Catching Up . . .

At long last, we have internet!  Our cell service and internet connection continues to be spotty.  Never fear, we are fine and will continue to update our blog as the internet service allows!

Sunday, October 11 - We left Grand Harbor Marina at 10:00 a.m. for Florence, Alabama.  We woke up to a foggy day on the river so had to wait for the fog to clear.  As soon as the fog cleared and the sun came out, it was beautiful!  We were soon joined by 5 other boats headed our direction.  We cruised to Florence, Alabama where we spent the night at the Florence Municipal Marina.  Unfortunately, as we entered the marina, the dock master kept asking us if we were sure we had a reservation.  It seemed that the person who took our reservation up and quit that day - and took with her the list of boats who had made reservations!  They found a place for us on the fuel dock for the night.  While in Florence, we shared a taxi with a couple of Loopers and went to downtown Florence to walk around and have dinner.  Little did we know that downtown was only about a mile away - we walked back afterwards!

Monday, October 12 - We woke up at 7:00 a.m. and realized that quite a few boats were starting their engines and leaving.  Someone had called the lock master at Wilson Lock and found out that if we wanted to get locked through without too much waiting, we had to leave now!  It was one of our fastest departures ever!  As we looked behind us on the river, we saw that we were with many other boats.  It was actually quite a sight to be in a flotilla of boats heading the same direction!

                                        Flotilla of Boats Heading Toward Wilson Lock

The first lock (Wilson Lock) was huge - we ended up locking up 93 feet!  We had to tie to a mooring cell and wait for an hour before the lock master told us to enter the lock.  Wilson Lock was the first lock that really was challenging for us.  We tied up to a bollard on the mid-cleat, but LeeLoo's stern kept swinging out. As the stern swung out, LeeLoo's bow would go into the lock wall.  We tried with all our might, but were unable to push LeeLoo's bow off the wall.  Carey finally ran for another fender (Bob, as some of you will remember we used for doing man overboard drills) and were able to position into place and save LeeLoo's bow.  We did lost a bit of rub rail in the process.  Live and learn - more fenders!

The second lock (Joe Wheeler Lock) only locked up 48 feet.  Not as stressful, but once again our stern seemed to swing out a big as we were locking up.  For the next lock, we will try to tie to the lower bollard and see if that helps. 

                                    Beautiful scenery along the Tennessee River

                                        More beautiful scenery . . .

We had planned to anchor out Monday night, but decided to go on into the marina at Joe Wheeler State Park.  Unfortunately, docking was a bit stressful as the first slip we were given was simply not acceptable.  It was at the end of a T-dock and LeeLoo's stern was hanging out by at least four feet.  We were also unable to safely get off LeeLoo because there were metal structures on the dock that made it impossible to get off easily.  The squeaky wheel gets results, so we complained until we were moved to a better dock and slip, only to find out that we had to move one more time!  Finally, we were given a slip that worked for us.  

                                         LeeLoo in her slip - third and final!

Tuesday, October 13 - Joe Wheeler State Park was the main destination for us so we could attend the AGLCA (American Great Loop Cruisers Association) Fall Rendezvous.  The rendezvous was scheduled to begin on Wednesday, so we had Tuesday to wash the boat, catch up on laundry, and replace the burgee flagpole that we lost in the Mississippi River.  It was a fun day because a lot of fellow Loopers arrived.  Joe Wheeler State Park is a beautiful location.  The marina is large (with 300 slips) and there were at least 80 Looper boats that arrived to attend the rendezvous.  Unfortunately, in spite of the large marina, there are only two showers (one for men, one for women) in the marina office.  There is also a state park lodge and one of the rooms was offered up for the boaters to use to take a shower.  The laundry facilities were a little lacking, too.  One washer and two dryers - for the whole marina!  

Wednesday, October 14 - Check-in for the rendezvous began at 3:00 p.m., so we took a shuttle into Rogersville for lunch and a little grocery shopping.  The town of Rogersville welcomes Loopers and are were very happy to see us! The best part of the day was that we were finally able to replace our AGLCA burgee and proudly fly it on LeeLoo's bow!

Thursday-Saturday, October 15-17 - The AGLCA Fall Rendezvous was a very successful event.  The days were filled with seminars about what to expect as we cruise down the rivers, cross the Gulf of Mexico, and cruise in Florida and the Bahamas.  The seminars were relevant and very informative.  There were also a number of vendors who attended and offered their products and lots of information.  The rendezvous was completely sold out.  People not only traveled by boat, but also drove and filled the Joe Wheeler State Park Lodge.  Many people who traveled by car are in the planning stages of doing the Loop and do not currently have a boat.  One of the events of the rendezvous is a "Looper Crawl" where boat owners sign up to open their boat so that attendees can tour it.  We participated in the Looper Crawl, but we were so busy showing off LeeLoo that we barely had time to look at the other boats!  We had a steady stream of visitors who wanted to see LeeLoo.  

On the last night of the rendezvous, there was an impromptu concert and sing along.  Any Looper who played a musical instrument was invited to participate as part of the "band" and Looper who wanted to sing were invited to be in the audience!  It was a lot of fun!

                                            Loopers showing their musical talents!

We must comment on the buffet meals provided by the lodge.  The quality of the food and menus offered to us was outstanding.  The food was plentiful, delicious and creative.  The servers were congenial and worked really hard to please us.  It was a great experience!  Thank you, Joe Wheeler State Park Lodge!

Sunday, October 18 - We left the beautiful Joe Wheeler State Park and cruised 56 miles to Ditto Landing Marina, 10 miles from Huntsville, Alabama on the Tennessee River.  No locks today!  We cruised with Julie and Tom on Sum Escape.  It was chilly all day and we kept LeeLoo closed up as we cruised.  That is the advantage to having a Nordic Tug - we can close up the boat and stay warm as we cruise!  Again, more beautiful scenery.  We have said this before, but the Tennessee River is truly beautiful by boat!  We had to pass under a railroad bridge along the way that, when down, only has a 9 foot clearance.  As we approached the bridge, a train was going over.  After a short wait, we called the bridge master and he raised the bridge to 30 feet for us to pass under it.

Shortly after we arrived at Ditto Landing Marina, several other Looper boats arrived.  Tomorrow we plan to leave at 8:00 a.m. and have one lock to go through.  The low tonight is 37 degrees!  Wait . . . are we in Chicago?