ack on the water after a very enjoyable few weeks at home. With
many friends and family, we celebrated Jack’s 60th Birthday along with our 1st year wedding anniversary. Thanks to everyone that participated in making this a special time of celebration. This first picture is at our house at the party surrounded by good friends. The next picture is at one of our "hangouts" at home - Big Al's with wings and beer.While home, we were able to spend time with the “Carolina Grandkids” – Jackson, Garrett, Grace, Olivia, and Stella. The next three pictures are Jackson, Garrett & Grace, and Olivia & Stella.
We are also able to keep in touch with the “Canadian Grandkids” – Keegan, Maija, Makenna, Ethan – via frequent webcams. It is hard to believe that it has been only one year since our entire family was together for the wedding and we are amazed at how much all our Grandkids have grown.
We drove back to the boat on Tuesday, October 20th after almost 3 weeks at home. It’s hard to believe how dirty a boat gets by sitting in a slip – even a covered slip – so we spent a couple of days cleaning and reprovisioning before moving “Still Busy” from Bay Hill Marina to Joe Wheeler State Park
Marina – a distance of 10 miles down the Tennessee River - for the “Fall Loopers Rendezvous”, a yearly meeting of past, present, and future Loopers gathered to share experiences of the looping experience. With over 250 people in attendance, including 25+ “currently looping” Looper boats, we attended 3 days of sessions on what to expect in the final phase of our journey into the Gulf, around Florida and up the east coast. Based on what we learned at the meeting, we are really looking forward to the next phase of our adventure back in salt water and the challenges of tides and currents.
The rendezvous ended on Wednesday the 28th and we departed at 6:30 AM on Thursday, along with 12 looper boats (including “Dar Sea” and “Meander” that we have traveled with since Canada), in heavy rain. We back tracked through Wheeler and Wilson locks down the Tennessee River 60+ miles to the beginning of the Tenn-Tom waterway. In early October, we traveled this same route up the Tennessee River to Wilson Lake to leave the boat, return home and bac
k to attend the Rendezvous. Wilson lock was once the world’s highest single lift lock but now ranks 6th in the US and is a challenge with 12 boats in heavy rain. We all made the trip safely and arrived at Grand Harbor Marina located at the junction of the Tennessee River and the Tenn-Tom late afternoon.
The Tenn-Tom Waterway is 450 miles and 12 locks, connecting the Tennessee River, via the Black Warrior River, to Mobile, Alabama and the Gulf of Mexico. Weather permitting, we should be in Mobile in 10 days to begin the trip around the “Big Bend” of Florida. As we get deeper into the Tenn-Tom we don’t expect much cell and Internet coverage but will try to keep the blog updated as much as possible. This final picture was taken, just before we left the Tennessee River to enter the Tenn-Tom, of a waterfall in a small anchorage off the river. We were impressed with the waterfall as well as the foliage of the early fall leaves. One of the prettiest sights we have seen since entering the western rivers.
As a final note – when we were home many friends expressed the desire to leave comments on the blog but wasn’t sure of how. For those that wish to leave a comment, the procedure is as follows:
· At the bottom of the posting, click on COMMENT
· Type your comment on the right side of the screen in the box provided
· Below the comment box, type the Word Verification as it appears
· Finally, check “Anonymous” and “Publish Your Comment”
We always enjoy reading your comments and look forward to hearing from all of you.
We drove back to the boat on Tuesday, October 20th after almost 3 weeks at home. It’s hard to believe how dirty a boat gets by sitting in a slip – even a covered slip – so we spent a couple of days cleaning and reprovisioning before moving “Still Busy” from Bay Hill Marina to Joe Wheeler State Park
Marina – a distance of 10 miles down the Tennessee River - for the “Fall Loopers Rendezvous”, a yearly meeting of past, present, and future Loopers gathered to share experiences of the looping experience. With over 250 people in attendance, including 25+ “currently looping” Looper boats, we attended 3 days of sessions on what to expect in the final phase of our journey into the Gulf, around Florida and up the east coast. Based on what we learned at the meeting, we are really looking forward to the next phase of our adventure back in salt water and the challenges of tides and currents.The rendezvous ended on Wednesday the 28th and we departed at 6:30 AM on Thursday, along with 12 looper boats (including “Dar Sea” and “Meander” that we have traveled with since Canada), in heavy rain. We back tracked through Wheeler and Wilson locks down the Tennessee River 60+ miles to the beginning of the Tenn-Tom waterway. In early October, we traveled this same route up the Tennessee River to Wilson Lake to leave the boat, return home and bac
k to attend the Rendezvous. Wilson lock was once the world’s highest single lift lock but now ranks 6th in the US and is a challenge with 12 boats in heavy rain. We all made the trip safely and arrived at Grand Harbor Marina located at the junction of the Tennessee River and the Tenn-Tom late afternoon.The Tenn-Tom Waterway is 450 miles and 12 locks, connecting the Tennessee River, via the Black Warrior River, to Mobile, Alabama and the Gulf of Mexico. Weather permitting, we should be in Mobile in 10 days to begin the trip around the “Big Bend” of Florida. As we get deeper into the Tenn-Tom we don’t expect much cell and Internet coverage but will try to keep the blog updated as much as possible. This final picture was taken, just before we left the Tennessee River to enter the Tenn-Tom, of a waterfall in a small anchorage off the river. We were impressed with the waterfall as well as the foliage of the early fall leaves. One of the prettiest sights we have seen since entering the western rivers.
As a final note – when we were home many friends expressed the desire to leave comments on the blog but wasn’t sure of how. For those that wish to leave a comment, the procedure is as follows:
· At the bottom of the posting, click on COMMENT
· Type your comment on the right side of the screen in the box provided
· Below the comment box, type the Word Verification as it appears
· Finally, check “Anonymous” and “Publish Your Comment”
We always enjoy reading your comments and look forward to hearing from all of you.
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