We arrived in Demopolis and were greeted by a bunch of loopers. All in the same insurance situation as us, waiting for Nov 1 to continue downstream. This is the “technical insurance holding spot.” The weather was another obstacle. More rain was predicted and it was getting cold!! On the water, when the temperature drops, it just goes right to your bones. Thankfully our heaters are working just fine and all the blankets are piled high. We haven’t worn pants on this whole trip until these last few days. They were buried so deep that I had to really search for them.

We are getting close to the gulf, but it still seems so far.

What does one do when the weather is cold and the town is crappy? LAUNDRY!! This is one of the drawbacks of this lifestyle/trip. It has to be done and I had quite a pile. Six loads to be exact. Since this laundry room was one of the nicer ones, I decided to do all the towels and sheets. I know, this is really interesting information! Your welcome!!

While I did the laundry Andy tore apart the boat to find a leak. We have a leak and with all this rain it’s finding it’s way in. No bueno.

There was absolutly nothing to do here in this town. A curtesy car and a trip to Walmart was all I could get excited about. I had a group of looper friends arriving today so I decided to put on a dinner for them. I made a huge pan of lasagna and fed 11 people. They say that one of the best things about the loop is the friendships you make and that is 100% true. (Sure wish I had taken a picture of everyone on our boat!)

We spent 4 long days here waiting until Nov 1 and the weather to break. We woke up on the 2nd, before the sun to 32 degrees and frost all over the windows. I scrambled to find our beenies and jackets. The water had mist coming off it and it felt eerie as we left the marina before the Sun. The current was moving fast and pushed us along and increased our speed as it carried us downstream. As the sun came up and heated up as the mist went away and the day was crisp but lovely.

We pulled out of the marina with our friends TxAU, Done Diggin, Laurie Jean, Honey Badger, Breakaway, Seas Today, and a few others. The plan was to make it 100 miles to Bobby’s fish camp. This is the only safe place to tie up to a dock and only has room for 4 boats. The other boats raft off each other. The dock is right on the fast moving river that is full of debris. We arrived second and took our position on the dock. As others came in we all helped each other tie up and to each other. We ended up with 9 boats and up to 3 deep. The current was really swift so as the boats came together it took a lot of skill not to go too fast to crash, but fast enough to get a line tied around a cleat. It was a real scene and one that no one would really believe unless you witness it. Now I have to say that all of us in this group are really seasoned and the captains maneuvered their boats like pros. If a new boater tried this it could have been catastrophic. Thankfully it went well.

Bobby’s Fish camp is an iconic step along this route. They serve catfish fried and are sort of famous for it. We all went up and had dinner. The place was a little rough around the edges but we laughed and had fun.

We are a bad ass group of loopers!!

This is the restaurant that we invaded for catfish.

The next morning we again woke at dawn to freezing cold, mist on the water and we watched trees, YES, entire trees floating down the river. We were all a little giddy because today is the LAST LOCK!! The very last lock for the rest of my life! LIKE seriously the last one!!! Some people talk about looping again. Ah, HELL to the NO! I will totally continue boating but I am NOT looping again. Honestly the rivers have seriously kicked my butt.

Yes, they are pretty. Yes, they are the link from Chicago to the Gulf. Yes, it is a wonder that you can take your boat down them in this crazy thing called the Great Loop. Yes, it seems an impossible task. Yes, its been wonderful. But I will NOT do it again. Unless it’s like childbirth and the memory fades and suddenly you decide “sure honey lets have another.” Right now I’m still in it and no way am I thinking I will ever do it again. These women pictured above have kept me sane, kept me laughing. We cry on each other’s shoulder, bitch to each other, drink lots of wine together and they are the reason I am still here. Jodi, pictured below with me has become my text buddy. We text each other while we travel and it helps kill time. I seem not to be able to concentrate on a book, not sure why but texting is fun! Plus she and I always find things to talk about. Thank you Jodi!!

Jodi and I looking at the cold water and pondering our last lock and the tree that just went by.

All of our 9 boats rafted up on a short old dock. Interesting.

THE LAST LOCK!!

We all cheered and clapped and headed out feeling so happy. DONE!! 👏🏻

The only yucky thing about today after we locked was all the debris. The junk in the water is crazy. Birds standing on logs are a sure sign but some you can’t see until you get close. It’s called “Dodge A Log” and Andy was on full alert the whole day. With all the rain, the river is high and debris is loosened from the shoreline and sent downstream. It’s hard to see it all and you pray you don’t run over anything large that can damage a prop or dent your boat. We have been fine but it takes a sharp eye and constant watch. No eyes off the river!

Tonight we had to do another anchorage. This was a day of lasts. Last lock and last anchorage on the river. We picked a spot but decided to stick with the gang and all 9 boats anchored in a wide river that had a good anchorage rating. It had a current that kept the boat in the same position all night. The anchor set and I am just now starting to trust it.

Fall is here and the trees that line the river are beautiful. This is our anchorage at sunset.

We are almost done with the rivers!!!

Andy rested up and recovered from his cold. We were ready to get moving down the rivers. We had lots of miles still ahead of us and we just really wanted to get going. Our boat insurance won’t let us pass Demopolis Alabama until Nov 1st so our plan was to head that way and hope our timing was good. It was already Oct 22nd. We had lots of locks still ahead. Let’s get these done!! Locks, Locks, and more Locks. This lock was a doozy. It dropped 82 feet. It was the biggest, baddest one yet.

This picture was taken by a fellow looper Rick who flew his drone above the lock. You get a real perspective of just how large these locks are. They are built for commercial traffic and barges. The barges on this section were impressively large.

I wondered this morning as we left Aqua Yacht Harbor why I was feeling bittersweet. I am so ready to get through his next section of rivers and closer to the gulf. I wonder if other women felt the way I feel about these locks? Am I the only one who hates them? They are NOT hard at all. In these locks you simply tie your line to a Ballard and watch it lower, making sure the line stays secure. (Showed above). Really easy compared to the Erie Canal. It’s the waiting AND waiting. A lot of times we are stuck waiting for barges to enter the lock and they move at a snails pace. If a barge makes it to a lock before us, we are forced to idling for hours waiting. They move really slow and the process of lowering them takes forever. Then they refill the chamber before we can enter and it can be hours long. We have waited up to 5 hours and we have friends who waited as much as 8. Sometimes it’s just a few hours. The waiting is stressful especially if you have a destination and lots of miles to cover. The delays can put you into your marina well after dark. This happened only once to us. Some locks have a place you can anchor waiting your turn, some locks you just drift and idle. There is no place to tie off and secure your boat. It is nerve wracking to say the least! We watch to see if there is a tow in front of us and then decide if we can “outrun them” to the lock. In most cases the lockmaster knows the boat traffic on the river by watching AIS and already knows who’s coming before we announce our arrival. It’s up to the lockmaster who he lets in first. The “pleasure craft” as we are called have the last priority. Sometimes it works, sometimes we wait…..and wait. It’s a bit of a game.

So I dread it. I get anxious that we won’t make the run to the next spot until after dark, which happened to us going into Green Turtle Marina. That was a nightmare. Andy says I use that word too much, when things are difficult, not a nightmare, but tonight it was a true nightmare!! I was scared to death. The inlet was super shallow and the markers were hard to find. We got into our slip by the kindness of a fellow looper who stood at the end of our space with a flashlight and guided us in. He grabbed our lines and helped tie the boat. This “Looping” thing has so many great benefits. Mostly the people who are also looping look out for everyone. We all know the struggles. Some days go smooth like butter, some not. Our approach the Green Turtle was one of those “not so smooth” days waiting for the lock and approaching the marina in the dark, 11 other loopers in tow and no idea where to go or where our slip was. Normally the marinas have staff that help tie lines and direct you, but in this case it was after hours and we only had the kindness of fellow loopers who always jump to assist. Because of this I always run to the aide of any boat, even when staff is present. Because loopers care, staff is ambivalent. They see this all season. Not that they aren’t good and accommodating, they are, but Loopers CARE!!!

More pictures of the locks. They are just huge on this section of the river.

We made our way to the next marina and again the next day another marina. We arrived at Columbus Marina and the weather forecast looked terrible. We had 4 days of rain and for at least 24 hours straight it poured pounding rain, hard rain that I thought was never going to end. We were with a huge group of “stuck loopers” due to the weather. Loopers make fun when there is no fun and I have really enjoyed these days being “stuck” because they always end up being interesting. The marina had a curtesy van. We had 14 people who all wanted to brave the rain and go to dinner. So Mr. Tex (Greg) shuttled us the the restaurant in the pouring rain. The van was in such bad shape that it leaked and the seatbelts didn’t work. None of us cared because we were getting off our boats. We all arrived safely and enjoyed a nice dinner out.

This picture shows my Nebo app and how many loopers where held up here in a storm.

I hated leaving because after 4 days I get comfortable, although I didn’t love sitting on the boat for 4 days in the rain. So off we went when we felt it was safe to venture off. There are not always marinas on the river. Today was one of those that we needed to anchor. It is not my favorite thing to do but I had no choice. We picked our spot, turned into the location and dropped the hook. We had a fellow boat with us who also choose this spot. (I do feel better when another boat is anchored with us). The evening was beautiful and this spot was eerily quiet. You could hear the leaves russel and birds in the distance. There was no current and we had a good night here.

Fall has really kicked in and the days are getting cool and the nights are freezing. We pulled out the down comforter!

We are headed to Demopolis today where we will, again, wait out an incoming storm. We will also be here until the insurance requirements to stay until Nov 1 (something to do with hurricanes and blah blah blah..)

Will we ever get to the Ocean?? The river just goes on and on!!😭😭

We left Chattanooga and headed for the Great Smoky Mountains. We had no idea where we had booked hotels along the way but they all sounded great, and well frankly, this was part of the adventure. We had booked 5 hotels along a plotted route and we figured we would score on some, and we crossed our fingers. Andy is a great researcher, but in the day of internet and creative photography who knows. All I know is that we prefer smaller, quaint family owned, not chains and commercial hotels. We prefer hotels with outside space and coffee/breakfast. We set off, snacks and water bottles full. We drove in the direction of the Smoky Mountains. We started seeing beautiful yellow trees and it got cooler. So Far so good.

The trees are starting to turn and really pretty.

We pulled into Maryville and noticed all the familiar chain stores. Target, Homegoods, Walmart, JCPenny etc. I always get a little giddy because even if I don’t need anything it gives me a little comfort knowing I could get whatever I might want. Oh ya, we are on a boat and currently in a car, and oh ya, I don’t really need anything. Ok, breathe! We found a good BBQ place for lunch (Thanks Rhonda for the recommendation) then went to find our hotel. Our navigation directed us to turn off the road and onto a college campus. It was a really pretty old looking small university called Marys University. Obviously a private school. The directions wound us around the campus and we suddenly found ourselves in a wooded forest. The road was narrow and the trees towered overhead. I thought we were lost but the direction said turn here, turn left, then right. Suddenly a lodge appeared. It looked inviting. I told Andy to wait in the car and let me go check this out. I walked to the building and opened the door to a gorgeously decorated lodge with sitting rooms with fireplaces and old worn leather furniture. SCORE!!! I checked us in and we found our building and room. SCORE!! I wondered if we would ever want to leave.

This place was wonderful. Today also happened to be our 28th anniversary. I had no idea that this place also has the top rated restaurant in the whole area. Of course they were booked!! So I pleaded my case and prayed. It worked out! We had a wonderful dinner and didn’t have to leave the property. The other treat was that they had a huge firepit that had rocking chairs all around it. Before dinner, and not knowing if they could accommodate us for dinner, we sat by the fire and really enjoyed the setting. What a lovely place, in the middle of someplace we had no idea existed. Stumbling on this was a gift. After dinner (yes they got us in, bless their hearts) we again enjoyed the fire and the nightly guests who roast marshmellows in the fire to make s’mores. I’m telling you this place was a real find!! Still shocked we found it.

The white Nike shoes are new! I took my good shoes from the boat (after searching all the compartments for where I stowed our hiking shoes/closed toe shoes) because I knew we would be hiking/walking around. The first day of wearing them my feet were killing me. The tips of my toes were so sore. What I have discovered is that in the 6+ months of living on a boat have changed my feet. They are flat! All my closed toe shoes do not fit. We went to a shoe store and YEP I am a size bigger. Getting old sucks and my feet do not like being confined to shoes. These new Nike’s helped me walk but I am not sure if they will get much use once we return. In any case, I have shoes that fit now.

The next morning we drove to Townsend and into Cade’s Cove. This pasture land in the valley between the mountain ranges was exactly like little house on the prairie. I could just see Laura Ingle running after Pa. I grew up watch that series and remember the girls getting tucked into bed in the loft by Pa and the houses were exactly like that. I remember Michael Landon dying and feeling sad as a young kid.

It was pretty but CROWDED with cars. It was an 11 mile, one way loop through the valley with stops at the old homesteads and churches. The loop took us a few hours stopping along the way and following cars doing 10MPH. I’m glad we went but following cars so slow was a little yucky. At one point it came to a dead stop. I said, “I bet there is some kind of animal there.” Sure enough I saw the tail end of a black bear walking away. Of course he was walking away from about a dozen people with long lenses and making a ton of noise. It was still cool to see his butt move into the brush.

After 2 wonderful days in this lodge and some great drives we packed up the car and headed to the next lodge in Gatlinburg. We took a long scenic road up the mountains enjoying the crisp air and winding roads. We went to the tallest peak in all the smokies. We stopped for fried apple turnovers and browsed through antique stores. We took our time exploring.

The colors are starting to turn on the hills. We are a bit early because of the heat wave but it was still breathtaking.

The Smoky mountains get their name from the clouds that appear like smoke coming from the trees. We had a great showing of this on our drive. The day was crisp and had rained earlier. The clouds were atop the mountain peaks and had these wisps of clouds that looked like smoke coming from chimneys. It was really pretty.

Next stop is Gatlinburg.

We followed our navigation and suddenly found ourselves in a mecca tourist zone. Dollywood, Ripley’s believe it or not, tons of fudge and ice cream shops, go carts, miniature golf. You name it. We had no idea that we were stepping into our version of a tourist nightmare. The street was lines with cheesy gift shops and families on fall break. Holy cow, get us out of here!! We pulled through the Main Street and headed to our next lodge to escape the craziness.

We prayed our chosen lodge was away from all this. We were led up a steep hill. We climbed up a street that was narrow, turning and twisting and I was like “SERIOUSLY!!!! Where the hell are we going?” We pulled into the parking lot to and found this lodge right on the side of the mountain. We found the host and she showed us to our room and it was amazing. Everything was made of lumber, twigs and trees. We had a separate bedroom and bath. We had a kitchen (not that I planned on cooking) and a gas fireplace. It had a balcony that looked out to the mountains. It was amazing! SCORE #2!!

The view from our room was incredible.

We avoided the downtown tourist mecca (although I did crave a Carmel apple) and did some long drives into the mountains. We packed snacks and enjoyed the scenery. The trees are not fully turned colors. This year has been a record year for heat and no rain. The leaves are actually dying before they turn so it does feel like fall. I did see some beautiful red trees and beautiful colors. The locals say its not as pretty this year, but this California girl wouldn’t know the difference.

It was sad to leave this lodge but not sad to leave this crazy tourist town. Our next stop was Asheville and everyone said we would love it here. Asheville is actually listed as one of the top places to live in the US for both the 20 somethings and also the retirees. I wondered why but would soon find out what all the hype was about.

We pulled down the street our B&B was on. The house was in a neighborhood with large homes. Some cared for, some not. The street was full of homes that had obviously been there a long time. I got a bit nervous as we found the house and parked. I wondered what we would find inside. I reminded myself that I was not keen on hotel chains and wanted a more intimate experience but after the last 2 awesome lodges I felt nervous. We rang the door bell to this big blue house and we were greeted by Kevin, the owner. He invited us in and showed us around the house and to our room. I instantly relaxed. This was going to be special. Our room was a light blue color and called Robbins Nest. It was roomy and pretty. The house had the feel of a very well loved old house. The floors creaked and nothing felt straight but it was really well decorated and comfortable. We were invited to wine and appetizers at 5:30. We relaxed and settled into our and went down at 5:30. What I found was a small group of people who had traveled from different areas, all engaged in conversation, drinking wine and food that was prepared by the owner and it was INCREDIBLE!!! The spread was huge and Kevin sat and chatted with his guests. I could tell that this was his favorite time of day as an owner of this lovely B&B. He mingled with the people who shared his home. We also found out that he and his wife had come from Camarillo, just a few miles from where AQUAMAN had spent its whole life in California. We chatted about the area and why they had made such a life change. I felt an instant connection to them. The next morning breakfast was served in the dining room and I was again blown away at the gourmet spread. SCORE#3!!

Andy enjoyed the front porch! We had a great front porch in a previous house. Maybe we will have one again!

What does one do while in Asheville?? Well 2 things actually. Tour the Biltmore Mansion and drink beer. First stop was the Biltmore. I could write pages on this house but if your ever in Asheville it’s a must see. The largest home in the U.S.  Only 175,000 square feet. My feet hurt after walking the property and grounds and it seems hard to imagine the magnitude of living or building something this grand.

I loved walking the grounds and the arboretum. I am a huge lover of orchids and I took 100’s of pictures of them. Every orchid known to man. Some I had never seen. This gardens were carefully sculpted and out of a magazine.

We happened to hit this as they are preparing it for the holidays. It seems early but I guess they better start with the sheer amount of trees that we saw going up. Every room had at least 1 if not 3 trees! Incredible!

I took tons of pictures. These are just a few.

Next up, we went up to see The Grove Park Hotel and find lunch. We drove up the hill to find another spectacular property. We had a glass of wine by the most enormous fireplace and an amazing lunch on the grand terrace overlooking the property. Today sure was about grandeur.

Next up, BEER!

I am not much of a beer drinker but this town is a hot spot for microbrew pubs. They do all kinds of beer tours and you could spend a week visiting all the microbreweries in the town. We just don’t have the time and frankly, it’s been a long day. So we choose this one! HA!! Loved the name.

The beer was good. We enjoyed watching all the hipsters and trendy kids in crazy weird clothes (what are they thinking. Denim jumpsuits and mom jeans are back in style. Sorry girls they didn’t look good then and they still don’t look good even  on your skinny little ass. My old lady opinion anyway!)

Tomorrow we head to Nashville. I am excited.

We walked Broadway and drank our way from bar to bar, listening to country music. We saw girls gone wild riding around on tractors and party busses, singing and dancing. We could barley squeeze our way into these crowded bars with sticky floors and I suddenly felt old and out of place. We found ourselves some food and then made our way back to our terrible hotel. Andy came down with a cold and when we woke up we looked at each other and thought the same thing. “Let’s blow this place and get back to the boat.” We packed up and headed home. I know we missed all of what makes Nashville really cool but we were just plain reads to get back. Andy getting a bad cold just gave us the push we needed.

I am super grateful for the wonderful places we have found along the way so far, each unique and special. The difference is that at The Carolina House B&B we had real connection to people. When people gather in small groups over food and drink, you get a real feel for people. We all come from different places in the world with different passions but we all had the common thread of travel and having new experiences. I enjoyed listening to the stores from everyone’s trip and little anecdotal things that happened along the way. One guy was a cyclist who had rode 102 miles that day. Another couple shared getting their rented red convertible mustang stuck and needing to call AAA and waiting 4 hours to be rescued. Another group of 4 women all traveling together who were having a girls weekend. We shared our Great Loop journey and maybe inspired some. Either way this is the best part of travel. Everyday we collide with souls on this planet who are all wonderful beings, special, enlightened by travel and having an experience. I keep thinking about a sign I had at home that I passed to my niece when we left. It’s exactly what I believe. Experience life, get uncomfortable, let go of stuff.

“The best things in life are not things”

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!!!

Not sure how to begin this story. I guess I will spoil the ending by saying we are fine!! So what happened you ask??

We left Paris landing this morning for a super easy cruise down Kentucky lake. The lake is beautiful and FLAT! I am lovin’ it. It IS hot as hell though. This area is having a record heat wave. Lucky us! I am getting used to being sweaty.

We were having such a great cruise that dancing was a must. Rocking out to the sounds of Andy’s playlist, he has the best music.

Are we seeing turning leaves or dead trees? Not really sure because it’s been so hot here they are saying they might die before turning color.

We passed a fire!

This tree was right in the channel stuck in the mud. Good thing we are watching and the bird kinda gave it away.

So your still asking what’s with all the drama?? I am getting to it, hold on!!

We booked a marina called Birdsound Marina. Bob was the nicest guy on the phone when I called to enquirer about the marina. It is listed in all the books we have! Bob is a good Ol’ midwestern guy who had lived here his whole life and explained all that the marina had to offer. It is a family owned marina he kept saying. I was pretty psyched to meet Bob!

Bob told us to call him when we reached a certain mile marker and he would come out to escort us in. Awesome!! We made the call and waited patiently for Bob to come get us. He came out in his pontoon boat and we proceeded into this narrow channel that had markers that were set up like a slalom course. My excitement turned to terror when immediately we hit ground, something hard, but the boat didn’t stop, it kept going. So we were not aground. We left a big trail of churned up dirt, mud, rocks.

Oh boy!!!

As we continued we had shallow water that we had absolute no business being in. For most of the way we had 1 foot or less under our props. A lot of time it hit 1/2 foot. It sucked. We idled, prayed and I wanted to high tail it right back to the river. Bob was ahead of us like nothing while I chewed off a fingernail.

We arrived to this. A rickety old wood dock. Just us and the pontoon boats.

Aquaman stood out like a huge sore thumb. No big boats back here at all. We looked like a target. We shook our heads and decided to make the most of it. We actually might never make it out of here. This might be our new home. I told Bob that we really didn’t have enough water to be back here. He was so surprised and said he had no idea. For a moment I had that feeling, like I have a lot on this trip, that no one cares for your stuff like you. Good Ol’ Bob had no idea of the water levels and I trusted him that we would be fine entering that channel. He was so friendly on the phone and we had put our home in his hands.

The dock had a bunch of old tanks, equipment and signs. Almost like of days gone by. It felt erie and freaky. This boat was left here to rot into the earth like garbage. Like a ghost town. I felt venerable and uneasy the whole time. Sleep did not come easy as I listened for noises and I wondered if the boat would be sitting in mud when we woke.

After we had settled in, or actually cranked up the AC and pulled the shades, a lady came down to take me up to the pearl museum. It was the LAST thing I wanted to do, but I went not wanting to be rude. Andy opted out and I didn’t have the heart to say No to her. I let her take me up to a makeshift little closed restaurant/museum/pearl store. I got to see a video about this fresh water pearl operation and how it started. Then I had to find something to buy. I couldn’t walk away empty handed. OH VEY!!

This is what I choose. I can wear next to all my bracelets. I also took a mussel shell.

These are the shapes they use to form the pearls in the mussels.

Bob offered us a curtesy car. Cool! So let’s go see what’s around and get some dinner.

We walked up to find this Lincoln. SWEET!

(Notice the back end is almost sitting on the ground)

It was far from sweet. This car has seen better days. The entire back end scrapped on the ground and it bounced down the road with bigger wakes then the Mississippi. We bounced and scraped down a 2 lane country road trying not to die or get hit because Andy was so afraid we would bottom out over every bump so he didn’t drive fast. I imagined a car flying down the road and ramming into us. My seatbelt didn’t work making me even more nervous. I actually laughed so hard every time we bounced as my boobs almost left my chest. We eventually made it to a Mexican restaurant where no alcohol was served! Hilarious.

We have been in a lot of curtesy cars. Some good, some not so good and even sketchy but this one really took the cake.

Sooo…….. We made it back. We are fine. No loopers come here! I wonder why??? We have to get out of here in the morning. I will try to keep my fingers out of my mouth.

We did get the gift of a new moon and sunset. Thank you for that!

“The difference between an adventure or an ordeal is your attitude.”

I won’t sleep tonight as I fear our departure tomorrow morning as early as possible.

🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🗺🗺🗺🗺🗺🗺🗺💩💩💩💩💩💩💩

Arriving in Green Turtle bay marks the halfway point of the Rivers connecting Chicago to Mobile Alabama. I was super excited to get here because, from what I was told, the upper section is the toughest and we are now done with that! YES!! This marina is a looper favorite and I just wanted to sit still for a few days. From here we will be on Kentucky Lake, which is supposed to be beautiful. When we leave here we will make our way up the Tennessee River to Chattanooga. Right now I cannot think about leaving. I need a break!! This next stretch doesn’t seem as stressful or difficult. 🙏🏻

Poolside docktails with fellow loopers.

This place is a looper favorite and I know why. It was a nice marina that had everything a looper needed. They offered a golf cart shuttle into town, golf cart rentals to cruise yourself, a courtesy car to run errands, a nice spa, a yacht club for a gourmet dinner, a bar/restaurant for dancing drinks and fun, a ship store for supplies and even services for people with boating issues. Thankfully our issues were resolved.

There are little green turtles but I did not manage to get a photo! 🐢

The town had a restaurant called T. Lawsons. Turned out Mr. Lawson built a historic house and was the first home around with electricity and running water. He invested in copper right before the Copper Boom of the late 1800’s. His Original house was still there restored. The food was incredible. Best shrimp and grits!!

This is his Victorian house. Very cool!

There was also a settlement called Pattys. Part of it had burned down but it was a good spot to walk around and see the original homesteads now turned boutiques.

Loved these bird houses made from old wood. I would have bought them all is there were for sale!

We planned 4 nights here but a lot of our friends are staying much longer. After a few days I was ready to move on, but it was a great stop. I got a massage which was nice.

We meet friends at the Thirsty turtle and danced. It was so much fun and I was ringing wet. This humidity is really awful and takes some getting used to. This area is getting hit with a heat wave also. Lucky us! 🥵

Laurie, Jodi and I asked about making a bonfire on the beach because we weren’t hot enough. We had seen the beach with a fire pit and knew other loopers had done this. The marina gave us permission and they set up a huge metal ring and we had quite a fire. A lot of people came and it was a great night.

It was hard to leave but we got places to see! Bye Bye famous Green Turtle. You were a favorite stop to date!!

We made it home. I was so happy to see everyone. The next day my kids and parents thru us a surprise party. (It was supposed to be a surprise but I found out about it because I am so nosy!). It was so appreciated and awesome!

The people who meant the most to me came to celebrate with us and I felt so blessed.

It was a perfect day. Thank you Jon and Jamie for opening up your house. Thanks to my mom and dad who helped plan. Thanks to Bernie and Tammy who drove all the way from Fresno to come. Thanks to Jerry and Debbie who drove from Oxnard and Abby and Nannette who had to Uber all the way from the beach. My daughter went above and beyond. My good friends came and I felt loved. This was the first birthday we had spent at home in years. It was special.

My week at home flew by so fast and we didn’t get time to see as many people as we wanted. It’s never long enough.

While home I did something crazy and got a tattoo. My son drew it for me and Alyssa to get matching tattoos. It HURT!! I sucked it up and did it! It’s beautiful and special.

I am still in shore I actually did this. Midlife crisis?? Who knows but now I own it.

My son, my life and blood. Notice the sun rays in the design.

There is no place like home. Even though this isn’t really my home anymore, It is still the place that I will always consider home. It’s a comfort and it’s where my peeps live. I miss everyone really bad but I have learned thru this travel that it’s so much better to visit and enjoy each other rather then having day to day interactions. The visits are fun and we have lots to say and catch up on.

What I miss most of home is actually our dock life. Our boat was on F-Dock for 11 years. We made great friendships and we miss the heck out of these crazy, wacko, sweet, honest people. We spent 5 days in Oxnard with Abby and we saw lots of friends. We went to the Yacht club and we were invited to eat fresh caught Swordfish.

Debbie and Jerry

Lowell, Mandy and Lisa Easley

This is the view to our former dock from the yacht club

The next day was Labor Day weekend and Lowel decided to take his boat out to the harbor mouth and get the jet skis out. So many people showed up. Some people pulled their flamingo thru the harbor. Lowell blew up the swan. Debbie and Jerry showed up in the electric boat. It was a real party. Totally fun!

These guys!! Andy, Jerry and Lowell.

We spent time with my parents and I got lots of puppy cuddle time.

These kids are my life. Alyssa, Jake and Nicole.

It was hard to say goodbye to these people. The time came to pack our bags and get back to our trip. I was refreshed and ready but sad. This is the hardest part.

Before jumping on a plane for home we decided to check ourselves into a luxury hotel. We booked the Viceroy and walked into our room and fell straight on to the king size bed and stretched out. Next was the longest shower and bath of my life. So long that Andy actually took a drink in with him. We proudly drained the hotel hot water but we didn’t care.

The Viceroy Hotel right downtown Chicago

Hello beautiful bathroom!

After we had enough water therapy, we walked to find some food. This was not hard because there was restaurants on all the corners and choosing one became our problem of the moment. We eventually settled on an outdoor patio and watched people walk by. Beautiful people who were dressed nice and wore make-up and had designer bags. Men in suits. There were a lot of pretty people! I had a huge salad and was so happy. Keeping fresh produce on the boat has been a challenge and I really miss my big salads.

After lunch we walked and walked. The city alive with noise and commotion. It felt great and somewhat foreign after months of isolation.

Later that night we went to the rooftop bar to have drinks. We chatted with the hip bartenders and I felt like I was dreaming. I even put a little mascara on for the occasion. We had a few drink and then asked for the check. It came to $96. WHAT the WHAT?? Honey, we are not in Kansas anymore. Each martini was $22 and my “house” Chardonnay was $16. Wowza.

The city at night

The next morning we set off on foot to see the sights. Millennial park, Michigan Ave and we took the famous Architectural tour down the Chicago river.

We were exhausted and our feet hurt at the end of the day.

We found some Chicago pizza for dinner.

We crashed after a full day and soaked again in our luxurious shower. Tomorrow we get up early to go home. This was a wonder respite but i was ready to see my kids!!