TennTom Scenic Waterway

9/3   We are on our second full day heading down the Tenn-Tom Waterway – the joining of the Tennessee and Tombigbee rivers.  It was first conceived by the French in the 1700’s, authorized by Congress in 1946, ground broken in 1971, and completed in 1985.  It is the largest amount of earth moved for any project in history, far surpassing the Panama Canal.

It cuts off some 700 miles of travel for those leaving Mobile and heading to other points east of the Mississippi.  While some of the 215 miles are natural, moving through rivers and a few lakes, much of it is dredged canal.

However, while we expected this to be pretty sterile (and it was when it first opened), Mother Nature has kindly overgrown the banks with a thick forest and lots of wildlife, so it is quite a bit more scenic than we imagined. 

Yesterday we covered 57 miles and 3 locks after leaving in the early morning pre-sunrise light.  The day was complicated by barge traffic that slowed down the locks for us (nothing unusual there)... 

… and by a sudden attack of severe nausea (complete with sweating and weakness) for Jim –  helpless and worthless for one lock and our docking at the Midway Marina (though he managed the minimum tasks until Debi could handle the rest).   Debi thinks she has diagnosed the problem (after extensive internet research - 5 minutes!) - olive leaf extract….apparently NOT a good idea for everyone!   Fortunately, Jim's incapacitation passed within hours and celebrated being alive with yet another gorgeous sunset.. 

Today we had the opposite luck with our 3 locks (over 37 miles) – breezed right into each one and floated down quickly.  The first lock yesterday dropped us 84 feet – the remaining 11 between there and Mobile are 28-40 feet in height.  Then we will be through with locks until we cross Florida from Ft. Myers to Stuart, a few short ones in between. 

We saw an interesting phenomenon today.  As the water is lowered within the lock, water seeps through in some places in the doors - and with the water come some fish who end up on a ledge just inside the doors. The blue herons seem to know all about it and and ready and waiting for an easy meal.  We even think they are cued by the siren that goes off when they start dropping us (to warn boaters below the lock that water is being released towards them).  Just another sight we would have known nothing about without this trip.

Touch of local humor, in
case you want to make a call

And, passing by some local culture - Debi felt a draw to pull over to see if any of her relatives were around (these RVs are permanent…but, heh, nice waterfront lots)!

Now we are listening to some kind of din from both banks of the river – katydids?  They have to be pretty loud for us to hear them over our twin diesels and the sound of the water rushing by us.

9/4  Today, we reconnected with Scott and KC Calkin - boating friends we met years ago in Myrtle Beach.  At the time they had a condo and a boat there, but had never heard of the Loop.  After Debi talked to them, they sold the condo and started their Loop.  Those of you who have had Debi re-plan your life for you are not surprised.  

They have been mentioned in this blog more than once.  Last year we saw them at the October Looper Rendezvous in Alabama.  Shortly thereafter, in Panama City – KC had a stroke.  She is still recovering, but doing well.  Her rehab team had never released a patient to a boat before.

  

This was an example of the unpredictability of our schedule.  Although we had planned to meet Scott and KC at the Aberdeen Marina, they called just as we were entering the very narrow, very shallow, very twisting channel into the marina - telling us they were stuck downstream due to a maintenance issue.  So, we decided to press on another 23 miles and one lock - to Columbus, MS.  However, this meant turning the boat around in the middle of that narrow, shallow, twisting channel – which Debi very ably accomplished.  She's getting pretty cocky about her boat handling skills - and rightly so.

In any case, we made it downstream – which put us one day ahead of schedule.  

Today we caught  up on odds and ends of business and did a little sightseeing in Columbus.  Some beautiful old homes - including childhood home of Tennessee Williams.  And the Mississippi University for Women.

Then, we turn a corner and see a little bar - these were the only two flags - obviously someone with great taste in baseball and cities owns it.  Not sure why we didn't stop to find out the story.

Too hot for bocce.  Debi made Mexican lasagne and had Scott and KC over for dinner.  They brought over my new favorite game, Sequence.  We’re going to buy it soon and add it to the routine here. 

9/6   Every leg of the journey has its ecosystem – and now we seem to be in the Land of the Lilypads.  

We’ve also been through extensive cypress woods, with lots of them poking their dangerous little heads out of the water.  Those of you who recall the story of For Play’s encounter with cypress stumps can understand our PTSD as we maneuver around them. 

This was one of our longest days ever – and one of three long ones taking us down to Mobile.  Today was 91 miles and two locks.  Fortunately, the two locks went smoothly and as quickly as they can go.  

Nevertheless, after arising before daylight we had 9 long hot hours before we were settled into our slip and hooked up after fueling.   

One of several murals in town

Turtles who flock to restaurant, where humans feed them...

Demopolis marina is one of the nicest we’ve been in for some time.  GOOD wifi (a rarity in marinas), GREAT cable (even more of a rarity), a nice bar and restaurant, golf carts to get around, a new swimming pool, courtesy cars to get to town – can’t ask for anything else. 

9/7    We met several other boaters/Loopers here, shared Docktails one night on the roof-top deck of the floating dock house, a second night inside (A/C),  rode bikes to town to have a basic diner breakfast, washed the boat, and watched some football (a real luxury to be able to watch onboard).  I hope I end up happier than I did yesterday after watching my Spartans get crushed.  By Ducks?  Ducks squash Spartans?  Just doesn’t sound right. 

Docktails with our Looper peeps!

9/13  We’ve been here a week.  Glad it’s a nice place, because…….I was about to say we’d be staying here awhile longer when Debi changed her mind for the Xth time (mostly because of changing weather forecasts), and thought we should take off.  We called the lock just below us to see what their traffic looked like.  They said they were locking in a southbound boat right then and asked how long it would take us to get there.  I said 15 minutes, and with the help of two fellow boaters, we made a mad dash.

The decision to stay or go was a complicated one – weather, projected pleasure boat traffic on the weekend, plans for how to get back to Atlanta (Debi to work, Jim to head to Nashville) on Tuesday.  Jim was gone earlier in the week for a jury study in Houston, which coincided with the lock being closed for repairs.  We might have left when he returned, but the lock repairs took longer than expected, and after it first opened, there was a backlog of barges that take priority and slow things down.  

Last night, the weather map showed a lot of Gulf disturbance.  We thought that was shutting us down not just for today, but until our return from Atlanta/Nashville, because the weather window was looking even worse after that.  But this morning the Gulf coast area looked pretty safe for the time being – and off we went. 

We’re now 29 miles into our 97 mile day – a long one but the cloud cover is keeping us cool and there isn’t too much traffic, so we shouldn’t have any trouble (famous last words) making our destination with a little time to spare before dark.  Tomorrow promises greater anxiety – 130 miles (longest ever by about 30), one lock, one railroad bridge we might need to wait on for a lift, and then into the busy Mobile shipping channel before we reach our marina. 

9/21  Have missed a week of blogging, but it seems like much much more, as it’s been a busy time.  First, back to the 97 mile day…. That ended well for three reasons – a) there was room at the limited space dock of Bobby’s Fish Camp even without rafting off to another boat (a common means of docking when space is limited),  b) we managed to secure one of the few spots with power and c) Bobby’s catfish dinner was really, really good.  All in all, a welcome oasis in the middle of nowhere. 

We were up EARLY the next day to leave before the sun was up.  This was to cover the 130 miles down to Fairhope (about 15 miles southeast of Mobile across the Mobile Bay).  We cranked the boat up to about 17 mph (we normally cruise at around 11 mph).  It goes faster, but it would be silly to go faster for extended periods, like the 9 hours we were out that day – which included a fairly easy lock. 

So we set the one day record of 133 miles, and the two day record of 230 miles.  

Since we started outside Chattanooga about a month ago, we’ve done about 725 miles – 450 of which were on the TennTom, to Mobile Bay.

Navy stealth ships

The busy Mobile shipping channel is quite a busy place and all the behemoth machines and vessels made SF seem very small…remember each one of these little boxes is a railroad car!

But we made it through and navigated across the Mobile Bay to our destination.  

At the end we were happy to find the Eastern Shores Marina – and got a slip right next to our friend Tanya, who is engaged in a solo Loop.  We have met very few solo Loopers – and Tanya is the only woman we know pursuing that.  And she is moving right along – she just started the whole Loop in April in North Carolina – and now she is past us!

We shared drinks on the bow of Sea Fever and watched the sun set over the Bay!

Next day, the three of us biked to Fairhope after some serious boat cleaning – a hilly 5 mile ride.   Fairhope is an old and charming little city. 

We came back to town for dinner, in the marina courtesy car, with Tanya, two Looper friends who traveled with us for our two long days - Ray and Arlene and their latter local friends, Angie and Vincent.  Definitely a fun night.

Angie is also a mermaid!  For real - she went to Mermaid School and has the tail to prove it.  

The next day the owner of the marina, Ed, was kind enough to drive us into Mobile and to the Megabus stop – where we hopped onboard for the ride back to Atlanta.  It was a short stay for Jim, as he left the next morning to head up to Nashville with Steve for the Americana Music Festival – an annual outing for the two of us.  It was a full three days and nights of amazing music – old favorites and new ones.  Classic veterans and exciting newcomers.  Debi spent five days working and catching up on the managing of our real-world lives.

Along the road, on drive back - about 20 of these statues...

9/21  Back to Atlanta yesterday – and a rental car back to Mobile today.

We met a nice guy, Denis, on the Megabus and took him up on his offer to meet us at Mobile Airport and drive us back to Sea Fever in Fairhope!   Yes, the logistics are always creative!

9/22  Today, we took the marina courtesy car and explored the area - went to the Grand Hotel, drove around neighborhoods, had brunch at local diner.  Then, Jim dropped Debi and her bike off in Fairhope, where she spent the whole day exploring the antique and other shops, riding more through the neighborhoods, and planning on a Happy Hour stop at the Irish Pub…only to find it closed on Mondays!  But, she did come home with our new Sequence game!!

9/23    Finally, we finished crossing the rest of Mobile Bay and have arrived to the Gulf!  The Bay is 413 square miles in area - 31 miles long by 24 miles wide.  Just when we were thinking this is not all that exciting……we had visitors.



As you can imagine, the water life is quite romantic.  These GIANT dragonflies serve as Exhibit A.  



THEN, we were followed by a pod of four dolphins…they played in our wake for a long time.  Easily keeping up with our 11 mph, jumping in and out of the water - just wonderful acrobatics for our entertainment.   Took a video, but can't seem of figure out how to attach to this blog.

But they were a joyful addition to our day!

We will now be entering the Panhandle - as usual, come see us.      Jim and Debi

Tennessee River - Here We Go Again!

We have actually made it back out to where the Tennessee River intersects with the TennTom Waterway (follow the yellow brick line)….a retrospective summary follows:

8/18    Yes, we are back at it.  We did 55 miles and one lock for our opening day – made more challenging by a serious rain for about an hour of it.  But after our 6 hours on the boat, we put in 6 more in the car.  We borrowed the marina’s courtesy car, took it to pick up our car where we had left it after driving from Debi’s 40^th high school reunion over the weekend, and then delivered it to Florence, where we will arrive in less than a week (we will soon ditch the car).

Good morning, Cha-La-Kee!

The next day, we went another 24 miles downstream - past Emily's Cha-La-Kee camp, where she spent many weeks over several summers…making friendships that still exist.   And then to Guntersville Marina, where we had made plans to visit with our friend Bob Lane's sister and her husband. 

8/21    The visits with Laura (Bob sister) and Bill Bender were very nice – one night on our boat for drinks and the next night on their boat for drinks and a very nice dinner in town (forgot to take any pics!) - courtesy of the courtesy car the marina provided.  We really enjoyed meeting our new friends and we had plenty of boat adventures to compare, not to mention learning more about Bob from the family side.

We also used the car to explore a bit, including a stop at the Guntersville State Park Lodge, which provided a great view of the the river - where we had traveled and where we were headed.

After two nights at Guntersville Marina, we continued westward. Toward the end of our day's journey, trying to beat impending afternoon storms, we came across two boaters in a small boat waving their arms.  Debi thought she had slowed enough for them to not be waving about our wake, so she slowed more to ask if they needed help - they did, of course.   So, since we have been on the receiving end of many boaters' kindness, we quickly offered to pass it forward.   They needed a tow "just around the bend"…which ended up being a few miles.  Debi gave them very specific instructions on the bridle we would create and how we wanted it tied to our boat and their boat - they eagerly complied and then sat back and enjoyed the ride.  Delivering a disabled boat to a side spot on a small inland cove channel, without getting Sea Fever too close to the shallow edge, took some planning on our part, but I must say we executed the plan without too much drama and the rescued boaters were duly impressed and grateful.

We made it to Joe Wheeler State Park before any rain – a very nice marina in front of their lodge.  This is the site of last year’s Looper Rendezvous – but this year things were a LOT quieter without the 57 Looper boats.

We did catch up with Wayne and Rhonda McManus (boat name – Help Me Rhonda), who we met last year in northern Michigan.  They were living near here after completing the Loop – but an April tornado that roared down the Tennessee River (see first picture, right)  did SERIOUS damage to their condo, boat, car and truck.  Consequently, they have been living in the state park lodge since then – their condo is just about to be habitable again, boat and car are fixed, truck destroyed.

We know what you are thinking - how did we bring on this natural disaster?  But, we were nowhere near this area in April.   So, not our fault - this time.






We had dinner with Wayne, Rhonda and some other folks – both Looper beginners and Platinum Loopers (have done the Loop more than once) - we did not know them until Thursday.

Thank goodness the marina/lodge had a pool.  2012 was the year we were in D.C. for extended
days of 100+ temperatures around the 4^th of July.  Last year we hit the multi-100+ heat wave on the Illinois River.  Now northern Alabama is having its hottest days of the summer.  Not 100 yet, but quite a stretch of mid-high 90’s.  The pool felt great.

Debi got up early the next morning (which she does several times a night for various reasons - that's another story)… noticed a slight glow at the horizon, so she took a pillow and blanket to a chair on the bow and watched the sunrise progress.  We really try not to take the almost daily beautiful sunrises and sunsets over the water, for granted.  They are two of the (many) treats of this lifestyle.

8/23     Arrived this afternoon back in Florence.  Last year we had a brief one-night stay here, but did not have time to explore the area.  For a fairly small area, it has a lot of culture and history.

Today, we went to the stone wall memorial being built (over the last 35 years) by Tom Hendrix, in honor of his great-great-grandmother, Te-lah-nay (Woman with the Dancing Eyes), who was marched from her Alabama home on the Trail of Tears to be re-settled in Oklahoma.

She wasn’t fond of the plan, and immediately turned around and started walking home, to the land of the "singing river".  At age 14.  By herself.  Without a GPS.  And she made it –
after 2 years.

The wall is between 4 and 5 feet tall, between 6 and 20 feet deep (yes, 20 feet deep in places), and would be 1.25 miles long if it were straightened.   Instead, it meanders through the woods, representing her journey.

He put every one of the 9.5 million pounds of rock in a pickup truck with his bare hands, removed each rock from the truck with his bare hands, and has stacked the entire wall (actually a series of walls) by himself – with the help of only a wheelbarrow.   Actually, he said he has been through 27 wheelbarrows, if I remember him correctly.  Along with 8 pickup trucks.

Now at age 85, he received a pacemaker implant just this week – but was back out at his site 5 days later.  The doc says the pacemaker is good for about 20 years.  He thinks he ought to have “one heck of a wall done” by then. 

He also told us that Roseanne Cash recorded a song about the wall - looked it up and the song is about her whole visit to Florence and surrounding area - "A Feather's Not a Bird"- enjoy at the link below:
                                          www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdUcI9SdAPA

8/24   Florence/Muscle Shoals has a remarkable number of interesting things to see and do, but only one of them is open on Sundays.  So off we went to Rosenbaum - a Frank Lloyd Wright home that was designed to be affordable for the middle class.  As with all of his work, a thing of beauty in its simplicity.

The rest of the day was spent dealing with a laptop crisis - all of my documents and pictures were "gone" (not gone gone, but inaccessible).  The details are only of interest to those of you who enjoy computer crisis stories.  Bottom line - a new laptop, two days of transferring data, anxiety and uncertainty, etc.  All fine now.  New faster, lighter, bigger machine.  Just getting used to the touchscreen of Windows 8.1.


8/25 – Tomorrow is Debi’s birthday, but since I will be flying out for work, we celebrated her day today.

This included a visit to Helen Keller’s childhood home and museum… extra meaningful to Debi because she played HK in the Miracle Worker in high school - she reports to much critical acclaim!  You can compare the photos of Patty Duke's and Debi's performance (from her high school yearbook) of a meal scene with HK and her teacher, Anne Sullivan.

Debi refuses to demonstrate the guttural sounds she used on stage, but I think there remain some remnants of the blindness and deafness she had to master.  When you inhabit a role like that, it’s hard to let it go, I guess.

We also went out to eat, at a nice restaurant downtown - City Hardware.

Another great stop was the tour of FAME Studios – the first of the two famous Muscle Shoals studios that were the site of the most important recordings of Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, not to mention the Rolling Stones and many many more.    Although they ARE famous, FAME stands for Florence Alabama Music Enterprises.  
 

The tour guide was pretty good, but between the documentary (DO see this if you have not) on Muscle Shoals and other reading, I knew most of the stories he told.  It was interesting to hear how the owner and producer, Tom Hall, passed on the Allman Brothers even though Duane Allman was the session player on quite a few of these hits (he persuaded a reluctant Wilson Pickett to try his arrangement of Hey Jude) before the Brothers had established a name for themselves.

Standing in those studios, looking at the pianos and the  Hammond that were used for these recordings, imagining them standing in these spaces…  

8/26   First Loop break – Jim flying to Detroit to conduct a mock trial.  Debi dropped me at Huntsville airport, on her way to ATL.

8/29 was kind of a crazy day.  Started in Detroit (actually Dearborn) where I was up at 5:30 to catch my cab to the airport.  Hours later I was in ATL for a 4 hour visit.  Two of those hours overlapped with Emily who flew in for the weekend with Drew, for an Athens and UGA football weekend.  At 3, Beth Wallace and Chris Sanor picked us up and we all drove back to the boat in Florence.

Being the busy holiday boating weekend, we waited awhile for dinner at the marina restaurant, but enjoyed the beginning of our first entertaining of friends on this leg of the Loop.  The next morning Greg and Rebekah drove up from Atlanta as well – and we all met at the Muscle Shoals studios.

Unlike FAME, these studios are not currently in operation, but Beats has invested $1million to restore them to their original condition and make them operable again.

Still, wandering around the studios, standing in the isolation booth where Mick and Keith shared a bottle of bourbon while harmonizing on Wild Horses, soaking up the atmosphere while the outstanding documentary of this historic place was playing on another wall – very cool for anyone with an appreciation of American music.

In addition to the Stones’ Sticky Fingers, Paul Simon recorded his first big solo album, Kodachrome – full of hits – as well as the later Still Crazy After All These Years.  Not to mention Dylan (Slow Train Coming), Otis Redding (yes, Dock of the Bay, right there), etc. 

Our visitors split up to do some of the sightseeing we had already done, while Debi and I headed back to the boat.  That night, we ate one of several delicious meals on board, played a game Rebekah brought that Jim  sucked at and Debi won, hung out - the usual boat routine (except for the part where Jim sucked at a game!).

If we had known we were getting up early, we might have gone to bed earlier (probably not), but around 7, Debi was up looking at the weather forecast, and deciding our best window for leaving was RIGHT NOW.  So people groggily bumbled around as we prepared the boat for departure.

Turned out to be a nice cruise – 41 miles west on the Tennessee to the junction with the TennTom.

Paused and drifted, for lunch on board.

The afternoon of our arrival was spent hanging out – some at the marina pool, some on the boat.  Some napping, some reading….

For dinner, borrowed the marina’s courtesy car to get some seafood up the road – nothing too special, but it hit the spot.  More card games, Bananagrams – none of these four had been on Sea Fever before, so everyone must get initiated.

We spent two nights at Aqua Yacht Harbor, basically at the intersection of the states of Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi - this is where we headed east last year, to go to Chattanooga. 

So, we are officially in new Loop territory and will head south from here, on the TennTom Waterway - will be in Mississippi for the next few stops, before a slight veer to the east – then south through Alabama, hitting the Gulf at Mobile 449 miles from here - in two weeks or less.  We’ll be moving almost every day to cover that much territory – including 12 locks – and including two days off when I fly out for another trial in Houston next week. 

Today Jim borrowed the marina car again to drive them back to their cars in Florence – about an hour in each direction.  It was sad to say goodbye – it always is – but it was a successful visit on every level.  

Now we are visitor-less until the end of the month – so make a spontaneous decision to come join us!
Jim and Debi

Leaving Florence - taken by a fellow Looper