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.

hmm... October 13 - November 7

Short blog for a long time span!

That's what happens when I forget to post!!!

After our visit to Green Turtle Bay, we headed down the Tennessee River and stayed at Paris Landing, Cuba Landing, Clifton Marina, and Aqua Yacht Harbor Marina. All of the marinas provide courtesy cars for dining out, sight seeing and re-provisioning. Thumbs up to Meo Mio's (authentic cajun cousine), Pickwick Pizza (outdoor island-looking restaurant), and Freddie T's, a casual restaurant by Aqua Marine.

Greetings from Freddie T's

Our traveling buddies!

Ted, Paula Sue, Todd, Pam, Debby and Rob (Freddie T's)

Happy Hour with Rob, Mike, Mell, Pam and Ted

Pickwick Pizza

We left the boat at Aqua, rented a car and spent a few days in Nashville before flying home to Cleveland.

Nashville is a nice city, with a lot to do. We went on a bus tour which took us to the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Ryman Auditorium and downtown. We also learned that the AT&T building was designed to fit in with the batman theme, and went to a lot of good bars and restaurants. Our favorite bar was Tootsies, which always had great music, and a few of our favorite restaurants were Ellendale's and Cantina Laredo, a really good restaurant The Gulch. We also went to see the Grand Ole' Opry, aired from Opryland, which had just re-opened after its flood. The Grand Ole' Opry is the longest running radio show, and it was interesting hearing commercials in between performers.

The Bat Mobile was at the grand opening of the at&t Building.

Elvis's Gold Grand Piano

Rob at Ryman Auditorium

Debby and Rob at the Grand Ole Opry House

Performers at Tootsie's! They rocked!

Little Jimmie Dickens at the Grand Ole' Opry
The circle he is standing on was cut out from the Ryman Auditorium stage.

After spending three days in Nashville, we flew home to Cleveland. Mazel Tov to Sophie on doing a great job at her Bat Mitzvah! Mazel Tov to Darcy and Randy, too, for planning such a nice event in honor of Sophie's Bat Mitzvah; and Mazel Tov to Dan, too, on being recognized as Ort's Man of the Year. It was nice going home for a weekend of good celebrations and spending time with family. After Sunday's brunch, we went to Akron and spent some time with Becky and Rachel before flying back to Nashville.

We spent one last day in Nashville, drove back to Aqua Harbor, and then spent a day at Shiloh. In 1862, 65,000 Union soldiers and 44,000 Confederate troops fought a fierce battle that resulted in nearly 24,000 dead, wounded or missing. Shiloh Military National Park was established in 1894 to preserve the scene of this battle, which is set up as a 10-mile self-guided tour. On its premises is a National Cemetery at which many soldiers were never identified.

A scene from the Shiloh Battlefield

National Battlefield
Square stones indicate unidentified soldiers.

We left Aqua Harbor Saturday, November 6, and headed down the Tenn-Tom (Tennessee-Tombigbee) Waterway. We spent the first night at Bay Springs Harbor, then Midway. The 234-mile waterway links the Tennessee River wand Mobile Bay. It is a quicker way to get to the gulf, and is more commonly used for recreational traffic. Because of the 414-foot difference in water levels, the Tenn-Tom has 10 locks that permit passage. In addition to marinas, there are great places to anchor, which to date we have only done when we had to.

Scenery on the Tenn-Tom.

More to come soon!