Monday, June 21--Friday, June 25
Nashville, TN (Cumberland River) city dock
Leaving Clarksville was more complicated than we expected. Just down the river from our dock was a railroad bridge that was not high enough for us to go under. Before we left the dock, we called the bridge tender on the VHF radio. No answer. Larry found the owner of the bridge on the Internet and called them. He learned that another company operates the bridge. He called them and got the telephone number of the bridge tender. Larry called him and he said he could be at the bridge in an hour. He was very helpful and suggested that we give him a couple of days notice when we need to go under his bridge on the way back. What would we have done without the Internet?
The Cumberland River is beautiful. The hills are high and green. (In parts of Texas, they would probably be called mountains.) There was debris in the water and evidence of the historical May flood was piled high on the riverbank in some spots. We saw homes that were badly damaged by the floodwaters. Twenty people died in that flood.
We passed a sign identifying the town of Frog Bottom, Tennessee. Their high school mascot would be something to see.
Several families were playing and swimming in shallower spots along the river to escape the heat. This is the hottest it’s been in June since 1952. Record-breaking weather has followed us all year. It was the windiest spring in the Bahamas and the coldest winter in Columbus, Mississippi (where we kept the boat for the winter).
It was a long, hot 10-hour trip today and we were sweaty and tired when we got to the Nashville city dock. We are very glad to be here and especially grateful to see that the dock has water! We expect to stay five days.
We have learned that this riverfront dock is not free, in spite of the common misconception.
Tuesday morning, a young man, who may have been homeless, took a splash bath and exercised on the riverbank not far from us. He did many pushups. We wondered about his story. He appeared to be physically fit.
Because Monday was such a long travel day, we took Tuesday off, except for an evening stroll across the Shelby Street pedestrian bridge under which we are docked. The bridge goes from downtown across the bridge to LP Field, the huge stadium where the Tennessee Titans play football. On the way back to the boat, a thunderstorm came up just as we were on the peak of the bridge. Not a great place to be with lightening around.
The bridge, which was built in 1909, is one of the world's longest pedestrian bridges.
Wednesday morning we took a one-hour sightseeing tour, which was supposed to be on a trolley but, because it is so hot, a nice, air-conditioned bus was used. We saw Nashville's historic downtown, Ryman Auditorium, the state capitol, the Parthenon, Music Row and other Nashville highlights. It was an interesting and fun trip.
After the tour, we discovered that the place we wanted to have lunch doesn't open early, so we walked down the street until we came upon Demo's, where we had a most delicious lunch for reasonable prices. Easily, the best meal we've had so far on this trip.
Thursday I took a Grayline Tour to The Hermitage, Andrew Jackson's home, and Belle Meade Plantation. Both were very interesting. Belle Meade has a winery and I helped the economy by buying two bottles of local wine, muscadine and blackberry!
While I was enjoying myself and catching up on local history, Larry was working in the engine room. He found a frog on top of the bilge pump under the engine!
Our pet tomato, Bud, has made a remarkable recovery. He still bears 11 tomatoes and is getting new growth!
Although the dock is off the beaten path, we had some visitors. Larry (not The Larry) stopped by. It was his 69th birthday! He spends his winters in South Texas. Sid and Little Sid, who is in the sixth grade, also dropped by. They are from Florida and have a sailboat. One of the Nashville Firemen off the fireboat stopped by, too. We really enjoyed visiting with all of them.
Tuesday, June 15, -- Sunday, June 20
Clarksville, TN, (Cumberland River) city dock
We are back in Tennessee! We didn’t see any cruising boats today. In fact, we went miles and miles without seeing a boat of any variety!
Larry says that since we left Columbus on May 12, we have seen only five boats that are cruising the rivers (A Vita, Kawliga, Emerald Lady, Beluga, Laurine Grace,) and three of them were at Columbus when we were!
The scenery today was interesting. In this part of the river, there are many islands. Some are just slivers of land with a tree or two; others are larger and covered with trees.
We passed the site of Fort Donelson, where Union troops won their first major victory and made General Grant famous. Thirteen thousand Confederates surrendered. Loss of control of the river hurt the South badly.
We also passed the Cross Creeks National Wildlife Refuge, where there are supposed to be nearly 250 species of birds. We saw one: a heron. Our wildlife count on this trip has been disappointing. I was hoping to see bears! (Ironically, a few days ago I read that bears are coming back to East Texas!)
A lot of debris was in the water near the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Cumberland steam plant. Two of the plant’s furnaces are 1,000 feet high, but they are obsolete. Now two 600-foot furnaces are in use.
We had to slow down for the Cumberland City ferry, the only ferry still operating on the Cumberland.
When we got to Clarksville, we weren’t sure where the city dock was. The cruise guide and the chart were published before the dock was constructed, so they were no help, but we finally found it and called the park ranger to get registered. This dock is downtown. There is no electricity or water. The price is right though, $0.00.
Wednesday there was a lot of foot traffic on the dock. We're the only boat here and most people have never seen one like it. We especially enjoyed the two boys with their grandfather. The boys asked some good questions when they came aboard..
One generous visitor offered to take us to the grocery store.
Two of our visitors were city employees who found out for us that the electricity is turned on at the dock.. Hooray! It is really nice to have a free dock with free electricity.
We have heard that the Cheatham Lock openings for pleasure craft may be delayed. The lock suffered serious damage from the spring flood. It is supposed to open Friday.
Larry was slightly under the weather Thursday. I walked to the historic district of Clarksville and visited the museum. This is a lovely town. Even the Monkees sang about it! "Last Train to Clarksville"!
One thing I didn't realize 'till I struck out on foot is that the entire state of Tennessee is uphill. I was relieved to go downhill on the walk back to the boat.
Friday we got a rental car and immediately headed to WalMart for provisions. Having a car enables us to load up on groceries, take the laundry to a laundromat, and check out interesting and historical areas of town.
There's been more commercial activity on the river because the Cheatham Lock, which has been closed since the bad floods of early May, opened to commercial traffic yesterday. It's supposed to be open for pleasure craft now, but we decided to wait a few days till the backed-up traffic gets through the lock.
Lots of little boats zip by us at the dock. They seem to be oblivious to the rocking they cause us.
We'll probably leave Clarksville Monday.
Kenne-Jean and Bill, who circled us in Midnight Rainbow on Sugar Bay, left us a note on the boat. They live in Clarksville and remembered us from the anchorage. They invited us to breakfast, but we reluctantly had to decline, because we’re leaving tomorrow.
Since we had a car, we took a road trip to Nashville Sunday. It was a nice drive. Tennessee is a beautiful state. We went to West Marine, which may be the only marine store in the state.
Then we checked out the public dock, which may or may not be free. The dock has electricity but no water. We are getting nervous about our diminishing water supply. (Neither neither the Clarksville nor the Nashville dock has a water source.)
There are security concerns at the Nashville dock. We’ve heard stories about homeless people untying boats’ lines! We have been advised to give generously when the homeless ask for a handout.
We had a good lunch at Big River and watched city crews work to repair damage caused by the May flood.
It was very hot. When we got back to the boat, it was 102 in the pilothouse! ONE HUNDRED AND TWO.
Monday, June 14
Hopson Creek Anchorage, Daymark 62.4, Lake Barkley, Cumberland River
Today we woke up to discover that overnight Bud had been attacked by a barrage of bugs and has likely sustained terminal injuries. He looks very, very bad. We are keeping our fingers crossed that his 10 tomatoes will survive.
We passed through the mile-long Barkley Canal that links Kentucky Lake on the Tennessee River to Barkley Lake on the Cumberland River.
We passed the impressive “Castle on the Cumberland,” Kentucky’s only maximum-security prison. It was built with stone from local quarries in 1888 and does slightly resemble a castle, although the inmates might not agree.
A group of folks on a small pontoon boat passed us going fast. When they saw we were from Texas, they circled around again and all six of them yelled “Hook ‘Em” and showed their horns! This not the first time this has happened to us, but it always makes us smile!
We anchored at about 3 o’clock in Hopson Creek. The entrance was tricky, but we managed it without incident. A thunderstorm hit us with rain, high winds and some lightening, but it didn’t last long.
There were some houses on the banks of the creek, but we saw little activity in this nice, protected anchorage.
Friday, June 11--Sunday, June 13
Sugar Bay Anchorage, Mile 35.7, Tennessee River (Kentucky Lake)
We didn’t leave the marina until about noon because we had a short trip today, less than 10 miles.
We anchored in a very desirable cove immediately to starboard as we entered Sugar Bay. We are protected from almost every direction and have a great view of the main lake.
We have Internet access (hooray!) and a couple of TV channels.
We enjoyed the afternoon on deck, trying to identify sounds from the woods surrounding us. In late afternoon, a Nauti-cat drove in, circled us, chatted for a few seconds, and left for one of the other numerous anchorages in the area.
We may stay here for the weekend. It’s going to be a hot one, they say!
Not surprisingly, activity picked up in Sugar Bay on Saturday. A pontoon boat and two small day boats anchored here for a swim. It must have been refreshing because the temperature was in the low 90’s. The water’s about 20 feet deep here.
A handful of fishing boats quietly skirt the banks. We see a lot of big fish jumping.
Since we left the marina, we have been on a spider-eradication mission. Spiders are a big problem where there are covered marinas, even for those boats (like ours) that don’t fit under them. We never knew how much spiders pooped and spider poop is almost impossible to get off a boat! Ugly! Ugly! Ugly!
We must have brought spiders with us. Every evening after the sun goes down, Larry sprays spiders with a mixture of water and Dawn, the magic spider-killer potion recommended to us by another cruiser. It seems to be working!
We have discovered bugs on Bud! Oh no! How could bugs find a tomato plant on a boat?
Thursday, June 3--Thursday, June 10
Kenlake Marina, Mile 41.9, Tennessee River (Kentucky)
It was a short two-hour trip from the Clay Bay anchorage to Kenlake Marina. We soon learned that Kenlake Marina has a restaurant that serves breakfast and lunch and an ice cream stand that’s open occasionally, but NO LAUNDRY. Bummer. The marina people said we could take the (un-air-conditioned) truck to Aurora, KY, where there is a Laundromat.
We decided to turn to our old friends, Enterprise, and get a rental car for the weekend.
Beluga, a 33’ Nauticat that tied up across from us at Paris Landing Marina, pulled in mid-afternoon. In addition, here is Emerald Lady, an American Tug. We saw her in Columbus Marina, but didn’t get a chance to meet the crew.
We plan to stay here a few days. At least until the ice cream stand opens.
Saturday was a full day. We took advantage of our rental car and shopped and did laundry. They’re having a 400-mile yard sale in the area that attracted hundreds of shoppers, who lined the highway with their cars.
Sunday we took a wonderful road trip to The Land Between the Lakes, known locally as LBL. It is a national recreational area on the peninsula that separates the Kentucky Lake (Tennessee River) from Barclay Lake (Cumberland River).
It was a beautiful drive. Very tall trees, a variety of beautiful wild flowers still in bloom, and more birds than we’ve ever seen in one place outside of an aviary.
There were 16 original and restored log cabins and outbuildings at a working 19th century farm where interpreters in period clothing demonstrated daily chores and activities. It is a working farm.
We saw elk and bison (one each) on a winding road through the Elk and Bison Prairie. (Mid-day is not the best time for buffalo sightings.)
We also went to the Woodlands Nature Station, an environmental education center. It was a great day.
When we returned to Outer Reef in late afternoon, we met Mavis and Bob aboard Katy Leigh. They invited us aboard their 36’ Grand Banks. We had a very nice visit and hope to see them again.
Tuesday we were glad to see Dual Dreams tie up in front of us. We met Mike and Harriet in the Bahamas and saw them again in Florida last year. They just pulled in to the marina to have lunch at the restaurant here.
We also met Dick and Nancy aboard Emerald Lady. They were in Columbus when we were there, but we never got to meet them. They are staying here for a while because Nancy's hometown is near here.
She brought us some wonderful cupcakes she had made from fresh blueberries she'd picked the day before. Delicious!
Tuesday, June 1-Wednesday, June 2
Clay Bay Anchorage, Mile 54.2, Tennessee River (Kentucky)
We are now in Kentucky! We got a late start leaving the marina Tuesday morning, but it was a short two-hour trip to Clay Bay, our anchorage.
Here the east coast of Kentucky Lake is known as The Land Between the Lakes. This spit of land separates Barclay Lake and Kentucky Lake and is one of the largest inland peninsulas in the United States. It is a 170,000-acre national recreation area with 300 miles of undeveloped shoreline. There are no buildings or other development here where we are anchored. Just beautiful trees and quiet water.
We stopped at this anchorage because someone told us we would see eagles here. Others said the eagles were already gone for the season. We think they were right. We looked and looked, but saw no eagles.
Wednesday we stayed at the anchorage. We are the only boat here. We haven't seen another cruising boat since we left the marina.
A thunderstorm blew through Wednesday afternoon. We were glad this little bay is surrounded by trees taller than our mast.
Friday, May 28--Monday, May 31
Paris Landing State Park Marina (TN) Mile 64.4 Tennessee River
Before we left Pebble Isle Friday morning, we had a great visit with Bob and Elaine aboard A Frayed Knot. We hope to run into them again; they were charming.
We have noticed that the color of the river water has changed from reddish-brown to dark green. We are on Kentucky Lake now. It is 184 miles long and a favorite of river cruisers because it is has many beautiful anchorages along its 2,400-mile shoreline. This is one of the world’s largest man-made lakes.
This is a very nice marina. We have Internet access and cable TV here, which we didn’t have at Pebble Isle, and Paris Landing is 50 percent less expensive than Pebble Isle! The bad news is that there’s no courtesy car.
Paris Landing Marina is on the western shore of Kentucky Lake (on the Tennessee River) at the widest part of the lake (3 miles).
Saturday the marina was really hopping. Dozens, maybe hundreds, of little boats zipped by us to tie up at the fuel dock, which is across from the transient dock where we are located. The irony is that we came to a marina for the holiday weekend to avoid dozens, maybe hundreds, of small boats zipping by us.
We haven’t been rocked very much because most of these boaters obey the “No Wake” signs, thank goodness. The state water cops have a presence here, too, which may explain the good behavior.
Sunday we had breakfast at the park’s lodge. A park ranger gave us a lift over and we walked back. We decided the buffet at Pickwick Lake’s lodge was better than this one.
Monday (Memorial Day) Marty and Joy invited Jim and Marie from Kawliga and us to their beautifully restored, 100-year-old home for dinner. What a wonderful evening! Such fun sharing cruising stories and laughing. Everything was delicious.
Wednesday, May 26--Thursday, May 27
Pebble Isle Marina, Mile 95.6, Tennessee River
Wednesday, we had a seven-hour day, longer than we expected because we had to wait for a train and a shift change at a railroad bridge that had to be raised for our mast.
We met a tow pushing 15 barges. That may be a record for us. That tow had to go through each lock several times in order to get his 15 barges through.
We passed by The Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge, but didn’t see any wildlife taking refuge. If we have had any disappointment on our river cruising, it has been the lack of wildlife we’ve seen.
We pulled into Pebble Isle Marina in mid-afternoon. This marina has been highly recommended. It isn’t as “fancy” as Aqua Harbor, but the staff is friendly and there is a restaurant on site that serves delicious catfish, as we discovered at dinner, which was huge. In addition to the catfish, there was slaw, hush puppies, French fries, and white beans. In this area, white beans are served with everything!
The Loretta Lynn Coal Miner’s Daughter Museum and a Patsy Cline Memorial are near here.
Thursday, Larry stayed at the boat while I had an adventure. I took the marina’s courtesy car and headed out for WalMart, a 10-mile trip to a neighboring town normally. However, I took a couple of wrong turns. When I stopped at a convenience store and asked for help, the clerk said, “You got lost looking for WalMart?!” and laughed. It was just down the road.
The good news is that I saw wildlife on the drive to town! A flock of wild turkeys, a turtle in the middle of the road, and an armadillo taking a nap beside the road.
We plan to leave here Friday morning.
Tuesday, May 25
Double Island Anchorage, Mile 148.5, Tennessee River
Today was a long day. We traveled 69 miles and averaged 8.5 mph. As we prepared to leave the marina this morning, the wind pushed us against the dock, but we used a large (4’ x 5’) piece of Styrofoam (which had floated up during the storm last night) to protect the swim platform as we pulled away.
We went through Pickwick Lock, our last lock for 200 miles! Hooray!
We passed by Shiloh National Military Park, one of the most historically significant sites on the Tennessee River; 23,000 men died defending their causes there.
The river is becoming more beautiful with cliffs and lots of tall trees. A mid-afternoon rain cooled us off. We anchored behind a small island at 6:30 PM. Happy hour on the deck was very nice and quiet.
This is a great anchorage. Very little current or wind.
Friday, May 20-Monday, May 24
Aqua Yacht Harbor Marina (Mile 448.5)
The weekend on the transient dock was hopping! We got rocked a lot as boats left their slips for weekend outings. We walked down the docks to check out other boats and found two cruising Texans, both from the Fort Worth area.
We have repotted Bud into a five-gallon bucket. Larry says that he gets the bucket if the tomato plant should not survive. Of course, he will be the first suspect should anything suspicious happen.
Wednesday, May 18-Thursday, May 19
Aqua Yacht Harbor Marina (Mile 448.5)
Wednesday we had a great lunch at The Broken Spoke with Ron and Anita from A Vita. This restaurant is unrelated to the Austin icon, but it is just as colorful.
After we ate, we made a fast run to Savannah (Tennessee) to pick up some wine. We learned last year that Tennessee has some strange laws regarding the sale of alcohol. For instance, a liquor store can sell nothing that without alcohol in it, so there are no mixers, cork screws, or coozies.
Ron and Anita showed us a home where U. S. Grant stayed during the Civil War. They said he was having breakfast when he heard the first cannon fire at Shiloh. He put down his coffee cup and asked to be excused.
There is a lot of history in this area and we want to take advantage of these opportunities to learn more while we’re traveling.
Stormy weather's on the way again. We move Bud into the pilot house when bad weather threatens. The winds knocked him over yesterday. We've decided to get him a bigger pot.
Monday, May 17-Tuesday, May 18
Aqua Yacht Harbor Marina (Mile 448.5)
Monday it was very quiet at the marina with all the weekend boaters gone. We took the nice loaner car to town and did laundry at the washateria. Larry went to the hardware store. We also shopped at Fred’s, which is sort of a small WalMart in the south. It has a little bit of everything.
We were excited about watching the next-to-last episode of 24 at 8 PM. We hurried down to the forward cabin, got all set up and then discovered that we couldn’t get Fox!! We came here to this marina because it had cable TV so that we could watch the last episodes of “24” and “Lost“! We kept flipping through the 40+ channels offered here, but no luck. @#$%^ We were so disappointed because we haven’t missed a single episode this, the final season!
Anita from A Vita passed by Tuesday morning and she was grumbling, too, about missing “24“. They have two TVs on A Vita and couldn’t get the Fox channel on either one!
Tuesday, we were delighted to discover that we could watch Monday’s episode over the Internet and the Fox channel is back on the TV.
Saturday, May 15--Sunday, May 16
Aqua Yacht Harbor Marina (Mile 448.5) (MS)
The mysterious fragrant wild shrub has been identified, thanks to our kind neighbors on the dock. They live in Mississippi, so I asked if they could name this wonderful plant.
They left the boat for a while and when they returned, they brought us a bunch of the branches for the boat! It’s Privet! It’s a kind of Ligustrum, which I might have guessed if we’d gotten close enough. However, passing in a boat, we couldn’t see many details; we just enjoyed the amazing fragrance. We are glad that mystery is solved, thanks to our gracious new Mississippi friends.
This marina is big. Transient docking is along an outside dock. We are subject to wakes from boats traveling the river. There are several “No Wake” buoys, which all of the pontoon boats and most of the others generally ignore. Therefore, we have been doing a lot of rocking and rolling, especially on Saturday.
There are many motor yachts at this marina, but we suspect that most of them are rarely taken out of their slips. Many of the slips are improved and have nice outdoor furniture, big grills, and bars. Not too many cruising-types among them. (You can usually tell a cruiser because they have dinghies and bicycles on their decks.)
Larry says that the anchors on many of the yachts are way too small and some of the yachts don’t even have space for a dinghy, if they needed one. These boats turn on their radar for their short trips up and down the river where the visibility is about a mile, especially from their high vantage points.
The marina is in Mississippi, but Tennessee is on the opposit shore.
Larry spent some of Saturday morning hooking the boat up to receive cable television, an amenity offered transient boaters. We are delighted to be able to watch the final episodes of “Lost” and “24”.
Saturday afternoon a gentleman on a kayak paddled by for a short visit. He invited us to his riverside home for cocktails, but we took a raincheck.
Sunday was stormy in the afternoon and it was quiet at the marina. We took one of the marina’s very nice loaner cars into town to the small grocery store to pick up some provisions.
Friday, May 14
Aqua Yacht Harbor Marina (Mile 448.5) (MS)
Today we passed through the Divide Cut, the 24-mile channel (280 feet wide) that created the Tenn-Tom Waterway. Wildflowers were abundant on both sides. Jasmine was in bloom everywhere. Very fragrant!
Boat traffic became heavier as we approached the marina. We even saw some water-skiers!
Some stormy weather is predicted for the next few days, so we’ll stay here until that passes. We got a nice weekly rate. Docked in front of us are Dream Manor and A Vita, whom we met in Columbus.
Thursday, May 13
Mississippi Finger Anchorage, Bay Springs Lake (MS)
Today we went through FOUR locks and it rained during one lock-through. In the past two days, we’ve traveled 77 miles and through seven locks. The good news is that there’s only one more lock from here to Kentucky Lake (200 Miles).
After about an eight-hour cruising day, we anchored at beautiful Bay Springs Lake on Mississippi Finger, one of the Five Fingers inlets at this beautiful spot. The water here is clear and green. Woods surround us and there are yellow wildflowers and that fragrant tree with the white blossoms.
We have stopped at Bay Springs Lake twice before. The only downside of this place is the poor Internet/cell phone access.
Lauren Grace is anchored nearby. They plan to stay here a few days, but we will probably leave tomorrow.
No bug problem tonight! And we are surrounded by woods!
Wednesday, May 12
Smithville (MS) Anchorage, Mile 376.7
Our first day underway in six months was fun and uneventful. The debris from the flooding wasn’t as bad as we expected, but there was evidence of high water damage.
We went through three locks without incident. Theresa and Larry aboard Lauren Grace shared the first lock (Aberdeen) with us, but they are much faster than we are, so we weren’t together in the other two. We met them a week or so ago at Columbus Marina and hope to run into them again as we travel north.
There is a small tree in bloom throughout this area that is so fragrant that we can smell it even before we see one. The trees are full of white blooms and grow on both sides of the road to Columbus Marina. They are in the woods beside the river and smell so good! I wonder if they would thrive in Austin.
Speaking of thriving, Bud, our Big Boy tomato plant that we got instead of a dog, is growing like crazy in his small hanging basket. We are looking forward to our first harvest.
The bugs are bad tonight. The good news is they’re not biting varieties. In other good news, we were delighted to discover we have excellent television reception on the four major channels!
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Columbus, Marina, Columbus, Mississippi
We have just learned that the Cumberland and some areas of the Tennessee have been closed by the Coast Guard because of the high water and the debris. That's where we're going, folks!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Columbus Marina, Columbus, Mississippi
Our departure has been delayed several times because of the severe spring weather, the tornados, and the floods. The current is too strong now for us to go north and there’s a lot of dangerous debris. Nashville, one of our destinations, is flooded now. All that water will have to go downstream.
In spite of the scary storms (lots of lightening and tornado warnings), we have had a good time here. The people are great and we like the marina. We just wish there were some protection from tornados! We have nowhere to go when one is in the area.
We will update the website when we finally get underway.
The Homeplace is a working 19th Century farm where interpreters dressed in period clothing demonstrate their daily chores.
