Mike and Beth's Adventures

We has a nice run into Goose Pond Marina.  It is located near Scottsboro Alabama.  We are finding some wonderful recreation areas along the Tennessee River.  Berthing is very affordable at 75 cents or 1 dollar a foot.  This includes hot showers, restrooms, electricity, wifi, and occasionally a courtesy car.  Goose Pond was expansive and developed with paved trails, guest cabins, launch ramps, bait shop, restaurant, golf course and a nice residential area.  The area seemed to be popular with fishermen.  They were always insight as they flew from one favorite location to another.  If they didn't get action after several casts, they took off at high speed to check another spot. There were 6 other Looper boats at Goose Pond.  We got a chance to talk to about half of them.  Right next to us was a couple preparing their Kady Krogen Manatee for a voyage to the Bahamas.  They depart right after Thanksgiving.  We also meet and traveled ...

Boat trips are about more than just visiting interesting places.  Of course that is the goal, but the boat itself, is a living creature and needs constant care and attention.  Every couple of days of cruising leads to a day of maintenance and repair.  For instance,  a couple of days ago we turned on the inverter and it showed an overload condition.  Most of the time the built in protections will provide a safety net and no damage will result.  We were not so lucky this time.  The surge of current damaged internal components and we now must replace the unit.  I found one online and am having it shipped to the marina we will be visiting in about a week.   The latch that holds the refrigerator closed also broke.  Another online purchase to restore full functionality.  Online seems to be the easiest method for replacing parts as we are in locations that do not have marine chandleries nearby.   Shopping.  When we need...

We are berthed at Ditto Landing and using it as our base camp for exploring the Huntsville area.  At the dock was a replica of the original Ditto Landing Ferry. Other cruisers had warned us there wasn't much to do here, but we are finding the opposite.  First of all there is a nice greenway to walk and bike.  It follows a lovely like creek for quite a distance and then head towards Huntsville.  This is the Aldridge Creek Greenway.  And then there is the Tennessee River Greenway that heads east for about a mile to Whitesburg Boat and Yacht Club.  We biked the Aldridge Creek Greenway to get our propane bottle filled at the local Marathon Station. When the kids were young, we sent them to Space Camp, at the Huntsville Space at Rocket Center.  Visiting again brought back many good memories.  While at camp, they trained to fly a space shuttle mission.  At graduation, we were surprised and pleased that Kate won the "Right Stuff" award for her focus...

Today is the big day.  We set off on our 6000 mile journey.  Our initial destination will be Chattanooga Tennessee.  The Great Loop Conference is complete.  We topped off our knowledge banks with all sorts of information on rivers, intra-coastal waterways, weather, charts, marinas, anchorages, etc.  Now it is time to put all that knowledge to practical use.  So about 9am, we will throw off the dock lines and let the adventure begin! Here's a picture of the Mariners following our visit to the fuel dock.  All tanks are either full or empty and we are ready to sail off and look for America!  We felt like kids anticipating Christmas morning as we waited for this day.  Now it is here!  Time to cast off the lines and commence our journey. Here's a photo of all the attendees at the Great Loop Fall Rendezvous.  58 boats were in attendance as well as "Planners", people who attended in anticipation of doing the Loop in the future.  We me...

Morning fog at Joe Wheeler State Park   A mystic softness to start the day

Amy Marie is in the water!  We've traveled 3840 miles from Everett Washington to splash Amy Marie in the waters of the Tennessee River.  The Alabama hills are green and lush with trees down to the water.  The mornings are cool and crisp.  Days have warmed to the high 70's with winds rising in the afternoons.   The biggest treat has been southern hospitality.  Beth had contacted a gentleman named Bill, the local AGLCA Harbor Host, whose role is to be your local concierge.  He made our first day much easier.  We arrived after driving 330 miles from Little Rock Arkansas. He and his neighbor Hal met us at the launch ramp and helped us get the boat in the water.  They then drove me over to the marina so we could see our slip assignment.  This greatly simplified moving from the ramp to the dock.  We returned to the boat and motored a short distance to the marina.  Upon arrival we pumped out and then tied up in our slip.  Bi...

I have come to the conclusion that trailering a boat is an quick and easy method to expose less than robust design decisions.  It has also reinforced that regular stops should be made each day to fully inspect the boat and trailer.  Today's excitement was finding that the rack which supports our solar panel and "rocket box" tried it's darndest to fly from the top of the boat. The day was quite windy. This combined with highway speeds created forces that the rack design could not withstand.  The verticals were restrained by a single set screw.  Vibration could easily cause the set screw to loosen and wind forces to have their way.  This combined with bouncing on rough sections of road resulted in the verticals popping out of their mounts. Our corrective action needed to be fashioned with items at our disposal.  But first, the stainless steel tubes needed to be bent into shape.  They had been "sprung" open.  I used a ratchet strap to bend the tube b...

We couldn't cross New Mexico without visiting Beth's sister, and her family, in Los Alamos New Mexico.  Our visit began with a 20 minute walk to the local light rail station nearest our RV campground.  We caught the "Rail Runner" train from Albuquerque to Santa Fe.  Our 1 hour trip took us past many Indian Pueblos (villages) as we climbed into the mountains.  It was clear that flash floods were taken seriously as we saw many features cut into the landscape to direct water away from people, houses, roads and other at risk features.  Clear pools of water in washes and gullies were evidence of recent downpours.  So the preparations were appropriate. Laura met us at the Depot in Santa Fe and, as we had an early start, a snack was the next order of business.  We visited the nearby Sage Bakery and came away with some delicious pastries and two kinds of bread.  Bakeries always smell so tantalizing that I'm sure they pump the smells outside to entice you ...

Crossing the Colorado River into Arizona brings a big change in the ecosystem and landscape.  The California desert is harsh and monochromatic.  Years of drought have not helped much.  Once you cross the river into Arizona, you see saguaro cactus and the presence of multi-hued red rock which gradually builds into a crescendo as you move toward Sedona, Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon and Lake Powell.  In other words, Navajo country.  Camp Verde is very close to Sedona, which we visited 2 years ago.  Being aware of the twisty mountain roads and high traffic in Sedona, we chose to not visit this trip.  So we stayed adjacent to our route of travel, a necessary compromise.  None the less, this area is scenic in it's own way and the river was flowing with cold clear water and surrounded by much greenery.  In fact, the hills in Arizona were surprisingly green.  Something you notice right away when coming from California. We had a nice pull through ...

Our drive across country was paused so we could kick back and explore Palm Springs and the surrounding area.  Honestly, I was ready to stop.  Towing Amy Marie demands full attention and after two days I was ready for a break. Plus we had a timeshare week to use or lose.... Our home for the week was the Westin Desert Willows Resort, Very nice spot to recharge.  Our Villa was near the "quiet pool" and had a BBQ just outside. There were good shaded areas to walk, especially early in the morning or just at sunset. One of the discoveries we greatly enjoyed was Sunnylands,  the former  Annenberg Estate.    The property was owned by Walter and Leonore Annenberg.  The property has very striking desert gardens, which are open to the public.  The site is also used as a conference venue.  Well worth visiting, and it is free! If you would like to tour the main house, book your reservation at least a month in advance. For additional information, visi...