Day #77 – Clifton, TN

The landscape on the Tennessee River is ever changing.  As you can see, it has become very rocky and rough.  Not as much vegetation, but beautiful.

As we cruised down the river on our way to Double Island we noticed a couple of people sitting at the top of a cliff.  You have to look at the next picture to see how HIGH they were up there and very close to the edge.  They were just watching the river roll by and the occasional boater or fisherman.

We attempted at anchor behind Kelly’s Island as recommended in Skipper Bob’s publication.  However, I think since it has been written, the water levels have gone down and the submerged logs were everywhere.  We thought better of it and headed 8 more miles down the river and anchored behind Double Island. 

As you can see by the picture, others had done the same thing and there ended up being five boats there overnight.   Plenty of room and a beautiful anchorage.

We left our anchorage this morning around 9:00 as we only had 10 miles to go to our next destination, Clifton Marina in Clifton, TN.  Arrived in the rain and the first slip they attempted to put us in was too narrow.  We ended up at another dock near the pump out.  Then they attempted to have Foreign Exchange pull in there and it was too narrow for them as well.  They were even luckier and ended up at the fuel dock.

The owner was very generous and loaned us his car to go into town, one mile away, and provision again.  Did just that and came back, had lunch, did laundry and had a quiet afternoon in the rain.  Captain’s meeting scheduled at 5:30 at their outdoor, although covered, patio area.  Several Looper boats have arrived so I am sure many will attend.  Not many marinas do you get serenaded on a rainy day by a bagpiper while you do your laundry.  Nice touch.

We have NO cell reception here. Very frustrating and the internet is in and out.  Email comes in on my phone as the most reliable way to reach us.  Not sure how long this will last, but someone said pretty much this way until Mobile, AL. Hmmmmm.

Day #76 – Decaturville, TN

Warm, sunny morning at Pebble Isle.  Had a quiet evening last night after an exhilarating ride into New Johnsonville, TN and another trip to Walmart with Bob and Charlotte for necessities. 

There was a full moon last night and and quite a bit of wildlife around.  Herons and turtles are abundant and the weather continues to be amazing.

Taking off for Kelly’s anchorage later this morning.  Our two boats will anchor there for the night.  Rumor has it that internet and cell connection get tougher and tougher from here to Mobile.  That has been obvious to family and friends trying to call and getting poor reception on my end.  Please keep trying…we LOVE to hear from you.

As Captain Andy was doing his morning maintenance in the engine room he discovered that the port alternator bracket had come apart and our alternator was just dangling.  Fortunately for us, a bolt had fallen out and wedged itself behind the alternator and held it in place.  Way to go Captain!

Day #75 – New Johnsonville, TN

A beautiful setting in Panther Bay.  After we anchored, we took the dinghies over to shore and hiked up into the woods for a couple of hours.  Beautiful out there and nice to do the walk. 

We are starting to see some color in the woods.  Not too many maple trees which usually are the most colorful.  Seem to be lots of oaks with very little color.

Last evening as the sun was getting ready to set, this family of deer came to the bay to get a little drink.  They seemed very aware of boaters, but somehow unaffected.

We are headed to New Johnsonville, TN with a 7:30 start.  Should arrive by noon and have a courtesy van scheduled so will go do some exploring.  Staying at Pebble Isle Marina, with the infamous homemade cinnamon rolls each morning.

 

Day #74 – Panther Bay, TN

Had a beautiful anchorage last night.  Fantastic sunset in Sugar Bay.  Dinner in celebration of Canadian Thanksgiving with Bob and Charlotte on Foreign Exchange.  During the night you could hear coyotes howling at the full moon.

A bit overcast this morning as we left Sugar Bay at 9:30 headed to Panther Bay in Stewart County, TN.  Leaving Kentucky already. It has been beautiful and we are so happy to have experienced it.

Hard to see in the picture above, but we passed a sand bar in Kentucky Lake that had two bald eagles and a baby.  Pretty cool site.

Day #73 – Sugar Bay, KY

ANOTHER fantastic Kentucky fall morning.  83 and sunny expected today.

This morning we left the beautiful and comfortable Green Turtle Bay for an anchorage in Sugar Bay.  We will again meet up with Charlotte and Bob on Foreign Exchange.  Hard to believe that our stay at GTB is ending.  So much of the trip, once you leave Chicago (which was over a month ago), is heading to Green Turtle Bay.  That signifies that you are off of the river system and heading into the beautiful waters of the Cumberland River, Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley.  We are excited to explore some of these areas we have heard so much about as we did the planning for this trip.  The area we are currently in is called “The Land Between the Lakes” as is very scenic.

We arrived at Sugar Harbor (11.8 miles and 1.5 hours) and it is beautiful here.  We are putting the dinghy in the water and will go exploring some of the little inlets and coves that are everywhere.

 

Nice to meet up with Bob and Charlotte again.  After lunch we each took our dinghies and explored a bit in the bays.  Bob has a map of the area and we went ashore and hiked through the woods for quite a long way.  We came across a cemetery from 1930.  There was only one grave stone and it was for the Higgins family infant son who was “borned dead.”  Apparently, The Tennessee Valley Authority came through this area in the 1940s and bought up most of the land.  They preserved the Homesteads and the cemeteries are marked and preserved.

Not sure how the internet connection will be as we work our way to Alabama, but certainly will keep in touch when we can.  The next stopping point is Joe Wheeler State Park in Rogersville, AL where we will meet up with many acquaintances we have met along the way at the AGLCA Rendezvous from October 20-23.

Day #72 – Grand Rivers, KY

Woke to another glorious morning at Green Turtle Bay.  Crystal blue sky and high of 88.  Today is the big Fall Harvest Festival in Grand Rivers.  We began the day with the courtesy shuttle into Paducah again.  Back to Walmart, Walgreen’s, hardware, etc.  Back to the marina, lunch, a little laundry and then walked into town for the big parade.  This is certainly small town America as everyone shows up.  They had a color guard, marching bands, fire trucks, Smokey the Bear, etc.  Fun was had by all. 

Back to the boat and finishing chores, etc.  Since many people are leaving Green Turtle Bay tomorrow, we decided to have a Captain’s meeting tonight as our final hurrah.  Appetizers and drinks in the gazebo at 5:00.  Made dinner this afternoon and will eat on the boat tonight. 

 

Leaving in the morning for Sugar Bay and an anchorage for one night and will meet up again with Charlotte and Bob.  Should be fun!

Green Turtle Bay signage.

Day #71 – Grand Rivers, KY

An absolutely beautiful Kentucky day here.  Crystal blue sky and 83 degrees.  Hopefully the weather will continue as we are loving it.

Andy and I walked into town today.  It is a hike and much of it up hill.  Took us about 40 minutes, but it was a pretty walk.  Went in a few stores and antique shops although no big purchases.  Walked further, up hill, to a bar-b-que spot Andy had noticed the other day.  Sorry to say it was not quite what we have anticipated and left a little disappointed.  Still looking for our southern bar-b-que.  Our good fortune was that we spotted another Looper couple with a golf cart from Green Turtle Bay.  They offered to give us a ride back to the marina which we took them up on.  Got caught up on laundry, etc. as after tomorrow we will be anchoring out for a bit.

Reserved a shuttle van for tonight as we are headed out to the German meal with twelve others.  A local woman opens her home in October for her October Fest meal.  She served salad, five side dishes and three meats all buffet and family style.  There was sauerkraut, German cabbage, German potatoes and spaetzle.  The meat dishes were wiener schnitzel (two varieties), rouleden, jagerbraten and sauerbraten.  Then to top the evening she finished with Black Forest Cake.  Amazing meal and great fun with great people.

Day #70 – Grand Rivers, KY

Woke to a beautiful morning in Green Turtle Bay.  Charlotte and Bob are leaving us today after traveling together for three weeks. They are going to anchor our for a few nights and then we plan to meet up with them again on Sunday at Sugar Bay anchorage.  Feeling a little separation anxiety.  Shore Thing left as well.

Andy worked his tail off fixing and correcting things on the boat.  I did a bunch of paperwork and went for a walk.  He still is having issues with the furnace on the boat and can’t seem to get it working properly.  At least we have the reverse cycle heat which seems to work just fine.

Finally got DirecTV to work properly and we are getting the New York super channels as our locals so we won’t have to call and update our location each time we move the boat.  We have been fighting (working) with them on that since we left 70 days ago.  FINALLY.  Such challenges in this boating life.

We continue to bury our heads in the sand and stay blissfully uninformed about the world events and financial situation the world is in.  The Dow dropped over 600 points again today.  No telling where this bleeding will stop.  Not sure the upcoming presidential election (McCain/Obama, for when I read this years later and can’t remember who I was referring to) will help.  Enough of that.

Dinghyed over to Dockers, a restaurant here on the grounds for lunch.  After lunch we took the dinghy and explored and found the anchorage where Bob and Charlotte were anchored out.  A beautiful spot on a beautiful afternoon.  The weather continues to be outstanding…60/83 and sunny again!

Jan and Tim on Full Circle organized a bocce ball tournament and hot dog roast on the beach this afternoon.  Everyone is to meet at 4:00 and bring hot dogs, a dish to pass, drinks and chairs.  We had an absolute riot. I would say about 30 Loopers showed up and fun was had by all.  Great evening.

Day #69 – Grand Rivers, KY

We had reserved the courtesy van at Green Turtle for the afternoon.  Each boat is allowed a two hour shift so we went in with Sniders and Brennans and had it from 12-6:00.  The first stop was downtown Paducah, KY.  Walked around downtown for a bit. Paducah is the Quilt Capital of the World so, we went to the quilt museum.  It was actually very interesting and there was even a wooden quilt which was carved out of bass wood and looked exactly like a fabric one.  They are also know for their murals in town as shown above.

I was in pursuit of a jewelry store as I was told that they would have the necessary equipment to fix my broken glasses.  After three attempts, a nice lady called another store outside of town and they said they could do it.  Our patient friends went along for the ride and I am happy to report they are fixed via a laser welder.  After that we went to the Home Depot, Walmart, hardware store and liquor store.  All in all and six hours of shopping and a loaded van we were back at the boat.  Put everything away, barely, and still made it to the 6:00 “Captain’s” meeting.  We tried to go out to dinner at the restaurant here at the marina but it was full, so back to the boat and ate egg salad.  An exhilarating night and fell into bed.  Have to get a good night’s sleep as the beach competition, hot dog roast is tomorrow with many looper boats on the beach.

Day #68 – Grand Rivers, KY

Went to dinner at Patty’s last night in town with Kismet, Shore Thing and Foreign Exchange.  They are known for their 2 inch pork chops and they were delicious.  A cute little town and they even sent a shuttle to the marina to pick us up.  Came home and fell into bed after three long days on the move.

Guess our “weather fairy” finally took a day off.  It has been almost one month (Chicago) since we have seen a drop of rain.  Rained throughout the morning and ended in the early afternoon.  Maintenance, laundry, etc. were in order today and a day of rest. 

Headed to a “Looper” party in the gazebo here and then for a pot luck dinner aboard Foreign Exchange.  We have reserved a van here at the marina for tomorrow with two other couples and will head into the city of Paducah, KY for replenishing supplies, etc.  Broke my glasses today and hope to be able to get those repaired in the big city tomorrow.  Thankfully I have a spare pair to get me through. 

Need to go wake the captain from his siesta as we are expected at the get together.