Our last day at Green Turtle Bay (Sept. 23rd)was as good as the first. Our generator was fixed. We took a last walk around the resort. The day ended with dinner at Pattti's with Kathy and Ken.  The food was delicious. The guys had the 2" pork chops which were outstanding. We all had dessert. Tony and I shared an apple crisp satisfying my craving for apples.  On Tuesday, Sept. 24th we left Green Turtle Bay and continued our journey down the Tennessee River through Kentucky Lake. The channel is very wide at this point and passing tows was easier. The banks are covered with beautiful bluffs and trees. At about 3:00 we anchored in Panther Bay. Wednesday Sept. 25th brought overcast skies but we continued on the Tennessee enjoying the beautiful scenery and the beautiful homes. We docked at Pebble Isle Marina near the small town of New Johsonville, Mississippi.  Don't tell Tony's cardiologist, but the dinner on his birthday was all deep fried at a lovely restaurant at the marina. Unfortunately, we had very poor wifi coverage and all the Face Time and cell phone greetings did not work.  On Thursday, we were fogged in at Pebble Isle Marina until 9:30. We continued on the Tennessee gently passing under a low railroad bridge. Our first anchorage choice was too shallow at the entrance so we continued on to Double Island and anchored behind Shady Acres, a boat we met at Pebble Isle. Friday brought beautiful blue skies and we continued on enjoying the beautiful homes, bluffs, and trees. We began to feel the increasing current as we got closer to the Pickwick Lock.  I successfully passed my first tow. We had a about a 40 minute wait at the lock and were the only boat in the lock. After going up almost 50 feet, we entered Pickwick Lake and docked at the state park for the night.  On Saturday morning Tony talked to the harbor master about anchorages on Pickwick Lake. After a very short journey we achored in Dry Creek.  Dry Creek is Muscamoot Bay with lots of depth. It was very busy until about 6:00. We also saw our first two bald eagles.  We also discovered that depending where we are on the Tennessee River, we will be in Tennessee, Mississippi, or Alabama. Sunday (Sept. 29) brought us to Aqua Yacht Harbor.  We had drinks with Ed and Sue from Shady Acres. Today, Monday we went to Shiloh National Park. Even though the weather was rainy, we were worried that the with government shutdown in Washington, the park would be shut down on Tuesday. The battle at Shiloh was at the beginning of the Civil War. It was a victory for the Union on the western front but at a cost of muliple deaths. We saw a video and traversed the park using the courtesy van from the marina.  Also part of the park are Indian burial mounds from 800 years ago. Archaeologists do not know why the village disappeared.  By the way, as of today, we have traveled 1,040 miles!

Travels on the Tennessee River

                                                        My Dream House

                                                    Shiloh Battlefied National Park          

                                                              Indian Burial Mounds

Life at Turtle Bay Resort is good. The amenities are numerous and we have taken advantage of most of them. They have two outdoor pools. Their ship's store is well stocked and we purchased needed items for the boat as well as some clothing. There is boat service on site and our generator will be fixed today (Monday, Sept. 23rd). There is a spa/wellness center.  I have done Zumba in the water at the indoor pool. I also got a haircut at the spa. There are walking trails. We have seen deer and the turtles.  I also came across a small graveyard on the property. We have enjoyed the company of many new loopers as well as reacquainted ourselves with others we have met along the way. The Commonwealth Yacht Club is part of the resort and we went to crab boil they sponsored complete not only with delicious crab, but also shrimp, sausage, red skin potatoes, corn on the cob and many sides and deserts. It was a wonderful evening. Life has not been all play. Summer Recess has been scrubbed both inside and out. Tony has also done a lot of maintenance checks. Laundry has been done twice. We both have recouped energy to continue our journey. This evening we will go to the famous Patti's Restaurant with Ken and Kathy. They are known for their two inch pork chops and wonderful pies. We are going to celebrate Tony's birthday and Kathy and Ken's wedding anniversary. Tomorrow we will be going down the Tennessee River.

Can you find the deer in this picture?

                                                       Moon over Turtle Bay Marina

                                                                   Crab Boil Feast

                                                               Enjoying the Crab Boil

                                                                   The Famous Turtles

                                                           Summer Recess at dock

                                                       Meandering our boating buddy

                                                         One of two pools

                                                 Ken and Kathy on Meandering

                                                              More Turtles

                                                            Barkley Lock

                                                         View from the walking path

                                                            Spa and indoor pool

                                                            Tow waiting for Barkley Lock

                                                           Small graveyard on the property

On Friday, Sept. 13th we continued down the Mississippi. This morning we are traveling with four other boats. We successfully locked through the Melvin Price Lock. We are noticing on this stretch of river, there is much industry on the Illinois side. We then locked through the Chain of Rocks Lock after waiting for a tow and barge to go through. We continue to marvel at the strong current on the Mississippi. We passed through St. Louis.  Surprisingly there is no place to dock near the city. We saw the famed arch. Then it was on to Hoppies our last marina until Barkley Lake. It is very primitive made up of three barges. They do have fuel and electricity. The owner of Hoppies is Fern. She is a legend in the looper world.  Every afternoon at 4:30 she holds court and tells the loopers about what to expect as we continue down to Mobile. Tony took a walk into the village of Kimmswick, the second oldest town in Missiouri. There are only 200 residents in the town and forty-four of the log homes and log businesses are part of the National Register of Historic places. The oldest building was constructed in 1770. We talked to Kathy and Ken from Meandering and we decided that we would travel together on the next leg of our journey. Saturday we continued traveling down the Mississippi. We passed and were passed by many tows. Protocol dictates that you radio your location by landmarks. Also, you always call the tow captain for passing instructions. Most of them are very friendly and appreciate the communication.  After traveling about about 80 miles, both boats tucked in between two wing dams (now called training structures). These dams are constructed to force the flow of the water into the middle of the channel. We were protected from the current as well as any tows that might pass during the night. They travel 24/7. We did have a hiccup. Our gnerator would not start. So we were really camping on the water. When we awoke on Sunday, we had very dense fog delaying our departure to 8:30. After traveling about 70 miles and encountering several tows, again we anchored in a protected spot. On Monday we left the Mississippi and entered the Ohio River. We now were traveling north against the current so we slowed down considerably. We are now bordered by Illinois and Kentucky. We locked right through Lock 53, but had almost a four hour wait at Lock 52. When we were finally called in Ken could not start the engine. As we rafted together, he tried one more time and it fired up. We ended up tying up to the city dock in Paducah, KY. It was a long 12 hour day. We left early Tuesday morning. We got a great sunrise picture as well as a picture of the American Queen. This large paddle wheel boat cruises from New Orleans to St. Louis.  We left the Ohio and entered the Cumberland River.  The Cumberland is a very narrow river with many twists and turns. The banks of the river are treelined with many beautiful rock outcrops. We finally made it to the Barkley Lock. Fortunately, there were two other looper boats at the lock and we had a short wait.  The lock was massive and lifted us 43 feet.  We then proceeded to Green Turtle Bay on Barkley Lake. There are many loopers here and more are expected.  We had a great docktail party and reconnected with boats we have not seen in awhile. We will be staying here for a week. We will have the generator repaired before we continue.

                                                                   St. Louis

                                                                    St Louis

                                                                      The Arch

   Meeting with Fern at Hoppies

Meandering anchored at Weir Dam