Left Florence around 7:30 AM having called Wilson lock. The lock master said she had a tow in the chamber coming down now. We told her it would be at least 45 min. before we could be there and she said that would be fine. Yeah. About an hour after we got there, the doors finally opened. Obviously the tow wasn't completely inside the chamber when we talked.
We shook it off ;-) and went on up to Joe Wheeler Lock where it was a quick in and out. The to State Park Marina for fuel ($2.89/gal.) and water. Joe Wheeler State Park was looking great! People all over...beautiful weekend day.
Spent the night at Riverwalk in Decatur, AL...OK, our favorite low rent marina. $20/night and we're tied up to a dock with shore power on an 85+ degree day! We tried to locate the Ingall's Harbor Ken and Brenda have seen...but we missed it, somehow.
BIG storm came through before dark. Black clouds and big winds. We watched one houseboat try to dock. They couldn't...and somehow managed to make it back out of the close-quarters marina to the river until the winds died down. Seeing this...and looking at the devastation that came to this marina with a tornado that passed through a month ago (we talked with a tenant who witnessed the whole thing)...it reminded us that we are in tornado alley!
Monday, May 7, 2018 -
We had a gorgeous day of travel! Got through Guntersville Lock (using the auxiliary lock and port side tie). Considered staying at the Guntersville town dock...but it's looking a bit rough already. And with such a beautiful lake, Guntersville, to be traveling we just couldn't resist finding a woodsy, hill-surrounded anchorage. We did just that at the Short Creek, MM 361. Cool, breezy afternoon and a low in the 50's that night. Perfect!
Tuesday, May 8, 2018 -
Left our anchorage this morning at 6:30 AM (yes, we're still on leisure cruise...we just wake up early!). Had another beautiful day of travel up to the Nickajack Lock and through to an anchorage at Little Cedar Mountain. Again it should be in the 50's tonight. ;-)
Now to catch up on photos:
Maggie May loves to "play" with insects. She found this dragonfly, who didn't seem to want to get with the program. So, Maggie takes it in her mouth and throws it up in the air to get it "going." A few times doing this and the poor dragonfly is fatally mauled. Maggie gives it one last chance by offering her own version of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation...you see the results. R.I.P. one dragonfly.
We passed a real milestone while traveling on the canal up to Pickwick: 10,000 miles on this boat...at 8 miles an hour. You figure it.
That horrible, rainy day we had coming through Lake Pickwick up to Florence, even Maggie didn't want to look outside...
Florence Harbor in the morning...
Results of the tornado that hit Decatur's Riverwalk Marina about a month ago...
And...the big storm that came in when we spent the night there this week...
Guntersville Lake...
From our anchorage at Short Creek...
