June 6, 2012

Hi all,

Tommy had his surgery and for the most part is doing well. His knee is still a little stiff at times. A week after his surgery, he and I returned to Waverly to fix the boat. Turns out it was not the bearing after all and did not have to be picked. We left Waverly and drove to Pensacola to clean up our rent house after our tenants had moved out. We had an offer on it and wanted it to look good for the inspection and appraisal. After a few days working on the house we returned to Henderson.

On May 18^th, Tommy, Louie and I headed back to Waverly, MS. They worked on the boat for 2 days and then Tommy and I headed for Demopolis, AL which is a 2 day trip. So, after the first day, we stopped at a small inlet where there was a boat ramp. We flagged down a speed boat to see if they knew how deep the inlet was so we could decide if we could spend the night out of the way of river traffic. We draft 5 ½ feet, so we have to be careful. The boat we flagged down was a game warden. He told us we would have no problem getting into the inlet and would be fine spending the night there. After we made it in and anchored, he came back and talked with us. Turns out he is originally from Troy, AL (which is about 45 minutes away from my home town of Opp, AL. He knew Opp well. SMALL WORLD! He had been a police officer in Troy and then went to work as a marine policeman in Mobile Bay area. He then transferred to Western AL. He was a very nice man and gave us some interesting tips about the remainder of our trip.

Louie found us at the inlet. There was a small park there with restrooms. There was a dinghy tied up to the dock and another sail boat anchored in the inlet. No one was on the boat. We tried to get Louie to row the dinghy out to our boat and sleep on board. He opted to sleep in the truck. EARLY the next morning, he rowed it out to our boat and then he and Tommy expected me to row it back to the dock. I’ve never rowed a boat in my life! Talk about a comedy of errors! I couldn’t get both oars going together. So, they told me to put one in the boat and row on one side and then switch to the other. I kept forgetting to row the same direction. I’ve never claimed to be coordinated. I finally made it to shore and they left for Demopolis.

When I reached Demopolis, I stopped in a small gift shop and asked about going to a small town called Linden, AL. The clerk was from Linden and actually knew my college sorority Little Sister from Linden. She gave me the phone number to Tina’s shop and I drove over to see her. It was great to re-connect with someone from so long ago. After returning from Linden, I went to the marina – Demopolis Yacht Basin and met some of the people that work there. At the fuel dock, I met a lady named Trinella. Turns out her brother is married to the sister of one of my high school friends. There’s that Small World again! As Tommy and Louie approached Demopolis, they decided the boat did indeed have problems and needed to be lifted. We scheduled the lift for the next day and then Tommy and Louie worked on it. They pulled the motor out and removed the shaft and flange. (I don’t have a clue what that means!) Afterward, we all piled in the truck and headed for Pensacola. We had to go down to finish cleaning the rent house and sign papers for the closing. Yes, it is sold!!!!

We returned to Henderson on Friday the 25^th. Just in time to finish packing and get ready to load up the moving semi. On Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday and Thursday, we, along with help from several others, finally got the house emptied out and Margaret, Becky and I got it cleaned up. The semi went to D&G trucking to wait until we close on the house we are buying and Tommy and I drove the Explorer with our trainer loaded down and the Riveria to Pensacola. It is official, we are HOMELESS. After spending the weekend at my sister’s house, we headed back to Demopolis to hopefully finish the trip to Pensacola. Let’s see – we started the first week of April on what someone (Tommy) said would be a 12-14 day trip. Here it is June 4^th and we still have at least 5 days left to get to Pensacola after he gets the shaft, flange and motor back in. Hopefully, we will be in P’cola by next Sunday. I’ll keep you posted.

Even with all of the interruptions, we have had a ball. We have met some great people and seen some interesting sights. As we see more, I’ll tell you about them. Hope you have enjoyed reading about our adventures!

Sandra

May 13, 2012

Happy Mother's Day to you all. I thouht I'd let you all know about Tommy's leg. He had the surgery on Friday. It took about 30 minutes. We arrived at the hospital at 12:30 and were back home by 3:30. He was walking around that afternoon. Wow! He was pretty swollenand sor yester day. Today, some of the swelling has gone down and it's not as sore. HOPEFULLY, we will be back in Waverly on Friday night, work on the boat some on Saturday and resume our trip south on Sunday. I'll keep you all posted. Thanks for the thoughts and prayers. I know it has made a big difference. I probably won't have anything else to post until next weekend. Stay tuned. Sandra

May 6, 2012

May 6, 2012

I have a lot to tell you to catch you up since my last post. Friday, April 26^th, Tommy and I left Clifton Marina headed for Aqua Marina in Iuka, MS. Right away, we had to lock thru a dam. Well, MR. I know what I’m doing enters the lock before the light turned green and then after we are raised in the lock, he proceeds to untie and leave the lock chamber as soon as the gates opened. When he thanked the lockmaster over the radio, he informed Tommy that he was supposed to wait until he blew the horn and gave the all clear signal. Fast forward to the next dam we need to lock thru. We get in and tie off. And we sit, and sit, and sit for 15 minutes. Finally, Tommy says, he’s penalizing us for untieing too early. Who knew you could get sent to the penalty box on the river? Not me! Finally, we get to the last dam of the day and we are ahead of schedule. Not for long! There is a tow boat and 4 barges ahead of us. No problem. Wrong! Either this tow boat captain is new or he’s ticked off for having to wait to lock thru. He barely moved when it came his time to lock thru. He was so slow, you couldn’t see the water coming out from the back of the boat. It took him 2 ½ HOURS to get into the lock, lock thru and then get out. By then, it was getting dark. So, we motored until we couldn’t see any more and pulled over just outside the bouy and anchored for the night. Louie slept in the truck at the Aqua Marina and waited for us to arrive the next morning. Not so bright and way so early the next morning, we got under way to Aqua. After fueling up, Louie and Tommy took off for Midway Marina at Fulton, Mississippi. I took a shower at the marina and headed out to find a laundry mat to wash clothes and towels. I get all the exciting jobs. Later in the day, I reached Fulton, MS where I saw the beginnings of a parade. So, being the inquisitive (nosey) person that I am, I stopped and asked a policeman what was going on. He said they were having a Red Hat Parade. So, I turned around and went back to the middle of town to wait for it. They had a very nice little water park that the garden club had developed. (see pictures) I found out from a lady I sat by that they were having a regional Red Hat conference in Fulton that day and over 200 women from Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi. The parade was fun and I had a ball laughing with the crowd. Finally, I made it to Midway Marina and met the managers. They were a couple from Pittsburg that had started down the rivers to FL and got to Midway and decided to stay. That night they were having a Hobo Supper for anyone from the marina who wanted to participate. On top of the hill, there was a restaurant that served seafood and other items. It was very busy, so you  know the food was good!

On Sunday, the 28^th, Tommy and I were motoring down the Tombigbee towards Waverly Marina and were about 5 miles out when we started hearing a squealing noise. The bearing had gone out on the shaft. So we flagged down a pontoon boat and asked them to tow us to Waverly. They obliged and were we surprised when we reached the Marina. There is a Tiki Bar and restaurant at the Marina. It was GREAT! The food was wonderful and the people were absolutely delightful. So, on Monday morning, Tommy, Louie and I loaded up the truck and headed to Henderson. We took part of the Natchez Trace home. (see pictures) Tommy ordered the bearing and a spare and they came in on Friday. I took advantage of the shore leave and attended a scrapbook retreat in Rocky Hill, KY Thursday thru Saturday. Yesterday, Tommy and I came back to Waverly to work on the boat. A man at the grainery that is located close to the marina is going to pick the boat with his crane so that Tommy can swap out the bearings.

Tommy has surgery on his knee for a torn meniscus on Friday the 11^th. And we have to finish packing and loading the semi for our move to Pensacola. So, it will be the end of May before we get back on the boat and finish our trip south in it.

April 25, 2012

Well, Mother Nature changed our plans today. HIGH winds & a high chanceof severe thunderstormscaused us to re-think our choices. So, we drove down to Pick Wick Lake and checked out the marinas that we could get to tomorrow night. We went to Aqua Marina and Grand Harbour Marina. Attached are pictures from Grand Harbour. We had to go back this windy road for several miles to get to the marina. On the way back, we saw this house with several carvings. We stopped and I asked the guy if he minded me taking a picture of his carvings. He had a Tenn. bird house, Sasquatch, a gorilla, a horse head, a snake wrapped around a log and other items. This guy was very talented but shy. Next we stopped at a hardware store. Outside the hardware store was an outhouse complete with a catalog for wiping. I caught Louie in the outhouse and took his picture.
We then saw the Pick Wick State Park Marina and pulled in there. We met a man and his wife from New York. They had a boat that they trailered all over the country an put it in the water. They would take the boat somewhere, get off, rent a car and drive back to their truck and trailer. Then they would get their boat and move on to somewhere else. The name of the boat was "Toad's Toy". I asked him if he was Toad and he said"I'm Captain Toad!". At this marina we saw a REAL HOUSEBOAT. it was a house built on a smaill barge, complete with an outboard motor to move it around. We saw the entrance to the Shiloh Battlefield, the Tennessee River Museum and the Buford Pusser home and museum. Louie is going to check them out tomorrow since it is his turn in the truck. Hopefully, he will have pictures for us to post tomorrow night.

April 25, 2012

Hi all,
We are back in action. We drove down to Clifton Marina in Clifton, TN. Tommy put the transmission back in and we should be able to get back on the river tomorrow. We have really enjoyed spending time at Clifton MArina. The people here are the nicest people. The guy who owns the marina is 75 years old and wants to sell it. If we were 20 years younger, we would have a new life. If you know someone who wants a different life, this is it.

I am attaching a few pictures of what we have been up to since we  left here. On Sat. April 21st, I walked in a 5 K run/walk with Barbara Jones, Susan Edwards and Janet Faught. They are the Faught sisters and I am an honorary Faught sister. We 4 came in last. But we had a GREAT time. We walked 3. something miles in 1 hour and 4 minutes. This was my first walk and they improved over last years time by 20 minutes. So, we did good!

On Sun. April 22nd, we had a Goldsberry family get toghether. It was for Tommy's sisters and brother and their kids and grand kids. Margaret, Dean and I fixed all the food except some desserts and the chicken. We had LOTS of good food.

Well, I'll be posting again tomorrow night and show you what we see on the river. We hope to make it to Pick Wick Dam. I have never locked thru a dam and this one is supposed to raise us 75 feet to get into the lake.
Talk to you tomorrow!
Sandra

April 16, 2012

4-12-13

4:15 p.m. Louie and Tommy arrived at Paris Landing Marina. We went to eat at Hillbilly’s BBQ. We each had a pulled pork sandwich. They offered hot, mild and wimpy sauces. The wimpy sauce was like a Kansas City sauce (sweet). It was good. They also offered regular and hillbilly baked beans. The hillbilly beans had pulled pork in them. They were okay but NO WHERE near as good as Thomason’s beans.

Next, we drove to Paris, TN to see their version of the Eifel Tower. Louie and I had our pictures made in front of it. Tommy said “next time”. Walmart was our next stop to get a new depth finder since ours went kaput. Louie bought a detailed map of Tennessee with as he called them “all the hog trails”. This way, we can find our way by land to whichever marina the boat stops at. We turned in around 8:00. I can’t believe we beat the chickens to bed!

Friday, 4-13-12 Paris Landing Marina

Tommy and Louie worked on installing the new depth finder on the back of the boat. I took a picture of both of them with their behinds in the air. After Louie got the nuts on the 2 bolts, we discovered he was stuck in the hold of the foot well. I started laughing and couldn’t stop. Tommy 7 I tried to pull him out. No luck. Then I laughed some more and Tommy tells me not to laugh, this is a serious matter. So, we tried pulling his legs straight up in the air. Guess what? I laughed again. Then I ran to the marina office and asked two men that worked there to come help. They pulled his legs straight up in the air and got him out. I would have taken a picture, but I was afraid Tommy would holler at me. I bet Louie will be sore tomorrow!

Tommy and Louie made it to Pebble Isle Marina at New Johnsonville, TN around 4:30 p.m. They had a greatday on the water. The winds were good and they made good time. They hit one section on the river where it was extremely shallow just outside the markers. They said within 15-20 feet of thier boat was a craine standing in the water and unless he had 8' long legs, it was very shallow. They met a tow boat pushing 10 barges (2 wide by 5 long) and Tommy said that guy deserved a bonus if if got thru that portion of the river after dark without gtting stuck!
We had dinner at Pebble Isle's restaurant. It had a great salad bar and the food was good. The sign for Pebble Isle Marina is a metal sail boat that looks like something Jacques Cousto would have used.

Saturday, 4-15-12

Tommy and I left Pebble Isle Marina at 7:45 a.m. We motored with the sail up all day. For the first 2 ½ hours the wind was blowing very hard. It blew so hard, it kicked up water over the bow and came back on us is the back of the boat. After that it, was perfect sailing. Our marine radio was not getting out and we were approaching a railroad bridge that had to be raised for us to go under it. I got to blow the air horn to notify them. They blew one back at us and raised the bridge. It was so strange to see 2 men standing outside what looked like an office trailer on top of the bridge waving at us.

The Tennessee River area is one of the most beautiful areas I have ever seen. There are rock walls and outcroppings with trees growing on them. The walls go straight up. We saw many nice houses on the river banks and up in the hills. Many people were out on their speed boats and pontoons. There were LOTS of fishermen out in their bass boats. We saw miles of sandy beach areas and several people using them. We saw a light house high up on a hill in the woods. I bet I waved at over 100 people on boats, on the river banks and even people sitting on their porches and decks. Most all of them waved back. We passed a Marina called Mermaid Marina. The sign was a GIANT mermaid (see picture). I told Tommy I was driving back by land to that marina to get one of their T Shirts the next day.

We finally made it to Clifton Marina @ Clifton, TN at 7:30. Almost 12 hours in one stretch is a LONG day on the water. After we got docked and checked it, we joined Louie and drove into Clifton for dinner. Clifton is a nice town with 1 street of businesses downtown with a French Quarter look. The restaurant was called The Pirate’s Lair. They featured seafood and New Orleans’ style food. We returned to the marina and turned in slightly later than the chickens!

Sunday, 4-15-12

Clifton Marina

Tommy was afraid the transmission was messing up. So, he pulled it off the motor while Louie and I loaded the pickup. After we all had showers, we headed north in the pickup. We stopped in Decaturville, TN at Cowboy’s Steakhouse for lunch. It was an OLD building with extremely slanted floors. I kept thinking I was sliding out of my chair sideways. We each ordered hamburgers. They were an inch thick and they hung out the sides of Texas Toast bread. Man, were they good. We then drove about 6 miles to the Mermaid Marina. Yes, I got my T Shirt before we headed north to Henderson. We dropped Louie off at his house and were at our house be 5:30. Nice to be home!

Tommy will take the transmission to get it checked out tomorrow. Oh, I forgot mention, during all of the strong winds, we got a tear in the sail. So, we have to order some fabric and get it patched as well.

I once was told “if you don’t believe God has a sense of humor, just tell Him your plans”. We’ll I guess He decided to laugh with us today.

Monday, 4-16-12

Transmission is okay. Tommy ordered the fabric for the sails and found someone to make the repairs for us. We should be back on the water early next week unless God gets another funny streak. I’ll keep you posted.

April 12, 2012

4-9-2012  Monday

Tommy & I left GTB @ 9:40 a.m. Motored for ½ hour and then raised the sail. Sailed for 4 hours. We went under the bridge at Dixie Landing where the Tow Boat had hit the boat earlier this year. There is a picture of the portion that is missing.

We pulled the boat up to the bank and anchored. Tommy tried to check on the prop from the water. The prop was too far up under the boat for him to reach and the water was TOO COLD @ 55 degrees. Just after he got back in the boat, along comes a brown snake. Boy am I glad it didn’t come be while he was in the water! He said it was non-poisonous because the eyes were round. I didn’t get close enough to see the eyes!

Around 4:00 p.m., we pulled in and spent the night at Ken Lake Marina. We met a guy named Dan from Illinois on a near by house boat. He is a retired DOT officer. He has been here for 3 weeks and is heading home in 2 days. We also met a man named Jim Knight that is originally from Mayfield, KY. After talking for a while, we discovered he used to be married to Lynn Lowder, the sister of one of my old bosses. He was also a fraternity brother of one of Tommy’s high school friends, Larry Peyton and he knew David Alexander as well. Small world, isn’t it?

4-10-2012 Tuesday

We left the boat and returned to Henderson for parts for the boat (new prop and nuts).

4-11-2012 Wednesday

We all returned to Ken Lake Marina. Tommy, contacted a diver to change out the props. Diver Donny came over late that afternoon and changed out the bent prop for a straight one.  We spent another night at Ken Lake Marina.

4-12-2012 Thursday

Tommy and Louie put up the front and main sails today. They are going to test the new prop and if all goes well, I will take the truck and meet them tonight.