Day #91 – Aliceville, AL

Had a fun afternoon/evening yesterday.  Went and toured the Waverly Mansion in West Point, MS with Bob and Debbie on Headquarters.   Very informative tour of an antebellum home that has been lovingly restored over the past 30 years.  After that the usual stop at Kroger this time instead of Walmart for provisioning.

Came back and went to Woody’s at the marina.  Delicious dinner and fun times.

Another cool. foggy morning on the Tombigbee River.  Left Columbus Marina at 8:15 after the fog cleared.  The day was to be 64 miles and two locks.  Made it through the first lock right away and headed down the river.  The evidence of water hyacinths are everywhere.  We were told by the harbor master that they are taking over the river system and we can see why.  He told us that they double in volume every 11 days and are quite a nuisance. So far they have found no way to get rid of them other than physically pulling them up and disposing of them.  Wish you could burn them for fuel.

Very little barge traffic on this stretch of the river.  We are still traveling with Bob and Debbie from Headquarters.  Bob has the AIS system on his chart plotter which identifies each tug by name, speed, etc. before you can actually see them, so it is nice to follow someone with that information at their fingertips.

Arrived at our second lock at 12:30 and were told we would have one to one and a half hours to wait for the barges to lock through. Just as it was about to be our turn another barge appeared and it turned out we didn’t make it through until 3:00.  Made it tight as we wanted to make it to a certain anchorage before dark and we would really have to pick up our speed.

Exited the lock and picked up our speed to 18 mph.  All was going well when we hit a large log, or should I say it hit us…twice.  Seemed to have bent a prop and not sure if there is further damage. Now the decision will be whether to get the boat hauled and props check in Demopolis, our next stop, or wait until Mobile.  We were hoping to get off the river system, which we do in Mobile, before having it done.  The Captain will make the decision after the run today.

 

Pulled into our anchorage (Sumter Landing) at 5:55 pm, just as the sun was setting.  Rafted with Headquarters and had a peaceful, quiet night in the water hyacinth filled bay.  The stars were plentiful on a clear night.  Even saw a satellite in the sky.

 

 

Day #90 – Columbus, MS

Woke to a chilly, foggy morning.  It is clear as a bell, but the temperature dropped to 31 degrees last night.  There was ice on the boat and the decks were quite slippery.  Had to wait until 8:00 for the fog to clear.  Left and immediately entered our first lock of the day. 

We are headed to Columbus, Mississippi (41 miles and three locks), our last night in Mississippi.  It is 11:00 and it is finally warming up.  The ice is off the decks and it is a beautiful day.  We have passed through the three required locks of the day and the rest should be smooth sailing to Columbus Marina.  The lockmaster at Aberdeen Lock told us that alligators at times come this far north.  No swimming for us today.

The river is not very wide, however winding and beautiful.  The trees are changing colors and it is very wooded right down to the water. Many tributaries enter the main channel from rivers that existed before the Tombigbee was created. 

We have seen vegetation that we see at home in people’s ponds and water fountains.  They grow all along the river banks.  Osprey and herons are prevalent.  Very quiet and serene.

Day #89 – Smithville, MS

Left Bay Springs at 8:00 this morning with five other boats from the marina.  A little foggy and headed straight to the first lock.  There are a series of four locks within the first 25 miles.  Each one has been open for us and let us right in.  The first one, Whitten Lock, was a drop of 85 feet, one of the highest on the river system.  The others are each approximately ten miles apart and the drop is in the twenty foot range.  The lockmasters stay in touch with each other and they seem to work it out quite well and get us all through quickly.

Another beautiful day but cold, especially in the locks.  You are below water height and in the shade. Damp concrete walls and wind make for cold captain and first mate.

Arrived in Smithville, MS (36.8 miles) five and a half hours after we left.  Traveled through the locks with the five other boats all of the way.  Several kept going, but we pulled into Smithville Marina with Bob and Debbie on Headquarters and a gentleman traveling alone from Louisiana on Miss Mary.  Rough tie up at the dock as the marina is right off the channel.  Hope when the wind quits, the waters will calm down.

One of the guests at the marina offered his pick up truck for Bob and Debbie (Headquarters) and James (Miss Mary) to go to dinner in town tonight.  Mel’s Diner is the only thing open.  They had the usual catfish, hush puppies, etc.  Good food, still dry counties.  Was quite a local experience.  This place is pretty much what I expected which is obvious in the photo of our next door neighbors at the marina. 

 

No internet coverage, some cell.

Day #88 – New Site, MS

Today was the dreaded day of the engine repair.  Stayed an extra night at Grand Harbor and arranged for “Diesel Don” to travel to us.  He boarded the boat at 8:00 on a cool, crisp Fall morning.  Within an hour he had listened, tightened and test run the boat.  The prognosis was better than expected.  The good news was that it was simply an engine idle adjustment, the bad news, he was EXPENSIVE.  Captain Andy tried to rationalize to me that it was worth his peace of mind and could have been much worse.  I agreed bit still mourned paying the bill.

By 10:00 we were off headed to Bay Springs Marina, 38 miles and no locks.  The scenery on the Tombigbee is quite different from the rivers past.  This is all manmade and has river banks of rock and the terrain is quite flat.  The Fall colors are becoming more abundant and the water clearer.

Arrived at Bay Springs Marina at about 2:00.  NO cell or internet connection and notmuch of a marina.  The good news was that we had

DirecTV so were able to watch hockey and Dancing with the Stars.  Guess which one of us picked which show.

 

As you can see from this picture, boats here have their own shopping carts with their names on them.  Haven’t seen that concept before, quite an idea.

Expected to go down into the 30s tonight so glad to be at a marina with power and heat.  Off for an early start in the morning as we have 36 miles and four locks to go.  All is well aboard Good News.  Hope we have civilization tomorrow.

Days #86 and #87 – Counce, TN

We have finally made it to the Tom Bigbee River.  We are currently in Counce, TN at beautiful Grand Harbor Marina.  It is a development of the marina, condos, restaurant, etc.  Counce is where Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi all meet.  Beautiful area.

Yesterday we made our way from Wheeler through two lock and 60 miles.  Took us about seven hours which isn’t bad considering the two locks.  We got lucky on the timing of both and locked right through.  Wilson lock dropped us down almost 80 feet which is something to experience.

Many boats arrived here from Wheeler and stayed for the night. MOst are taking off today to make their way further down the river.  We will stay the day, catch up on boat cleaning, laundry, etc. and tomorrow make our way a couple of miles down the river to the yard where we can have the engine looked at.  Captain Andy hears a noise he is not comfrtatble with and wants to have it checked out.  The Admiral never questions the captain on those kinds of decisions.  Let’s just hope it is quick and inexpensive and we can start making our way down the river with the others.

Day #85 – Rogersville, AL

The wonderful AGLCA 2008 Rendezvous is over. We had a wonderful time and fun was had by all.  One of our highlights was the dinghy race. 

   

We entered along with Foreign Exchange and Kismet among others.  The key was that you had to have the captain blindfolded and drive backwards, stern first.  We laughed so hard we thought we were going to explode.  The other highlight was that in one of the evening drawings, Andy won a free week stay at Orchid Bay in the Abacos, Bahamas. NICE!

It rained and rained today and we decided to stay in Rogersville one more day.  Ten of us rented a fifteen passanger van and went into Hunstville.  Our first stop was the US Space and Rocket Center.  Very interesting and informative.

After that, a lunch stop and…Walmart, as usual.  Loaded all of our stuff into the “Senior Van” as Andy called it and back to the marina.  A ton if fun, a lot of laughs and a great group.

Back on the move in the morning as soon as the fog lifts headed to Grand Harbor in Counce, TN.  That area is where Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi all meet.  We will be retracing about 60 miles and two locks to get back from where we turned off to come to the Rendezvous and entering the Tennessee Tombigbee River.  Another adventure awaits.
 

Days #81-84 – Rogersville, AL

We are finally at Joe Wheeler State Park for the Fall 2008 AGLCA Rendezvous.  We will be here enjoying the company of old friends and new for the next four days.  Lots to do and learn and fun will be had by all!

We will not have internet reception and not sure about cell coverage.  If you need to reach us call 256-247-6971 and the marina will locate us.  Thanks for checking in on us and we will be back in touch when we have internet reception.

Day #80 – Rogersville, AL

 

Quite a bit to report since my last writing.  Yesterday afternoon we put the dinghies into Panther Creek and went exploring.  We discovered several campsites that were very unique.  One even had a big yellow school bus as a camper.  Keep  in mind that it is going down into the 30s at night.  Bob and Charlotte decided to pull their dinghy onshore and we did the same. Went for a beautiful walk along the rocky shoreline in the afternoon sun.  We started to make our way back and all of a sudden Bob took off running.  The dinghies had floated away.  Theirs was closer to shore so he jumped in the water and made his way to his dinghy.  Thankfully he came back ,picked Andy up and drove him to ours.  I bet the fishermen watching this were laughing their heads off.

Went over to Foreign Exchange for dinner and watched “The Perfect Storm.”  Perfect boater movie.  Fortunately no storms are predicted for several days.

Woke up to a chilly, foggy morning on Pickwick Lake.  It dipped down to 37 degrees last night and it was COLD!  Andy fired up the generator and began to heat the water and boat up.  Still cold and when we pulled out of the harbor at 8:00 it was 42 outside and 56 inside.  The incident of note was when we pulled up the anchor and chain I discovered that we had hooked another anchor.  Wrapped around our chain as a large Danforth and and another chain.  We attempted to rescue it or release it and in the process broke our boat hook. Back it went down into the bay for another boat to hook.

We have been in Alabama and Mississippi this morning and it is only 9:00.  Beautiful cruising on Pickwick Lake headed to Joe Wheeler State Park for another anchorage.  The trip is 65 miles and two locks.

Day #79 – Pickwick Lake, TN

Attempted to leave Clifton Marina this morning at 7:00 but the fog was too thick and we had to wait until 8:10.  The temperature dropped in the night to 45 degrees and the water is still warm, causing the fog.

We are currently headed down the Tennessee River toward Pickwick Lake, TN.  As a little history, Pickwick Lake offers 496 miles of shoreline, 85 miles of which is island shoreline. At normal maximum pool, the reservoir contains 924,000 acre feet of water, with a surface area of 43,100 acres.  Beautiful, well known area in these parts.

The origin of the name Pickwick dates back to the War Between the States. White Sulfur Springs was the first name of the Pickwick Landing Community. The landing received its present name from the first local postmaster whose fondness for the works of Charles Dickens prompted him to name the post office Pickwick in honor of the Pickwick Paper.

The Pickwick Lock and Dam takes you up 55 feet and lets you out into Pickwick Lake.  The total time locking through was one hour. The homes on Pickwick Lake are huge…many, many of them.  We will anchor out tonight at Panther Creek after traveling 58 miles and traversing one lock. 

Day #78 – Clifton, TN

Today was a very informative day in Clifton, Tennessee. We had arranged for the courtesy vehicle at Clifton Marina for 11:00. Bob and Charlotte had researched the Battle at Shiloh from the Civil War. We drove about a half hour and entered at the Visitor Center in Savannah, TN. There we watched a 25 minute movie about the battle and toured a small museum. After that we took the half hour driving tour of the battlefield. It was very informative, well marked and it just reiterated the bravery of those young soldiers that walked right into the face of battle.  For those of you who would like more information go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Shiloh.

After that, we found a hole-in-the-wall barbeque spot and had a fantastic lunch. The real stuff, heavily smoked, hot or mild sauce and the vinyl tablecloths to go along. Everyone was very friendly but it was obvious that we were not locals and everyone stared when we walked in.

Got back in the car and headed to the requisite Walmart knowing that we were going to be anchoring our for the next two nights and needing to prepare. Picked up what we needed and made a couple of phone calls. We have had NO cell reception for a couple of days and wanted to catch up. Unfortunately, ran out of time and wasn’t able to reach everyone I had wanted to. Hopefully will be back in range somewhere tomorrow.

Put the groceries away and Andy did some wiring that he wanted to do while we were at a marina. After he finished we headed up to the Friday Fish Fry here at the marina. They served fried cat fish, fried jalapenos, fried pickles, french fries, cole slaw and hush puppies.  Won’t or shouldnt eat again for another weeek.  Quite a local gathering and fun experience.

Headed out early tomorrow for a 60 mile run, one lock and then an anchorage. Pickwick Lake/Sulphur Creek is the destination.