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.