Mike and Beth's Adventures

Sunrise on Upper Cook's Cutoff  November 14th, 2021 Today we travelled a rural and sparsely populated portion of the Tombigbee River from Upper Cook's Cutoff to Demopolis Alabama. We woke to temperature which were hovering near freezing.  Thank goodness for the Webasto heater.  It maintained very comfortable inside temperatures.  We were travelling with two other boats that wanted to get started right at sunrise.  Our alarm went off 30 minutes prior to sun up so we could start the coffee, check the oil, pull the anchor and fall in line behind Godspeed and Adventure Awaits.  It was a quick start to the day.  Breakfast would be prepared once we were underway.   It was difficult to focus on our departure tasks as the sun and morning river mists were creating compelling scenes meant to be savored.  I kept my camera with me so I could capture glimpses of the morning unfolding around us. Soon we were underway and in convoy with the other Loope...

  Amy Marie is the "boat symbol" in the middle of the screen November 11th and 12th, 2021 In our last blog we talked about finding a nice anchorage in McKinley Creek.   We enjoyed a tranquil night there but woke to threatening skies in the morning.   A front was forecast to pass through, so we decided to hunker in place.   As we were not rushing to leave, Beth fixed a nice breakfast, we read the e-edition of the paper, and then our books.   It was shaping up to be a relaxing day.   On days like this, we really enjoy our Webasto diesel furnace.   Our boat is equipped for cold, all season boating, in the Pacific Northwest.   The chilly fall days, which we were encountering, are no problem.   We easily maintain a cabin temperature of 68 degrees.    McKinley Creek Anchorage Mid-morning, we received a text from Kittiwake.   They were looking for a spot to ride out the passage of the front and wanted to know if there was room for t...

Aqua Yacht Harbor - Lucca, Mississippi November 9th and 10th, 2021 We mistakenly thought we departed Aqua Yacht Harbor early, as we were underway very close to 8 am.  At Aqua we had caught up with a about 10 other Looper boats.  9 of those boats had departed an hour or more ahead of us, so they were locking through the first lock as we were just getting started.  It is advantageous to travel in a group, as the lockmasters like to minimize the number of "turns" or cycles they do.  So if we wanted to increase our probability of locking through quickly, we had to buddy up with another boat.  As it happen, we buddied up with a fellow from Fulton Mississippi who had just retired and bought a bought a very nice Mainship Mediterranean trawler.  It was about 47' with twin 454 gas engines.  I never got his name, but we enjoyed each others company through the 3 locks we transited to reach Midway Marina in Fulton. Locks Transited on November 9th: Whitten Lock:...

Joe Wheeler State Park Joe Wheeler State Park We completed our Chattanooga sojourn by returning to Joe Wheeler State Park.  Upon arrival we picked up packages that we had sent there to fix items we broke on our two week and 400 mile round trip to Chattanooga.  The inverter died, operator abuse, and the microwave died, probably due to the bouncing it endured on the trip across country.  We installed both these items before leaving the next morning for Florence Alabama.  To get there, we had to travel through two locks.  First up was Wheeler Lock with a drop of 52 feet.  Within 15 miles we would drop 92 feet, the largest drop of the entire Loop, at Wilson Lock.  We were fortunate that the gates were open and we were able to transit Wheeler quickly.  At Wilson we waited about 30 minutes before we could begin our transit of that lock.  We were happy that we really had no delays of any consequence on our first day out of Joe Wheeler State Park. Th...

On our way downstream from Chattanooga, we stopped in Decatur.  We tied up to the free dock in Ingalls Harbor, a much better location than where we stayed, at Riverwalk Marina, on the up bound trip.  Riverwalk is on an island in the middle of the river and there was no easy way to cross the bridge to town without an automobile.  We couldn't walk or bike as it just wasn't safe.  So we made an effort to stay at Ingalls Harbor on the return trip.  The compromise was we didn't have water or power.  We were OK with this as our solar would top off our batteries and we had 40 gallons of water on board. Beth at Ingalls Harbor Amy Marie and Mike in Decatur Alabama We had made plans to meet friends, who were boarding our truck and trailer for the next year,  for dinner in Decatur.  They suggested Simp McGhee's a restaurant which exuded old fashioned charm while offering fresh Cajun seafood and beef selections sure to please any palate.  Beth and I bot...

Pardon me, boy, Is that the Chattanooga choo choo? (yes yes) Track twenty-nine... The Chattanooga Choo Choo Tucked between the mountains of Southeast Tennessee, along the beautiful Tennessee River, Chattanooga is a jewel of a city. For years it was a rail transportation hub of the south. From here lines stretched into the fertile valleys of the Tennessee, the Mississippi, and on into Atlanta, Alabama and beyond. The Great Locomotive Chase took place here as the Union Army, during the Civil War, wrested control of the rail hub from the Confederates. Following the war, a rail line was built to Cincinnati, to provide a route for southern goods and products to reach the northern states. Commerce and industry continued to fuel Chattanooga's growth. It is also home to a branch of the University of Tennessee. I would recommend you add a stop in Chattanooga to your next vacation. The Aquarium on the City Front The Art Museum and the bike path up the bluff. The waterfront is the fo...