11/20/08 to 11/27/08 Green Turtle Bay to Clifton, Tn

Yep, we're back in Grand Rivers, Ky. We had to come back to this point to connect with the Tennessee River via a man made canal between the Cumberland and the Tennessee. while at GTB we took the courtesy car to Paducah for lunch and a trip to Wally World. Pam was looking for something to have for Thanksgiving Dinner. I thought KFC would be great but got shot down immediately. KFC is our traditional Christmas day meal at my parents and I thought.....Oh well!

Back to the boat.

We left GTB the next day and travelled a whopping 13.7 miles upstream (upstream is really South)on the Tennessee which at this point is considered as Kentucky Lake. We anchored for the next 2 nights in Duncan Bay, one of the many bays off of Kentucky Lake. While there we saw 3 fishing boats, a deer, ducks, Obama birds, and thought we heard a wolf during the night. More importantly we had the first of I'm sure many Domino tournaments. Results of tourney #1, Pam 17, Rick 250. A rematch is on the horizon!

From Duncan Bay we continued upriver anchoring again at Boswell Landing before continuing on to Pebble Isle Marina at New Johnsonville, Tn. Quimby's states that they have cable tv hookups on the transient dock which attracted us because it was finals night on Dancing With the Stars! They did have tv hook ups but via satelite, not cable. After ripping the built in entertainment center out in an unsuccessful attempt to hook up the sat receiver we gave up and watched a movie. And another thing. We have now entered into the no cell coverage area!

The folks at Pebble Isle were very friendly and provided free coffee and cinnamon rolls each morning. Again Pam insisted I take advantage of this perk!

We left Pebble Isle and travelled 62.7 miles to Clifton, Tn. and the Clifton Marina. It is here that we had Thanksgiving Dinner. A delicious meal of rice with chicken stock, applesauce, and 2 Kentucky miniature turkeys that Pam found back in Paducah. A great meal and just the right amount. I didn't even take a nap after dinner!

While travelling on Kentucky Lake we passed a small red sailboat named BIKA. It turns out the people on board are from Norway and have been trevelling on the boat since 2005. They have been down the coast of Europe to the Azores, acroos the Atlantic to Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Cuba, Bahamas, U.S. East Coast, Erie Canal, Great Lakes, & inland rivers to this point. Oh did I mention the boat is only 26' long! If you Google SV Bika you will find thier web site.

Happy Thanksgiving!! We'll call when back in cell coverage area.

11/13/08 to 11/19/08 Green Turtle Bay to Nashville & Return

After doing laundry, replenishing supplies, and eating at Patty's (famous for their thick pork chops. Pam insisted I eat one!) we moved up the Cumberland River to overnight at Clarksville, Tn. before getting to Nashville on Friday. (Pam now has the Monkees Last Train to Clarksville stuck in her head) We tied up at the Municipal dock right downtown Nashville. Vey convenient. We did city tours, saw the Parthenon, The Grand Ole Opry at the Ryman Auditorium, barhopped, saw some great musicians trying to hit it big, went into the Widhorse Saloon where they were taping a segment of Gone Country. Gone Country is hosted by John Rich of Big & Rich and is a show that takes celebrities from the past and tries to make them into a country star. Our night in Clarksville was prophetic. Up on the stage right after we got there was Mickey Dolenz of the Monkees! One of Pam's favorite groups from her youth. Needless to say I had to restrain her from rushing the stage! Embarrassment spared. we also went into Coyote Ugly just to see it. We saw it and thats about all I can say about it. Nashville is a fun town with music at all hours of the day and night. One other thing of note while we were in Music City. Saturday while at the boat another boat pulled in behind us. A 63' Burger, the Lady J. After they tied up and got settled the owner explained to us that he had recently purchased the boat from Alan Jackson. We got the nickel tour. What a pretty boat.

After leaving Nashville we spent 2 nights on the hook before returning to GTB.

11/9/08 to 11/12/08 Cape Girardeau to Green Turtle Bay, Grand Rivers, Ky.

Today we continued South on the Mississippi for our last 48.8 miles. We turned North on the Ohio at 11:10 a.m. at Cairo, Il. Cairo is also a very commercial area with barges anchored in mid-stream and tows in both directions. Just before turning off the Mississippi we went under a bridge which had the same work barges anchored around it that were in Dubuque earlier in the year removing the barge that ran into the bridge. They were again doing that same thing here in Cairo.

We continued up the Ohio past the construction site of the Olmstead Lock & Dam which is being built to replace Locks 53 & 52 which are almost worn out from floods and traffic. We cruised through 53 (during the summer when helping to deliver "Sandy Beach" from Forida we went over the wicket dam at 53 due to the higher water level then) and on to 52. I knew we had trouble before talking to the Lockmaster when we passed 4 tows nosed into the bank below the lock. We arrived at 3:30P.M. and finally exited the lock at 6:30. By now it was dark! 52 is just a couple of miles downstream fro Paducah, Ky. and the junction of the Tennessee River. Again, very commercial. With the help of Radar, chartplotter, and spotlight we made our way 10 more miles on th Ohio to anchor behind Towhead Island at the jucntion of the Cumberland River.

The next day shortly after leaving our anchorage we stopped to let 2 deer swim across the channel in front of us. We continued on, through the Barkley Lock (a lift of 57') and into Green Turtle Bay marina for the next 3 nights.

11/27/08

Since we got a late start doing this blog stuff I thought I'd go back in time to when this adventure started and bring it up to date. We cast off the lines at 8:40 a.m. on 11/1/08 and headed South. After a stop in Sabula for fuel at Island City Harbor we continued down river. A slight wait at Lock 13 and a 20 minute wait at the Clinton RR bridge due to mechanical problems with the bridge (normal) allowed us just enough time to get into the LeClaire canal to anchor for the night. 1st day 2 locks, 2 RR bridges and 85 miles.

The next 7 days saw good weather and normal river travel with the usual waits at locks. Along the way we saw several things of interest. While passing Muscatine we noticed the excursion boat Adiamo which is normally spotted in Stillwater, Mn. At lock 24 we locked through with the Pathfinder which is a Corps of Engineers bouy tender. We were told to position behind him in the lock and when it was time to depart he would hold position while we exited the chamber. Only problem was that he didn't get the memo and kicked it in gear just as we were passing by his stern. I don't think he even bothered looking to see if all was clear. We survived and passed him shortly thereafter.

On Friday the 7th we passed through St.Louis. Very commercial with barges everywhere. Our speed went from 9.4 mph to 13.9 mph once we cleard through lock 27. It's nice going downstream! Of course I took a picture of the Arch which I will try to post. That night was spent at Hoppies in Kimswick, Mo. Hoppies is the last fuel stop until Kentucky Lake, a distance of roughly 250 miles. It was a rough night tied to the barges that constitute Hoppies since they are directly on the channel.

The day we left Hoppies we passed the tow Sally Archer pushing 42 barges against the current. Nightfall found us anchored off the chanel below Cape Girardeau, Mo. in the Little River Diversion Canal

Monday, November 24, 2008

Here we are in Pebble Isle Marina in New Johnsonville TN. After being at anchor for three nights in two locations, we decided to come into a marina, so we could watch television.

11/22/08

Currently laying at anchor in Duncan Bay, Kentucky Lake, Tennesse River. Pam has kept a posting via e-mail up to now. To date we have covered just over 1000 miles from East Dubuque to here including our side trip up the Cumberland River to Nashville last week-end. As you can imagine boat traffic is almost non-existant at this time of year. Seems we're about 2 to 3 weeks behind the southern migration of northern boats. Our plan is to arrive in Columbus, Ms. in another 2 weeks where we will leave Tourist for a month to come home for the holidays. As we learn how to do this blog stuff we will try to keep it updated as we float along.