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!