Happy (belated) Thanksgiving!! On to Panama City Beach.....November 18 to 30th

We made it back to Grand Rapids on Friday Nov 20 after a nice two day 1030 mile drive from Gulf Shores. We checked in at our old stomping grounds, the Marriott Courtyard a few floors under our previous condo home.  View was not the same from floor 7, we preferred our old view! 

Any way, it was a nice stay and we got to see the Malones, McKennnas and Kenyons all downtown on Friday night!
With the Malones very unexpectedly at Bistro Bella Vita:

Saturday brought us a nice visit with the Bosschers and some planning for catching up in Bonita Springs later in January.  Sat night brought us to a 50th birthday party for our now "in the club" friend Tony.  You look good with the reading glasses and  a few years on you old man! You are catching up to us!  We were really fortunate to have been invited being Florida residents and all, but it was super seeing all our friends at the one gathering!  Thanks for the invite Terrie and Tony!  But you have to do something about all that snow!!!  The driving was not fun in that early snowstorm.
We stayed at the Ledger condo in Allendale on Sat night and were treated to a great breakfast on Sun morning....thanks Nancy!!  We drove to our old church, St Andrews in Grand Rapids, but our friend Father G was out of town so we did not get a chance to say hello.  But it was nice seeing some fellow parishioners and being in a familiar surrounding...albeit much improved with new pews and all. 
Sunday through Wed we stayed at Julie's brother, Kevin and Deb's home while they were away on a family vacation. 
The snowy view of the Grand River.

Thanks so much for the hospitality, we will catch up with you in Florida!  Julie and I both caught up on some tasks related to Mom's passing.  Julie went through old photos and organized them....a tough job but she did great.
On Monday night we enjoyed a great Grille Room dinner with the Deuby's and Tuesday we enjoyed the Principle in Kalamazoo with Jordan and Eliza and got to see the home they recently purchased.  A very grand old 100+ year old home....that will keep them busy in a great spot in the city of Kalamazoo we are sure!
Wed night was fun with Rowladers, Malones, Damons, Andersons and Ledgers at the Snug in Grand Haven!
Thanksgiving was at Tom's sister Deb and Don's and all Tom's siblings, Mom and a niece and husband and children and another nephew were all in attendance. 

We gave Mom a Amazon Fire mini and the highlight of the day (other than great food and company....thanks everyone!) was using it to skype with Sarah, Joe, Paul, Stephanie, and Mark from their gathering in Everett WA. Grandma is doing great embracing technology at 92+ years young!!

We wish we would have had time to see everyone but we were only there one short week.  We hope everyone follows our blog and please let us know when or where we can have you aboard for a day or a week!   You are all welcome!
We arrived back in Gulf Shores to take possession of our repaired boat on Friday evening (after a stop at Lulu's for dinner!).  It is so nice to be home! 

But it was hard to find!  It's the small one in the middle....consider finding this in the dark!

On Sat they finished up one item (or rather put it back in the former state as the repair failed) but it was late in the day so we spent one more night at the Saunder's marina repair facility.  We had a cocktail with Rod and Julie from Tuscobia who were also there for repairs.
We hope they will catch up to us later. 
We left around 8 AM on Sunday.  As we were moving along the inter coastal we had the pilot house door open as it was a gorgeous morning.  As were we moving along at 10+MPH a dolphin jumped alongside the boat not 3 feet from the open door....scared the heck out of me!!!
We entered our home state of Florida around noon or 1 PM...we are now "home"!!

We arrived at Destin right in front of Margaritaville just in time to enjoy the sunset. 

It was a great spot (albeit really expensive for slipping at a fuel dock).  We are sure the action would have been a lot more active had it not been a Sunday night after Thanksgiving.   But we had a nice walk around the boardwalk and enjoyed a cocktail at Margaritaville. 
We left around 715 Monday morning and had a great trip to Treasure Island marina at Panama City Beach.  Inter coastal on the way...

Check out the dolphins following our boat.. Julie took a great video but this is just a short clip.

They also jumped right in front of the boat and we thought we would hit them!  But they are just playing I guess and they get out of the way.
We have a couple more repairs we want done before tackling the Gulf crossing.  This marina was recommended to us by an old Club Sea Ray member and after meeting the service folks it looks like we made a great choice here.  Panama Beach sunset...

They will start early tomorrow.  But it looks like we will miss a nice moonlit crossing window, but we are confident God will bless us with another crossing before Dec 13.  A number of our friends are crossing now or in a day or so and we wish them a safe crossing. 

November statistics:

Miles travelled:   636   /Trip to Date: 2137
Travel days:   11/38
Engine hours: 71 / 245
Locks:   12/35
Bridges opened:   1/8
Days on hook or free wall:   4 /11
Gallons of diesel:   423 / 1495
Dolphins observed playing in wake:  Too many to count and priceless!

Thanks for your patience in waiting for a post and for following us!!

Delayed for Repairs

We arrived at Saunders Yachtworks in Gulf Shores on Sunday as planned.  The crossing of Mobile Bay was a bit bumpy but nice and it reminded us of Lake Michigan.  We spent just two days shy of two months on the rivers and got used to not putting everything away each day! Other than an occasional passing large boat wake, the rivers are calm cruising.
No Zip Code led the way for four boats, with two of us stopping at Saunders for repairs and the others continuing on.
Leaving Dog River

  Shallow bay!!!

 

Entering the inter coastal

 This is quite the repair facility, employing about 65 people in every imaginable boat related trade.  They do not sell boats or have transient slips for rent, it is strictly a repair and maintenance facility.  We are a small boat here...lots of large sport fish boats and other yachts. 
We took a short dinghy ride down the inter coastal to the famous Lulu's (owned by Jimmy Buffet's sister).  They had wonderful menu options for allergy restricted individuals.  So Julie ended up with a huge burger on a gluten free bun...and I had a burger too....they were great along with the fresh margaritas too!!

Ralph and Linda came in their dinghy too.

Lulu's at night when leaving

On Monday we again took a dinghy ride three miles to the Wharf Marina.  Wow, what a facility!  Huge retail shopping area, a movie theatre on site, nice floating docks, multiple restaurants and a really nice boaters lounge.  We would have stayed here if not for the scheduled repairs.  A number of Looper friends are there for a week or so.
They pulled our boat this morning and we have very minor prop damage on both sides as well as worn cutless bearings both sides that are likely contributing to the vibrations. 

So we are now on the hard for over a week (estimated completion is next Wed). We are also having the VHF radio repaired (it shares a signal with AIS and needs a splitter), getting a new chain for the anchor installed, restarting the macerator for waste disposal in the Bahamas (no pump outs there), replacing impellers, new genset zinc, checking/repairing a leak in the steering system hydraulics, adjusting the shifter cables and a couple other things that have cropped up and are beyond my pay grade. Did a little varnish touch up too.

We are actually lucky to have made these repair arrangements.  Others coming in have been told it is a week before they can even look at their boats.  The service manager says they are slammed and have not been this busy in a while.  It sounds to me like the economy has improved and folks are using their boats!
The blue heron thinks he owns the place!  And we talked to one employee who showed us pictures of all the fish he catches right in the marina (he comes in early and fishes in the morning before work).  So I guess the heron knows what he is doing!

OK, but we have to make lemonade when dealt lemons.  So today I got busy and cleaned the scummy waterline and waxed the hull sides up to the upper rub rail.  Not a perfect job but at least a quick coat to get off some of the river stains. 
They have us hooked up to electricity and a nice step platform with hand rails so it is easy to get on the boat.  The only system we cannot use is the air and heat as they require water.  For an extra fee the marina would have set up cooling water towers, but we will only be here a night or two.  So again, things can always be worked through.
Here we are on the hard...

Tomorrow we will rent a car and get some laundry and other chores done, then we will leave for Michigan for Thanksgiving with the Van Hall clan. We are going to wait for the storm to clear the middle of the country before we leave.  Then, we will let Saunders complete the work on the boat and we will be back here around the 28th or 29th to continue our adventure.
We are so looking forward to getting to Tarpon Springs and beyond.  But it will be great to see friends and family for a few days too! 
Happy Thanksgiving to all and thanks for following us.

Nov 9-14 Off the River System!! Salt water, dolphins and pelicans!

Well we did stay through Monday at the Demopolis Kingfisher Marina.  Got the boat washed and some laundry done before joining a large group on the dock for docktails.  We stayed the extra day as the river was still high and we did not want to risk large debris taking out an anchor overnight.  From here to Mobile is all anchoring out...well, one exception is Bobby's Fish Camp, a barge along the river that charges $1.50 a foot plus electric for the ability to raft out two or three boats.  We are planning to skip this "institution" as fried catfish is not on the health food plan.  :>) We are planning two anchor out nights and then going to Saunders marina in Gulf Shores where we have repairs/maintenance scheduled for monday 11/16.
A number of boats left the marina at 6 AM bound for Bobby's.  We (plus LeeLoo and Mazel Tug) opted for a later departure (7:30) and stopped at mile 147, a spot called Picken's Landing, after leaving Demopolis.

Linda piloting Mazel Tug into the lock....she is getting very skilled at this.  But this will be their last lock on the loop (unless they cut through lake Okeechobee) as New Bern NC will be their wake crossing.

 

It was a nice spot along a sandy shore on the inside of a turn in the river.  Carey/Nancy and Ralph/Linda dinghyed over around 4 PM for some relaxation on the flybridge in the sun for a change.  It has been cloudy for about a week now, so the sun was a welcome sight. It gets dark shortly after 5 now and with the clear skies it turned cold quickly so it was short lived.

 

Julie had cooked ribs in the oven as we went down the river and we finished them up with some sweet potatoes on the grill after dark along with a great spinach salad.  Julie is such a great cook, who needs restaurants!
We even turned on the generator for some heat as we were watching some TV before an early bedtime.  I left the AIS on all night so tows could see us anchored just out of the channel. We only saw one tow around 7 or 8 PM. It honked at Linda as she waved at them as they passed.  A nice quiet night with the current holding the boat parallel to shore. 
It seems like our bodies are adjusting to the light cycles...up at 6 AM in bed by 9 PM.  They say 9 is Looper midnight and we are now seeing why.  After all the driving, fresh air, boat chores, dinner, etc one is ready to retire by then!
Woke up Wed morning to some really thick fog.  It cleared by 8 or so and we got underway then.  We had a 70 mile day plus a lock to get to the targeted anchorage so we needed to get moving...remember 9 knots is only about 10.4 MPH so it is a full day of travel.  But it is really peaceful on this river.  Very low tow traffic compared to the Illinois, Mississippi and Ohio.  Rarely see another boat or even a fisherman. 
Arrived at Upper Sunflower East anchorage (MM 79) at around 3 PM.  Set stern anchors too as the wind was overtaking the current and we did not want to drift out into the channel as we slept!  The new aluminum Fortress anchor worrked really well (first time out of the box).  Not too heavy to handle and digs in well. 

We had a tow pass late afternoon and then early morning, but again a very nice spot.  Mazel Tug and Sum Escape left at first light as we decided to beat the forecasted wind on Friday and arrive in Mobile on Thursday instead.  Anchor retrieval:

 Lots of miles, little southern progress....

 

Coming out of the river into Mobile was quite a contrast.  Within a few hundred yards one enters a huge commercial traffic zone.  Container ships, Navy vessels, lots of tow fleeting areas, and plenty of river traffic.  And the building rise up on the horizon as you approach....feels like you are coming back to civilization after a few days of anchoring! 

 Room to pass!

We arrived in Mobile Bay and almost immediately saw dolphins playing in the wakes of our boats!  And pelicans were fishing all around us.  We spent just two days shy of 2 months on the rivers after entering in Calumet harbor on Sept 14. 
Brett texted us and said we showed up in Mobile bay on the Marine Traffic website.  We can't hide I guess!

Had the restaurant accross Dog River pick up 8 of us on their pontoon boat for dinner at the Grand Mariner.  They had a West Indies salad that is made of crab, onions and marinated for 24+ hours in vinegar, oil and seasonings that is awesome! We plan to go back once more for the Jonah
crab...somehow we missed it on the menu and ordered crab claws which were also very good.  And the gulf shrimp in the area are awsoe appetizers for sure.  Lots of great seafood here!

Friday we took a nice long walk, bought some supplies at West Marine and went to Wal Mart and dinner with Ralph/Linda, Kenny/Kathy (No Zip Code) and Nancy/Carey (LeeLoo).  I picked up new batteries for the inverter and generator and installed them on Sat.  Should be good for extended anchoring out now.  New batteries will hold up better and less generator run time will be required with the fresh inverter batteries.  And a new generator starting battery will be a peace of mind item.  Also took a nice walk and greeted a number of other Loppers who came in today. 
Took the pontoon boat accross the river again Sat night for the Jonah crab....it was wonderful!

 

 

Had two tables as the docks here are packed with Loopers and it was so easy for everyone to take the pontoon across the river.  It was fun talking to everyone.
Heading for Gulf Shores tomorrow.  Need to balance tides against waves and find the right time to leave.  It looks like 7 AM for the 35 mile trip with Mazel Tug and No Zip Code.  We'll stay at Saunders Yachtworks (or a hotel nearby if hauled for a long time) until they complete the work on our boat, then hopefully move further east and leave the boat on Sunday 11/22
to start driving to Michigan for a few days. It will be great to see everyone for Thanksgiving!
Thanks for following our blog.

Nov 1-8. The Tenn Tom River and Canal System. Having a blast!!

Wow, already November and we have already travelled almost 1700 miles.  This trip has been everything we expected, challenging, but safe if one plans ahead and keeps thier cool and thinks things through when the plan does not work out.  The scenery has been wonderful.  Seeing the small towns and sites from the water is a different perspective for sure.  One site that comes to mind to illustrate is the spot on highway 24 that winds along the Tennessee River.  Seeing all the traffic there "fighting for position" and having 6 boats in a serene 8 knot caravan on the river was a contrast that stuck with me. We learned to use river currents when docking or anchoring.  We are learning the Southern drawl the tow captains all use....tough to understand what they say sometimes so it is always good to check if the really want a one or two whistle pass!  We are meeting wonderful people willing to help share boating and other knowledge and experience. The social aspects of the trip are really phenominal.  Everyone is so interesting and nice! And the independence one feels on the trip is just wonderful.  We like it here, let's stay another day....or well, this isn't what the website presented, let's move on.  Oh, this anchorage is serene, let's never leave....but oh wait, it is getting colder, the colors are changing and I don't want to break out the jeans and sweatshirts...let's keep moving!!  So that is what we are doing, we hope to be in Gulf Shores AL by Nov 16.  We have an appointment with Saunders Yachtworks there to have some repairs and mainenance done and depending on how long they will take we will continue to move along the AL / FL coast toward Carabelle to stage our Gulf Crossing (170 statute miles of open water) as well as our drive to MI for Thanksgiving.
People have asked what the favorite part has been. Meeting all the wonderful people is at the top of the list.  But location wise, at this point I would say the Tennessee River.  We wish we could have taken more time and explored further. That was the original plan, but with our family developments and unexpected eye surgery, that time was lost and we were unable to do so.  We may have to further check it out someday!
Sunday Nov 1 we hosted Looper docktails aboard Sum Escape while still at Aqua Harbor.  We met many new Loopers and left the next morning with a few of them. We left Aqua Harbor with Carey and Nancy (LeeLoo) Vicky and Tom (Grand Baron) and Clark and Ev (Sea Moss). 
Coming in to the lock

 

We all went to Midway Marina in Fulton, MS.  It was not as the website would suggest, but it was a good stop nonetheless.
Building the plan for the next few days...thanks Carey!

The next day Sea Moss continued on and the other three anchored at "Canal Section Cut Off" somewhere in the middle of nowhere!  But it was a great anchorage and we even set off a lantern into the night sky. 

We again used the bow to stern method so we in effect had a bow and stern anchor. Other than a couple tows and bass boats flying past, it was a quiet and serene spot.  Great conversation and food with Lee Loo and Grand Baron.  In the morning we were all slow to get started (on purpose) as we so enjoyed the spot off the main river.

We left for Columbus Marina in Columbus MS.  A very nice stop.  But it was a bit scary coming in with all the water hyacinth...

And we got to talk at length to Sherri and Randy Chester (Priorities) who originated in Port Sheldon and completed the Loop but then continued to Florida again and then back to Columbus.  Randy works part time at the marina and they will be heading South soon too.  They shared a bunch of great information on anchorages, Florida, the Bahamas and boat systems, spare parts needed, etc for safe travels.  We originally met them in Port Sheldon a couple years ago before they left on the Loop.  Thanks again Sherri and Randy for all the great information!
After arrival at Columbus we re provisioned, caught up on banking, did laundry etc and generally had a relaxing but productive time.  Dick and Pat from Spring Lake (Dream Catcher) were already here and are staying a month or so.  It is a nice spot for sure.  Ralph and Linda (Mazel Tug) caught up with us after having some repairs completed at Aqua Harbor.  Dream Catcher arranged a group dinner at Huck's.   A group of 10 enjoyed the seafood (if catfish can be considered seafood) as all the meals were great!  We are not sure but Carey may have bought a new boat that evening....

Friday morning Julie, Vicki and Pat did yoga on the dock with the Yoga Studio app that Ann from the Plaza Towers yoga group gave Julie as a going away gift. Julie led the group... do you believe that Ann!?  Putting the iPad on the dock qualifies as leading right?  Thanks for the app Ann!!
We used the courtesy car on Friday and visited the Waverly mansion, an 1850's mansion owned by the Snow family and being slowly restored by them.  What a labor of love....I really think they are losing more ground than they are gaining but I guess I didn't see what they started with either.  But what a marvel the construction and woodworking and furnishings are.  Every room had outside access to an outside balcony or porch.  It also had a large rotunda to provide natural ventilation for the hot humid Mississippi summers.  Really an enjoyable stop.

Kenny and Kathy (No Zip Code) also arrived on Friday and we went to dinner with them at Harvey's. They also shared their experiences cruising and living aboard over the last 9 years. Wow, what a wealth of knowledge....thanks Kenny and Kathy!
As we have travelled the rivers, we have been listening to the book "Being Mortal".  It is about the realities of aging, how medicine impacts the process, and drives home the point that one must prepare.  It is  a very good book and it is so interesting that we decided to listen to this because we have met so many people that are dealing with illnesses, have survived life threatening illnesses or have such great perspective on living life and having dreams and bucket lists.  Like we said earlier, the people we are meeting are such a fantastic part of the trip.  And we are so thankful that God has granted us the ability to take this trip while we too are able to manage the physical demands of the daily cruising life.
An appropriate saying on the lock wall

On Sat morning we left the docks with Ralph and Linda and Carey and Nancy with Sum Escape in the lead, for the anchorage at Sumpter Recreation area.  Another well protected and gorgeous anchorage. 

It was a rainy day and continued most of the night too.  But Ralph was the taxi driver and delivered everyone to Sum Escape for a group cocktails and dinner aboard.  We even watched the Arkansas /Ole Miss game...what an ending!  Again, a good time was had by all.  There was a lot of rain and we really steamed up the boat!!  Tom stayed up to watch the end of the Michigan State game too....we'll leave it at that.  Sorry Mike, Dave, Dennis, Larry, Alex, Randy, etc.....
On Sunday morning we awoke to cloudy but calm weather.  Ralph called the lock and got the group going before 8 AM. Sum Escape led the three boats we travelled with plus one other that joined our anchorage overnight.  As we travelled the three miles to the lock, the captain as usual checks engine gauges but today the starboard side alternator chose to not cooperate.  It was registering 12.9 volts (low) while port registered 14.0 (normal).  So once in the lock with engines off, the chief engineer went below to investigate what he could see or hear or smell.  He heard a noisy "clicking" / "staticy" noise from one of the house batteries that charge off the starboard alternator.  So with Julie handling the lines, I disconnected that battery and bypassed it in the parallel set up of the three house batteries. Julie handled captaining duties while Tom reviewed manuals and wiring diagrams to troubleshoot. Once exiting the lock the voltage slowly came back up to normal over the next few hours.  So when we arrived at Demopolis on Sunday afternoon we took the courtesy car to Wal Mart and purchased a replacement battery. 

All seems OK now but I guess the test will be tomorrow and beyond. Speaking of the trip, the rain last night was measured at 3+ inches in areas.  And boy, what a mess of debris was in the river.  Ralph cordially agreed to take the lead as Tom was not confident that the battery situation was going to work as we left the lock.  All electronics, VHF radio, etc are on the house battery circuit so we weren't comfortable that we had the necessary confidence to lead the four boats.  Thanks for a great job piloting us all safely through the minefields Ralph!  Hat's off to you!

 

Julie has started her counted cross stich projects she left unfinished in the 1990's! 

It is a great thing to do as we travel the rivers (between eagle sightings and debris navigation duties).  We are both settling in to life aboard our new home and I have to say we love it!
We may leave early in the morning for another anchorage and will likely again be without cell coverage. We start the Black Warrior portion of the river and it is running fast due to all the rain.  The lockmaster will advise us in the morning about the safety of anchoring out so we may be here a couple days as the river subsides. But we really do enjoy the anchoring out and look forward to some sunny days starting on Tues.  We should be in Mobile or Gulf Shores by this time next week!  Two more locks and we hit salt water (after the Coffeeville lock, it is brackish and tidal)  Something new to learn!
Thanks for following our blog.  God bless you all.