Fri, May 27 thru Mon, May 30, 2011 - Florence, Alabama

Note: This post is mostly about pictures, and they are small, so don't forget to double click on the photo to enlarge it.

It was 9:15 am when we pulled up anchor Friday morning and began our easterly journey on the Tennessee River toward Florence. The morning was cloudy and there was a light wind from the north keeping the temperatures cooler and in the lower 60’s. Before going very far, we crossed the river to check out the anchorage at Panther Creek. Our new Tennessee River guide (Fred Meyers) indicated that Panther Creek was one of the best anchorages on Pickwick Lake and we couldn’t imagine anything nicer than anchoring at the waterfall. In fact, our anchoring spot for the last three nights was not even mentioned in the guide. Panther Creek was ok, but there was nothing special about it and the only situation we could think of where we might choose it over the waterfall on the other side of the river would be if the waterfall area was too crowded.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Along the way we passed J.P. Coleman State Park which appeared to be a very nice recreation area. We also saw the remnants of the old Riverton lock, part of what once was a canal and lock system built more than 100 years ago. The canal extended upstream for about five miles so boats could bypass rapids and shoals. It was covered with water when Pickwick Dam was closed.

At mile 233.0 we could see the mile-long Natchez Trace Parkway bridge. It was completed in 1965 and at the time was one of the most graceful bridges spanning the Tennessee. Today, many bridges share the same design. At mile 245.0 was the TVA’s Colbert power plant which is one of several coal burning plants producing electricity and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority.

The Muscle Shoals area begins around mile 251. It consists of four cities and is the third largest urban area through which the Tennessee River passes. Only Chattanooga and Knoxville are larger. Florence, on the north side of the river, is the largest of the four cities. The other three cities, Muscle Shoals, Sheffield and Tuscumbia, are all on the south side of the river. The four cities have a combined population of 75,000. We hope to visit the homes of W.C. Handy, “Father of the Blues,” and Helen Keller while here.

We pulled into the Florence Harbor Marina about 3:15 pm and spent the next 45 minutes maneuvering in and out of a slip that was just a bit too small for the boat. We finally made it work by backing in and securing ourselves with lines to keep us from damaging Blue Heron.

After showering, we tried out the marina’s restaurant, The Barge Inn, and enjoyed a fantastic meal. Maureen ordered the baked spaghetti and a margarita while Gale tried the chicken and broccoli pizza. Maureen gave the margarita a 9.5 rating on a scale of ten and said she would have to come back for another before we left. We both agreed that the pizza was the best we’d ever eaten.

On Saturday, we took a drive around Florence (we brought the car down from Iowa on our last pass through to Demopolis) and found the town easy to get around. In the afternoon, we went over to McFarland park which is next to the marina and Maureen witnessed her first fishing tournament weigh-in. It was a bass tournament and there about sixty boats entered in the contest. The winning boat had over 20 pounds of bass for the day.

Sunday and Monday were used to get caught up on the blog, clean up the boat, and pack for another trip back to the Midwest. Maureen plans to attend a yoga teacher’s conference in Minneapolis on June 2nd through 5th and then we will stay in Clear Lake through the Fourth of July holiday week

Tues, May 24 thru Thurs, May 26, 2011 - Waterfall Cove, Pickwick Lake

It was nearly 8 am before we pulled up the anchor and made our way back to the channel. The temperature was already 74°F but the cloudy sky helped to keep things cool. For awhile that morning Maureen even wore a jacket while she steered the boat. This section of the Tenn-Tom north of Bay Springs is called “The Ditch” because it was cut out of the surrounding bluffs in a straight path from Yellow Creek to Bay Springs. The traveling was easy and before we knew it, we were through the chute and coming into Grand Harbor Marina for fuel. We lingered there for an hour or so as we took a walk up to the grounds and checked out the pool and fitness center.

 

 


We still had about five miles to go to find our favorite anchorage, mile 217.3 on the Tennessee River’s Pickwick Lake, and what we call Waterfall Cove. We were surprised to see our old friend, Mo, of m/v Motu, already pulled up on the sandbar. There were also a few other pontoons on the beach which we knew would be gone by the end of the day. We met Don, a self-proclaimed River Rat, and his Pomeranian, Precious, who had come by jet ski. We also met Frank who invited us up on his pontoon where Don, Precious, Mo and her friend, Joe, were already visiting.


 

 
 There was some stormy weather forecast for Wednesday night and Thursday. Mo, m/v Motu, was a little spooked from the April tornadoes and decided to take a slip at Grand Harbor marina instead of staying at the anchorage. We felt we were very protected where we were and opted to stay. We did, however, put out a stern anchor which combined with already being nosed up on the beach and held tight with the bow anchor we felt we were quite secure.



 
 
We did experience quite a storm on Wednesday night and could see a lot of lightning a few miles away. The wind blew and the rain came but we held fast and weathered things quite comfortably.











Thursday morning brought us cooler temperatures and cloudy skies. We decided to stay one more night but would then leave Friday morning before the anchorage became crazy with all the Memorial Weekend traffic. Besides, we wanted to get to Florence so we could settle in there for a couple of days before leaving for Iowa again.
 

 

Sat, May 21 through Mon, May 23, 2011 - Trip up the Tenn-Tom Waterway

(These pics are pretty small. Remember that you can click on any of them to make them bigger and get a better look.)

 It was time to get moving again. The temperature at 6:45 am Saturday morning was a mild 66°F, there was no wind and the sky was mostly cloudy. In fact, after only a few minutes out on the waterway, the morning fog crept in and stayed with us for an hour or so.


 This leg of the trip covered the 230 miles of the Tenn-Tom Waterway from Demopolis to Pickwick Lake. Our river experience over the three days was completely different from the earlier section between Mobile and Demopolis. There was no more flooding, the water levels were back to normal pool and the swift currents had receded. We didn’t feel like we were fighting our way up the river.


 We had three good days of traveling and averaged about 70 miles on each one. The temperatures were well into the mid-90’s but the evenings cooled off enough to be able to get some sleep.

 We traveled easily on Saturday and had only one lock at Gainesville. That night, we dropped the anchor at mile 287.3, Cochrane Cutoff, around 6:30 pm. This turned out to be a wonderful stop where we could catch whatever breeze there might be and still be out of the way of the barge traffic. It was a very quiet place – we didn’t even see any local boats about.


  Day Two began at 6:20 am with similar weather conditions as the one before. We hoped to get through three locks and travel 70 miles – a very ambitious, but do-able, goal for the day. We arrived at Tom Bevill Lock at 9:15 am and the lockmaster informed us there was a southbound tow in the chamber. The barge was out and we were in and secure to the lock wall at 10 am. The lift in this lock was about 30 feet and half-way up, the lockmaster informed us we were going back down to pick up another northbound pleasure craft. Huh?? We’d been known to have to wait for other vessels before we could enter a lock but never had we been part way through a lockage and then had to reverse the process because another boat showed up!! Weird! So, it was nearly 11 am before we were released and on our way.



 
There was no waiting at the next two locks at Columbus and Aberdeen so we were able to cover the miles we had hoped to and were safe in our lovely anchorage at Blue Bluff near Aberdeen, Mississippi, by 7 pm.

We didn’t have as many miles to go on Day Three, however, there were six locks: Amory, Wilkins, Fulton, Rankin, Montgomery and the Jamie Whitten Lock. The first five locks averaged about a 30 foot lift each and the sixth lock, Jamie Whitten, had an 85 foot lift, the 9th highest in the United States. Our total gain in altitude for the day was 224 feet.


 
 
Twelve hours, six locks and about 60 miles after beginning our run for the day, we arrived at Bay Springs Lake where we dropped anchor and enjoyed the peacefulness of our surroundings. After taking showers off the back of the boat, we relaxed on the bow and watched as four large hounds hunted a doe they had chased into the water. We’re pretty sure the dogs never caught up with her.

Wed, May 18 thru Fri, May 20, 2011 - Back in Demopolis

 
To avoid being charged for an additional day, we needed to get the rental car back to Meridian by 9:30 Wednesday morning. Tom and Louise McGuire, Maureen’s cousins, were good enough to meet us at the car rental office in Meridian and give us a lift back to Demopolis. As they dropped us off at the marina, Louise gave us a loaf of zucchini bread. Since we hadn’t had time for breakfast that morning, we couldn’t wait to give it a try. Thanks, Lu! The bread was great!

 

 We spent the three days in Demopolis relaxing and preparing the boat for the trip upriver. Thursday, May 19th, we joined several of the cruisers from the marina at a local Mexican restaurant to help Mike Lewis celebrate his birthday. Afterwards, we took a tour around Demopolis, stopped in a nice wine shop and had some ice cream.

 

Mon, May 9 thru Tues, May 17, 2011 - Trip to Iowa

 
On Monday morning, May 9th, we piled our luggage into Dave’s truck and took off for Meridian, Mississippi, before 8 am. At 9:45 am, we were on the road to Iowa. That night we stopped around 7 pm in Wentzville, Missouri, just north of St. Louis, where we found an inexpensive motel and went looking for a Mexican restaurant for dinner. The one we found wasn’t the greatest but, at least, it filled the empty spaces in our stomachs.

 
Back on the road again by 6:30 am Tuesday morning, we plotted a route to take us through Iowa City so we could deliver a car to our youngest son, Kelle. The car had been sitting at our friend Jim Hansen’s home in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, for awhile and Kelle was ready to use it again now that he was graduating from college. Jim greeted us as we pulled into his driveway and since it was lunchtime, we offered to take him out to eat. Because Jim knew that we wanted to have the car serviced before we left it with Kelle, he suggested that we take it to the Ford garage there in town and we could go to lunch from there. Good idea! And what was even a better idea was the place Jim directed us to for lunch – the Lincoln Café. Jim’s long time girlfriend, Diana, met us at the café. If you ever have the chance to eat at this establishment in Mt. Vernon, don’t pass up the opportunity. It was a fabulous dining experience and completely unexpected! Thank you, Jim and Diana!


  After lunch, we picked up Kelle’s car and dropped it off in Iowa City. The next stop for the day was Des Moines. We arrived in time to accompany our daughter as she picked up the two little boys at daycare. We made a quick trip back to their home for a sandwich and then piled into two vehicles for the trip to the ball field for JT’s T-ball game. It was such fun and who would’ve predicted that the temperature that afternoon would reach 100°F! It was hot – a good old fashioned day at the ballpark.

After the ball game, we continued north to Gale’s parents’ cottage in Clear Lake where we arrived at 10 pm and went straight to bed. It was a good day.


 

The next three days were spent working around the cottage, visiting our parents and running errands. The biggest project was to see that our vehicle, a Toyota Solara, was running and ready to go. It wasn’t - - - so, after having it towed to the Toyota dealer and learning all the things that were wrong with it, we wished we would have sold it two years ago before we left on the boat. Evidently, vehicles that sit too long without being used, don’t fare well. The dealer thought they might be able to have all of the work done by Monday.

On a cold and rainy Saturday morning, May 14th, we left for Iowa City at 6:15 am. It was quite early, but we wanted to have enough time to make the drive, stop for coffee, and have a few minutes with Kelle before he had to join the lineup for his 11 am graduation ceremony.  After a couple of stops, we arrived at the Marriott in Coralville, Iowa, at 9:45 am where we hooked up with Kelle, took a few pictures and waited for the event. Afterwards, we spent some time trouble shooting a problem with Kelle’s car and then relaxed and enjoyed a nice late lunch with the new graduate before driving back to Clear Lake.

Our original plan had been to leave for Demopolis straight from Iowa City instead of going back to Clear Lake; however, because we wanted to take our personal vehicle with us, we had to wait for it to get out of the shop. At 3 pm Monday, the Toyota had been repaired. The bill was $3,800 with the largest item being a new “computer” for the car, as well as four new tires, a new battery, new spark plugs, transmission flush, etc. About the only thing that car didn’t get was new brakes and those will have to be replaced when we decide to drive it on a regular basis again. Maureen was anxious to hit the road, so as soon as we picked up the car at Toyota, we started driving south.

 
We were able to get as far as Hannibal, Missouri, before stopping Monday night. The next morning, Tuesday, May 17th, we traveled all the way back to Demopolis with a side trip to Florence, Alabama, to check out the Florence Harbor Marina where we planned to leave our boat for a month as we travel back to Iowa again in June. We were happy with what we saw in Florence and arrive home to Blue Heron about 8 pm Tuesday night.

Sunday, May 8, 2011 - HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

 

Sunday, May 8, 2011 – Demopolis, Alabama

 

We relaxed in Demopolis for several days taking care of the usual chores but not tackling any major projects. Tuesday, our first full day here, was a rainy one so we stayed on the boat most of the day reading and catching up on bills, correspondence, etc. After Tuesday, we enjoyed cooler than normal temperatures (70’s to low 80’s) and sunny skies which made for very pleasant spring days.

 
On Thursday, Maureen’s cousins, Tom and Louise McGuire, along with their friends, Rick and Beverly, rode over from Meridian, Mississippi, on their Harleys to see Blue Heron and visit for awhile. Meridian is a little less than an hour from Demopolis. After a tour of the boat, we walked over to the marina restaurant for a bite and then bid the cyclists “Adieu” for the night. We hope to get together again with Tom and Louise before we leave the area.
 
 











On Saturday, we were invited to join a few of the boaters for a trip over to Kora’s Restaurant for lunch. Kora sure knows how to cook! Gale had ribs, Maureen had baked chicken and we shared sides of baked beans, pinto beans, cheesy/rice/broccoli casserole, cornbread and homemade peach cobbler. It was fabulous!


  










Sunday, Mother’s Day, was spent doing a little laundry and getting packed for our trip to Iowa to see our youngest son, Kelle, graduate from college in Iowa City. Dave, a fellow boater living aboard Moonstruck, a 43-foot DeFever, had generously offered to give us a ride into Meridian Monday morning to pick up our rental car and we plan to take off from there.

Monday, May 2, 2011 – Demopolis, Alabama, mile 216 on the BWTB

We were on our way before 7 am. The sky was partly cloudy, temperature 68°F and there was a very light southerly breeze. We made good time and arrived at the Demopolis Lock and Dam shortly before noon. There was a barge in the lock ahead of us but the lockmaster said he would have him locked through very soon.

Just as we were preparing to enter the lock, another northbound barge showed up so the lockmaster had us standby as he put the second barge through. While we were passing the time circling around, the second pleasure craft we’d seen during this whole week arrived at the lock. Pete and Linda aboard Carina, a 37-foot Carver trawler, hailed us on the radio and said they’d been keeping an eye out for us since they left Mobile early Saturday. They’d heard through mutual friends (people we haven’t even actually met yet – we’ve just conversed by phone) that we were out on the river somewhere between Mobile and Demopolis.

Before the second barge was locked through, the lockmaster informed us that there was now a southbound barge above the lock and he would be putting him through next. Finally, after a 2-1/2 hour wait, we had our turn. Barges and commercial traffic always have priority over pleasure craft so we weren’t totally surprised we had to wait. It was a good thing that we had all afternoon to make the transit.

We pulled into the Demopolis Yacht Basin at 3:30 pm where we fueled up the boat and took a slip. After getting settled in, we walked up to “The Wall” to meet several of the boaters and enjoy a few drinks. “The Wall” is where the daily gathering takes place in the late afternoons and all are invited. After a couple of drinks, we met Pete and Linda for dinner at the marina’s restaurant. The folks at “The Wall” had recommended we try the “Mo Mac” burger and they did not steer us wrong. We were just glad that we shared one sandwich instead of ordering two!