Mobile Bay & Pensacola

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!  We are in Pensacola Fl. arrived here on Tuesday, and staying at the Marina on the Naval Base. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday at my cousins home in Milton, about 45 min from Pensacola.  Compliments to the cook, the meal was fabulous.  Thanks Cindy & Jim. The pictures at the bottom are taken at Cindy & Jim's house, with their friends Bobby and Jaye, and our friends Ted & Nancy.

We came thru Mobile Bay in Alabama on Monday as planned.  The weather and water was pleasant.  So much to see along the way, a welcome change from the river banks. We saw 2 dolphins jumping next to our boat.  By the time I got the camera they were only coming to the surface, but not jumping.  They ran next to the boat for about 15 minutes, that was really cool.

 

The homes along the ICW are quite  a treat to look at.

The weather in Pensacola has been in the high 60's during the day, and dipping down to the 40's in the evening.  We plan on staying here for about a week, leaving on Tuesday for points further south.  (What does it take to get guys to smile?)

Tombigbee Waterway

The river is still elevated about 13 feet above normal, but the debris is not nearly as bad as it was.  We left Demopolis on Wed the 18th, spent one night on the hook, the overnight temps dipped to the low 30's, which brought in the fog.  The next evening we were at Bobby's fish camp, where we rafted off another boat, and had fried catfish dinners at the restaurant.

The following 2 evenings we spent on the hook in various anchorages along the way. We are about a day away from Mobile Bay, as of today.  The weather is calling for a front to come thru, as a result the bay will be a bit too choppy to be comfortable.  So we will stay in the anchorage for another evening. Monday is reported to be a better day to enter Mobile Bay. Our only agenda at the moment is to be in Pensacola for Thanksgiving.  My cousin Cindy and her husband Jim have graciously invited us, along with Ted and Nancy from "Aloha Friday"to join them for the holiday.

 2  of the pictures above are of other boats we have been traveling with off and on.  "Magnolia" is David and Diane, they are from Mississippi, they are going as far as Orange Beach,  FL.  They are not doing the loop this year, maybe next. "Magnolia" is a catamaran, a 44 foot Endeavour.  This is the first time I was ever on a cat, I was very surprised how much room there is.

The other boat is also a cat, "Echo Tango" is Emmett and Taryn's, they are from Wisconsin.  They are very young, early 20's, also not doing the loop, just going down to Florida. They were fun to spend some time with. We wish them safe travels, and calm waters.

Here is a sample of more "prime real estate" along the Tombigbee Waterway.

Hopefully by the next posting we will be in the gulf. 

Demopolis, Alabama

It has been a week since we arrived here in Demopolis, Alabama.  The boat has been on the hard (land) for the  majority of that time.  Jim has been able to inspect the bottom of the boat, and put a coat of wax on before we hit the Gulf.  It looks like we will stay here until Wednesday, there is too much debris in the water from IDA, the water level is still elevated and the current is pretty strong.  So with any luck, we will leave on Wed. and get  a bit closer to Florida. There are about 10 other loopers here also waiting.

Here are two maps showing where we are,  which is approximately 200 miles from the Gulf.  Remember to double click on any picture to enlarge and hit the arrow key to go back.

Demopolis Yacht Basin

Ida is on her way according to all reports.  We are about 200 miles from the gulf in Demopolis Yacht Basin, waiting out the storm before we head any further south.  While we are here, we have decided to have the boat pulled from the water to do some maintenance work and add a macerator pump, which we will need in the Bahamas.  So we are living on the boat on land, for a day or so, which during a storm is allot less rocky than being in the turbulent water.

Here are some pictures of the boat being hauled out, and a picture of some deer in the Tenn-Tom waterway


The last picture is of Jim & I with 2 other couples also doing the loop We are on Ted & Nancy's boat "Aloha Friday".  Bobbie, this is the only picture I have so far, I am always the picture taker. :)

 

Alabama

Here we are anchored out with Ted and Nancy on "Aloha Friday" and Jack and Nan on "Eschaton" off the Tenn-Tom waterway.  We will anchor out for 3 nights, moving down the river. Our next Marina stop will be Demopolis, Alabama, where we will have the boat pulled out of the water to do some maintenance work.   The weather is progressively getting warmer, the days are hitting mid 70's, it is still dropping to high 30's at night. 

U. S. Snagboat, MONTGOMERY was the last steam-powered stern wheeler to work the inland waterways of the South.  She was retired in 1982, and restored, and is now on display at the Tom Bevill Visitor Center.

Overall length is 178 feet

Beam is 34 feet, 3 inches

The Tom Bevill Visitor Center was built in 1985 and depicts the time period between 1830 - 1860 in a Greek revival home similar to those built in the Tombigbee River Valley. the following pictures are a couple taken in the parlor, and impressive entry way.

The following pictures are an assortment of what we see along the river banks of the Tenn-Tom waterway.

Columbus, MS

Columbus MS is filled with history, antique shops, specialty shops, and gorgeous historic homes dating back to 1835.  We toured the Waverly Mansion which was built in 1852 by Col. George H. Young.  He lived there with his wife and 10 children.  It is a truly impressive home, with a foyer that doubled as a ballroom during the war,  and is open to the 3 stories above it. No photos were allowed in this home. They had peacocks in pens on the property.  The home is still privately owned.

Tomorrow we head back to the Tenn-Tom waterway. This 234 mile waterway connects middle America with the Gulf of Mexico. We will be anchoring out for the next two nights, and take the dinghy in to the town. The next couple days the waterway winds between Mississippi and Alabama, so tomorrow evening we will be in Pickensville, Alabama.  While there, we will visit the U.S. Snag boat Montgomery, it is a steam powered stern wheel snag boat.

Still Smiling :)

Tenn-Tom Waterway

We have been cruising on the Tenn-Tom waterway for the past few days, anchored out at some beautiful anchorages along the way.  The fall colors are about a month behind what we have in Ohio.  The weather the past few days has been in the 60's and sunny, and the rest of the week should be about the same, maybe reaching mid 70's.  We are currently in Columbus MS, at Columbus Marina.  We plan on staying here for 2 days, before heading back to the river.

Tennessee River

Oct. 23 thru Oct. 30

For the past week we have been traveling down the Tennessee River. The river and towns along the way are rich in historical events, and wild life refuge.  In the fall more than 200,000 ducks and 25,000 Canadian geese arrive at the Tennessee national wild life refuge for protection.  Approximately 75 bald eagles over-winter here. In the picture to the left, if you look close you will see an osprey nest on top of a navigational marker.  By 1950 the osprey was nearly extinct due to use of of DDT, a commonly used pesticide.  In 1984 an effort to re-establish the population began. By 2002, a survey revealed 33 nests and 115 osprey. Adult osprey can be up two feet long and have a wingspan of as much as 6 ft.  Their nest can weigh as much as 200 lbs. What's really interesting is the duck blinds along the river, before and after the wildlife refuge. I must say they can be quite elaborate.

We went to the Shiloh Battlefield where on April 6th and 7th, 1862, "The Battle of Shiloh" took place.  The bloodiest military engagement in American history to date,  nearly 24,000 casualties in two days. A total  of 620,000 lives were lost in the civil war.  Many men, from both sides,  were buried in mass graves , and later moved to this cemetery.  A large portion of the tomb stones are marked "unknown soldier".

On a lighter note, we also went to Memphis TN, to Graceland.  I'm not sure that I ever

realized just how big of a entertainer Elvis was.  We were totally amazed at how accomplished he was in his short life.  A millionaire by the age of 21, 7 gold records in the first year, and 31 movies. Here are some pictures taken at his home.