October 28, 2014 - In Orange Beach, AL

This has been a very fun couple of days. We made it from our anchorage and into Mobile Bay, a huge body of water, and docked for the night at Dog River Marina in Mobile, AL. Friends Ron & Amy met us at the marina and after enjoying some catch-up time and dinner, Amy and I went to the Hampton Inn nearby while the guys spent the night on the boat. I had forgotten how nice it was to sleep in a "real bed" and I enjoyed a long, luxurious "real shower". Amy and I slept in, enjoyed a breakfast and hit the road for a tour of Bellingrath Gardens & Homes. This is a well-known landmark of Walter & Bessie Bellingrath. Mr. Bellingrath was Mobile's first Coke bottler and turned a modest fishing camp on the Fowl River into an historic area to be shared with the community and its visitors, while his wife worked with a landscape architect to develop an extensive garden surrounding the home. We spent a good part of the day here, and then took the scenic route to The Wharf Marina, where our husbands had arrived and were waiting patiently at the nearby pub. We enjoyed a great dinner at Lulu's (Jimmy Buffet's sister's restaurant) before retiring to our boat, while Ron & Amy crashed at the Hampton Inn in Orange Beach, AL.

I was excited to land at The Wharf Marina and find a shopping area just next door to the marina, in addition to a movie theater. While we have very much enjoyed our journey along the river system, it is exciting to enter the next phase, which will consist of more developed areas, with more amenities close-by. As icing on the cake, our stay here is free because of the big win at the rendezvous. Yahoo!!

I (Jim) had a fun time on our 5 hour voyage across Mobile Bay with Ron Beeber, our former neighbor from Pentwater.  The trip across the bay was actually more than 30 miles due to having to go so much out of our way just to get to the ICW because most of the Bay is very shallow and we did not want to risk going aground.  Among our highlights were seeing several dolphins, including some that swam with us for a couple of minutes off the bow of our boat, and again in the wake off the stern.  Dolphins love to swim with boats and play in the wake.  They even did a couple of jumps for us. We also saw several huge cargo ships and barges moving into or out of Mobile Bay with their huge loads.  We went near some petroleum rigs that were huge, some like small factories on stilts.  Upon our arrival in the ICW we cruised a few miles to our destination of the Wharf Marina while passing Lulu's restaurant and marina, a well known local place that is owned by Jimmy Buffett's sister (and we later returned there for dinner). Upon finally arriving at our marina, we enjoyed an adult beverage while waiting for the girls to arrive by car.

These next few days will be busy and fun-filled. Tomorrow we leave via rental car to New Orleans and then leave for Fayetteville, GA on Thursday, and will return to Orange Beach on Friday afternoon. Stay tuned for tales of our adventure...

Wildflowers growing along the river contrast with the greenery and changing leaves

Many of these birds along the shoreline adding to the beauty of nature

Through binoculars, these looked like black-eyed susans...spectacular!

October 25, 2014 - Life is good!!!

As I write this, we are cruising down the river with a very unusual burst of Verizon bars, so thought I would take advantage of this window and post the blog as I sit on the front of the boat enjoying the sunshine and looking for alligators.

We anchored out again last night tied up with Blue Willow (Mark & Vicki) and Pura Vida (Steve & Sheli) and had a wonderful evening in a narrow anchorage (Basche Creek) lined with trees and vegetation. It was a beautiful spot just off the river, but very well protected from tows and other boat traffic.

Today we left the anchorage about 7:00 a.m. and managed to reach the FINAL lock until we reach the  Dismal Swamp (in Virginia). We all seem to be relieved and elated to have the locks behind us, as it tends to cause delays as we meander down the river, so makes it difficult to anticipate with any certainty how long we'll be able to travel in a day. In honor of this milestone, several of us are planning dinner and card games in our anchorage tonight. Pot lucks, as usual, are always the best! Good food, good friends, and memories made.

This has been a monumental day for us. In addition to encountering our last lock, Jim is anxiously awaiting the beginning of the Michigan/Michigan State football game and is hopeful that we will be able to listen to it on our XM radio. Another highlight for us has been the sighting of 2 alligators. The first we saw swimming across the river just before going into the Coffeeville Lock. The last sighting, just a few minutes ago was a large gator sunning himself on the bank of the river.

We are very much looking forward to connecting tomorrow with friends Amy & Ron from Pentwater. Ron will board the boat at the entrance to Mobile Bay and I will ride with Amy in the car. It is likely the guys will smoke cigars and talk about golf, and Amy and I will do what we do best...shop! Tomorrow evening we plan to arrive in Orange Beach, Alabama, where we will spend at least a week at The Wharf Marina, with our free dockage for a month (thanks to my great gambling skills)!!! Ron and Amy plan to spend a couple of days with us, so I'm sure we will do some sightseeing of the area and enjoy some local cuisine. One of the "must-stops" is Lulu's - Jimmy Buffet's sister's restaurant, which is close by.

Life is GOOD, and I hope the same is true with all of you reading this blog. Hugs to you all!!

October 23, 2014 - Officially in Alabama

We have spent the last few days weaving from Mississippi to Alabama, but officially entered Alabama for the rest of our journey to the Gulf of Mexico today. We ended our day in Demopolis (Alabama)Yacht Basin at Kingfisher Marina. Once again, we traveled all day with some of our Looper friends and connected with many more tonight at "docktails" in the marina. We then went to dinner with 2 other couples (Mark & Vicki - Blue Willow and Paul & Stephanie - Infinite Seas) and came back to the boat just in time for "Looper Midnight" - 9:00 p.m. It is amazing how tired we feel at 9:00 in the evening...thus, appropriately named "Looper Midnight", as it is felt by most Loopers. Interesting phenomenon...

Last night we anchored in Sumpter Recreation Area with Blue Willow (Mark & Vicki Hill) and enjoyed a splendid evening with a picnic and hot dog roast around a campfire in the camping area just along the shore of our anchorage. We took our dinghies to shore and enjoyed the brightly light starry sky on our short trek back to the boat. Beautiful, enjoyable night!!!

Once again we are plagued with limited internet access so are unable to post pictures. Today we encountered the breathtaking White Cliffs at Epes along our journey. Pictures of these cliffs will be included in our posting of photos. It truly was indescribably beautiful!!

Another week has nearly passed us by, and we hope all is well with the friends following us on the blog. We send our love to you all!

October 21, 2014 - In Columbus, MS

Since leaving the Looper rendezvous in northern Alabama two days ago, we have been traveling with some other loopers from Petoskey, Mi, Mark and Vicki Hill and their yellow lab, Daisy.  We spent the first two nights rafted to one another in gorgeous anchorages  along the Tennessee/Tom Bigbee waterways.

Just at the point where the states of Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi meet, we left the Tennessee River and began our long journey (450 miles) down the Tom Bigbee waterway.   This consists of  a canal connecting the Tennessee, Tombigbee, and Black Water rivers to Mobile Bay, thus allowing commercial tugs to push barges loaded with various products to and from the Gulf of Mexico at a fraction of the cost as compared to rail or trucking. From 1972 to 1985 work progressed on the Tenn-Tom Waterway and after spending nearly 2 billion dollars, the waterway was dedicated on June 1, 1985. This mammoth undertaking moved more earth than was moved in the construction of the Panama Canal, and is relatively unknown throughout the US to the general public. Vessels going from Pensacola, FL to Chattanooga, TN can travel 771 miles via the Tenn Tom Waterway instead of 1541 miles via the Mississippi.

Over the past few days we locked through a total of six different locks which dropped us anywhere from 25 to 84 feet.  The entire trip has been through rural areas with beautiful landscapes and the river carving itself (with the help of machines) through rock formations and forests, under highways and railroad tracks. Tonight we actually rafted with three other boats in a cove off the river offering protection from the wind and currents.  For one night, in addition to Mark and Vicki, we were joined by a couple from the state of Washington and a Canadian couple.  

Mark & Daisy by the waterfall...beautiful anchorage

Daisy, the queen of the universe, along with Mark enjoying the solitude of the anchorage

Beautiful scenery along the Tom-Bigbee Waterway

We are now in Columbus Marina in Columbus, MS, where we landed last night around 5:00 p.m. and spent today, with plans to leave tomorrow morning for our journey south. Today, accompanied by Mark & Vicki, we took advantage of the courtesy van from the marina and took a tour of the Waverly Mansion, a cotton plantation from the Civil War era that fortunately escaped devastation by the union army. Last night we enjoyed a fantastic meal at Huck's and lunch today at Proffitt's Porch. Both were outstanding places, recommended by folks with local knowledge. Tonight we joined other Loopers for a gathering by the marina office.

While we have many more photos, internet connection isn't strong enough to download them all.  Stay tuned for more photos. 

October 17, 2014 - On the water again

What a wonderful time we've had these past few days! It was bittersweet, parting with some of our new Looper friends last night and today. This morning, around 8:00 twenty boats left the marina and coordinated our transportation through the two locks. Scheduled by our fearless leader Roger Packham from "TaTa", our lockage through both locks was flawless. Both locks were expecting us and we had very short delays on locking through. Roger had "assigned" lock location for each of the twenty boats and, except for a small problem with high wind at the Wilson Lock and a few "self-reassignments" in the locking order, his plan worked flawlessly. Thank you, Roger, for your hard work!!

Several of the boats we are traveling with stopped at Florence, AL and the rest of us are traveling further along the river, anxious to reach the Tenn-Tom. We will be anchoring tonight at Union Hollow with "Blue Willow", fellow Michiganders Mark & Vicki Hill.

The weather is perfect today...78 degrees, sunny, but a little breezy. While we have had a good time over the past few days, we are excited to be back on the water.

Luck was sitting on my shoulder these past few days and as a result, I won a free month of dockage at two marinas along our route. One of them happens to be the marina at which we were planning to leave the boat while home for Thanksgiving, so this is an extra bonus! Although we won't be in those places long enough to take advantage of 2 months of dockage, the time we spend at each of these places will be cost-free and an extra boost to our pocketbook. Thank you, Marker 1 Marina in Dunedin, FL and The Wharf Marina in Orange Beach, AL!!!!

We will plan to post pictures to the blog when we have better internet connection. Please enjoy your weekend!!

October 15, 2014 - 3rd Day of Rendezvous In Northern Alabama

Today was a combination of learning and fun.  Connie and I separated to cover all of the sessions that we felt necessary for our upcoming segments of our journey.  Then this evening we attended a combination dinner/dance  held at the site of an old local cotton gin.  Great fun, and we danced a bunch.
Yesterday, in addition to attending sessions, one event that we had fun watching was a dingy race which required each couple to compete in their dingy for a prize. The catch was that the guy had to drive blind folded and backward with the partner(usually the wife) sitting in the front barking out directions to her driver guiding him around a buoy and back.  Most couples went around in circles before figuring out how to do it.   Lots of laughter and fun!

This is Steve and Sheli Sterk before participating in the dingy race.  This interesting thing about them is they live in Grandville, Mi, where he runs a business that made all of the cabinet doors for our condo building in Ludington. We discovered after we left on our adventure that they were doing the loop also from their home port of Grand Haven.

Here are Steve and Sheli during the competition.

John and Karen Tykol, competed in a row boat.  They sold their home and are currently living aboard their boat and will decide later where they will establish a new home in warmer climate. 

Hee is our group at tonight's dinner/dance.

October 13, 2014 - First day of AGLCA Rendezvous

We have had a lot of rain over the past few days and tonight was the kick-off of our AGLCA Rendezvous, where we were under a tornado warning throughout most of the opening ceremony and dinner. Thankfully, we were in the basement level of the building so safe from any dangerous storms. We are now back at the boat with warnings lifted and just a thunderstorm with lots of rain.

Not much to report, but it has been fun reconnecting with Loopers we have met along the way. We have also met new current Loopers we hadn't met, "Gold" Loopers (ones who have completed the loop) and wanna-be Loopers who are contemplating taking this journey.

One heartening story occurred last night when a fellow Looper boat came into their dock and an hour later the captain dropped to the floor of his boat. His wife called out for help and luckily, a number of very qualified medically trained Loopers immediately came to his aid. The first on board was a retired fire chief trained as a paramedic, then a doctor, dentist with an AED on board, and nurses right behind. His life was literally saved by the prompt medical attention he received from fellow Loopers. An ambulance took him to a nearby hospital and he was later transferred to Huntsville where he was given bypass surgery and is doing well. Several of the neighboring Loopers kept vigil with the victim's wife at the hospital today...just an example of the caring family of professionals and caring individuals with whom we are traveling.

HISTORICAL WILSON LOCK - FIRST LOCK AFTER LEAVING FLORENCE, AL

Approaching the Wilson Lock & Dam, one of the most significant structures on the Tennessee River.  It is named after Woodrow Wilson and is the oldest dam on the river. It is the 3rd highest single lift lock (over 90 feet), surpassed only by a lock on the Snake River in Washington and another in Eastern Europe.

You can get an idea of the height of this lock, as it towers over these very high boats with whom we are traveling.

Pat Case on "Bodacious" from San Diego, CA

Already lifted part-way up the lock, but still a long distance to go

"Attitude Changer" with Barb & Ross Keddle from Howell, MI and "C-Port III" with Sharon & Bill Cassens from Stillwater, MN before the lock gate closed

"Panacea" with Larry & Jan DeZonia from Lodi, CA behind us in the lock

This front wall where you see the bridge (left side of the picture), once the water has raised our boats to the top, will descend into the water so that we can easily drive over the top. Other locks we have gone through have a front gate that just opens in the middle and allows us to pass through.

The back lock wall closing so that water can be introduced to raise the water level in the lock

Almost closed...

...now closed and water rising. Side walls of the locks are stinky and slimy, which makes our lines a mess by the time we leave the lock. Our lines are looped around bollards in the lock, which lift with the rising water. While we don't have to touch the lock walls, we use gloves to handle our lines, and boat hooks to keep us away from the wall. 

More than half-way to the top

Preparing to leave the lock

View of the lock and dam from the exit into the river. Only one more lock (Joe Wheeler Lock) before we reach our destination.

PICTURES FROM ADVENTURES IN FLORENCE, AL

Houses on the bluff overlooking the entrance to Florence Harbor Marina

High stakes bass fishing tournament underway

At end of the day, fish are measured and weighed, then put into this tank to be revitalized

...then netted out and put into the tube for re-entry into the river alive

Impressive large bass...ones our sons and grandchildren would love to catch

Many bass boats waiting to be send off for their day of fishing. Winner at the end of the day on Sunday will win a new truck and new bass boat with trailer!!

Our slip in Florence Harbor, settled in next to "C-Port III" and "When I'm 64"

Bass boats awaiting instructions on third day of tournament

"TaTa" from Canada leaving Florence and hoping to enter the locks with some of the bass boats

"When I'm 64" and "Serenity" joining "TaTa" 

Tom Hendryx at his wall, which he built stone by stone to commemorate his Native American great-great grandmother who was one of many of the Yuchi tribe to be relocated from this area to the Indian Nations of Oklahoma.

Tom's home in the woods where he told us his story while the storm roared around us

A basket made of pine needles in honor of his grandmother. Notice the smaller one ...

...and the smaller one yet, all with removable lids

One of the areas by his wall where storytelling and prayer takes place

Google "Tom Hendryx Wall" and you will find more detail about this 86-year-old man and his grandmother's story. Fascinating!

Rain pelted around us while Tom told us his story on his porch, but it cleared enough so that we could walk the trail through one section of his wall. Each stone was gathered and placed by Tom to represent each step his great-great grandmother took on the relocation to Oklahoma and her 5-year journey home a year later, at the age of 16.

Helen Keller's home (birthplace) in Tuscumbia, AL

Theirs was the second house erected in Tuscumbia, AL

Keller home placed on the National Register of Historic Places

PICTURES AT SHILOH - A SOBERING SITE OF BATTLE ON OUR OWN SOIL

6 of us visiting Shiloh - us with John & Karen and Henry & Diane

Visitor Center and bookstore

Confederate Monument - commemorates where Confederate troops encircled and captured nearly 2,100 Union soldiers

Shiloh Church - the log Methodist church that gave the battle its name, as some of the fighting was centered around this church

Almost eerie...a sacred place at the center of such a fierce and bloody battle

The altar where many people likely prayed for peace

Entrance to the National Cemetery at Shiloh

Terrible statistics...likely some of our ancestors who suffered here

Many graves of unknown soldiers, depicted by these square markers

Truly an overwhelming expanse of graves of those who lost their lives in this war

Many very young men, some not yet adults, buried here

You could almost feel the anguish, fear and unease throughout this tour of the battleground and cemetery

Back to our reality...safety, security, and the welcoming sight of hickory barbecue

The crew, ready to eat and be thankful we live in a peaceful land