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.

Sunday April 8, 2012

Hi all,
Here's what has been happening since I last posted.

On Friday, April 6th, we loaded the boat up at Inland Marina in Evansville, IN and got under way after saying goodbye to the folks that came to see us off. They were: Barbara Jones and her granddaughter Ava, Cathy Cobb and her granddaughter Chloe, Pan and Richard Johnson, Starla Clayton, Sherry Walker, Deenie Whitesides and Captain Peg Leg Pete. (See pictures)

We motored past Evansville's downtown, Casino Aztar, a barge and on to the Henderson, KY waterfront. Waiting to see us at the waterfront was Margaret and Steve Goldsberry, Deenie Whitesides, and Dwaine and Michael Oatts.

We made it to Henderson in 1 hour and 15 minutes. Just as we reached Henderson, Tommy noticed we were taking on water. So, we had to tie up to Clement's dock and get the extra bilge pump going and find out where the water was coming from. Once the water was out and the leak fixed, we headed on down the river.

We went past Mt. Vernon, IN and on to the Union Town Lock. At the lock, I climbed out of the boat and up the lock wall to the top. The man working at the lock came over and gave me a ride to our car. I went home to spend the night and to meet Tommy and Louie the next night at KY Lake. They continued on down the river to Shawnee Town where they achored for the night.

On Saturday morning they left Shawnee Town in the fog and missed the bouy. Guess what? They found the bottom. After 2 1/2 hours, a strong wind came along, caught the sail and with the help of the motor, they were able to get moving again. Lesson learned: don't leave until you can see the bouys!

They headed on down to Smithland, KY to that lock. After they locked thru, they were on the Cumberland River. It is a narrow and crooked river with fast water. They past one tow boat with 15 barges in the water and the back end of the tow was stuck against the bank. A little bit later, they saw another tow headed to help him out.

They got behind a tow with barges and was not able to pass it because the river was too narrow. After a long time, they finally got around the tow and barges, but it was getting too late to make it to KY Lake. So, I stayed in a hotel at the lake and waited til morning to catch up with them.

At 7 am, they set out again and made it to Green Turtle Bay around 10:15 after passing under the I 24 bridges and thru the lock. We will be spending the day here while Tommy does some maintanence to the boat. The weather is great, the sun is shining and the wind is blowing enough to keep things cool. I think I'll catch some rays and talk to you guys in a day or two.

We named the boat

I forgot to tell you that we named the 30' sailboat "Toes in the Water" and I will be calling it "Toes" in the blog.

Toes in the Water

On Sunday, April 1st (April Fool's day), Tommy and a few friends loaded the two sail boats on a flat bed trainler and hauled it to the old Audubon Race track that backs up to the Ohio River. They used a crane to set the boats off into the water and then lift the masts onto each boat. The drop was very steep. We had to use a 10' ladder to climb down onto the boat. Attached are pictures of the loading, unloading and mast setting. Many, many thanks to Dwaine Oats and Louie Adams for their help!

We tied the small boat (20') to the back of the larger boat (30'). Then started out motoring towards Inland Marina in Evansville. Instead of making it to the marina, darkness over took us. We anchored off to the side and spent the night on the boat. I have to tell you, the first time or two that one of those tug boats with very long lines of barges loaded with coal came up the river towards us, I was more than a little anxious.
We set out back and watched them go buy along with the pleasure boats and the stars until it got too cold. Then we went in and spent the night. Early the next morning, we finished our trip to Inland Marina.
Tommy, Louie and I have been working to get it ready for the trip south.

We plan on leaving Friday morning on the Ohio River. I will keep you posted on our progress.