Left Chattanooga a tad later than we usually do because we slept a little later. ;-) Traveled down through the "grand canyon" part of the Tennessee River just below Chattanooga. We saw several pleasure boats out today...what with the gorgeous weather!
Love the rocks along this part...
Wayne swabs the deck every morning, the dear.
Went through Nickajack Lock with no problem and traveled on down to Crow Creek Island, mm 401, just opposite the entrance to Crow Creek. The main channel runs on the left side of the island as you're going down, and the part we anchored in is on the right side of the island. Took a while to set the anchor, though the current and wind were gentle. Finally felt it catch, though, and spent a quiet night on the hook (for you newbies, that's boat talk for "anchored.") We had traveled 62 miles, due to an assist from the current.
Sunday, October 30, 2016 -
We were held up by fog for a little while this morning and didn't get out until 8:30. We still hit another spot on down the river...but took the usual precautions: fog horn, navigation lights, slow speed.
We stopped for fuel and a pump out at Goose Pond Marina. Goose Pond used to be "home" for Journey and the couple that owned her are still customers so we always relate our connection to Goose Pond and someone usually calls Ray, the former owner, to see if he wants to come down and see her. This time we were only staying for a little while, so he wasn't able to get there before we left.
On down, we went through Guntersville Lock, mm 358, and anchored the night in the Flint River, mm 339. We had traveled, again, 62 miles.
Monday, October 31, HALLOWEEN, 2016-
So...last night was really warm until the sun went down. Then, while there was no breeze, it was cool enough to enjoy the shade on the back deck. No TV reception and very little Verizon signal...not enough to hold a signal. Fortunately for us, we bought the first season of Game of Thrones and could watch an episode of that for entertainment. ;-)
BTW, we are trying something new this trip for communicating onboard when we're on different levels. We have normally used headphones that are commonly known as "marriage savers." They call them that because they've squelched many a fight between couples when docking, locking, or anchoring and on different levels of the boat. Person 1 can't hear Person 2. Person 2 raises their voice, which often puts an "hysterical" pitch in the message to Person 1...who responds in like form. Need I say more?
The old headphones work...but they are heavy, have an antenna that gets caught on low spots. Same company that sells them also sells wireless headsets, much lighter, no antenna, but pricy. So...we bought two Bluetooth headsets (microphone and earbud receivers built in already. We don these when needing an aid to communication and initiate a phone call between us. Up side is that they work reasonably well, are much easier to wear...and cost around $25 per headset. Downside is that you need a phone signal to complete the call. And while we do get Verizon signal most of the time...if we don't we can always resort to the old headsets. We're excited about this!!!
Traveling down Wheeler Lake today we've seen all of one fishing boat, near our anchorage...and one barge going the opposite direction. Uber quiet on the lake. We went through Wheeler Lock and anchored at Six Mile Creek, mm 266. We traveled 73 miles today.
Saw lots of white pelicans...Vickie! Sorry we couldn't get closer!!
We keep the helm cluttered with electronics, necessities, junk...
Tuesday, November 1, 2016 -
No trick or treaters last night...just like when we stay at home. Bummer!
We had reservations for the next two nights in Florence Harbor in Florence, AL. Being only 10 miles away from our anchorage, we felt it would be a swift trip through Wilson Lock and on to our slip. We were right.
We got into Florence in time to borrow the the loaner van and go for lunch in downtown Florence (at the Court Street Market) and a trip to Publix grocery. We both had boat projects to work on today...and got most of them done.
The Court Street Market has a combination of little establishments under one roof. After lunch we went to the yogurt pops part and grabbed dessert. Cool art on the wall, too.
Downtown Florence...
Wednesday, November 2, 2016 -
We had signed up for the loaner car this morning at 8:30. We've never done much sight seeing in Florence, in spite of having stayed here a number of times over our boating trips. This morning we saw the number one sight on our list for this area: Fame Recording Studio in Muscle Shoals, AL, only a 10 minute drive from the marina.
The marina's one washer/dryer combo was out of order...so we first took our bag of a week's worth of laundry to Royal Suds Laundromat. I had found out about this place when visiting the local tourist office as I walked around the park area yesterday. Royal Suds will wash, dry, and fold your laundry for $1.00/lb. We raced over to the laundromat to drop off our clothes...then out to Fame hoping we'd be there in time for the 9 AM tour of the studio.
Needn't have rushed. We were there at 8:55 AM and ended up waiting more than five minutes for the facility to open. About 9:20 the tour got underway with us and two other couples as eager listeners. A young, 24 year old, studio assistant gave the tour...Spencer Coats. He did a great job! He's in awe of the place and it's place in history...and thrilled to do the work he does. Check out their history and the amazing artists they have produced: http://www.fame2.com/our-history/ It just felt "special" to be in a place in which so many amazing artists have walked...performed.
This is Studio B, the newest studio...
And Studio A...the original studio....
After the tour we went over to pick up our washed, dried, and folded laundry ;-)...then back to the marina in time to complete our 2 hour loan window. But...wait! As we drive in we see that there are NO OTHER BOATS at the dock. The van was ours!! We dropped off laundry and took off for downtown and another good lunch, this time at Wildwood Tavern. There had been a Menchie's Yogurt in Florence, but it had closed. So we went to Yogurt Mountain...which, not our favorite, Menchie's...was good. Apparently it's a chain owned by Books A Million and is often found in Books A Million stores. This one was free-standing.
A pass through Walmart for items we still lacked and we were ready to head home. Wayne dropped me off downtown so I could get in a walk and some shopping.
We wound up back on the boat finishing up our to-do lists...Then we sat on the bridge after the sun had left our view and the coolness of the evening set in. Tomorrow we'll take off and plan to get down on the Tenn-Tom.
Got a nice walk in today and found a beach in Florence!! And LOOK at that ocean going vessel coming on down the Tennessee River!!!
Blogged while listening to PBS News Hour and sipping on a refreshing beverage. ;-)
Awesome visit to Muscle Shoals! We have watched that documentary...so many great artists!
ReplyDeleteFall photos do beautiful