Catching Up

I can't believe it has been over two weeks since we entered the Mississippi. For the past month is has been our routine to have some intense days of travel followed by long marina stays.  We arrived at Green Turtle Bay near Grand River, Kentucky on September 24th  with the intention of staying  just 3 - 4 days when all of a sudden we were signing up for the weekly special. Our days were filled with a provisioning trip to Walmart in Benton, KY with fellow Loopers Jim and Connie, Michiganders who are looping aboard Patriot; a golf cart ride around town; time at the marina spa; Aqua Zumba class; boat chores; chatting with other Loopers on the dock and generally a lot of doing nothing. Our evenings were spent sharing "docktails"with Loopers; attending an evening of Civil War Letters and Music, performed at the local theatre; attending a Seafood Boil sponsored by the local yacht club during their annual regatta; and making the pilgrimage to Patti's Settlement -- a local restaurant known for it's 2" pork chop

It was delicious -- and served the Cap'n for dinner one night and both of us the next!

After leaving Green Turtle Bay  on October 1st we headed south towards the Land Between the Lakes -- the largest inland peninsula in the US. It was created in the 1930's by the Tennessee Valley Authority project that dammed the Tennessee River. It is bound by Lake Barkley to the east and Kentucky Lake to the west.  Homes, trailers and fishermen line the western shore, but there is nothing but vegetation on the LBL shore  The leaves were just beginning to turn color and it was spectacularly beautiful as we motored along the Kentucky/Tennessee border. The shoreline has changed a bit of late and we are seeing more cliffs, some hills, sandy beaches and southern pines. Morning fog wisping over the rivers has delayed our start once or twice as cool morning air has signaled the start of fall.

It seems that every day we are running along the border of two states: KY and TN, TN and MI. One night we anchored off of Civil War Fort Heiman in Cypress Creek, KY. At least I think we were anchored in KY -- might have been Tennessee -- the line goes right down the creek. In fact, at the marina up the creek a bit you can buy beer at the dock store but not in the restaurant because the state line goes right thru the marina: dry county on one side, wet on the next.

We have been treated to some great southern hospitality along the way. A few nights ago when we were docked at the Pebble Isle Marina in New Johnsonville, TN the owners treated our group of Looper boats to appetizers (fried catfish bites, hushpuppies, fried pickles) with our docktails and then fresh cinnamon buns and coffee the next morning served by dockhand Billy. We didn't want to leave!
A few nights later we stayed in Clifton, TN where the marina owner, proudly wearing her Ole Miss alumni shirt, served us homemade beef vegetable soup in china bowls to chase away the evening chill.

We had a few days without locks and so we lowered the dinghy and explored local coves near our anchorages. Ham loved the chance to run on the beaches and ride on the bow.

As I type, on Monday October 6 we are docked at Grand Harbor Marina on Pickwick Lake, TN, >this< close to the  Mississippi border.  We are in a covered dock so there is no satellite TV and XM radio , but we have a front row view of the passing tows. Tomorrow we head west, by car, to Memphis for a few days of music and BBQ, and a trip to Graceland,  We'll also be stopping at the Shiloh Civil War  Battlefield.

All through the past few weeks we have caught up with the Looper "pack"  most of whom took the Canadian route while we cruised the western Erie Canal and the Great Lakes. It's been fun to reunite with folks we haven't seen since Waterford, NY way back in June and to meet so many other others who have undertaken this great adventure.

Keep checking back for pictures for  pictures and more stories...Right now I need to get some rest because Elvis is waiting  for me in Memphis......

Our constant companions,,, the tows