The next morning Pam wanted me to check out the laundry facilities for her so up to the office I go. On my way back down I walked under the building (it's elevated for flooding) and stopped dead in my tracks. Laying there was a 6' long snake! I'm sure I had the same effect on him as he did on me since he never flinched while we both sized each other up.
Being the odd individual that I am my first thought was to get the camera and take a picture, so off to the boat I went. Of course by the time I got back he had moved on. Not wanting to give up I walked up the ramp that encircles half of the building looking for him. Finally when I reached the top I spotted him laying in the grass. I clicked the pictures below and then got T's daughter Carla to show her my discovery.
Her reaction was that the snake needed to be eliminated so off to her car she went to get her pistol! (Only in the South!) On her way she called her dad who reminded her that she couldn't fire her pistol within city limits. Use the pellet gun instead! Heeding her fathers advice she popped off a few rounds at the snake but by now he was moving toward the water. Successfully for the snake, he slipped into the water, swam under the fuel dock and across the lagoon to the other side.
Carla claims she would have hit him if she could have used her pistol!
In comparing my pictures to pictures on the internet they figured it may have been a python that someone may of had as a pet and let go.
After two nights it was time to move on. Up until this time we had only encountered 1 other northbound boat since we left Mobile. Last night 3 came into the marina and left before us today. All alone we continued our trek up the Tombigbee. With a bit of a delay at Amory Lock we decided to call it quits at an old commercial embayment just below Fulton Lock. Knowing that the locks on the Tenn-Tom keep track of our progress I gave them a call to advise them of our stopping for the night for which they thanked me and wished us a pleasant night.
With 4 locks ahead of us we got going early today. 1st lock, right through! 2nd lock, not so fast. As we approached the lock we knew we were in trouble when we saw the Tow Uncle John heading to the gates. Only 2 barges wide I thought a call to the lock wouldn't hurt. As I had hoped the lockmaster and the tow captain agreed to allow us to lock through with the tow. Once Uncle John was in and secured we came in as instructed. Only one problem. We were too long to allow the gates to close. A quick conversation with the lockmaster and we moved forward a few feet allowing the gates to close. We were then able to move back and secure to the bollard for the ride up.
Once on top we were instructed to move on between the barges and the lock wall and exit before Uncle John. a tight fit but we made it!
2 down and 2 to go. The next lock, Montgomery Lock had the gates open and waiting for us. In, up, and out. A few miles later and we were at our last lock on the Tombigbee. They saved the best for last. The Whitten Lock has a lift of 83'. In we went all alone looking up at the sky and marveling at the work of engineering that created the lock system. In no time at all we were at the top and exiting into Bay Springs Lake.
Across the lake and into the 24 mile long man made canal that connects the Tennessee and Tombigbee Rivers. As has become the norm, we had it all to ourselves.
Popping out of the upper end of the canal we encountered a south bound tow before pulling into Grand Harbor Marina, a stop we have enjoyed 4 other times in the past. Unfortunately not so much this time.
I should have known we were in trouble when the girl at the fuel dock asked if we needed a power hook up and then wanted to put us on the most exposed side of their docks when there was obviously room for several boats in the more protected areas. In the past someone has been out there waving at us on the finger where we were going. I will say that this girl was out there but looking like she may have been waiting for her boyfriend to come in with the jet ski and pick her up. Finally as we were backing into the dock Pam had to ask if she'd catch our lines. She did. Showed us the power pedestal and when asked if the cable TV outlet worked, said she didn't know. With that she said she'd be inside getting our papers together and off she went!
That was the good part of the experience.
According to the Active Captain web site their dockage fee was $1.00 a foot minus a 10% discount if you belong to Boat US or AGLCA. We belong to both so our bill should have been $43.20 plus tax. With that in mind I went in to pay.
I was given none of the papers that she supposedly had to prepare nor was I given a breakdown of the charges when she presented me with a bill for 64.20. Like a dummy I paid the bill and went back to the boat thinking the taxes must be high around here. The more I thought about it I decided to be a pain and question the bill.
When questioned she admitted that she normally didn't check boats in and wasn't sure if there were any other charges or how this was derived. She said she'd talk to the manager and get back to me.
Over an hour later she comes out with $6.00 cash and says that the manager said to give us that as a refund for overpayment. Ok. 64.20 minus 6 = 58.20. Still seems too high for what we read on Active Captain. Now keep in mind that AC is not the marina web site and can be wrong. We just wanted an explanation of the charges. Money isn't the issue. It's the principal of it all.
Of course the girl by now was back in the building so this time Pam went in. She asked who she could talk to about the charges and was told the manager and he was up on top. (???) While Pam was still standing there the phone rang and the girl said that we were still upset about the bill and gave the phone to Pam. Pam asked him what the tax rate was and he didn't know! She then told him what we had read on AC and he said that it was wrong, that their rate was $1.25 per foot. Ok. So now it should be 54.00 plus tax. Pam told him he should change the rate on AC since it was misleading. He said he updated the fuel prices daily on the site. So! We're talking about dockage. Anyway he was getting huffy by now and said he'd give her another $6.00 and hung the phone up on her! Unbelievable! He hung up on her!
An hour later the price on Active Captain had been changed!
The attendant gave Pam another $6.00 which meant we only paid $52.20.
So in the end because of the lack of training of the staff and the rudeness of the management at Grand Harbor they have lost a customer and in the end screwed themselves since we only paid $52.20. Tax included.
The attendant closed up shop at 5 pm. We left at 7:30 am the next day and never once saw anyone from management on the docks. Certainly not how it used to be.
Too bad such incompetence for such a nice facility.
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