Upriver to Pickwick Lake

Saturday, October 4, 2014

More and more Loopers were gathering as we get closer to the annual rendezvous at Joe Wheeler state park in Alabama. The people at Clifton Marina were very accommodating as every square inch of space was taken up, mostly Loop boats coming in to take shelter from the forecasted thunderstorms approaching.

We gathered every evening to share appetizers and stories. The marina manager, Miss Sonya, was a jack of all trades, including chef, and she ran a dinner special while we were there. One night she fixed a spaghetti dinner, the next was chicken and dumplings.


Waiting for one of Sonja's dinners
 

Against my wishes, John went under the boat to check a strainer to see
if it was blocked - I asked him if his insurance was paid up and took a
photo to remember him by.
 

 There was a change in the weather. After the warm temps of the past week we woke up to 38 degrees on the morning we were leaving. A wispy mist was rising off the water.

The sun came up just before we left
 

 

A barge approached us in the mist, coming down river - the captain called and
asked us to pass him "on the one"
 

As we passed an island we watched goats browsing along the shore
 



There was a lot of erosion along one shoreline - wonder how long this
house will be there

 

 

A boat house and cottage on the Tennessee
 

We took over the lead from TaTa - good to be traveling with our friends
from British Columbia again
 

 

 

In addition to some beautiful homes we saw many RVs, most with
roofs over them

 

As the day went on the wind started blowing stronger and stronger - and it was pretty chilly. Just north of our destination we cruised by Shiloh Battlefield National Park. Some of the other Loopers had stayed in Clifton to borrow the car to take the tour - and they happened to be watching us at the unloading spot for the Union forces as they came down the Tennessee in steam boats.

When we passed Shiloh battlefield we saw our looper friends on the
shore standing in front of the questionable Clifton marina courtesy
car waving to get our attention. Gus, Row, Al & Terri
 

The wind continued to pick up as we approached the only lock of the day which would lift us up over 50 feet to Pickwick Lake and our destination of  Grand Harbor Marina. You could tell it was windy because there were whitecaps on the river!

Friendly Cove, another boat with a crew from BC, Canada is in front of
us leading the way to the Pickwick Lock
 

A reassuring sign as we neared the lock entrance
 

Our trip so far has been mostly relaxing times of cruising and socializing punctuated with moments of "what are we doing here?" Angst! As the wind blew down the deep lock, we got tied up and we hung on with all our might to keep the boat from swinging away from the wall or banging into it. We made it and finally found our spot at Grand Harbor Marina which straddles the corner where the three states of Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama come together. But that is another story.

As I am typing this I am sitting in the ship's store where I can get a decent internet connection. The only place to sit was on a low shelf until the dock master, "Barry with a Big B little a," took pity on me and brought me a chair. I forgot John's logbook and so no skipper's notes at the moment. As one of our friends says on his daily Facebook vlog, "until the next time....