter took a chance and called them and they advised that once we knew whether we would be there on Thursday or Friday, call them back and they will provide the number for the mobile mechanic that they use.

As it turned out, we had a good lock day – little or no wait! At the last lock of the day, we heard another boat call the lock that he was close and the lock-master reopened the doors for him. There were now 8 of us in the lock and it looked like we were all heading to the same place. Since we didn’t have lock delays, we decided to push through to Columbus. Peter called the marina back to advise we would arrive on Thursday afternoon and then called the mechanic who will come early on Friday morning.

When the mechanic arrived on Friday, Peter was happy to hear that he would be able to rebuild the cylinder and would have it ready for Saturday morning. He needed to come back later in the day on Friday to apply epoxy to secure the bolts since age had also loosened the bracket. Since we would need to stay another day to get the boat repaired finally, it looked like we would be staying now until Tuesday morning as the effects from Tropical Storm Nestor will be arriving in Columbus on Monday. We all agreed that it would be best to wait out the storm in the marina since we will need to anchor out between here and our next marina stop. Traveling or being on the hook during a storm is not fun. As it turns out, there are about 10 other boats all with the same idea.

Columbus Marina had two courtesy vehicles, the usual van and a 5-seat pickup. Since there were so many of us, we needed to sign up in advance so that we would have a vehicle to get us into town to do some exploring, shopping and lunch or dinner. We visited the Tennessee Williams Home & Welcome Center and the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Transportation Museum. We enjoyed touring the house were Tennessee Williams lived for the first three years of his life and the history of the structure. When we arrived at the Transportation Museum, although it was listed as “Open”, it was closed for the day as they were updating their exhibits. They did let us into the lobby and we took a few photos that clearly demonstrates the winding river. We also rode around town and viewed the “The W” which was the first public college for women in the US, later known as Mississippi University for Women. Another stop we made was the Friendship Cemetery that was founded in 1849. It is the site of the first Decoration Day in 1866 that led to the modern Memorial Day celebration. The cemetery is the final resting place of four Confederate Generals and over 2,000 confederate soldiers and also some union soldiers. One headstone that has become fairly famous is the weeping Angel of Grief as she watches over the grave of one of the town’s beloved Baptist pastors who died in 1891.

The rain cleared and we left Columbus on Tuesday morning and headed to Sumter Recreation Area to anchor. The anchorage was not as wide as we anticipated so once again we rafted. Later in the day, another boat from Columbus who left later in the morning arrived at Sumter and anchored in front of us. We all planned to leave the next morning, lock through the Heflin Lock and head to Demopolis for a few days.

The morning brought us significant fog and the lock-master advised that we wait before traveling to the lock. After an hour or so, the fog was lifting and we saw some blue sky over the river and called the lock to advise that there were four boats coming to lock through. After locking through, we traveled a bit and then picked up one of the boats we had traveled with the day before who had anchored on the other side of the lock. The target for all five of us was Demopolis.

In addition to some more fall foliage, one of the sites that was spectacular was the White Cliffs of Epes. These chalk formations were deposited as the same time as the White Cliffs of Dover, about 70 million years ago. A great place to take photos as the cliffs span about a mile.

Demopolis Yacht Basin (DYB) is primarily a gas dock at this time. The marina was basically destroyed with the flooding last year and has not yet been rebuilt. However, there is a sister marina, Kingfisher Bay Marina right next door. So, we stopped at DYB to get fuel since it is the last place to get fuel before Mobile Bay and then went to our slip at Kingfisher. The marina has covered and uncovered slips and the three of us were at the end of dock in the uncovered slips. Generally that is not a major issue but we have also found that the WiFi signals are close to nonexistent in these locations. For two days, we weren’t so concerned. They have a boaters lounge so we can always take our computers to the lounge if necessary. Although we changed our data plan for our phones and my iPad last Christmas to unlimited, we have found that Verizon does not have great coverage in the Alabama/ Mississippi/Tennessee area. Phone service is severely limited and internet is worse.

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We left Florence Harbor on Thursday. It was expected to be a fairly easy day – about 40 miles and no locks. Our plan was to stay at the marina for a few days so that the steering could be addressed and Peter could visit Shiloh. Since the marina had a courtesy car, it also allowed us to do some reprovisioning before heading down the Tenn-Tom Waterway.

When we arrived at the marina, we noticed that there were a number of looper boats, so we all planned for docktails that evening. There were a few who we have met/traveled with before – Avalon and Pegasus – and a few new looper boats for us. In fact, one of the boats, Sea C Rider, only started their journey a few days before from Lake Michigan. I would guess there were 8-10 boats at Aqua Yacht which was an impressive number but doesn’t beat the 15 boats in Florence the night before or the close to 20 at Green Turtle Bay a few weeks ago.

Rain was projected for Friday so that was going to be the maintenance day and we reserved the courtesy car for back-to-back time blocks on Saturday so that we could visit Shiloh plus do some food shopping when we had good weather. As it turned out, our steering issue was not taken care of since the mechanic who told us “no problem” didn’t have the correct information – there was no one on staff who could rebuild the cylinder and one of their mobile mechanics did not have the time to take care of the problem. Once again, we are going to have to try again at the next place that has a mechanic with the skills where we are willing to stay for a few days. Fortunately, our buddy boat did not have the same problem getting their maintenance completed.

Saturday had the sunshine we expected so our visit to the Shiloh National Military Park was enjoyable. I don’t think anyone realized how large the park was and we were glad to have the courtesy car to drive around to tour the 20 sites that were listed on the tour map. Before we took the tour, we watched an impressive 45 minute documentary about the battles that took place. This provided a background for the markers around the park. Peter, of course, added commentary to fill us in on what happened at Shiloh.

We left Aqua Yacht Harbor on Sunday for a short run to Bay Springs Marina. The strategy was to situate ourselves close to the Whitten Lock and begin the 12 lock stretch to Mobile Bay. Our plan was to complete at least 3 locks on Monday. Unfortunately, the morning greeted us with dense fog and this delayed our departure by almost two hours. The good news was that we were not planning on trying to get through the locks on Sunday.

When we got up on Monday, we had some fog but it was not as heavy as when we were in Aqua Yacht in Iuca on Sunday. As it turned out, by the time we were able to leave, the fog had lifted. We started out 3 hours later than planned waiting for the lock to be free of tows going both north and south. Our plan was to travel to Midway Marina in Fulton, MS and spend two days since we heard it was a decent stop and there are only a few marinas on this stretch of our journey.

Since one of our buddy boats was having engine trouble – lost an engine right after coming out of the first lock, we were glad that we planned on the extra day. He is generally able to fix any problem on his boat – he has mechanical skills – but this time, it seems that he probably needs a part so the extra day at the marina will be necessary to have it delivered. The part was delivered mid-day and a mechanic was able to get the engine working and performed routine maintenance at the same time. We are good to travel again. Our steering still could not be addressed as there was no one to rebuild the hydraulic cylinder.

What was expected to be two days, turned into three. We stayed another day due to rain but took advantage of the courtesy car to go out to dinner at the local Japanese restaurant recommended by the dock hand. I looked at the menu on the internet and was surprised to find it was mostly in Japanese. Who would have thought you would find an authentic Japanese restaurant in Fulton, MS. Nice selection of combination plates and I thoroughly enjoyed my chicken and shrimp hibachi dinner. Needed a box to take home half so I had leftovers for another night.

By Wednesday evening, we were ready to leave Midway and attempt the next four locks that were close in sequence on Thursday morning. We did have the expected rain but we didn’t count on the overnight winds that caused consistent water lapping on the sides of the boat. Peter can sleep through anything but that is not a skill that I have mastered. Hopefully the next day will greet us with easy travel through the locks.

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On Thursday, the heat still continued but we wanted to take in some local sites before the hottest part of the day so the six of us walked to the shuttle at the visitors center and planned to take a few different shuttles around town knowing that we could hop on and off. The first ride was to the Chattanooga Choo Choo so that the others could see the train. In that section of town, there were a number of interesting shops – a whiskey distillery, an award winning chocolate shop, and a few local craft stores. We went into the old train waiting room and the benches that are there now are basically the same as the ones I sat on waiting for the trains in Grand Central when I traveled on Metro-North for so many years.

As I have mentioned before, Peter is very interested in history, particularly the Civil War and we are traveling in many areas where he can take advantage of actual sites where battles were fought. There are also many parks, locks, lakes, etc. that are named for famous commanders, generals, etc. One site right outside Chattanooga is Lookout Mountain. Since it was close to the Chattanooga Choo Choo, Peter inquired about the best way to get there. One of the employees advised that he needed to walk over two blocks and then walk for about ten minutes to the Incline Railway. After taking the railway, it was another two blocks to their museum, near the battlefield. Since he was the only one interested in visiting this site, he split from us and we decided to take the shuttle back to the visitors center where we would take another shuttle to the north shore of Chattanooga to tour another part of town and then stop to pick up some groceries before heading back to the boats. The north shore had a number of quaint shops, lots of local color, and was a pleasant walk.

Peter came back a few hours later. While the instructions to Lookout Mountain were basically accurate, the time frame was not. Instead of 10 minutes, it was about a four mile walk. He walked to the railway, took the ride on the Incline and looked around the museum. The museum was not so great and then he found out that the battlefield was not close to the museum so he decided to come back. He located a local bus that took him back to the shuttle that would take him downtown. After this disappointment, he is really looking forward to renting a car when we get to Iuka, MS so that he can visit Shiloh.

Chattanooga was an enjoyable side trip but were disappointed that there was no place to stay for the Wine Over Water and music festival. They started setting up the event on Thursday and also the Nina and Pinta exhibit that would also have been interesting to see. Instead, we left on Friday and headed back to Hales Bar since we could not locate another place to stay that would help with our time frame. Our goal now was to retrace our steps back west along the Tennessee River until we arrived at Aqua Harbor that would put us in close proximity to the Whitten Lock, the first of the locks that would take us south to Mobile Bay.

We made a few adjustments on the way back and did not stop at Riverwalk and traveled longer to go to Joe Wheeler State Park. This is where the AGLCA Fall Rendezvous will be held next week. Initially Peter had wanted to attend but reservations closed in July and since we were uncertain as to the repair status of our boat back then, we decided that we would not be able to make sure that it would fit as our plans were constantly changing. As it turned out, because of the lock delays, people had canceled so there were some openings but at this point, we planned to continue to travel south with our buddy boats.

Once again, Bahama Voyager, to the rescue. As we traveled along the Tennessee River, we came across a boat that was stuck. Bahama Voyager, who is generally in the lead, stopped to help and pulled him off the sand bar.

Except for all the traveling we did this week, the only day for sightseeing was Thursday. We did have dinner out a few times and met up with another looper couple who crossed their wake when we stayed at Goose Pond, their home port. Kodey had another haircut and bath since it was still very hot and when we got to Florence, I used the courtesy car to take him to PetSmart to have his nails cut, his pads/paws clipped and shaved, and his ears cleaned – things he does not like me to do.

We only had two locks and a short tip to Florence but it took forever. The first lock, Wheeler, advised that they were locking a tow through and we needed to wait about an hour and a half. The next lock was the Wilson Lock (remember last week’s photo?) and we were advised by the lockmaster that if we arrived before the tow, he would put us through. Well, that didn’t happen. Although we arrived before the tow, the lockmaster asked us to tie up and wait since he had an east bound tow coming through first. We waited but then we received another radio call advising that they would be closing the lock for 4-4 1/2 hours since they had divers coming to do some work in the lock. What we thought would be a short day, evolved into lots of waiting time. We tied on the lock wall and turned the engines off figuring to wait the allotted time. After close to 3 hours, the lock master called and told us to be ready in 5 minutes to lock through with the tow that we locked through Wheeler. You never saw four boats scramble (another boat was locking through with us also) so fast to get ready. We finally went into the lock, this time we would not be rafting with Bahama Voyager as our bow thruster has continued to work.

On the agenda for next week, is the repair of the RAM cylinder for the steering. Since we now had the rebuild kit (it arrived on Thursday), Peter made an appointment with the mechanic at Aqua Yacht Harbor to repair the hydraulic cylinder and bleed the system to tighten up the steering.

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Thursday morning we left Pickwick Landing and headed for Florence, AL.   Florence turned out to be a nice stop.  It was close to town and I took advantage of refilling prescriptions at CVS and used the courtesy car.  We also drove around town and made a few other stops to meet the needs of our buddy boats.

The weather continues to be hot – record breaking temperatures in the mid to high nineties.  These temperatures basically require that we visit marinas with electric so that we can run refrigerators and air conditioners.  If we planned to anchor out, we would need to run generators consistently just to survive. 

There were a number of other loopers at Florence so it called for another evening of Docktails.  There was only one other boat who was traveling from the marina at this time so we arranged to travel together the next day to coordinate our time for the next two locks.  Lockmasters prefer to have a number of boats lock through together so that timing does not interfere with the tow boats.  Tow boats are the priority.  Our bow thruster was not working when we were ready to leave in the morning and there was also a new boat on the fuel dock that made it difficult for us and the other boat to leave our slips.  Fortunately, we were able to get out without too much difficulty but we were concerned about the lock coming up. 

Peter checked the bow thruster periodically but no response.  We needed to lock through the Wilson Lock, one of the highest locks on our journey.  As we approached the lock, our bow thruster was still not working.  This is difficult for us since we don’t really have a mid-ship cleat that can be used or a place to stand mid-ship except on the upper deck.  Since most of these locks have floating bollards, the distance is too great to manage the bollard so I need to stand in the stern and Peter uses the bow thruster to keep the bow in.  Since the thruster was hit or miss, right now a miss, we rafted to Bahama Voyager once again in the lock.  This lock had a lift of 93 feet – see the photo below.  We also had to go through the Wheeler Lock and rafted once again.  While the bow thruster starting working again, Peter was concerned that it may fail and felt more secure with rafting.  Bahama Voyager recognizes the problem with our boat’s design and is gracious enough to allow us to raft until we know what is going on with the thruster.

Ditto Landing is in Hunstville, AL.  It is a large park complex that has a marina and campgrounds.  There is a master plan to build a restaurant, golf course, etc.  There was also a Steak-Off competition scheduled for the Saturday we arrived.  In addition, there was a wings and dessert competition.  We expected that this was going to be a big event with vendors selling food or at least the competitors would be selling some of their creations.  Also, a very hot day but we walked over to the competition and was surprised to learn that it was only the competition and awards but no food would be sold.  While we found this strange as did our buddy boats from Florida, it may just be typical for Alabama.   We were fine with staying and eating on our boats and took advantage of the relatively new restroom facilities.  I think that overall, the showers were probably some of the best we have used with consistent pressure, clean and plenty of hot water.  Only problem was that there was only one shower for the entire marina.

Once we left Ditto Landing, we were heading to Goose Pond in Scottsboro, AL.  Goose Pond was one more of the first come, first serve marinas so we left early so that we made sure to have a slip.  We met another looper boat at Ditto Landing and they were also heading to Goose Pond, Hales Bar and then Chattanooga following the same schedule that we planned.  Since they run faster than the three of us, they left an hour later and caught up with us before the next lock.  We locked through together and we still rafted with Bahama Voyager so with four spaces occupied, we secured the four bollards that are in the least turbulent spaces in the lock.

Goose Pond had space for all of us and also had a courtesy car.  Bahama Voyager arranged to borrow the car to explore the town and pick up a few groceries.  In addition, there were a few washing machines (turned out only one was working) and a number of dryers.  The nice thing was that the laundry was near the restrooms and more importantly, near the boat.  So, time to get wash completed so that I could enjoy Chattanooga and minimize routine tasks when we were in the city.

Traveling along the Tennessee River presented us with an opportunity to view some early fall foliage. I decided to take some photos even though the leaves haven’t changed much since I figured it would be interesting to compare with changes on our way back next week. I think the hot weather has slowed down the change.

There were a few sections on the river that were more industrial and we saw more tows/barges than in other sections. One ship that we passed was of particular interest. The ship was named Rocketship, part of the ULA fleet. ULA is United Launch Alliance and one of that companies that does many of the launches at Cape Canaveral. That was where this ship was heading. One of our buddy boats checked on AIS to determine their destination.

Next stop was Hales Bar in Guild, TN.  This is the location of the former lock that had leaking issues.  A new lock, Nickajack, was constructed six miles before Hales Bar. Peter continued to check the bow thruster and all seemed to be good so the plan was to secure ourselves to one of the bollards and not raft.  While we were approaching the lock, another boat came up behind us traveling fast and would be able to enter the lock before us.  That would mean that we would probably need to use a bollard in a more turbulent area – not a good test for the first time after the bow thruster started working.  Bahama Voyager offered to be available again if necessary.  As we entered the lock, the new boat was having difficulty even attaching to the bollard and at the last minute starting to cut across the lock to the other side.  At this point, Peter felt it best to raft so that we wouldn’t have to deal with people who seemed to know nothing about locking through.  We got through the lock and continued on our last 6 miles of the day. 

When we approached Hales Bar, there is still part of the dam standing on this “resort” facility.  When we arrived, we knew that there was not much around but were very surprised to see that it doesn’t resemble any “resort” that we have seen.  There are a few tiny floating cottages that they rent out on the outskirts of the docks.  The docks are covered.  We have seen this before but it was the first time any of us had stayed in a covered slip.  Slips are covered because of the heat and I think the temperature dropped about 15⁰ once we were docked.  The marina claims to have wifi like so many of the others but location to get services really means there is seldom adequate internet.  I think the covered slips also increased the lack of service.  While we have had some places with spotty phone service, Verizon did not work here at all and our buddy boats also had ATT and they were without service.  It’s rare to be without both phone and internet.  Amazing what we have come to expect in our daily lives.  So different from when we boated in the early 1970s.  Hales Bar was another marina that we hoped not to return to again.  It wasn’t only the lack of technical services but you need to walk more than ¼ mile to the restrooms.

Tuesday arrived and we were thrilled to be on last travel day to get to Chattanooga.  We left early once again but this was a two-fold decision – we wanted to leave Hales Bar and more importantly, we wanted to get to Chattanooga and enjoy part of the day. In addition, we would be back in eastern time and would lose an hour by the time we got to Chattanooga.

We arrived at Erwin Marine and stayed on the Bluff Wall – close to town,  on a secure dock but with only electric and water.  Restrooms but no showers, were a walk to the Aquarium Wall, another hike.   We had ordered the parts required for the steering to be delivered to Chattanooga and also arranged for maintenance on the engine strainer but hoped to just be able to enjoy our visit the rest of the time.  The parts were not delivered on Tuesday as expected but the mechanic came later that afternoon to work on the engine strainer.  Since the bow thruster appears to be working and Peter checked the connections, we will wait until the steering cylinder can be rebuilt and then address the bow thruster if needed.

Later that afternoon we all went to WaterMarks for docktails. There was an added bonus since the boat has a large walkaround and we were in a perfect location to view the Nina and the Pinta as they arrived for a three week exhibit in Chattanooga. Apparently the ships travel every year to different ports. Earlier this year, the ships were in Ditto Landing where we stayed last week. Looking at these ships, it is hard to imagine crossing the ocean on an 85 foot boat. Not something that I would be comfortable doing.

On Wednesday morning, Peter and I took a walk into town by the aquarium wall to locate the restrooms and get an overview of what was located nearby. We saw a visitors center so went to pick up a few tourist pamphlets to plan out the next two days. There were also a few street maps and information about the free electric shuttles. Peter was particularly interested in the shuttles. In the mid 1990s when he was working for the Westchester County Department of Transportation he came to Chattanooga to make a presentation about using electric buses. Back then he was nicknamed the “czar” of alternative fuel by Rich Stiller for transportation in the county. He was thrilled to see that Chattanooga adopted this method of powering part of their transportation system and felt that he had played a small part in this development. There was also a shuttle stop at the visitors center so we hopped on the shuttle to the south end of town to see the Chattanooga Choo Choo.

The Chattanooga Choo Choo was an interesting site. There were a number of the original rail cars onsite that are available for use as hotel rooms. We were able to see some of the renovations through a few windows but I was disappointed that they did not have a car that was renovated available for the public to see. We walked briefly around the surrounding streets and then headed back to the boat, by shuttle, to share the information with our buddy boats to plan additional activities.

Later that afternoon, Peter and I went to the aquarium as the others decided they wanted to do other things – ride bikes and take care of some boat maintenance issues. Peter visited the aquarium on his prior visit but since that time, the aquarium added another building – a salt water display. We visited the fresh water building first that follows the Tennessee River water life. It’s amazing to see how many different species of fish and turtles exist in one river. Then we visited the salt water building that we enjoyed but felt that so much more could have been included. I guess we are also spoiled as we have visited quite a few aquariums so our expectation may be higher than some other visitors. After visiting the aquariums in New York, Boston and Baltimore, we tend to compare a new aquarium by these standards. As with most tourist attractions, the aquarium offers an IMAX theater with a number of different features. We attended one on the Great Barrier Reef that was informative and enjoyable.

Thursday we plan to continue to be tourists in Chattanooga before retracing our trip back west to continue our journey to Mobile Bay.

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We continued to enjoy our relaxation week at Green Turtle Bay. Thursday was spent in the pool and cleaning the refrigerator in anticipation of provisioning on Friday for another week or more.  We were still waiting for the electronics mechanic to work on the AutoPilot and were advised that he would be there on Friday.

Friday came and so did the electronics mechanic.  He checked the existing system and found that the compass that is connected to the system was broken, actually sounded like a baby’s rattle when he shook it.  That meant a new compass, new connections, etc.  He left to pick up the part and would install it later in the afternoon and then we needed to take the boat out for not only a test drive but to calibrate the AutoPilot.  While our steering still needs some adjustment (parts will be ordered), it was nice to see that with the AutoPilot on, not only does the boat go straighter but it is also easier to steer using the wheel on the AutoPilot.  This should make piloting the boat much easier for Peter.

Yes, the six of us went shopping to provision for the upcoming week.  We ate on our boats, using up more of our older food but went out for a few drinks at the Thirsty Turtle pub in the marina.  They have live music on Friday and Saturday nights and we were delighted that it was a band that played classic rock.  We all enjoyed the collection of Tom Petty, Stephen Stills, The Beatles, etc.  There was a large looper turn out for the band.

Saturday was our last full day at Green Turtle Bay.  While we knew that the pool was waiting for us, laundry also needed to be completed since the availability at different marinas is questionable.  These machines worked well, were close to the boat, multiple washers and dryers, and open 24/7.  Part of the day was used for getting ready to leave on Sunday – a review of our travel plan for the next nine days to get to Chattanooga, and the rest of the day was used to enjoy the facilities.

Sunday brought us another nice day.  We have been fortunate with the weather and hoped it would continue since we didn’t build in any weather/rest days.  Chattanooga is having a “Wine Over Water” festival that begins on Friday, October 4^th and the marina had been booked solid for weeks.  We were able to make reservations for October 1^st but need to leave on October 4^th so that meant 9 straight travel days and five locks on the Tennessee River.

We left the marina and traveled the canal that connects Lake Barkley to Kentucky Lake.  After traveling the rivers with good waters, we were surprised to see the waves and wind on the lake.  Kentucky Lake is larger than we thought and the Tennessee River runs through it.  We will be traveling on the Tennessee River until we arrive in Chattanooga. 

Peter experimented with the AutoPilot and was enjoying the more relaxing aspect of steering for the first time in years.  Our first stop was Paris Landing, a small state-run facility – we are now in Tennessee.    The marina was under construction but everyone was nice and we still had restrooms but the showers were part of the state park and not in such great shape.  This is not the first time that we have experienced this.  Peter generally looks at the facilities when he checks us into the marina and tells me that things are fine or not worth it and when to use our own on the boat. This was primarily a boat-use facility.

The next morning we left and since AutoPilot is new for Peter, he turned it on as we were leaving the marina.  Since AutoPilot is now connected to our Garmin ChartPlotter, it takes over the steering according to the waypoints I entered for the first of the next three travel days and Peter was having a difficult time getting out of the marina without getting too close to the rocks by the shore.  I said he should turn off the AutoPilot but he was determined to get out of the marina and continued to experience major difficulty until he used the bow thruster to reverse our course.  Eventually I convinced him to allow me to delete the waypoints programmed in the Garmin and finally he had control of the steering and was able to straighten out our route.  Later that day, he agreed that my theory on what happened was correct.  We shared this with our buddy boats when we arrived at our next stop, Pebble Isle.  They agreed and one said – you can steer the boat or the AutoPilot can steer the boat but you cannot do both.  Unless you change the AutoPilot to Standby and then you can steer when it is on.  Obviously, this will be the last time that mistake is made.

We stayed in Pebble Isle Marina, another small marina that also appears to be under some construction.  Since we are now beyond Labor Day, many of the marinas are practically “closed” and posted “winter” hours.  Since the weather has been so warm, even hot, thinking about winter hours is hard to comprehend.  However, the marina had a courtesy car but there was little available in the town. We did take a ride to town just to see if we missed anything on Google Maps and we did find a small hardware store so that I could purchase the small florescent bulbs I needed for the head. Most of the light bulbs were replaced before we left except the florescent bulbs and the small bulbs for the battery run lights. We have five of these battery run lights on the boat and two have gone out already so we just switched them into the stateroom since we need those for reading. I’ll look for these the next time I get to Walmart.

Peter was interested in going to the Civil War Museum but we were there on a day it was closed. We did venture into the Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park. There were some replicas of the bunk houses used by soldiers and a few cannons on display but it appears that the park is used more as a campground than a historical site.

Another day, another marina, and we stayed at Clifton Marina.  This marina touts the best hamburger on the river so we figured we needed to eat at the marina and test out their claim.  We had a great dinner since there were 12 loopers for dinner but the reviews about the burgers were mixed.  Maybe there were too many people for them to control but two burgers went back for being overcooked (ordered rare/medium rare and they were well done) and the second batch wasn’t much better.  Peter, who likes all his beef rare, actually got what he asked for but I think he was one of the few.  Mine was OK but still overcooked.  Since the company was so good, most of us dealt with what was served.

The next day we needed to lock through the Pickwick Landing Lock & Dam. While this was not the highest lock we have had to deal with, it was one of the most turbulent. I was having difficulty holding the line on the floating bollard and there was little that Peter could do to help except use the thruster to keep the bow in. We seriously thought that we would not be able to keep the boat secured but did manage although my arms felt like they were ready to fall off. Very happy that we will not need to go through this lock again.

After getting through the lock, we stayed in Pickwick Landing Marina that was also connected to one of the state parks.  The park had a lodge that served a buffet and they would have picked us all up but we decided to just stay on the boat and eat. This was another marina that was a semi-boat-use facility. Restrooms were fine but the showers were a significant distance and not worth the walk.

When we leave on Thursday, we will be heading to Florence, AL, our first stop on our side trip to Chattanooga.

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