Nashville

Cousin Bill Bryant and Gretchen

Creekwood Marina-- Hendersonville, TN

Well here is a little catch up.  We are currently in Hendersonville, TN, at the Creekwood Marina about 15 miles north of Nashville. We visited my cousin Bill Bryant who lives about a block from the Gallatin Marina in Gallatin, TN for two days. Gallatin Marina channel is hard to find and easy to get  into 2 feet of water quickly. We made it. We had dinner at the Cherokee Marina Steakhouse next door to Reba’s house and farm. We were disappointed she did not have dinner with us! Also, went to a great Chinese Buffet, saw Alabama win and Tennessee skate by. We had a great visit with him. We have been in the Nashville area now since Sept 18. We have visited with cousins, eaten out, had oil changed in motor at Boathouse Marine, motored on Old Hickory Lake- get out of channel and you will run aground, watched football and generally just hung out, read books and napped. Having lived in Nashville most of my live we have not gone downtown and visited. Tonight is the grand reopening of the Grand Old Opry in the Opry House after the spring flood. The city of Nashville is all excited. Last night we had a Dominos pizza delivered and tonight we will be eating at Steamboat Bill’s which is just across from the marina. We have a TV tuner for our computer so we are not TVless. The temperature now is now 67 and going down to 49. We are staying warm. We are planning to start back to Gulf Breeze on October 4th or 5th and arrive back home between November 5- 15. We are currently working on our new float plans which will have new and different stops but same rivers and locks (16) coming home.

Nashville

Part of Fort Nashboro on river in Nashville

Nashville Skyline

Nashville

Yesterday, I talked about the people walking/jogging by who had on the proper walking/jogging outfits and the other who did not. After great reflection, I realized that the people in outfits were young, slender, and good looking. I need to get an outfit! It must be the outfit that causes this. Tonight (9-17-10), we are in the city limits of Nashville and only 48 miles and one last lock from our last stop on our trip to Nashville.  Today, we have arrived in Hendersonville, TN (Old Hickory Lake) and are docked at the Creekwood Marina which is about 20 miles from Nashville. We had a great dinner with ice cream and will be spending some nights with our cousins on dry land. It has been a wonderful trip. Over the next weeks we will be doing some tourist things around Nashville, getting some engine maintenance, and planning our trip home to see maximum fall leaves. 

Nashville

Tugs at work

Walking on water

Park Activities

Tonight (9-15-10) we are in Clarksville, TN docked at their free dock (McGregor Park) with electricity. It is a great deal. We had to call for permission to stay. Today we hit a log. I was daydreaming and bang. We were blessed it only knocked a piece out of our anti-cavitation plate. Engine and prop are o.k. It was just a learning experience. There is a little vibration in steering wheel but not engine. We also found out how to run aground but not hard aground. We are now experienced in that. We did not study the charts good and went out of the marked channel instead of stopping and checking to see where the channel went. It was just another learning experience. God made both experiences just little experiences not major problems. The weather for Thursday is calling for 10-15 k winds with gust to 25 knots with thunderstorms. We have not been on Cheatham Lake before so do not know what to expect. We may stay here in Clarksville one more night. Friday weather is calling for calm winds. We stayed in Clarksville today (9-16-10). The weather was not as bad as predicted. Oh well it is better safe than sorry. Last night I had a new sandwich. It was called a club sandwich which we had at a very local restaurant just across from the river. The club came with spam, bacon, cheese, tomato and lettuce. It was good but different. Today, we spent the day watching the river and reading and of course lots of naps. We watched barges, boats, sticks, tires, trash and bottles float by and saw tourist, walkers of all ages, joggers, dog walkers and fishermen walked by. Some of the people stopped to talk to us and others just looked. We watched as 2 tugs work all day to move 6 barges of sand and take off 9 empty ones. Saw a man come down for a smoke and try to walk on water. Also, saw several fishermen catch nothing. Walkers and joggers either had the proper uniform for their activity (tight shorts and halter top- matching) or just whatever they had to wear (T-shirt and short of many types). Dog walkers usually had 2 dogs. Some of the really small dogs we could not see from the boat so it looked like the people were walking their leash. Tomorrow we move to West Nashville to Rock Harbor Marina. Also, we complete our next to last lock and dam (Cheatham Dam) before Nashville. Next day we lock at Old Hickory Lake Dam and stay at Drakes Creek Marina in Hendersonville, Tennessee.

Nashville

KY Prison

Chicken by Candle Light

Today, we passed Kentucky’s only maximum- security prison called the Castle on the Cumberland. The main building was completed in 1888.  Its only claim to fame is that on Friday, July 13, 1928 seven men were executed. It is a record for legal executions in one day for the U. S. We are now on the Cumberland River only 130 miles from Nashville at Lake Barkley State Park Marina. It is on a 2.5 mile so-so marked channel into marina. The channel is a 12 foot depth channel at normal pool (359 above sea level) However, the pool now is 3 feet below normal at 356. You must stay in channel or else. We will not stop here going home. This marina requires that you show proof of insurance. Luckily this spring when we drove our trip; they told us their policy. We had a copy of our insurance policy with us. They want you to have at least $300,000 liability. This is the only marina on the whole trip that has asked for proof of insurance and for us to sign a lease agreement full of” be nos”- be no this – be no that. It must be Kentucky laws. We found out that pump out at state parks is expensive. Here they charge $20.00 and at Paris Landing $10.00. We only have a 10 gallon sewage tank. The commercial people pump out for free when you buy gas or only $5.00. I guess the moral to the story is: he who pumps gets what he wants. There is no phone service under the metal docks so you have to walk out to the road to make a phone call. This is maybe 300-400 feet. Had our first oh no what now moment. Called the Park’s main desk to get internet code, they would not give it to us. We had to get it from the marina. Called the marina, the girl there said, “I do not know it. You are the first to ask me that- I’m new”. You have to call Clift West. We called and he’s not in office. We can’t get calls on boat. Long story short, we now have the code after walking to marina office. Things here are quite. Jo Ann and I may cook at home tonight instead of buffet at park lodge. We have had two big dinners at Patti’s last two nights. Looks like chicken by candle light. Great meal- dear!

Nashville

Lighthouse Landing Marina

Inside grounds of Patti's Restaurant

Entrance to Lighthouse Landing Marina

Lighthouse Landing Marina what a great little place.-a sailboat marina. We are one of maybe three power boats in the place. I have pictures for you sailors that are following our blog. This place has a RV park, cabins, Patti’s 1880 Settlement restaurant and shops, Branson-style live theater/playhouse, and more. If you get a chance to stop on your way to somewhere else or just come here you will have fun. http://www.grandrivers.org/ We had a great dinner at Patti’s. No, I do not work for the Chamber of Commerce. This morning we awoke to a temperature of 56 degrees outside. Heater is running. Jo Ann has folded the holey blanket in half so now we have double holes – much warmer?? We do have another blanket. Fall is on the way. As we set out on our back patio you hear many sounds. The lines hitting the sailboat masts sound like a very large wind chime, birds chirping, the steamboat whistle  of the lock master signaling that it is clear to leave the lock ( we are only 2 miles below KY Lock and Dam) and Canada geese honking in v formation as they arrive for the winter. I wish I had gotten a picture of the geese. It was a perfect v. Coffee, cool weather, and the sounds make for a wonderful morning. We plan to stay tonight for another great lunch/dinner (another great meal was had) and move on tomorrow to Lake Barkley State Resort Park, Cadiz KY. Tomorrow, we will enter the Cumberland River thru the Barkley Canal (about 1.5 miles long) which connects the Tennessee River (KY Lake) and Cumberland River (Barkley Lake) so you do not have to go all the way to the Ohio River to enter the Cumberland from the Tennessee.

Nashville

View from Dining Room window of KY Lake

Main Lodge Building

Just a little place to stay on the weekends- nice houseboat

It is a rainy day in Paris. We arrived at Paris Landing State Park in Buchanan, TN on September 8. We plan to stay here until Sunday 12th. ESPN and ESN2 will have the UT and Alabama games Saturday which we will be watching. I told Jo Ann before we started the trip. I would take her to Paris. She has been looking for the Elfie Tower for the last two days. This is a great place to stay especially at $.70 per foot/ night dockage which includes water, electric, internet, cable TV. They have a golf course (we do not play). Also, there is a lodge and cabins. Friday is seafood at the lake night at the restaurant. Looks like a great buffet. We have our plans now made to Nashville. Had a little planning problem with finding gas but have that solved now. We plan to be in Nashville on Friday, September 17 at Drake Creek Marina- Hendersonville, TN- . We have a stop planned in Grand Rivers, KY at Patti’s and Bill’s Restaurant. Our cousins Richard and Cathy took us here on one of our trips to Nashville. It is a great place to eat, shop, and see. Last night after 67 years I have had frog legs for dinner. Yes, it does taste like chicken but chicken is better. The frog legs were on the Friday seafood buffet at the park lodge. Vols lose 48-13 to Oregon. Alabama wins vs. Penn State 24-3.Next stop Lighthouse Landing Marina; Grand Rivers, KY.

Nashville

Adventure at Pebble Isle Marina- New Johnsonville, TN

Today was a down day at Pebble Isle Marina. We did laundry, showered, shopped and napped. Tomorrow, we move to Paris Landing State Park Marina/Resort at Buchanan, TN (TN mm 66.1). Golf course, lodge/cabins, and restaurant are all there. We have stayed on the boat every night since we left home. It is home now. The bed sleeps great, food is good, and we know where things are - almost- however; there not many places to look. We are still working on our plans for the trip. After we get to Nashville we may have time to go on east up the Cumberland to its navigation end at Celina, TN.  The fall colors should start earlier there. We will just have to see how the plans go. It has been cloudy all day with a breeze, however; the temperature was still in the 90’s but it was only 68 this morning. It is raining now. That is great. It washes Adventure and sound really good on our boat top. Tonight we had pizza from our oven and salad, drink, and dessert—Little Debbie oatmeal pies, crunch ‘n munch and coffee. We have now used all of our cooking appliances – electric skillet, coffee pot, microwave, and toaster over. They will all run on 30A shore power or our generator. All the food has been great. It does not look like we will lose weight on this cruise. Food is available 24 hours a day. It is almost just like being on Royal Caribbean – not.

Nashville

(TN mm126.5 ) Don's house with uncompleted Light House-- Don Milam suggested Pebble Isle Marina-- Thanks Dan

We are now at Pebble Isle Marina (TN mm 96.0) in New Johnsonville, TN. Things still going great. The nights are getting cooler and we have had to use the heater. However; it is great not to sweat and drip just when you standup. It only being 89 degrees instead of 92 is a big difference. This morning it was 59 outside. We ate out again. Homemade barbeque cooked outback of the restaurant. It was great. I must talk about our holey blanket. A religious story this is not. Jo Ann brought a blanket with holes in it. We put a sheet over it to cover up the holes. I do not know if the hole keeps the cold out or the warm in. I do hope we have another blanket and it does not have holes especially if it gets really cold. I believe you call our current blanket a knitted blanket.  We saw lots of people out this weekend. We believe we must have seen every boat in Tennessee pulling someone on a tube, water skiing, anchored, fishing or going as fast as they could go. The Clifton Marina was packed with kids, moms and dads all wanting something. I am not sure they knew what they wanted just something. The band last night was ok. However; they did not keep us awake. We were planning to stop at Cuba Landing Marina today but this morning a visitor, Dan Milam, told us Pebble Isle was nicer so here we are. We may stay here a few days and cut out a few days at other places. We will sleep on it. The river is still beautiful.

Nashville

Homes on Tenn-Tom and Tennessee River

Bluffs of the Tennessee River

Cherry Mansion - Gen Grant (4/6/1862) had breakfast here before the Battle of Shiloh

We had a great time at Aqua Harbor Marina in Iuka, Ms. Iuka is the home of world famous Woodall’s Mountain- the highest point in Mississippi. At 806 feet it towers over the Mississippi countryside. We went to Corinth, Ms and visited the Dairy Crème and of course Wal-Mart. Ice Cream is Jo Ann’s most favorite food in the entire world. She was delighted at the ice cream stop for lunch. We toured old Corinth. We did not know that it was a important Civil War Battle site. Tennessee Vols won first game 50-0. Next week will be a different story. We watched the game at Freddy T’s in Counce, TN. It is a Sports Bar/Restaurant/Bar just across the MS border. The game was on pay for view. Someone had paid to see the Alabama game but we got the UT game instead. What luck? Jo Ann was disappointed; but she cheered for UT anyway. 50-0 UT was the score. I do not expect to see that score again this year. The score or wins. Go Vols. We are how in Clifton City, TN on the Tennessee River at a small marina. The Tennessee River is very pretty with stone bluffs, lots of river houses- from weekender trailers/cabins to very large mansions, and deep green water. Our marina maybe has 50-60 boats. It is a big change from the 700 boats Aqua Marina. There are lots of people coming and going for food, snacks and gas on Memorial Day weekend. They will have a live band here tonight 8 pm until midnight. I do hope we like their music. We are parked about 100 feet from the band. The first mate/cook has informed the captain she is off tonight. We will be eating at the Clifton City Marina Snack bar. I can’t wait for hot dogs, hamburgers, other exotic sandwiches, fries and etc. Jo Ann wants to help the local economy. 

Nashville

Aqua Marina from our dining table

Cafe' St Clair

Sunrise over Pickwick Lake

What a wonderful morning and night. We had a beautiful sunrise and a great dinner at Café St. Clair at Aqua Marina.  Jo Ann had Beef Tenderloin and I had Shrimp Scampi. Both were great. Tomorrow is football day. We will not be able to get either the Tennessee or Alabama games on TV; however maybe we will be able to listen to them. The parking lots are filling up with Labor Day weekend boaters. This is last big weekend of the summer for Tennessee. All the swimming pools closed and school started right after Labor Day when I was growing up.  The marina is very large. It has over 700 boats in it. We got our computer hooked up to the cable system today so now we have 29 channels we can watch on the computer-- some football games can be seen. Tomorrow we have a trip to Corinth, MS and eating at Pickwick Lake State Park planned. Jo Ann is reading her second book and has finished three magazines. I am still on my first book. I have been using the computer to much. It is really pretty on the water with no trash along the banks, everyone really polite and time moving real slow. No one is in a hurry for your parking spot or shopping cart. The weather is cooling off. It is forecast to go down into the 50s next few nights. We have a heater so all will be good. 

Nashville

Starting to see hills of Tennessee

Start to see hills of Tennessee

We departed Midway Marina at 9:15 am this morning. Three locks and fifty + miles and we arrived at Aqua Marina in Iuka, MS which is only two miles from the entrance to the Tennessee River. We have finished the Tenn-Tom Waterway. It is 450 miles from Mobile to Tennessee River. We started to see hills of Tennessee today. The countryside has sure changed since we left Gulf Breeze. No palms tree, few pines along the rivers. Some trees are just starting to change color. Fall is really going to look great along the river in October- we hope. We plan to stay here until Sunday watch football, go to church, and rest up. We then will be moving on to Tennessee. Clifton City Marina in Clifton, Tennessee will be our first stop. Then we will stop in Waverly, TN, New Johnsonville, TN, Buchanan, TN on the Tennessee River and Grand Rivers, KY on the Cumberland River. Things are going great: food is good, bed is soft, companion (1) is great, engine works and boat floats.

Nashville

In a Tenn-Tom Lock going up

Floating Bollard

We had another great day on the water. We toured Columbus, MS yesterday.  It is a pretty old southern town with many old homes and buildings in the historical district. We visited the 1850’s Waverly Plantation Home and drove around town. It is the largest town on our trip between Mobile and Nashville. We departed Columbus at 8:30 this morning and moved north to Fulton, MS to the Midway Marina. We arrived about 2 p.m. We had to go through four locks today. They are all the same—600’ long x 100’ wide with floating bollards. They each lifted us up 30 feet more above sea level. Tomorrow we depart for Aqua Yacht Harbor in Iuka, MS and the last of the Tenn-Tom locks. Three locks tomorrow with the last lock having a lift of 84 feet. We plan to stay most of the weekend at Aqua and see the start of football season. Go Vols and Tide. Tonight we met a couple (Kaleen and Dave Dixon) from Destin who are about to finish the loop. They have been traveling 7 months and are now on there way south to Destin to finish their great loop trip. They are excited.