Outer Reef

Sunday, Sept. 26, 2010

Columbus Marina, Mile 335 Tenn-Tom Waterway (MS)

We arrived at Columbus Marina mid-afternoon. This is our last stop for this trip. We left here in May and have had a wonderful four months. We traveled 1,020 miles through Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway (Tenn-Tom), the Tennessee and the Cumberland rivers. We went through nine locks twice.

We will leave Outer Reef here and return to Austin next week. In a month or so, we will move her back to Texas. River cruising and the beauty of this country was much more than we expected. We loved it.

Friday, Sept. 24-Saturday Sept. 25

Aberdeen Marina, Mile 358.2 Tenn-Tom Waterway

The channel to Aberdeen Marina was an S curve, but it was well marked, thank goodness! The marina was small. Mostly houseboats and pontoon boats filled the few covered slips. We were the only boat on the transient dock and we didn’t see another boat come in for fuel or to dock while we were there.

The marina office was in a convenience store that did a booming business. A “deli” served burritos, catfish, pork chops, potato wedges, chicken livers, and hamburgers.

We had pretty good TV reception and watched a very discouraging UT loss to UCLA. Sunday we will go to Columbus Marina, where we’ll leave the boat when we return home.

Thursday, Sept. 23

Smithville Anchorage, Mile 376.8 Tenn-Tom Waterway (MS)

Today we pulled off the waterway and anchored at Smithville just before Wilkins Lock. The spot was unprotected by trees or hills, but there was no threat of bad weather. We anchored here before and once stayed at the small marina nearby.

Wednesday, Sept 22

Five Fingers Anchorage, Mile 414 Tenn-Tom Waterway (MS)

We stopped early today at Five Fingers, a beautiful anchorage on Bay Springs Lake. Larry washed the boat and I sneezed and coughed, thanks to a minor cold or allergies I picked up along the way. We stopped here on the way up the Tenn-Tom months ago. No other boats were anchored nearby. Nor was there any sign of civilization.

Tuesday, Sept. 21

Zippy Creek Anchorage, Mile 449 Tenn-Tom Waterway (MS)

Today we left the beautiful Tennessee River, where we’ve enjoyed cruising for several months. We turned onto the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway in the late afternoon and entered Zippy Creek a few miles later. We anchored here when we were going upriver. A sailboat was already anchored when we arrived, but left shortly after, so we had the beautiful place to ourselves.

We met five barges today, the most we’ve seen in a long time.

Monday, September 13-Monday, September 20

Florence Harbor Marina, Mile 256.1, Tennessee River

We drove over to Red Bay on Monday morning for a tour of the Tiffin Motorhome factory. We were surprised to see 30-40 other visitors there!

It was sort of a boring tour. The best part was an hour-long visit afterward with two couples who have a long history of RVing. They answered a lot of our questions. Like us, they are interested in a relatively small RV, 28-20 feet, and we chatted on Tiffin’s 28’ Breeze.

Larry, who is very big on research, is already tired of looking at RVs and we’ve just started shopping!

Saturday the Trail of Tears Remembrance Motorcycle ride passed through the park across from the marina. Thousands of bikers participated. We were here the same time last year to see all the bikers ride through!

Sunday we drove to Shiloh National Military Park in Tennessee. There were 24,000 casualties in this two-day battle in 1862. It is a beautiful park and Americans are blessed that our country has preserved it and others like it.

Shiloh National Military Park is probably one of the most significant historical sites on the Tennessee River. There are 151 monuments, 217 cannons and more than 450 tablets that explain this major Civil War battle.

Friday, September 10-Sunday, September 12

Florence Harbor Marina, Mile 256.1, Tennessee River

Replicas of Columbus’ ships Pinta and Nina are here for a few days. We enjoyed visiting with Kyle, the captain of Nina, and some of the crewmembers. The ships are 65’ and 85’ and contrast mightily with Freedom, a 141’, $10+ million yacht tied next to them.

Friday we spent several hours at the UPS store preparing documents for refinancing the house. The woman, who had to notarize half a dozen documents for us, was very helpful and nice. It felt very good to have that business over.

Saturday we drove to Huntsville, AL, to look at R Vs, which we think will be our next adventure. We had a great time at Bankston RV with a very nice sales representative, Fred Jackson, who answered all our questions and gave us lots of material to read.

Sunday the weather was cooler in the morning. Fall is in the air! However, the days are still warm.

Tuesday, September 7 - Thursday, September 9

Florence Harbor Marina, Mile 256.1, Tennessee River

We pulled into Florence Harbor Marina mid-day and tied up at the new transient dock, which had been built since we were here last. This is our third stay at this marina. We chose to return here because it is very close to town with easy access to UPS, the Post Office and Office Depot, which we have learned to depend on during the process of refinancing the house. (If we weren’t getting such a good rate, we would have abandoned the difficult process weeks ago!)

Gold Watch entered the marina after we tied up and we were glad to meet Chuck and Barbara from Maine. We had a nice visit and they showed us their boat, which has lots of really nice features.

We have been having electrical problems and can’t use the marina’s electricity hook up. Larry couldn’t find the wires we need in Florence, so Wednesday afternoon we drove to the West Marine store in Nashville, which is a little more than a two-hour drive. (We rented a car for the week we will be here.)

Monday, September 6

The Rockpiles Anchorage, Mile 229.8, Tennessee River

When we arrived at the Rockpiles anchorage, Gold Watch, which had passed us earlier on the river, was anchored there. It is a very pretty Island Gypsy 32’ Europa. They were further into the cove than we were and we gave them plenty of room.

We enjoyed a beautiful evening on the forward deck.

Saturday, September 4-Sunday, September 5

Pickwick Landing Anchorage, Mile 207, Tennessee River

Coming through Pickwick Lock was an interesting experience. The lockmaster wanted us to lock through with a large commercial vessel. We would have to pass beside it and tie up in front of it. That would have been a tight squeeze in the narrow lock, so we opted to wait. The lockmaster, who seemed frustrated with our decision, said we would have to wait two hours. We anchored out of the channel and less than an hour later, she opened the lock and we entered.

Just as we finished securing the boat to a bollard, a group of partiers on a pontoon boat joined us. They didn’t tie up to a bollard and they weren’t wearing lifejackets. When water enters the chamber, there is a lot of turbulence and the guy couldn’t hold on, so they were driving around inside the lock. The lockmaster came to the top of the lock and yelled down to them. They immediately found a bit of line to tie up with and they all put on lifejackets. It is dangerous to mess around in a lock!

We finally anchored about 7:30 in front of the Lodge at Pickwick Landing State Park. This was a long 12-hour day for us. We had been anchored for only a little while when something rocked us really badly. The worst we’d experienced on the river. We didn’t get outside in time to see what it was and it was very dark. We hoped that wasn’t a taste of what the Labor Day Weekend was going to be like!

We have had two close calls in the past few days. A boat pulling a waterskier crossed our bow just a few feet in front of us. Larry had pulled over to avoid them, and they deliberately crossed in front of us. Luckily, the skier let go of the rope and we didn’t hit him. At the anchorage, a woman on a Wave Runner crossed dangerously close to our bow at high speed. The crazies are all out on a holiday weekend.

Sunday we had a delicious breakfast at the lodge. This lodge has the best food of all the state parks we’ve visited in Tennessee. Texas could learn something from Tennessee’s State Parks! There are marinas and lodges at all the parks along the river.

We have really enjoyed relaxing on the forward deck with cool drinks and our feet up!

We will leave Pickwick Landing on Labor Day.

Friday, September 3

Double Islands Anchorage, Mile 149.3

Thursday, September 2

Birdsong Creek Anchorage, Mile 103.5

We love anchoring out and the Tennessee River has many lovely spots that are perfect anchorages.

Our wildlife sightings have improved on this leg of our trip. Friday we saw a goat on the rocky wall alongside the river and Saturday there was a herd of cows. Still no bear.

The weather turned much cooler Friday night and Saturday morning it was in the 60’s and foggy. We left the anchorage and sounded our automatic foghorn until the fog started to burn off.

Our shortcut to get in front of a tow that was pushing 15 barges (three across, five deep) didn’t work, but when it slowed down to round a couple of curves, we were able to get ahead. We surely didn’t want to be following him all day!

 Tuesday, August 24-Wednesday, September 1

Paris Landing Marina, Mile 64.4, Tennessee River

It's easy to see why Paris Landing Marina is one of our favorites. Very nice dock, good security, nice store. Friendly people. We were glad to return here. The only downside is there is no loaner car.

We rented a car for two days so that we could tend to some business and shop for groceries. Twice we spent too many miles and too much time lost on country roads looking for riverside restaurants. We found one of them. Google maps misled us on the other.

We drove over to Kentucky Dam Marina so that Larry could take some measurements on Kawliga for our friends Jim and Marie, who live in Arkansas. We were hoping to visit with Rennie and James and our former dockmates, but they were all away.

Sunday, August 22-Monday, August 23

Fort Heiman Anchorage, Mile 62.5 Tennessee River

After about a 20-mile trip, we anchored at Fort Heiman, a beautiful, undeveloped spot. A few small boats were enjoying the cove when we got here and several stopped by to ask questions about Outer Reef, but by the evening they had all departed. Then the biting flies arrived! These pesky insects appear to be innocent house flies and then they bite, taking tiny hunks of flesh! We have been amazed that there has been no mosquito problem for the past few months, but these flies are bad! And painful!

I am continuing to deal with frustrating challenges related to the home refinancing, so Tuesday we will probably have to go to a marina, so we will have access to a post office.

Wednesday, August 11-Saturday, August 21

Kenlake Marina, Mile 42, Tennessee River

After three days with heat indices of over 105 degrees, we gave up the beautiful anchorage and headed for Kenlake Marina, where we can plug into electricity and have AC all day. When we’re anchored, we have to manage our energy and only run it at night.

There has been no breeze and the heat is just unbearable.

We stayed at this marina in June and like it here in Kenlake State Park. There is an ice cream vendor right at the end of our dock! Sadly, he is only open on weekends.

We plan to stay until more moderate temperatures return.

Sunday, August 8-Tuesday, August 10

Pisgah Bay Anchorage, Mile 30.1, Tennessee River

After five weeks at Kentucky Dam Marina, we departed Sunday to do some more exploring of Kentucky Lake before we head back south. In the days before we left, we were glad we had the chance to get together with the other cruisers on our dock for happy hour. We also enjoyed a good Rudy Burger at Kattawa Marina with Rennie and James.

The trip to the Pisgah Bay Anchorage was short, just two hours. When we got here there were about a dozen small boats anchored with lots of folks escaping the hot weather by swimming in the river. One of the Kentucky Dam Marina’s large house boats ($4,000-$5,000 for four days) is anchored near us.

We had a wildlife sighting! A deer came down to the river to drink! We are surrounded by The Land Between The Lakes, where there are bison and elk. So, we’re hoping to see some more exotic wildlife while we’re here.

It has been very hot. The weatherman keeps saying it's a dangerous heat index and outdoor exposure should be limited, but we've been watching folks play in the river and waterski all day! We only run the AC in the evenings, which are beginning earlier and earlier!

Early Tuesday morning we took the dinghy for a short ride to an old stone quarry, where the wall is decorated with graffiti. Surprisingly, the majority of it is in good taste and some of the art is quite well done.

Sunday, August 1-Monday, August 2

Kentucky Dam Marina, Mile 23, Kentucky Lake (Tennessee River)

Monday Rennie and I had a great excursion to the Amish community near Marion, KY, about 35 miles northeast of the marina. On the way we drove through Old Kuttawa, a picturesque little lakeside town.

We bought some beautiful produce from the Amish farmers. We passed horse-drawn buggies on the narrow roads.

We had a deliciously unhealthy lunch at the Marion Café on the town square. The homemade fries and carrot cake were especially good.

This is a beautiful part of Kentucky.  Hilly and green, even in a drought.

Saturday, July 24-Saturday, July 31

Kentucky Dam Marina, Mile 23, Kentucky Lake (Tennessee River, Kentucky) 

The party on the marina's main dock Saturday night was great fun. The band, an older group, played songs we knew the words to! The singer's theme song is "I Just Don't Look Good Naked Anymore." I didn't know the words to that one, but I felt his pain.  

Sunday morning we went to the marina's church service. There are benches, a pulpit and a cross on the top of the hill overlooking the marina and the river. A beautiful view and a great place to worship. About 40 boaters participated.

We found a good Mexican restaurant here in this little town! No margaritas, though. Dry county.

We've extended our stay here ANOTHER week. Larry's ordered some new batteries and I'm dealing with some business paperwork. We had hoped to be gone by August 1. 

Monday, July 19-Friday, July 23  

Kentucky Dam Marina, Mile 23, Kentucky Lake (Tennessee River, Kentucky)

Wednesday Rennie and I had a nice outing to Paducah to do some shopping and get haircuts.

Wednesday night we got together with Rennie and James, Steve and Terry and John and Carol for a potluck dinner at the covered picnic tables on the dock. A brief afternoon rain had cooled things off, so it was comfortable outside. 

What a fun group! We laughed and told boat stories. A great evening.

Friday Carol, Sue and I visited The National Quilt Museum. WOW! It was amazing. Very beautiful work. Afterwards we dropped by the Farmer's Market, which was next door to the museum. Then we had a delicious lunch at the Whaler's Catch.

Tuesday, July 13-Sunday, July 18  

Kentucky Dam Marina, Mile 23, Kentucky Lake (Tennessee River, Kentucky)

Since Larry has to order parts for his projects and I’m still trying to take care of some business, we’ve extended our stay here ‘till August. The monthly rate is very reasonable, so it’s a good deal for us.

We were glad to see Jim and Marie from Kawliga here. We had noticed the boat on a neighboring dock, but they weren’t aboard at that time. They live in Arkansas, which is a much shorter trip home than is Austin. They stayed here only a couple of days, but we really enjoyed catching up with them.

We’ve been having fun with James and Rennie, the couple from Texas who lives on the houseboat one dock over. James used to live in Corpus Christi, belonged to the Bay Yacht Club, and knows Chuck and his dad. Chuck remembered him and described his boat accurately, even though more than 30 years have passed!

Small world.

Tuesday, July 6-Monday, July 12

Kentucky Dam Marina, Mile 23, Kentucky Lake (Tennessee River, Kentucky)

Wednesday we drove about 20 miles in the marina’s loaner car to Paducah to get some parts at Lowe’s. We were successful in finding the parts and beer! We were able to restock our beer and wine supply at very reasonable prices. Lately the areas we’ve visited have been dry.

Several Dairy Queens are in the area, but surprisingly their slogan is not “That’s what I like about Texas!” It is “Chill and Grill.” We went to one the other day and the girl put a top on our Blizzards! Sacrilege! She didn’t even turn it upside down! But, the one we went to yesterday didn’t put the top on it, but didn’t turn it upside down, either. What is the world coming to?

Although we are in Kentucky, the news we watch every night comes from Missouri! We are also very close to Illinois and Tennessee!

Friday James and Rennie took us to Catfish Kitchen. Very good! In this region, white beans are a favorite side dish and they were delicious here, as were the coleslaw and hushpuppies.

Saturday Rennie and I drove to Murray, KY, for a "girls’ day out.” We had a delicious lunch at Dumplin's and did some productive shopping. Because of a missed turn, we got to see a lot of the beautiful Kentucky countryside and farmland we might otherwise have missed. A great day!

Monday we celebrated Larry's birthday with a huge breakfast at Cracker Barrel. I ordered what was advertised as a "healthy sampler". It included two eggs, three strips of bacon, a blueberry cupcake the size of my head, yoghurt with fresh fruit and granola. It was so healthy that I may not have to eat again until Larry's next birthday.

Thursday, July 1-Monday, July 5

Kentucky Dam Marina, Mile 23, Kentucky Lake (Tennessee River, Kentucky)

Today we headed to Kentucky Dam Marina, where we’ll stay for about a week. We came here for the Fourth of July because we heard there was a good fireworks show. This is the biggest marina on Kentucky Lake.

We left the Cumberland River and are now back on the Tennessee. It was an interesting trip. We were mooned by two kids who were with a group of teenagers diving off a bluff into the river.

The river was rough and it was very windy.

We’ll probably hang out on Kentucky Lake for a while. It’s beautiful here.

Kentucky Dam Marina is a friendly place. Three men have stopped by to welcome us and ask questions about Outer Reef.

Friday we borrowed the marina's loaner car and went for breakfast at the lodge at Kentucky Dam State Park. They have a nice buffet at a reasonable price. In addition to the usual campsites, most of the state parks along the rivers have lodges with restaurants and gift shops.

After breakfast, we drove into town about six miles to pick up a few essentials at WalMart. One of the essentials we couldn't find was beer. This is a dry county.

Friday evening we had a nice visit with Reni and James Taylor. They are Texans about our age that sold a trawler and now live aboard their houseboat. They recently bought a Winnebago. It was a nice visit.

The marina is really jumping over this holiday weekend. All the houseboats are rented. There are about a dozen of them and they can handle 10-15 people. They rent for $3,000 a weekend. After all the guests board a boat, one of the marina crew takes the houseboat out of the marina and then hops in a dinghy to return. When the folks are ready to head back, a marina hand goes back out and drives them in. What a deal! Where do we sign up?

We had a great view of fireworks on the Fourth of July from the stern deck.

Monday we had lunch at the famous Patti’s 1880’s Settlement in Grand Rivers (KY), which has won Southern Living’s award for Best Small Town Restaurant in the Southeast U.S. Everyone advised us to make reservations, so we did and are we glad! There was a large crowd. The restaurant’s specialties are 2” pork chops and sawdust pie. We wimped out and each got the smaller 1” pork chop. We still had plenty to take back to the boat. We split a slice of delicious sawdust pie. (I have the recipe and am willing to share!)

Wednesday, June 30

Hopson Creek Anchorage, Mile 62.4, Lake Barkley, Cumberland River, Kentucky

Today was a big day for us. Outer Reef’s engine-hour meter rolled over to 5,000 hours! When Larry bought the boat more than eight years ago, she was 18 years old and the meter showed about 2,000 hours.

So, in the past eight or so years, the engine’s run more than it did in its first 18 years! There’s no meter that shows how far the boat’s traveled, but Larry figures it’s about 14,000 miles. Too bad we don’t have champagne to celebrate. Keystone Light will have to do!

We anchored here on the way to Nashville. Today there are little white caps on Lake Barkley and it’s windy, but it’s in the 80’s and beautiful here in Kentucky.

Tuesday, June 29

Dover Island Anchorage, Mile 91, Cumberland River

Today was very unusual. We saw more wildlife and cruisers than usual. We saw a raccoon washing his meal riverside and two deer. I actually caught one of the deer with the camera, but I wasn’t fast enough for the raccoon. We guessed that the three cruisers going upstream were headed to Nashville to watch the Fourth of July fireworks.

The anchorage is beautiful and very calm, one of our favorite spots.

Monday, June 28

Clarksville Courtesy Dock, Mile 126, Cumberland River

Today was a red-letter day for us. We harvested our first two tomatoes! We tried to sing "Bringing in the Sheaves," but we only knew the chorus.

We left the anchorage at 6:30 AM, very early for us. We’re going south with the current, so we picked up an extra mph. Now we’re speeding along at slightly more than 8 mph.

Since we’re returning, we’ve been this way before, but we always see something new. At 8 AM, we called the Clarksville railroad bridge tender and told him to expect us about 10:30 AM. Larry’s prediction was right on the dot. The bridge was being raised when we arrived at 10:26!

We walked to town to have lunch at The Black Horse Pub and Brewery. It was very good. Thank goodness the walk back to the boat was all down hill!

We are expecting some stormy weather this afternoon.

Saturday, June 26--Sunday, June 27

Harpeth River Anchorage, Mile 153, Cumberland River

Having reached our destination and spent five great days in Nashville, we left the dock early Saturday morning. We enjoyed our visit, but were very disappointed in the city dock. It was overpriced and offered no amenities or security.

The railroad bridge tender answered our call and promptly raised the bridge for us, which was a relief. He had some problems with the bridge when we passed through on our way to Nashville.

Evidence of the May flooding was easily seen on the banks of the Cumberland. In Nashville, we were shocked to learn from tour guides and others how high the floodwaters had reached.

Saturday afternoon we anchored at the Harpeth River, which is considered one of the most scenic rivers in central Tennessee. After we anchored and settled down on deck, half a dozen small boats passed us and continued down the river. We were curious as to what was down there and finally asked some anglers. Just more shallow river, they said.

Sunday we woke up early and completed some slave labor on the boat before it got too hot. Larry polished the rails and I cleaned up spider poop, which is a serious problem on boats here. In my entire long life, I have never recognized the problems caused by pooping spiders. Their droppings are unsightly and very difficult to remove.

When it warmed up, we sat on the deck and watched boaters pass by. Boat traffic was heavier than we expected.