Aqua Yacht Harbor, Mississippi 🌿🍁🍂🐢

We are really making progress getting through the middle of the USA. Who knew it was possible to take our big boat down a bunch of rivers through the middle of America. Well, it is possible and we are doing it. Honestly, it hasn’t been my most favorite part of this “Loop” but when I see the map and realize we are more then half way to Florida I get that overwhelming feeling that I have had a lot on the trip, Gratitude.

It is still surreal, even after all this time.

We left Green Turtle Bay and headed down the Kentucky Lake. It was gorgeous and we had 4 travel days that were amazing. Except for our bad decision to stop at Birdsong Marina (which turned out ok but was really not a good decision) Kentucky lake was beautiful. We had 4 good cruising day when we arrived at Aqua Yacht Harbor. This was an all covered marina with a great service department. We had planned a road trip so Andy thought this would be a great opportunity to pull the boat out of the water and inspect the props and do some general maintenance. We pulled into our covered slip and settled in.

It had been ridiculously hot so being under a cover made it so much more comfortable. The A/C had barely been able to keep up so it was a really nice way to get the sun off the boat and cool it off.

We finally had a chance to get the toys down and play. We enjoyed a few hours of paddling the lake and seeing the sights. We loved the relief from the sun in our covered space. The boat was nice and shaded and cool.

The lake had lots of these turtles. A big group of them hung out by the restaurant because the kids liked to go down and throw french fries in the water.

The first day we arrived, I got a notification on my Nebo app inviting us to dinner at a guys house named Charlie McVey. I answered it with a “well thanks for this invite but I do not know you!” His response was “I am inviting all loopers at Aqua Yacht and a neighboring Grand Harbor Marina.” I wasn’t sure about this and we had limited groceries to make something to share at this point so I asked Andy what he wanted to do. Before long I had put together an appetizer (no one shows up empty handed) and found a fellow looper with a car and off we went…..to dinner…..at a house of someone we had never met! Welcomes to looping. It is surreal how people open up their home just by flying this thing called a burgee (a flag) on the front of our boat. We had a wonderful evening and made new friends and saw others we had crossed paths with before. Charlie and Robin were so warm and wonderful.

This is the group who showed up and our host and hostess were just the best. It was super fun and I felt so blessed in the friendships.

Charlie told us about a waterfall and offered to take us in his pontoon boat. We decided we really wanted to get our dingy down and go explore. So we managed to get it off the boat, in a tight slip, wedged between the dock and the boat. It was slightly deflated so it was easy to squish into the tight spot. We packed a lunch and went out for a ride on the lake. We found the waterfall and it was so worth it. We swam around and had fun all afternoon. Jackie and Jim showed up in their dingy and we enjoyed the afternoon together. Thanks to Jackie for the pictures!! She braved her phone in the water! It was so nice to have a few days to have some fun, sleep in and no agenda. I find that I need these breaks after days of traveling. It was really needed.

I even found a handful of shells here. Score! 🐚🍁🍂

Our original plan was to take the boat up the Tennessee river all the way to Chattanooga. It was a 4 day trip up. We looked at each other and decided since the boat was in such a good spot that we would start our road trip from here. A drive to Chattanooga is 4 hours vs. a 4 day trip up the river, against the current. We decided to spend the gas money on a hotel and a boat break. We felt really good about this because we are also hoping we are giving time for our buddy boat, Robin and Ted, time to catch up. They got delayed and are just now starting the rivers from Michigan. If they speed up, and they can, we will rejoin each other soon. At least I am hoping. Get moving Ted!!!