October 10, 2014 - Florence, Alabama

Yesterday was a short trip from Grand Harbor Marina to Florence Harbor Marina in Florence, Alabama. It was an uneventful trip with clear, hot weather where we spent part of the journey with our remote auto pilot on the front deck. When we arrived at the marina we connected with a number of other Looper friends and heard about the highlights of their visit here.

This weekend, Florence Harbor is the home of a regional bass tournament, high stakes, with the top prize of a truck, bass boat & trailer...a big deal, which our son-in-law Blake would just be enthralled. They began this morning around 7:00 with 50-60 bass boats gathered in the marina,  the singing of the national anthem and then all the competing bass boats being sent out in "heats". Today's event ended with 10 finalists who will finish the tournament tomorrow. Jim went over yesterday afternoon to see the weigh-in and release and will have pictures to post when we are able to have a reliable internet connection.

Today we rented a car and went with another Looper couple, Tim & Pat Cass from Bodacious (from San Diego, CA) to see some of the recommended local sights. First on our agenda was a visit to Tom Hendrix' Wall. This is an intriguing attraction where Tom tells the story of his great-great grandmother who was a young girl from the Yuchi tribe of Native Americans in northwest Alabama removed and relocated to the Indian Territory in Oklahoma. His great-great grandmother, soon after her arrival in Oklahoma, decided to walk back to her native land in Alabama. This walk took her five years and Tom has built a wall of stones to commemorate her return. Being there is a very spiritual experience and Tom is one of those storytellers with whom you could easily spend a day in rapt attention. It would be well worth your time to Google "Tom Hendrix Wall" and you will see pictures and hear the story.

Our next stop was at the City Hardware...not a hardware store as many people think, but a very good restaurant. We very much enjoyed our meal and the charm of downtown Florence.

The last stop of the day was the birthplace of Helen Keller. This was another attraction well worth the stop. Again, a reminder of the struggle and challenges faced by Helen Keller, her family and her devoted teacher. Visiting these places brings one to a new level of understanding and intimacy.

Tomorrow we are departing at 7:00 a.m. for our next destination...Joe Wheeler State Park in Rogersville, Alabama, where Loopers will gather for the AGLCA Fall Rendezvous. We are SO looking forward to this gathering, as we will have a chance to gather with new Loopers such as ourselves, and gather wisdom from Gold Loopers (ones who have completed the Loop), and participate in many informational presentations. We will hopefully have better internet connection so we can post the many photos which we have taken in the past few days.

Before reaching Joe Wheeler, we will have to go through two locks, the first being Wilson Lock, which is the highest single lift lock east of the Rocky Mountains. The lock lift is 94 feet, and is 110 feet wide by 600 feet long. There are five of us that will be traveling together and this lock should easily accommodate all of us at the same time, along with some of the bass boats competing in the tournament.

This continues to be a tremendous opportunity and we are enjoying it very much! Every day is a new, exciting, educational part of the journey. We have met so many wonderful people, Loopers and non-Loopers and hope to never forget the gifts they have brought into our lives.