Lady Royal

October 13

Green Turtle Bay

After going through our final lock on the Mississippi, we headed up the Ohio River, traveling against the current, and continued up the Cumberland River, through the 57' Barkley lock, and into Barkley Lake, where we immediately turned into Green Turtle Bay. The cruise was picturesque, and it was nice to be back in civilization! Green Turtle Bay has a lot of amenities, and is a good place to stay put for a while. It is located in Grand Rivers, KY, and the town is just about a mile up the road. Patti's 1880's Settlement is right in the center of town. It includes a few restaurants, a coffee/pastry shop, a wedding chapel, miniature golf, beautiful sculptures, shops, an place to take antique photos, and a beautiful landscape. Her restaurant, Patti's, is really popular, serving 2,000 meals a day in a town where the population is 300. We had dinner there our first night, and went back for lunch the next day.

After lunch, Rob, Jean-Marie and Louis went back to the marina, and I stayed in town to shop with Agnes and Louise. On the way back, we saw a cute house that looked like a business with a welcome sign on the door, so we went in. The front had a deli case filled with jars of fruit, spreads, etc., and the lights were off. Someone then said, “come on back,” and we did. The back room was set up as a quaint, small restaurant with a commercial galley kitchen on the left, and the smell from what was being cooked was mouth-watering. We talked with Marilyn Kunz, “The Happy Cooker,” who was teaching a French cooking class that evening. Marilyn told us that she is a caterer (Sugar & Spice), but during October, she prepares a great Octoberfest dinner, serves, and tells stories. She and her husband also live in the house. Last night, 14 of us went back and had an amazing dinner that included Sauerbraten, Rouladen, Lamb Shank, Weinerschnitzel, Jaegerschnitzel, Chicken Paprikash, spaetzle, sweet-sour red cabbage and bavarian kraut. The food, company, and experience were great, and we all had a really nice time. One of the stories Marilyn told us was that the house is the former residence of Patti Tullar, of Patti's 1880's Settlement.

Grand Rivers is in a dry county, and brown-bagging adult beverages is permitted. Just a note for those of you coming down this way!

We're staying here until Tuesday, and then I believe we will head toward Nashville.

The sky while traveling on the Ohio

General Delivery on the Cumberland River

Rob's portrait at Patti's

Me and Jean-Marie at Patti's for lunch

Marilyn explaining her menu, her love for cooking, and how she got to where she is today,
saying that "the personal charm of the Tullar house combined with
the new commercial kitchen have provided "The Happy Cooker"
with her dream retirement!