October 30, 2012    Day 172                                
at anchor on the Tenn-Tom                                                                
Total miles to date:  3429.2

One of the baffles on
the Divide Cut

We left our marina at Grand Harbor at 9:15 this morning with The Zone and headed south on the Tenn-Tom Waterway entering Mississippi. Limelight left later but caught up with us since they travel faster.  We spent most of the drive on the Divide Cut, a 25 mile manmade cut through a natural divide between the Tennessee River and the Tombigbee River.



Limelight catching up with us

We left the Divide Cut and entered Bay Springs Lake. We chose an anchorage in the Natchez Trace Recreation Area and rafted up with The Zone and Limelight.

We shared docktails and dinner aboard Carried Away and had a wonderful visit.

Tomorrow we will go through more locks and will make a call to the Whitten Lock before leaving our anchorage.  We will be locking down through 12 locks all the way to Mobile, AL.  The Whitten Lock is the tallest and will drop us 85 feet.

 

October 29, 2012  Day 171

Grand Harbor Marina                                                                                   Total miles to date:  3395.2

We stayed at Grand Harbor Marina again today as planned and used the time to go to Walmart with Ross and Laura and filled the back of the minivan we borrowed from the marina.  Bill also plotted more of our route as we prepare to head south down the Tenn-Tom (this is the Tennessee-TomBigbee Waterway).

Laura and Ross

Another lovely sunset on the water

Laura and Ross (The Zone) invited us and Anita and Don (Limelight) to their boat for docktails. We had a great time visiting with them!  We will all leave tomorrow and plan to anchor out near the Whitten Lock.


Bill, Don, and Anita

We returned to our boat for pizza and then spent the evening watching updates of Hurricane Sandy. We have been to many of the places being affected and it is hard to comprehend the impact of this storm.

October 28, 2012   Day 170
Grand Harbor Marina                         Total miles to date:  3395.2

Confederate Memorial

Many graves here

 

National Cemetery

We went to the Shiloh Battlefield as planned today and spent a memorable afternoon driving through the battlefields in which over 30,000 soldiers were killed on April 6 & 7, 1862.  This was the Civil War’s first major combat in the western theater.  We watched a movie at the visitor’s center that prepared us for the magnitude of the losses, and we borrowed a CD from Loopers on Muriel June that guided us as we drove through the site.  Stopping at Shiloh is a “must do” and we are glad we were able to see it although it is one of those places that you wish didn’t exist.

Speaking of Muriel June we were so surprised to see them today. We had not seen them since we were in Burlington, VT.  They are on their way back to Texas and will cross their wake when they reach Mobile.

When we returned from Shiloh, we talked briefly with Anita and Don on Limelight and Laura and Ross on The Zone. Both had arrived this afternoon while we were gone.  We will get together tomorrow. 

We will stay here one more day! There are high winds forecast, so we will keep the dock lines secure and hope to do some provisioning for the boat.

 

October 27, 2012   Day 169          Grand Harbor Marina                                  

                                                  Total miles to date:  3395.2

After enjoying a lazy morning at anchor, we finally departed our quiet cove on Bear Creek leaving the herons to watch the shoreline.  We only had 13 miles to travel today to return to Grand Harbor Marina where we will stay for two days.  It was cloudy, windy, and chilly today, and we are happy to be safely docked.  There are many Loopers here, many of whom were with us at the Rendezvous.

We had dinner on board and spent a quiet evening. Tomorrow we will use one of the marina’s loaner cars and visit the Civil War Battlefield at Shiloh.

October 26, 2012    Day 168   Bear Creek at anchor                                         

                                            Total miles to date:  3382.1

We cast our lines at 7:15 this morning ending a wonderful week at Joe Wheeler.  Making new friends, seeing old friends, learning what to expect on the second half of our loop, enjoying the perfect weather and scenery – all part of the Fall Rendezvous that provided us with great memories.



Leaving the beautiful
Joe Wheeler State Park

Sharing space in the Wilson Lock

We arrived at Wheeler Lock, the first of two locks, at 7:55 and locked down with Gemini Dream.  Five more Loopers, Proud Lady, Last Resort, Took the Plunge, Boot Scootin, and Lady KK, caught up with us at the Wilson Lock and we all locked through together. 

Our lovely weather changed today as we were met wiith rain, cooler temperatures and some wind this afternoon. By 4:00 we had located our anchorage on Bear Creek, off Pickwick Lake. The others went on to a marina, but we were ready for a quiet night. We cooked out on the grill and watched television – keeping updates on Hurricane Sandy as it approaches the east coast.

Tomorrow we will go back to the marina at Grand Harbor for two days.

October 25, 2012    Day 167                 Joe Wheeler State Park, AL              

                                                        Total miles to date:  3328.4

Many Loopers left Joe Wheeler today, but there are still several of us who stayed an extra day. Ten of us went to breakfast this morning at the lodge.

Potluck on the dock

Bill cleaned the outside of the boat and Joyce did laundry and worked inside. We also spent time visiting with the other boaters here. We all got together for a wonderful potluck dinner on our dock and had quite a feast and lots of fun talking.  Dave and Dianne on Boot Scootin arrived this afternoon and we enjoyed meeting them!


Guys on the dock

Most of us are heading out tomorrow – some are going to take the long but beautiful side trip to Chattanooga, and the rest of us are heading back down the Tennessee River toward Florence and Grand Harbor. It is time to move on again!

Oct. 24, 2012   Day 166   Joe Wheeler State Park, AL                         

Total miles to date:  3328.4

Today was the last day of the Looper Rendezvous and it was a full and fun day. We attended more seminars covering cruising Florida’s east coast and the ICW from Georgia to Norfolk. 

Bob Duthie won the Skipper Bob award!

We visited more boats on the Looper Crawl this afternoon and then watched the dinghy race. It was fun watching couples maneuver their dinghys around a buoy and back to the dock. The captain had to drive the dinghy blindfolded while the first mate gave the instructions.  We did not participate but it was a lot of fun to watch!

Joel, Eva, and Ron entertained us

Beatrice went trick or treating!

One of the couples on the loop has a young daughter not quite four and she put on her Halloween costume and went trick or treating up and down the docks today!

Bill and Joel playing at Music night

We attended a wine reception followed by the final banquet. After that at least thirty of us went to the lounge in the lodge for music.  Bill took his banjo, Eva and Ron brought their dulcimers, Betsy had her harmonicas, and Joel took his guitar. We all enjoyed listening to them perform and singing along on many of the songs.   Lots of talent in that group!

Many of the Loopers are leaving tomorrow and it was hard to say goodbye even though we will see them along the way. Some of us are staying at least one more day before heading back down the Tennessee River.  We have had a wonderful time being with so many terrific people who share our interest in the cruising lifestyle.