10-5-18 10-13-18 Marina Time and Treasured Friends

We have been on the Tennessee river for a while. There are still locks to tend with, but we have been lucky with no long waits.  We also have had the opportunity to call the locks before leaving to limit our waits in the current on the river.  We anchored out one more night with Eddie and Linda before crossing through Pickwick Lake.  Friends, Charlie and Robin whom we met on our first loop live in the area. They were so excited that we were there they invited us over that very night. Eddie and Linda hadn’t met them, but immediately hit it off.  Both very fun couples to be with.

 

Charlie got out the blender and many different kinds of alcohol.  He made the most delicious frozen drinks called Bushwackers. They went down so easy. If you had couple of these, I’m sure you would feel it.  It was nice to be in a home and not on a dock or on the back of a boat.  We went back to the boat after the dark.  The four of us got into our dinghy as Charlie and Robin aimed the headlights on it so we could find our way down the dock. It was so good to see them.

The next day we went through Pickwick Lock. The corner of three states, Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi meets on the water, that is where Spriritus (Eddie and Linda) cross their wake for the second time. Making them Platinum Loopers. We were honored to be there at that monumental moment for them. We drove along side and took photo at just that moment when they crossed.  Crossing your wake means you complete the great loop.  You have crossed your wake where you started.

Once we got docked the second bottle of Loop wine was broken out to celebrate.  They were so cute, they kept saying “Did you hear? We’re Platinum”

We had dinner at Robin and Charlie’s again. Charlie is in his glory now that all the Loopers are coming into the marina.  He gathers them up and brings them home.  Robin is a saint! He brought home an extra 5 people. The boys ran to the store for more burgers and the gals made more fruit salad and got our more dishes.  We had quite a group. Herb is a famous Looper.  He is a colorful, friendly, inviting person.  He handles his 50+foot boat all by himself and has completed the loop one and ¾ times at this point.  He always has “Porchtails” on the back of his monster boat.  We had a very fun evening with so many old and new friends.

The next day we took our boat to Lee Spry Boat yard to have Last Call pulled to have her dripping, dripless shaft seal replaced.  It is a common maintenance that needs to be done periodically.  The part hadn’t arrived yet, so we had to leave her on the hard for the night.  Charlie and Robin were so gracious and invited us to stay at the house.  It felt great to take a shower that wasn’t a sea shower and to have lots of room to move around and good internet.  The next morning Charlie and Scott went back to finish up with the boat, Robbin had to go help her mother-in-law while I stayed at the house by myself.  I was so thankful for the peace and quiet to work on our presentation for the AGLCA at the Fall Rendezvous. I needed the outline turned in that day and the presentation was due in two days.  After practicing the first time we decided to completely change the format, so it was a ton of work. I am now getting pretty good with the basics of power-point. By noon Charlie took me back to the boat as she was ready to be splashed back in the water and I needed to help Scott get her back to the Marina. The work went well, and she no longer drips.

Someone organized docktails and a potluck dinner at the marina pavilion. There is Grand Harbor marina a short way away.  Charlie got his pontoon boat out and picked up the loopers at Grand Harbor and brought them over to Aqua Yacht Marina.  Food was great as usual, and we met many new loopers.  We all stood and told where we were from and what boat we were on. It is always interesting to see the differences in how people do the loop.  Some boats huge and other not much more than a runabout.  It was another great Looper night in the books.

We spent some time cleaning the dirty boat and prepared to depart the next morning.

We took off with no particular plan. Our next destination was Joe Wheeler State Park, where the AGLCA Fall Rendezvous will be held. We had two big locks coming up.  We had to push to get to the first lock, but got right in.  The next lock was not far, but there was chatter on the radio about an hour and a half wait and it was already late afternoon.  We chose to scoot up and offshoot and anchor for the night.  We had no desire to try navigating in the dark because of a lock.  The next morning, we called the lockmaster before pulling up the anchor.  Lock was clear, so we departed and had no wait when we got there.

 

Stay tuned for the Rendezvous doing.

Thanks for reading,

Karen and Scott

m/v Last Call

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10-2-18 10-3-18  Cinnamon Rolls and Friends.  What more do we need.

Sites along the Tennessee River.

Pebble Isle Marina on the Tennessee River in Johnsonville, TN. I can’t really tell you what this is close to because there isn’t much close by.  It is North of Savannah, TN

It is hot and sunny as we pulled into Pebble Isle Marina. Billy is the dock master and he is the epitome of southern hospitality.  He is friendly, helpful and best of all he makes free, fresh Cinnamon rolls every morning for his guests.

We worked hard all day, doing laundry, shopping, washing the boat so by evening we were ready for a little R&R.  There were quite a few loopers there and in true Looper style we had docktails on a floating pontoon that had tables and chairs set up just for this purpose.  Billy was so glad we used it, that he took photos to send to the new owners of the marina.  Great to meet new and already known Loopers.  It is always fun when we get together. We have never been involved with a group quite like this.  Everyone is so friendly, partly because we are all in the same boat… Pun intended

Later that night a huge yacht came in that dwarfed the marina building.  They took on ONLY 2000 gallons of fuel.  Glad I don’t have their fuel bill.  The boat was being moved from Chicago to Florida for the winter. Billy told us they come every year.  This marina has a great fuel price and it is fresh because they sell a ton of it.

We heard about the delicious fresh cinnamon rolls at the marina 2 years ago, but never made it here.  So, after 10 days at anchor we needed a marina stop so why not go where they have fresh cinnamon rolls every morning.  I have to say that I have had a hankering for a good Cinnamon roll and have been disappointed every time I have had one.  But Billy and his staff came through!  Warm fresh and amazing. That craving is satisfied at least for a while.

We are doing a talk at the AGLCA Fall rendezvous about  “The Best Stuff is at Anchor”  Here is an example of why to believe this to be true.  We were cruising the river with an anchorage in mind, but about half way there we hear our boat being hailed on the radio by a familiar looking boat anchored ahead.  It is Spiritus with Eddie and Linda asking if we wanted to join them at anchor.  We cut our day short and anchored close to them behind Swallow Bluff Island.

This Island is known to have goats on it.  I was hoping to get a glimpse and a photo. Spritus invited us over for cool drinks and fellowship which we were happy to accept as it was very hot that day. After visiting we invited them to come for dinner as I had put lasagna in the crockpot that morning.  We needed to get back and turn it down so it didn’t get over cooked.  We both had the same idea to get relief from the heat….swimming of course.  However, we are on the river with a fair amount of current.  No problem, just tie yourself to the boat and float behind.  The water felt wonderful and cooled us down.

Eddie and Linda came over for dinner toting a very special bottle of wine to share with us.  They bought it in Chicago and it was called “The Loop”  Great wine, great food, lots of laughs with amazing people made for one of those unforgettable days on the journey.

You are probably wondering about the goats.  None, not even a glimpse, but the friendship was so special I didn’t even care.

Sorry I am so far behind on the blog, but my usual excuse of poor internet is true.  We are traveling down rivers with not much around us.  Many days we can barely get a text out much less load photos and text to a blog.  I do have to admit we did have a few days where I could have worked on it, but we were playing and that was more important.  Life is too short to not play when the opportunity arises.

I have committed to getting caught up soon. Keep tuned.

Karen and Scott

m/v Last Call

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9-19-18   10-1-18 37^th Anniversary at Anchor and Racoon Wars

There were really no restaurants in the area we were in to go out for dinner for our 37^th Anniversary. It is more important to us to have some special time together.  I know ,we live on a boat together; how much closer can we get.  We planned our favorite meal, Angel Hair Pasta with Shrimp found a secluded anchorage, swam, paddle boarded and reminisced about our wonderful life together. We have so many great memories!  Once again it was scorching hot, so we opted to put the camp stove on the back of the boat and cooked outside, so we didn’t add any heat to the cabin.  We do have a regular stove on board, but we also have the camp stove just in case we ever have an issue with the generator, we can still eat at anchor.  It came in handy that day.  Dinner and wine were divine then back in the water to cool off again.  We truly had a wonderful day!

Off to Pisgah Bay on Kentucky Lake. There is a peninsula between Kentucky Lake and Barclay lake. It is called the land between the lakes and there are no house or towns on the upper part, so it will be difficult for me to tell exactly where we are.

Pisgah Bay is a large bay with two boat ramps on it. We stopped here on our last Loop and enjoyed dinghying to the Quarry.  The weather this time did not cooperate.  It rained for days.  We had one break in the weather, so we dinghied to the quarry.  But we didn’t get a chance to get out and explore as we wanted to because the rain started again.

Osprey Bay on Duncan Bay has half of the area marked off as a restricted wilderness area and does not allow anyone in the area for the winter months.  The bay was so beautiful.  We watched a buck and doe feed off the shore in the distance. Tons of fish, many of which were Asian Carp, but bass and panfish are prevalent as well.  We did some romping around when it wasn’t raining.

One night we heard terrible screeching, let’s say many animals screeching. There was a terrible fight happening on shore.  Scott got out his high-powered- flashlight. When we had gone ashore earlier that day there was a huge dead carp on the shore.  We expected it was animals fighting over it, but we were wrong.  Not a single animal on the carp.  Panning the light rays to the right a tree on shore lit up with about 15 pairs of glowing eyes.  There was a racoon war going on.  Our light disrupted the war and we had peace the rest of the night.  We couldn’t believe how many there were! Osprey Bay might be my new favorite bay…the wilderness was raw and breathtaking.  My paddle board has a saying on it which holds true for me. “Nature is my muse, she inspires me to be a truer version of me.”

Higgins Bay extruded the true meaning of “Boat Life.” The bay itself didn’t but the situation did.  We had some important main that needed to get out THAT day, but we are in the middle of wilderness, and loving it by-the-way.  It has been so stinking hot that after 10 days at anchor we could not keep up with making ice for the cooler for cold drinks. We looked up Cozy Cove Marina and Resorts nearby and tried to call to see if they had ice and could take our mail.  Of course, the call dropped because we have almost no signal in much of this area. About a half an hour later, the owner called me back to see if he could help me.  The signal held, and we were clear to come in for ice and mail service. We anchored, dropped the dinghy and drove it 5 miles to Cozy Cove. There was a small covered dock for fishing boats and pontoons and a few cottages, but no sign.  According to our map this was it, so we tied up and walked up to the office.  It had a sign on the door at 11:55 “Gone to Lunch” UGH!!!!! Luckily it left the guys phone number on the sign.  At first, we were going to be patient and not interrupt the guys lunch, but it was warm and we have spent considerable amount of time just getting there.  Scott is Mr. Patient, but me……not so much.  I kindly called the guy and said I called him early for ice and he said “I just left for lunch just take a bag on the house. Don’t worry about it.”  I asked how much Ice was and I was happy to leave the money in an empty brochure box, but what I really needed was to get an envelope mailed.  He told me where the mailbox was.  I hiked up to the top of the hill to the entrance of the resort and easily found the mailbox, placing this important piece of mail in it with the flag up.  The thought crossed my mind that the mailman may not even stop here if there was no mail for Cozy Cove.  But then I remembered junk mail.  It may be my only saving grace.  We grabbed our ice threw it in the cooler and headed back to Last Call.  Mission accomplished…….I hope. BTW the mail arrived and on time.

When we got back we had a quick lunch, then headed to shore where there is a forestry road.  It was easy to find and led us to several very secluded campsites.  We hoofed it through the woods hoping to catch the road at the top of the hill.  Scottactually got signal at the top of the hill to see on his phone where this trail leads.  Our plan was to hike to the other side of the peninsula but once we saw the halfway mark with the trail taking a steep descent we decided we didn’t want to climb back up that thing.  Remember our legs are out of shape from many days sitting on the boat in the rain.  That’s my excuse anyways.  On the way back we marveled at the deep muddy ruts in the clay road.  I asked Scott what kind of vehicle would you need to get through this?  He said, “I guess it’s a Jeep Thang.”  Swimming cooled us down and paddle boarding warmed us up so we swam again. I think we got our exercise that day. The deck was getting some great lawn chair use by us after a busy day.  Close to sunset, I kid you not, a JEEP pulled onto the point.  We were laughing and said “Yep it was a Jeep Thang” They had a tent that went on top of their vehicle, a small enclosure that was probably their toilet, a hammock and fire burning in not time.  We were impressed!  Just like that they were gone in the morning.

Next stop: Richland Creek. This was a nice big anchorage, but it had houses and 5 boat ramps on it.  We looked back in our records and remembered staying here on our last loop.  We remembered the fleet of Bass-boats that came flying by at full speed just before 5pm.  There was a tournament and time was of the essence.  At least we only got rocked a short time.  This was more of a work stop for us.  We cleaned the yellow river staining off the back and sides of the boat and scrubbed the green algae off the bottom.  Fun times wish you were there.

We were at anchor for 12 days and thoroughly enjoyed the Land Between the Lakes. We desperately need a marina stop.

Thanks for reading,

Scott and Karen

m/v Last Call

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9-17-18  9-18-18 Missing Mail and Thirsty Turtles,

It was suggested to me to say what city we are near so my readers can find us on the map.  Great idea except that there aren’t many towns that you could find easily but I will try to give you something close.  This area we are in is the North End of Kentucky Lake. Near Barkley Dam and Kentucky Dam. Close to Paducah, KY.

We anchored our first night in the area in Nikkel Bay on Barkley Lake with Bob N Along.  As usual it is hot again, but this time we get to swim to cool off.  It felt so good.  We grabbed our Noodles and a drink and Bobbed on over to Bob N Along. They joined us, and we sure had a nice time being cool and talking while floating around.  Doesn’t get any better than that.

We are only a short distance from the Green Turtle Bay Marina, so in the morning when we get in we have a full day to get the dirty deeds done. We reserved the car for 11:00 am.  Because we shared with Bob and Natalie, we had the car for 4 hours.  Not only did we grocery shop but ran many little errands and got everything done we needed.  We were expecting 3 pieces of mail but only had one at the desk when we checked in.  While we were out I received a call from the desk telling us they found a piece in the office.  We stopped on our way home to get it, but they said it wasn’t there and told us to try the store.  I went to the store and found #2 of 3, then checked back into the marina. Yes, in fact the third piece should be at the office. The guy from the office who told me it wasn’t there happened to be in the marina and offered to take me back up in the golf cart as it was a little hike.  Low and behold there it was. Three parcel all address to the same place and they all ended up at different locations. Sometimes you just can’t win.

Did Laundry, traded books at the lending library and headed right for the pool. We met some locals who shared some of their knowledge about the Bahamas. There were many Loopers there, but it was just too darn hot to stand out on a dock to enjoy each other’s company. It was decided to try the next day, but we would be gone.  We knew quite a few already but would have liked to have met more.

That evening I got a text from Kirt and Pam our high school friends we have bumped into once in Key West, and once in Land O’Lakes, Wisconsin. They asked if we were in Paducah which they saw on Facebook. They were going to be there that night and wanted to catch up with us.  We had to leave the marina because they needed our slip. We said so long to Bob N Along. We anchored around the corner in the Bay where the Thirsty Turtle is located. Turns Kim and Kirt’s campsite was 5 minutes away.  We dinghied in, met them for dinner and drinks and had live music outside.   None of these encounters were planned, we just keep bumping into each other and we couldn’t have planned them better. Love this couple they are a lot of fun and are traveling by Motor coach.

Will move to Kentucky Lake tomorrow.

Thanks for reading,

Karen and Scott

m/v Last Call

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