November 22 - December 10

November 22 – December 10

We enjoyed our time and company in Mobile, AL before leaving for Thanksgiving. 

Cheers! Another successful day

I went to Cleveland – thanks, Dan and Ellen for being such wonderful hosts for Thanksgiving; and  thanks, mom and dad for letting me stay at your house! It was great seeing everyone. Thumbs up to Brian for deciding to go back to school; and we look forward to seeing Julie and Sophie in Sarasota in a few weeks. It's always good to come back home.

Rob went to New Orleans to visit Alan Smason who, after losing his home in Hurricane Katrina, came to Cleveland and worked at the CJN. Rob had never been to New Orleans, and Alan was a great host, having a lot of knowledge about the City.

Here's some information from Alan's blog:

I got an alert just before Thanksgiving that my old boss at the Cleveland Jewish News, Rob Certner, was considering coming to visit New Orleans. Since August Rob and his lady friend Debby have been traveling by a 43-foot trawler from out of Cleveland past Lake Michigan and down through the Illinois, Ohio, Mississippi, Ohio, Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers as well as the Tombigbee Waterway. While Debby was winging her way to have Thanksgiving dinner with Cleveland relatives, Rob had opted to rent a car and take the two-hour trip to the Crescent City. I offered him a place to stay, but more than that a deep immersion into the city of my birth. The first day we visited Domilise's, a po-boy restaurant noted for its fried seafood sandwiches and he was amazed. Later, after taking a tour of most of the parts of the city, Rob was then instructed in the making of and the drinking of the official New Orleans cocktail, the Sazerac. Finally, we enjoyed a meal at Galatoire's Restaurant on Bourbon Street, a favorite of locals for decades. Rob and I enjoyed the latter part of the night sipping absinthe under the stars.

Alan and Annette Smason with Rob at Galatoire's

Is there any more an iconic New Orleans image other than Jackson Square with the imposing structures of St. Louis Cathedral flanked by the historic Cabildo and Presbytere on its left and right, respectively? In the picture at the top, Rob and I enjoy a spectacular view of the river with Jackson Square behind us. The twin Pontalba Buildings on the left and right sides of Jackson Square, which are the oldest apartment buildings in America, are mostly obscured by trees (at left) and out of view on the right. Then we made our way next door to historic Café du Monde to eat beignets and enjoy coffee with chicory. Rob had his coffee black and I had the more popular café au lait.

Thanksgiving at Commander's Palace

The piéce de résistance was the traditional Thanksgiving meal at world famous Commander's Palace Restaurant in the Garden District. The famous offerings include turtle soup and all manner of fresh Louisiana seafood. Rob and I had the turkey, while my mom enjoyed the redfish. Above we all enjoyed different desserts. Rob had the strawberry shortcake. My mom had the caramel cup custard, while I had the decadent white chocolate bread pudding souflé. All in all we had a magnificent meal to cap off Rob's visit. Rob and Debby will soon be off to visit more of the Gulf Coast, but I have good reason to believe he will be back soon.

Our plan was to meet back in Mobile Bay Monday, and travel to Pensacola Tuesday and Wednesday to catch flights to NYC to visit Rob's kids, Rachel, Brian, Becky and John. The plan was too aggressive. When boating, you only move when the weather cooperates, and the two days planned for travel definitely weren't boating days. So it's good to always have a Plan B! Since our flight was out of Pensacola, we rented a car and spent a few days in Rosemary Beach. Thanks, David and Ivy! We really appreciate your generosity for letting us stay in your penthouse suite. Rosemary Beach is a beautiful area, although quite a ghost town at this time of year. Although the beaches were deserted, we bundled up and enjoyed walking on them. We looked forward to having cocktails on the decks and watching the sun set, but in 30 degree weather, that didn't happen. It was a relaxing time, we appreciated the vacation from our adventure, and look forward to going back when it's warmer.

Sunset in Rosemary

Rosemary, 1st day was warmer

Beautiful Beach!

Calm before the storm

Our next journey was to New York to visit Rachel, Brian, Becky and John (Rob's kids). We enjoyed our Chanukah dinner and spent time in the city, which is beautiful during the holidays. We also ventured out to Claverack to spend time at Rachel and Brian's country home, shopped and had lunch with Brett (Deb's nephew). 

Lunch at Caracas Arepa (quite good!)

Rockefeller Center

Rockefeller Center

Daddy with his girls (Becky and Rachel)

Tidbit: When we came back down to Mobile we were told by Meredith (Andiamo) that it is pronounced by the people down south as MoBeeeel, with the emphasis on the second syllable!

Again, weather was rough so we stayed put at Dog River Marina in Mobile Bay. Our thanks go to Bill and Meredith for inviting us to their home on Dauphin Island for some home-town gumbo. The next night we went to a BBQ restaurant with Bill, Meredith, Darrel and Sue.

Bill and Meredith... Home Sweet Home

At Bill and Meredith's

Sunset on Mississippi Sound

View from Bill and Meredith's Dock

Cruising time again! For the past two days we've been cruising with Sue and Darrel on Present Moment. Great fun! Just before entering Perdida Bay in Alabama we saw dolphins!!! So of course, I was on the decks for quite a while trying to capture photos, a feat not easily accomplished.

Since leaving Mobile, we stayed at Homeport Marina and had dinner at LuLu's, a popular restaurant on that is owned by Jimmy Buffet's sister. It's cute, but the food isn't that great. The next night, we stayed at  Palafox Pier Yacht Club, a new club in Pensacola, and had a great dinner at Jaco's.

AHHHH.... Almost in Florida!

LuLu's Restaurant at Homeport Marina

Sue and Darrel - Life is grand!

Sunset at Palafox

More Sunset

Somewhere along the way!

Palm trees! It must be getting warm!

So that brings us up to date. We're cruising across Santa Rosa Sound on the GICW (Gulf Intra-Coastal Waterway), heading toward Apalachicola or Carabelle to cross the gulf, which will be an adventure in itself. If you want to get a humorous rendition of Jeff and Dorene's crossing, Check out their blog at 30belowlog.blogspot.com. I think the post is dated November 26.

Have a great week... thanks for following... and look for more, soon! xoxo

Happy holidays to all.

to Demopolis, AL

Since my last post, I have been working a lot as we continued to travel down the Tenn-Tom. Although there isn't a whole lot going on at the marinas along the way, the scenery is beautiful and all of the people we've met are really nice, both loopers and those who work at the marinas. All of the marinas had courtesy cars that we used to go into town – although the definition of town varied at each location. We stayed at Bay springs, Midway, Columbus, and Pirate's Cove; and anchored one night with Pam and Ted. For those of you traveling this route, definitely visit Columbus. It's a great stop. There's a decent-sized town and the people were extraordinarily friendly. Another suggestion is to pass on Pirate's Cove. It was run down, and the restrooms must have been really bad since Rob suggested that I stay away from them. 

At times we're going up river, and at times down.
This is just a reminder so we know which side the bouys should be on.

Fog lifting at Midway

Leaving the Whitten Lock (84') with Jim and Brenda on Dream Catcher.

Dinner on Lady Royal with Pam and Ted on Patience

Downtown Columbus, Mississippi

Tennessee Willams home, Columbus, Mississippi

Dinghy ride while anchoring.

Anchored in Pickensville, AL

U.S. Snagboat Montgomery, one of the last of its kind.

Tom Beville Visitor Center

Inside the Tom Beville Visitor Center

Tom Beville Visitor Center

We met up with Louis, Louise (General Delivery) and Jean-Marie and Agnes (Nama Ka), and anchored at the Sumpter Recreation Area in Aliceville, AL. Unfortunately, it rained all day so we didn't venture out into the area. We got to Demopolis, AL on November 16, just in time to celebrate Rob's Birthday. Thanks to Pam, Ted, Louis, Louise, Agnes, Jean-Marie, Sue, Darrell and Seppo for celebrating with us! While in Demopolis, we visited the downtown area, re-provisioned, and toured two plantation homes, Gaineswood and Bluff Hall, both of which are National historic landmarks and built with money made made in the cotton industry. Gainesville's history was more than odd, with family members marrying each other; and Bluff Hall was built by the slaves of Allen Glover for his daughter, Sarah.

Fresh birthday muffins (first time baking on Lady Royal)!

Rob's Birthday Dinner

Log cabin behind Bluff Hall. The cabin is authentic, but was not at this location.
We were told that 15 slaves lived here at one time.

"Cyclopedias" exhibited at Bluff Hall

Cotton Plant

Louise and Agnes, Downtown Demopolis, AL

Downtown Demopolis

Gaineswood

Rob and I, with Loise and Louis, at Gainesville

Rob in Gainesville

Traveling down the Tenn-Tom River

Tenn-Tom River

Tenn-Tim Scenery

White Cliffs, Epes, AL

White Cliffs, Epes, AL

Tomorrow we will head down the Black Warrior River (the bottom half of the Tenn-Tom) with 200 miles to go until we get to Mobile, AL. Dan informed us that we'll be heading through the Choctaw National Wildlife preserve where we're permitted to hunt for both deer and wild hogs. It's time to pull out the camouflage! Two-hundred miles doesn't seem like a lot, until you consider that we travel at about 8 miles an hour, and about fifty miles a day. There is only one marina, and I use that term loosely. It's a barge that boats can tie up to and raft off of each other – but we understand it has the best catfish on the river! We will anchor a few times, and plan to get to Mobile on November 21.