Our last entry had us getting ready to head back South to get Tourist out of storage and resume the boating life. And that's just what we did...Kind of.
We loaded up the car around the 14th of November and set out on our trek south.
Normally we make a beeline to Florida but this time we wanted to explore the area around Tellico Lake and the adjacent Tennessee River.
Day 2 had us in the area early. We drove around checking out Ft. Loudon Marina and Tellico Marina as well as some others before picking up I-75.
Ft. Loudon Lock & Dam on the Tennessee.
Ft. Loudon Marina
Ft. Loudon Marina
Tellico Marina
Tellico Marina
Just above Chattanooga we stopped to explore Island Cove Marina and have lunch at the adjacent Amigos Mexican Restaurant which was quite good.
Island Cove Marina
Yard Equipment at Island Cove Marina
With our exploration complete we continued down the road through Atlanta and Macon ending our day in Perry, Ga.
Normally that's as much as I would say about that day. However one of those "It's a small world" occurrences took place that evening.
After checking in to the hotel and getting settled we decided to eat at the Lone Star Steak House. The place was jumping with a group of about 20 military looking guys waiting for one big table. Seeing that it could take awhile to be seated Pam & I opted to sit at the bar. Well about halfway through dinner Pam gets a text from Nancy, who is back in Wisconsin. "Are you guys in Perry, Ga.?" she asks. Immediately I start looking around. How does she know this? Mike's pretty savvy. Did he put a GPS transmitter on our car or tap into a surveillance camera?
A couple more text exchanges and the secret powers of Nancy were revealed as we were approached by their son in law Justin who lives in Alaska but was now standing directly behind us!
Justin was sitting just a few spaces down the bar from us!
Justin is in law enforcement back in Alaska and he was in the area for training and to take possession of a new dog for their canine unit.
It truly is a small world. I'm glad that Pam & I were on our best behavior!
After our chance meeting in Perry and another day of travel we were knocking on River Forests door, ready to get back on the water! We had planned our arrival to coincide with that of the surveyor we had hired to do a check over of Tourist in order to satisfy our new insurance company. As I figured, he found a few items that would need addressing before we take off on any big adventures. One of the items he found was a cutlass bearing that was sloppy and in need of replacement. Since Tourist was still out of the water what better time to do the job than now. That is if the River Forest crew had the time to do it. A check with them set the project in motion. The only problem was that they would have to get the bearings overnighted to them (we changed both sides) which meant that we would have to find a place to stay for a couple of nights.
Tourist high & dry inside River Forest.
We unloaded a lot of the contents of the car into Tourist before we set off for Ft. Myers where we had booked a room at the Legacy Suites Hotel adjacent to the marina. Our stay turned into three nights when we found out that River Forest had received the wrong size cutlass bearings and would have to re-order them.
We made the most of our delay by re-connecting with our dock mates who were already at the marina. This worked out for us when it was time to return to River Forest for Tourist by allowing us to have Sarah (M/V Private Affair) go with us to bring our car back to Legacy. Thanks Sarah!
Our first night on Tourist was spent right along the sea wall at River Forest getting things organized and checking out the various systems to see that all were working. The following day we cruised through Ortona Lock and made our way west to the Franklin Lock Campground docks where we spent a couple of nights relaxing before continuing on to Legacy.
Waiting for the gates to open at Ortona Lock.
One of the homes along the Caloosahatchie.
Pam at the helm just before she told me that I made a better door than a window!
The newly re-furbished docks at the Franklin Lock Campground.
A well traveled trawler coming in for the night.
The automated train bridge just east of Ft. Myers.
You know you're close when you can see the Highpoint Towers.
Once we were in it wasn't long before Pam was off to the laundry!
And then it changed. A call from home telling us that my Mom had a blockage in her colon and would be going in for surgery! Not knowing the severity of it but knowing that any surgery on an almost 86 year old individual is serious we booked a flight home for the next day.
Thanks Rich (M/V RiDi) for driving us to the airport.
The surgery was successful in removing an approximately 2" to 3" diameter tumor and about 5 inches of her upper colon. Now the hard part. Keeping her down long enough for things to heal properly.
My mother is used to being up and doing something around the house every day. She wanted no part of the hospital once she gathered her senses a few days after the surgery. But then what did we expect. This is a woman who hadn't been to the doctor other than for cataract surgery since I was born 63 years ago. Not even a routine physical.
One of the side benefits of this hospital stay was that she found out her blood pressure was slightly elevated and a prescription was given to her to regulate it.
Once out of the hospital and back home it was recommended that she have 24 hour care. Since I had been staying with my Dad for a few days it was decided that Pam would stay also until mom could function again on her own. I must say that Pam did an excellent job of taking care of her. Much better than I could have done. And also it was nice to have Pam's Dad, a retired physician, to consult with from time to time about what was happening.
Pam & I spent 2 weeks living with my parents and tending to their needs. Yes I said their needs. My Dad is 89 and at times forgot that my Mom was the patient!
I have to say that it was an eye opening experience to move back in with my parents and see just how much their habits and their lifestyle has changed since I last lived under the same roof. Any of you who have ever had this experience know what I'm talking about.
They say there is a silver lining in every dark cloud. For us it was the unexpected time we were able to spend with family and friends while we were home.
Decorating the tree with Ellie & Franklin
Jumping with the twerps until one of us wore out!
Grandparents lunch with Franklin at his school. Hot dogs. Yummm!
We were able to drive around our hometown of Galena and check out the luminary display that takes place every December. This is only a very small fraction of what the town looks like at that time.
Christmas scenes.
And yes. We had our traditional Kentucky Fried Chicken for Christmas at my parents!
Celebrating Grandson Drew's 21st birthday.
Drew and his girlfriend Alysa
New Years Eve at Mike & Nancy's.
Another installment of 2 Blondes Cooking! Always entertaining.
We had a great time New Years Eve! Thanks Mike & Nancy for hosting a wonderful and tasty party!
I almost forgot to get this pic of the birthday cake I received from Franklin & Ellie. They liked it because it had candles on it. I also got a card signed by the two of them.
Chocolate cake complete with candles. You can't go wrong!
Before we knew it the time had come to head back south. Mom was/is doing well with some supposed limitations to her activities. The Christmas decorations were packed away. One last visit with the Grandkids and we were off.
Don't leave Grandma!
Our original flight was changed by United during the time we were home to a much earlier departure so we enlisted Mike & Nancy to drive us to Cedar Rapids where we spent the night at Ange & Dougs house. Thanks to them for the ride and to Angela for getting up way early to take us to the airport for our 6 a,m. flight.
Originally we were to fly later from Cedar Rapids to O'Hare then O'Hare to Ft. Myers. Now we flew from CR to Denver then Denver to Ft. Myers. Why not hit three time zones in one day?
If you know me you know my opinion of what has become nothing more than a cattle drive to the airlines. Squash you in and charge you for everything.
Our flight from CR to Denver wasn't bad. The weather was good and I actually had an inch of legroom to spare! Denver to Ft. Myers was a different story. Our seats were in the back of the plane with no legroom and to make matters worse a young family came in and of course the woman sat next to us with a baby! Three and a half hours is all I'm thinking while Pam is cooing with the kid!
Fortunately the little guy/girl? was good with only a few happy chirps coming out during the flight!
No Legroom. Thanks United! And then the young girl in front of me tried putting her seat back! Grrr!
We made it to Ft. Myers mid afternoon where Bru & Sandy (M/V Coconuts) picked us up and whisked us back to Legacy where Tourist was waiting. Thanks guys.
Ready and Waiting.
