Last leg of rivers - Nov 13 to Nov 17

We are getting pretty late in the season so we decided to move quickly down the rest of the rivers to Mobile. We travel 330 miles in 5 days, meaning we will travel about 65 or 70 miles a day with one day of over 100 miles. The river changes looks a little but pretty much looks like a river. It gets boring but we keep busy cleaning, cooking, and reading. We will travel through 7 locks along the way.

Nov 13 Columbus (M331) to Sumpter Landing (M269.9)

We left Columbus behind a big boat towing a 27’ sailboat on its hip. That is something you don't see every day. Kermit talked to the owner when we met them in Mobile. They are docked next to us, coincidentally. He said he sometimes forgot the sailboat was there while traveling.

Emery-El with a sailboat on its hip, leaving Columbus Marina

Two locks today, traveling 65 miles – dawn to almost dusk.

At Mile 307 we passed the snagboat at Tom Bevill Visitor Center. This snagboat is a converted paddlewheeler that used to be known as the Montgomery, operated by the Coast Guard to pick out tree trunks from the rivers. This is another one of those pictures you just have to get - a real landmark for loopers.

The Snagboat Montgomery at M331

We stayed at Sumptner Landing at Mile 269.9 because it was pretty and it had a ramp where Rusty could go to shore easily.

Kermit ran the boat right up the ramp because it was covered with the floating forest. Rusty jumped out, did his business and wandered around a bit. He heard lots of strange noises in the woods – Rusty didn’t want to linger, even though it was the best place to rest at an anchorage he has ever seen.
 

For some reason we did not see this but others in our group saw two hunters with a dead deer in his boat. He strung up the deer and gutted it in his campsite near where we anchored out. It is deer season after all. I was told the hunters were in the camper behind Dick Shephard, standing on his boat in this picture.

Notice the fall colors.

 Especially pretty when the sun sets.

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ov 14 Sumpter Landing (M269.9) to Demopolis (M216.2)

We left Sumpter Landing very early in the morning. It was cold and foggy.

Rusty doesn't like it much either!!

 

 

Only 1 lock today, Howell Heflin Lock. Kind of spooky in the fog! Not much else happened during the drive.

AL. M217 is end of Tenn-Tom Waterway, now entering Black Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway which goes from Demopolis to Mobile. This is the entrance to the Black Warrior River.

We entered Demopolis Marina one at a time. Sareanna went right to their dock. Jim's Joy and Good Karma went to the gas dock. One September waited out in the river. He noticed a boat coming really fast down the river towards him and hailed him asking him to pass slowly. But the boat did not slow down until coming up directly next to One September, throwing a huge wake. He paced One September then swung around him and took the open spot at the gas dock when Jim's Joy moved to his dock. The nerve!! This was a huge breach of etiquette!! We will talk about Ya-Ting more later. Remember that name.

Kermit schmoozed with the folks at the gas dock, especially commiserating about Ya-Ting's lack of manners. Let's just say the 120 gallons of gas cost us lots less than it might have at another marina on another day!

Demopolis Marina is really beautiful. They are adding an entire new wing to marina – new docks and amenities for dockers – beautiful and designed with boaters in mind. We took pictures as a hint for Dick Henry.

This is the community room. It has laundry and bathrooms on the first floor and a gathering area with microwaves, outlets, counters, and tables and chairs on the second floor. The second floor is covered, as are most of the slips. It is beautiful.

This is the last marina till Mobile so we enjoyed the amenities as much as we could. We borrowed the marina courtesy car and went to what was billed as the best restaurant in town, Red Barn Restaurant – I think it really was a barn in a former life, more than just a name.

This is the interior of the Red Barn. You can see from the specials board that the specials are snapper and grouper. We are moving south through Alabama and wanted to eat fish so most of us ordered snapper. Some of us actually got snapper. Deanna and I got something that did not seem like snapper. It had the texture of chicken. Honest. We needed a knife and fork to cut it. No flaking on our plates! Turns out Kermit's steak was absolutely marvelous. Evidently they are known for their steaks. Only we did not know that. Should have ordered the steak...

Another interesting thing about this restaurant was the high number of cowboys - boots, hats, and all. I guess that was another tip off about the steaks.

We made some new friends: MV Oban, an 65 foot ocean going trawler – no pictures but it is beautiful, and Fandango, a trawler. They came with us the next day.

Nov 15 Demopolis (216.2) to Bobby’s Fish Camp (M118.9)

We left very early in the morning. It was still dark. About 5:30am Kermit called the lockmaster to arrange to go through the lock with 6 boats. We were going to make his morning easy. Lockmaster said there was a tow down river in the fog. If we could get there quickly he would get us through quickly before the tow woke up. We loaded up and left in the dark, very slowly, to the Demopolis lock just around the corner all lined up like ducks behind One September with our new friends Fandango and Oban. We hung around the entrance waiting for the doors to open. It was getting a little lighter, about 6am now.

Suddenly flying up behind us was our other new friend, Ya-Ting, traveling fast, moving up behind Fandango to next to us. Kermit went nuts. Ya-Ting was really close to us and still moving while the rest of us were in neutral. Kermit hit the horn 5 times hailing Ya-Ting but getting no response. "Sir this is the emergency signal indicating imminent danger of collision. Stop your vessel and get in line right now." He went on like this for a while but Ya-Ting did not respond. "We have a certain order entering the lock, three on each side. Oban needs two bollards and must use the port side. You need to go to the starboard side behind Jim's Joy. Do you copy?" No response.

We entered the lock. Ya-Ting didn't go to the starboard side. Of course not. He went to the port side behind us on the fourth bollard out of five, leaving only one bollard for the 65 foot Oban - not enough room. Oban slowly entered the lock to the port side anyway. The lockmaster came down to watch to make sure there was enough room for the doors to close without hitting Oban.

The lockmaster asked each boat for registration information. No response from Ya-Ting. The lockmaster had to come down to his boat and get the information.

When lock doors open, etiquette says boats leave in the order they came in. So we were the third boat on the port side, we would wait until the two boats ahead of us moved out. But not this time. As the big doors opened, we heard Ya-Ting rev their engines. Their bow thrusters reved pushing the boat away from the wall and moving into the center of the lock past us, out of order and causing a disruption in the lock. Our group all moved over to the starboard side. Kermit said on the radio, "Ya-Ting, we are all moving to starboard so you can pass us. We appreciate a slow pass. We want you to go down the river and make some new friends." No response! You find your excitement where you can on the river!

This is a picture of the group letting Ya-Ting move on down the road. Ya-Ting is the boat on the left.

 

There he goes, moving on down the road:

 

White cliffs - A few miles down, about M212 are the white cliffs of Alabama. I am not sure what they are called but they are very pretty.

 

 Critter alert: Vultures. Lots and lots of vultures.

 



Our destination was Bobby's Fish Camp, another landmark for loopers. A fish camp is a camp group with a boat dock. Sometimes there are permanent summer homes.

Bobby's has a little restaurant and gas docks - the only gas between Demopolis and Mobile. It is pretty rugged. The restaurant is colorful, run by two ladies. The food was ok but very expensive. The saltiest fried pickles we had on this trip. Isn't it funny that we have a basis for comparing the quality of fried pickles? I never thought I would say that.

We arrived at about 4pm. This was a very long day. Remember we left Demopolis at 5:30am and traveled about 100 miles, a 10 hour day. As we approached Bobby's we called to confirm our reservations and were told that another boat was already docked there. It is a 100' dock so we would have to raft off. We needed gas so we would enter first. As we came up to Bobby's, guess who was the boat already there? You guessed it. Ya-Ting!

Such fun! Notice another thing about this boat? Protocol or best practice is to dock in a river with the bow up river. But Ya-Ting is facing down river - not the right direction. Also notice that the boat is docked close to the gas dock. This is an issue. We needed gas. We pulled into the dock facing the correct direction bow to bow with Ya-Ting. But we did not have enough room on the back end of the boat to allow Rusty to get off. So Kermit asked Ya-Ting if he would mind moving 3' back so we could all fit. Nope. He said no and went back into his boat, never to be seen for the rest of the evening. Unbelievable. So we turned our boat around to dock in the same direction as Ya-Ting. In the end we couldn't take on gas because of the rafting. We have 100+ miles to go with only half a tank of gas left. It will be close.

Keep in mind the other boats were hanging out in the middle of the river this whole time. And tow boats were passing, causing wakes and disruption among the other boats. Everyone came in after we adjusted the boat. We had two boats rafted off us. One September had three boats rafted off them. Only the boats on the dock had power. No one rafted off Ya-Ting. He wouldn't talk to anyone!

 

 

We had a big party at the restaurant with our group plus Fandango. We had a blast. The food was not too good but the company was great!

The restaurant is stuffed with old family pictures and photos of the community. Fascinating.

Notice the stuffed fish on the wall? This is a gargater. I thought it was a joke but evidently this is a real fish found in the Black Warrior River! Bobby caught this one. It weighed 137 pounds!!

Nov 16 Bobby’s Fish Camp (M118.9) to Tensas River (M39.3)

We left early but not as early as in past days. It was actually light when we left. Foggy but light.

 

Another long day. Not much to see. Same old same old.

Another beautiful anchorage but very muddy. Rusty turned around when he landed on shore and said, "really?" We have mud everywhere!

 

We started to see more tows.

 Nov 17 Tensas River (M39.3) to Mobile (M0)

We are tired, just want to get somewhere we can stop for a while. Unfortunately it is taking a long time because the river winds all over the place.

 

 

We arrived in Mobile around noon. More about Mobile later. We are just glad to get to a place we can stay for a while!!

 

Things that make you go mmmm... Mississippi 11/10-13/12

Last night at dinner folks were telling tales of their youth. Wild tales. Not too much different from my tales. It is incongruous with the way they look. Similar to my experiences and yet different.

On the way home from dinner I commented how dark it was driving on Mississippi side roads. It is dark with few lights and lots of trees. Very dark. I am not used to such darkness and such country. It is like being out in Amish country at night – very disconcerting for me. I am used to the city with lights and action. Everyone must be like that, right. Wrong. Deanna said it felt just like home where she grew up in rural New Jersey. Very dark, very country, very quiet. No wonder she know so much about stars, she grew up with them! Driving down this dark road brought her back to her childhood. A different perspective based on experiences that are very different from my own.

The moral of the story: Stop making assumptions and listen more to what is really going on. Or else you miss the spirit, the essence. I will get more out of the trip when I open to what is being sent.

We have guests traveling with One September, Jay and Sandy. New people traveling with us remind me it is necessary to define some terms I use often:

·         Docktails: Cocktails and appetizers on the dock
·         Looper Midnight: 9pm; couldn’t possibly be because docktails start at 4:30pm, could it?
·         Looper Gold: quarters for the laundry
·         Waterbugs: those annoying little bass boats that zip around us without regard for wake or general safety
·         Slicker than owl shit: Isn’t that the coolest?

Eating in the South. It is easy to say the food is fried, no liquor served, and country food is simple. That about covers it. Or does it?

This week we ate out on Friday night 11/9 in Fulton MS and Saturday night 11/10 in Smithville MS. Both restaurants were described as some of the best in town.

We walked into the Midway Restaurant at the Midway Marina in Fulton MS at about 6:30. Kermit was really hungry so despite the fact we purchased a ton of food that afternoon we went out to eat with Judy and Michael from One September with the idea that Kermit could eat faster than I could cook. Ok, whatever. The rest of the crowd gathered on Sareanna for something grilled and wine.

The restaurant is simple looking on the inside – linoleum floors, high peaked roof – I think this is a pole building like a pole barn, those stackable high backed chairs found normally at hotel conference rooms, paper table clothes, silverware in wax paper sleeves, and a salad bar like we used to see in the 80s with a sneeze guard and everything. No pictures. That would be rude. Let’s start making assumptions. Then let’s look closer.

The waitress was friendly. When asked what to order, she said really fast, “the whole fish”. What? Despite what people say about southerners we have a lot of trouble understanding them because they talk really fast. She repeated. We did not expect this. An entire fish? Not gonna happen. Her next favorite was the catfish filets. We didn’t want to order the catfish because it was catfish and we didn’t want to eat fried food again but she said it was the thing that made the servers’ mouth water. They bread it and fry it themselves every day. The other fried fish was also nice but came already frozen and breaded. Not the same. Almost everything on the menu was fried anyway. How could we resist? So we ordered the catfish filets. And the fries. And the hush puppies. Let’s get the salad bar please to balance some of that grease.

So we went to the salad bar. Romaine lettuce, fresh as can be. It must have been cut that afternoon. Fresh vegetables. Homemade macaroni salad – not that heavy mayo stuff that comes from GFS. Mmmmmm…. It was good. Not at all what we expected.

Dinner took a long time to come so we had time to look at the crowd. Families eating quietly. Folks saying hello across the room. Quiet chatting at the salad bar. As I walked to the salad bar I saw something odd on a man’s plate. I excused myself and asked what he ordered (with a big smile to hopefully counteract some of my rude northernerness). He said it was fried chicken liver, would I like one? When was the last time someone offered you food off your plate? He probably said, “bless her heart” after I declined and walked away but I thought he was sweet and so nice.

The food came. OH MY GOSH was it good. It was crunchy with a simple cornmeal batter, not greasy and so so flavorful. Catfish fried like this just melts in your mouth. Unbelievable. Even the fries were better and the hush puppies (I only ate 1 – I still have to fit into my one pair of jeans) just floated.

We waddled back to the boat very satisfied. Not at all what we expected. Not by a mile.

Saturday night 11/10 in Aberdeen MS (the marina with the entrance straight out of the comic strip Pogo) we took the courtesy cars to Smithville MS to have dinner at Atkins Steakhouse. I mentioned this in my last post too but I didn’t do it justice. We drove for 40 minutes in the dark, dark country (or just like home in New Jersey as Deanna says!). It seemed impossible that there would be anything out here much less a famous restaurant. But we turned a corner and in the complete darkness was a wooden building with one light on the sign that says “Atkins Steakhouse”. A beacon of civilization in the dark, dark night. I know I am being overly dramatic but it seemed odd to me.

We walked into find a huge crowd of folks paying for carryout. It was about 6:30 or so on Saturday night after all. On the table next to the door were 6 9x13 aluminum baking trays like I bring to bake sales filled with home baked cakes. Not what we expected.  The ceiling was made out of 4x8’ pieces of plywood held together with a silver metal superstructure. The walls were plywood paneling and the chairs were folding chairs like in a church basement. Not at all like any famous steakhouse I have ever seen.

This is a picture inside the restaurant of Michael (far right) taking a photo to send to his sons of the first steak he has eaten since 1982!! He enjoyed it too. We are taking him to the dark side! That is Judy, his wife in the middle, and Sandy, their guest on the left. I thought it was rude to take a photo of the restaurant so this will have to do. You get an idea of the size of the room and the interesting paneling on the wall.

Judy and Michael Hechtkopf at Atkins Steakhouse in Smithville MS.

No alcohol, again. Just ice tea and soda. But then the food arrived. Simply the best salad dressing in the world. They make their own! Baked potatoes that are crispy and soft at the same time with a hint of salt. And the steaks – perfectly cooked filet for Kermit and ribeye for me. Mmmmm….. Not at all what we expected.

Looks can be deceiving.

Sunday 11/11 we continued down the river to Columbus MS. The weather was perfect, warm and sunny. We stripped down to t-shirts for the first time in ages. I even put on shorts! This marina is also a jog around a bend, just in front of the Stennis Lock and Dam at Mile 334. We are now 120 miles into this 450 mile journey.

You see the most interestiing things written on bollards in locks these days! Stennis Lock, Tenn-Tom

The marina is owned by a great fellow, Chuck, and his daughter helps with the lines at the gas dock. We filled up with gas and got a much  needed pump out. Our slip was close to the land in a really long covered slip. It was at least a 60 foot slip because the 60 foot Viking next to us was not sticking out! The rest of our crowd docked at the other end of this dock in an uncovered slip. This is important because overnight it rained very hard and got cold, again. We were protected from the thunderstorm!

We got the courtesy cars and all 10 of us headed over to the most famous attraction in this really famous town – Waverly Mansion. We thought this was just another ante-bellum home. But we were wrong. Again. Appearances and assumptions can be deceiving.


The entrance to Waverly Mansion is a very tiny National Historic Marker attached to a small gate near the river. You walk through the gate up a pea gravel walkway past the biggest oldest magnolia tress in Mississippi. It is really big.

Walkway through Waverly Mansion, West Point MS



Waverly Mansion, West Point MS

Owner of Waverly Mansion, West Point MS

You can see this lovely old mansion at the end of the walk. The grass is trimmed but the landscape has a wild look to it, like it has recently been tamed but only just.

A nice lady about my age opens the door and comes down the steps to greet us in a friendly, soft, southern voice. She starts talking about the house and it becomes clear that this is another surprise. We thought this would be just another old house tour like The Hermitage in Nashville or Montecello or something. We were wrong. Our tour guide was the owner of the home! You can't take pictures of the inside but I snapped this photo of our group standing in the big entrance. Notice the huge 4 story foyer?

George Young and his wife built this home in 1852 for their family of 10 children and 1000+ slaves who worked over 50,000 acres of cotton. This was one of the biggest plantations in the deep south. They shipped all sorts of goods all over the world, right from the dock at the end of the road. The family owned the home and land until the last of the 10 children died in about 1913. Then a dozen or so grandchildren and great grand children argued about the will and property disposition for years while the home was deserted.

It became the local haunted house. People who stop in on dares from local sororities and fraternities during pledge time. Kids would come to get some quiet time with their sweeties. And so on.

The current owner Mr. Snow and his wife owned an antique store in southern Mississippi about 90 miles away. A peddler stopping in their store and told a story about visiting this old mansion in West Point MS that was all deserted but still containing lots of original antiques. So dad and mom visited and decided to by the house and 40 surrounding acres in as-is condition. They moved their 3 children in, ages 12, 7, and 5 (our hostess). There was nothing there. Possums lived in one room. Bats lived in another room. Lots of plaster was missing. The plaster trim as home for dauber wasp homes. But all windows except 2 were intact, all built-in cabinets were intact and the stairway and railings were still in place. The family completely restored the entire mansion. They painted, plastered, and landscaped their little hearts out. Then they furnished it with their own collection of antiques.

Our hostess is the youngest daughter who is now about my age. She lives there in the Egyptian bedroom on the second floor. Her dad, the original owner, lives in the bedroom next door.

This is a symmetrical building with 2 rooms on either side of a huge entry way that is open on both ends. The building is 4 stories high with windows and porches open on every level to attract every breeze that might come its way. The top story is gives a 360 degree view of the entire plantation, allowing the owner to watch the goings on at all corners of this large operation. The 3^rd story is a series of little doors called trunk rooms. Visitors would arrive with huge trucks that would be emptied in the bedrooms and then the trunks stored in the trunk rooms until the person left. I imagine the scene in Gone With the Wind where Scarlett goes to that barbeque and the women take naps on the second floor while servants take trunks upstairs.

There are 4 rooms on the first and second floor in each corner of the building. This gives each room two walls of windows so every room gets a breeze. Each of the four rooms on each floor is 23x25’. One the first floor front is the dining room and parlor and library along with the master bedroom. The second floor has 4 bedroom including the ghost room. Every old mansion needs a ghost room!!!! The Snow family heard this little girl all the time calling out for her mama. She followed Mrs. Snow around but never talked to her. She took a nap every afternoon in the summer leaving a little indentation in the bedspread. She described how a tv show about ghosts came to film one week causing much disruption for the family a few years ago.

Our guide said she thinks the ghost protected the house. It is unbelievable that such a valuable building was left in such good shape and nothing but the furniture was taken. The walls were covered with notes and signatures but nothing was broken, not even the windows. That must be a very nice ghost to take such good care of the house!! We couldn’t find any more background on the ghost. Maybe you can?

The grounds are stately but a little wild. I guess it was so overgrown they needed machetes to break through when they moved in. Mr. Snow has been working on the landscape for the last 50 years, still transplanting boxwood from the original plants. All the slave quarters are gone, although she knows where the foundations show the buildings used to be, in family groups at the back of the property for house servants and in the cotton fields for field slaves.

We asked about the exterior paint which was peeling. She put out bids for contractors to scrape and paint. The lowest bid is $35,000! That seems way low to us. The building has only been painted twice. Once when it was built, and again when the Snow family  moved in 50 years ago. And it looks amazing, albeit a little weathered.

Another experience that was not at all what we expected and more!

We cooked on the boat after visiting the mansion. On Monday after the rain stopped we toured Columbus MS. This is the home of Tennessee Williams and Eudora Welty. Faulkner lived nearby too. Williams home was moved downtown to function as the town welcome center. The group was less interested than I so I couldn’t read all the interesting stuff about him in the two bedrooms upstairs. I need to find out more!

I finally found an Old Navy and bought a second pair of jeans. I leaned my original pair in the corner and gladly put on the new pair. You will be glad to know that I have not gained weight and the jeans fit better than ever! Yippee!! I think I will have another piece of pie!!

Dinner last night (Monday night) at Hucks, another famous restaurant in Columbus. Very upscale. Good food, although not fried. Go figure.

It was VERY cold this morning. I think it was in the 20s. No amount of new jeans make this kind of cold acceptable. I am wearing a cami, a t-shirt, a long sleeve t-shirt, a wind shirt, and a jacket with gloves and a scarf plus thermal socks with my boat shoes. Kermit has a watch cap on. And we plan to anchor out tonight so Kermit has to do the whole dog-in-a-dinghy thing with wet feet. This will be fun!!

Today is a big workday. We need to get to Mobile in 5 days so we will travel 50+ miles each day plus probably one big day. More later.

I will add more pictures and update further in a few days. We are entering a part of southern Alabama with lots of banjoes and very little Internet. So until then, be safe!!

Pogo lives here - Nov 8, 9, 10, 2012

Agua Harbor Marina is a great place. Tucked into the corner of the Tennessee River just where you turn left (south) to enter the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. Everyone was so nice and the service department seemed great. Michael and Judy needed to have their heater/ac repaired in anticipation of guests arriving on Saturday.

The beginning of the Tenn-Tom at M450 in Pickwick Lake

The Tenn-Tom Waterway is a series of canals and locks that connect the Tennessee River, the Tombigbee River, and the Black Warrior River. It is 450 miles long and has 12 locks. Most of them are less than 40 foot lift (or since we are going downstream it can honestly be called “drop”). We will travel from elevation of 414 feet above sea level to 0 feet at sea level in Mobile.

This was a huge canal project. More dirt was moved for this project, liking the Tennessee River to the Gulf of Mexico, than the Panama Canal! The idea of this canal first floated in 1792. French explorer Marquis De Montcalm traveled these parts and had an awful time with portages, hostile Indians, and mosquitos. According to “The Tenn-Tom Nitty-Gritty Cruise Guide” by Fred Myers, the Marquis was thoroughly pissed off and sent off an angry letter to the King saying if he was so darned interested in exploring this area he needed to pony up the funds for a canal to make it possible to explore. No response.

The idea resurfaced several times since then until the Army Corps of Engineers got approval to begin. The shovels started moving dirt in 1971. It opened finally in June of 1985. Total cost $2 billion. Fred Myers says, “Now you can cruise between the Gulf Coast and the Midwest without risking life, limb, and hull on the Mississippi.

Speaking of the Mississippi, the AGLCA Forum reported from a couple who traveled on the Loer Mississippi to New Orleans instead of on the Tenn-Tom to Mobile. They reported very few, almost no fuel stops because there are no marinas and any fuel available is designated for commercial vessels and not available to pleasure craft. Since there are no marinas, they had to improvise overnight stops. They reported paying $50 to tie up along side a tow anchored for the night. They had to crawl through the tow boat’s window to pass through to get to shore. Sounds like fun!

The Tenn-Tom starts at Mile 450 in Pickwick Lake right by Agua Marina. Mile 0 is in Mobile AL. At the north end it looks different from other waterways we have traveled so far, probably since it is man-made. The sides are made of rip-rap which looks like old crushed up highway pieces. There are two levels on the berm, all covered with grass with trees on the top of the berm. After the first 20 miles or so there is a levee on the west side and the east side is river bank with woods and shallow parts.

Upper part of Tenn-Tom

Critter alert: One September saw a coyote! In the photo (which I don’t have) the little guy looks a little mangy meandering along the top of the first berm on the starboard side. We were way in the back so he was gone by the time we got there. This was about 20 south of Pickwick Lake.

We anchored out for the evening on Thursday 11/8 at Five Fingers, Mile 412 after running for 38 miles with 1 lock, Whitten Lock, one of the biggest we traveled through so far. Not the largest, that was the Wilson Lock on the Tennessee River at over 90 feet. The Whitten Lock has an 84 foot lift. It drains very fast. I think the entire lock took about 15 minutes to go down that large depth.

Whitten Lock

Whitten Lock

Whitten Lock

 Critter alert: As we entered the Whitten Lock and tied off, we were at eye level with the ground. Remember we are going down at all these locks. I looked over the fence and there was a turkey!!! I watched it carefully. It was standing a  little still. Turns out this is a statue of some kind!! He never did move but he sure looks real!

Turkey at Whitten Lock

We finally figured out a good way to control the boat in the lock. We use two lines from the forward and aft mid cleats. Now we don’t move around so much in the lock! I am not sure if I showed these pictures before.

this is how we handle the locks now

Boating is such hard work

Several of us are using chart books we borrowed from folks who already did the loop and in each chart book this spot is noted as one of the most beautiful anchorages on the trip. So we decided to stop here after traveling from Mile 450. Boy, were they right! So beautiful.

Five fingers anchorage at M412 on Tenn-Tom

Five Fingers anchorage at M412 on Tenn-Tom

Five fingers anchorage at M412 on Tenn-Tom



Five fingers anchorage at M412 on Tenn-Tom

There are many little inlets off the main waterway. We were 4^th boat and lagging pretty far behind so the first three boats went in and out of little coves until they found the most beautiful and it was truly beautiful. The trees are just changing down here. The water was flat like a mill pond. The shore was 30 feet away so very convenient for Rusty.

Kermit and Rusty in the dinghy going for a walk

Rusty going for a walk at M412 anchorage. Judy and Michael from One September are in the dinghy watching us!

 

Of course Rusty needed to go swimming!



So we did our anchorage thing, tying up 4 boats together, putting on the generator (which works reliably now), and resting before dinner. We tied up around 3pm so we took Rusty out right away while the sun was still high. Then we all relaxed until dinner.

We turned the generator on at about noon because Kermit felt the urge to make beef vegetable soup. It was fabulous!! When you cook on the water, especially at anchor, you must be creative. So he couldn’t make the 10 gallons of soup he might have made before. He had to be creative with ingredients. Not enough canned tomatoes? Use spaghetti sauce. Not enough vegetables? Raid Rusty’s dinner vegetables. It was just great. The best he ever made. Just to be clear, Kermit hates to improvise this way so it distressed him a little but the results were great.

Rusty needed a final potty break so we took him out at 7pm just before bed. [Seriously we were all in bed by 8:30pm. It is called Loopers Midnight!] Everyone shined their spotlights on the shore in front of the boats and Rusty pooped bathed in light. He was much embarrassed. No pictures - too dark.

It is the first day of hunting season so Kermit wore bright colors and talked loudly to avoid being mistaken for a deer!! We are constantly reminded we are in the middle of the country.

As he returned from the potty adventure, he noticed the sky. Everyone came on deck to share this wonderous view. Turns out Deanna on Sareanna is a night sky expert. We could see a million stars and the Milky Way. I don’t think I have seen the Milky Way since I was a little girl but there is was bright as can be. Deanna pointed out Jupitor bright as can be, Casiopea which is a W, and Andromedia and a few others. We will get her out there again to point out some more. We didn’t stay out long because it was very COLD. We turned off our generators and went to bed.

Morning potty break at Five Fingers M412 on Tenn-Tom

Friday 11-9 we left Five Fingers anchorage at 8am promptly and headed down the Tenn-Tom. We are now traveling with two other boats, Irish Attitude who we have met many times since Green Turtle Bay, and Done Dreaming from Canada. Two locks today: Montgomery (30’) and Rankin (30’).

Another sunny day, thank goodness. I am getting pretty sick of cold weather.

We stopped at Midway Marina in Fulton, MS. It has a neat story. The owner, Ginger and Gerald Conner, were loopers who traveled by this marina and liked it so well they bought the marina and stayed! We met Ginger. I think Gerald died recently. Ginger made us stop in the town and see the new park the town recently built. It was a park but she was really proud of it!!

We stocked up on groceries at Wal-Mart, our new favorite grocery store. None of us ever shopped at Wal-Mart before for many different reasons but we all agree they have the best and most reliable food while traveling. Unfortunately you don’t get to see the town but you get fresh produce. So I guess it is a tradeoff I am willing to make.

As we pulled into the marina, we were met with a huge wave of these little tiny bugs, sort of like gnats but smaller. So small they went through screens but not no-see-ums because they didn’t bite. In the morning the outside was completely covered with these little bugs. It looked like poppy seeds. It was disgusting. I threw cup after cup of water to get them off the outside gunnel and half a roll of paper towels to wipe off the seats and instruments. Ick…

Dinner on Friday night at the Midway Marina Restaurant. Catfish of course. Even Kermit ate a few filets with a ton of tartar sauce. So crispy and not greasy at all. Although it seemed to go straight through Kermit that night and the next day!

Midway Marina is just a short distance from the next lock and we planned three locks on Saturday so we left really early – 6:30am. Fulton Lock (25’), Wilkins Lock (25’), and Amory Lock (30’). Surprisingly these shorter locks took just as long as the big Whitten lock to drain. Kermit was the leader this time and he sweet talked the first lockmaster so the lockmaster called the next lockmasters and they opened the locks for us right away.

Critter alert: Hunting season opened this week in Mississippi. Consequently we saw several deer crossing the Tenn-Tom. We also heard gun shots!!

Deer crossing the Tenn-Tom 10/10/12



Deer crossing the Tenn-Tom 10/10/12

We arrived at Saturday night’s marina at 1:30 – a 6 hour day to travel about 40 miles which is a good day’s work. We are staying at Aberdeen Marina. The landscape here is weird. People describe it like the swamp where Pogo lives. Someone said that in our group and another person asked who is Pogo. Can you believe it? Who hasn’t heard of Pogo’s famous line: “I have met the enemy and he is us.”

going into Aberdeen Marina, Aberdeen MS

going into Aberdeen Marina, Aberdeen MS

going into Aberdeen Marina, Aberdeen MS

going into Aberdeen Marina, Aberdeen MS

going into Aberdeen Marina, Aberdeen MS

It really does look like I would imagine Pogo's world to look like. There are tree stumps and trees all over. The path from the main waterway travels around corners and up and down. It is narrow and marked with signs on the trees that says, “Aberdeen Marina this way”! This marina had the best price for gas at $3.88 but the gas pump doesn’t work so we missed out. And we need gas!!

The marina offered us two cars (their personal cars) to go to dinner tonight on Saturday night at Atkins Steak Restaurant in Smithville MS. An interesting place, the ceiling is covered with 4x8 plywood held in place with silver colored metal structure, the walls are plywood, and the food is terrific, although it is weird to eat steak without red wine.

Judy and Michael picked up friends Jay and Sandy from Virginia Beach today. They will stay with us for about a week. They seem really nice.

Tomorrow we are off to Columbus MS where we will probably stay for a few days to rest from all this travel we have been doing.