TIM PATTI RILEY BIG ADVENTURE: October 2017

Saturday, October 28, 2017

10/28/2017

It seems I have some catching up to do.

I'll start with my connectivity issues. The reason these posts are few & far between. This is not T Mobile country. Shopping is limited. We did get to a Walmart, this is for sure Walmart country. I have never been to Walmart so much in my life, but I digress. Attempted to purchase a hot spot & AT&T account, but ended up with a Verizon phone to use as hot spot. That was what was available at that particular Walmart. Really not much better. Next town on the way to Riley's grooming appt, happened upon an AT&T store. We now have an AT&T account & a hot spot. Things have improved greatly. Fingers crossed.

Update on the accident. Derek was able to waive his court date, so he does not have to return. My finger is still a sausage & Tim's ear still rings, but we are improving😃 All of us are a little gun shy in the car now.

We finally left Aqua Yacht Harbor on the 24th. We were cruising downriver when Tim noticed his starboard transmission was pegged on high. I called our friend & mentor TJ for advice. We returned to Aqua. After docking, Tim went below to find a loose nut. He tightened it & all was well. Evidently when the guy was working on the shaft alignment he loosened it. We lost 2 hours of travel time😡 Silver lining, nothing needed major repair. We continued on to Five Fingers Anchorage. Very quiet & pretty, but no service! Muddy red sand on shore, which Riley of course brought back with him.

Next day on to Clifton Marina. Three locks & lots of tows.

On to Columbus, MS. Four locks. The first 3 were quick. The last one was an hour & 15 minutes. That made for a long day. Started at 715AM, arrived marina 550PM. Along the way we noticed steering issues. The wheel had to be turned & turned to get any response. Not good. Tim used his time in the locks to find paperwork on steering. (I of course manned the lines). We now knew the problem & were trying to figure out how to get the needed fluid in a timely manner. At the last lock we rafted off Lori & Derek who just happened to have the aforementioned fluid. YEA. The fix is in.
We stayed 2 nights at Columbus. We have 122 miles & 4 locks to Demopolis & no marinas. Not sure about dog friendly anchorages either. So this was a little R & R. Had lunch in town & toured a little. Saw Tennessee Williams childhood home, some antebellum homes & the local cemetery. It has many confederate soldier's graves. Many are marked unknown. It has been really cold & a freeze is forecast for tonight. We are plenty warm when docked or anchored, but going out or running is another story. We will have to bundle up tomorrow when we run. Still have not decided on two 60 mile days or three 40 mile days.

Random musings:

We have heard coyotes howling several nights. Not surprising, given we are surrounded by woods most of the time.

Riley has been having fun, running off leash. Unfortunately he is now limping. I can't find anything. If he does not improve, the plan is a vet visit in Demopolis.

I know why they call the Tenn-Tom the ditch. It is about 200 feet wide & about as exciting as running on a ditch.

We are not allowed to wake fishermen, but the sure fly past us.

ANGEL TOMBSTONE

UNKNOWN SOLDIER

CONFEDERATE HEADSTONES

STREET SIGN IN CEMETERY

THE DITCH

10/21/2017

We are still at Aqua Yacht Club. Hope to leave on Monday, weather permitting. It is 80 today, but a storm is coming in Sunday with a real cool down forecasted. I have been scouring the charts & books to plan the route. Even have plan A & B. We will see how that goes.

It has been an interesting few days. The boat is fine. The shaft is finally aligned. Hopefully that will take care of the vibration. We will know when we take her out. The bill was no where near as bad as I was expecting, so that was good.

Now for the interesting part. Myself & Lori found a salon & were dropped off by our husbands. We needed routine maintenance. When we were finished they picked us up for all our running around. We had numerous stops planned, but first, something to eat. That is a rule when going grocery shopping! Road construction & heavy traffic ruled. We were stopped in the left turn lane when a pick up truck motioned for us to turn in front of him. We slowly started the turn, when BOOM. Another car came barreling around him & slammed into us. First time (& hopefully the last) I have ever been in a car when the air bags deployed. At first, I had no idea what happened. All I knew was my right hand & the right side of my face hurt. A lot. & then I noticed all the smoke. After a quick assessment, we got out. We were able to get out on the drivers side. Tim was in front passenger seat & I was in the back. I then noticed, as did the others, we were having trouble hearing. Air bag deployment is loud. The pick up truck left, but others came running over. They were all very kind. They informed us, the woman that hit us was on pain killers. She had either just left the hospital &/or the pharmacy. Who knows. She was busy hyperventilating & not talking. She went by ambulance to the hospital. We have not heard any more about her. Hoping all is well. We all declined an ambulance ride. Her car had damage to the left front corner. A side note, no skid marks, so no braking ??? Our front was gone. The police took our names, called the tow & gave our driver a ticket. Now, how to get back to the marina?? Police would not take us, no Uber, no taxi. Someone from the marina finally came & got us. Thank you. Tim's ear is still ringing & his right forearm looks like road rash. My hearing is fine, but my inner ear throbs & the right side of my face is sore to touch, but no bruising. My right first finger looks like a sausage. He & I were in the process of waving thank you to the pick up truck driver when the air bags deployed. Lori & Derek say they are fine. Derek has a court date in November, which cannot be waived. He is trying to get it moved up, so it can be taken care of before he leaves here.

Next day back to shopping. We were able to accomplish it without incident. We planned to tour Shilo while here, but don't think is going to happen.😞

A quick shout out to Pani from Riley.

MORNING MIST AQUA MARINA

THE ACCIDENT

CAR 54???

DINNER WITH FRIENDS LORI & DEREK

THE PAT DOWN

LUNCH STOP PICKWICK

SUNSET AT PICKWICK

SUNSET AT ANCHOR

Thursday, October 19, 2017

10/14/2017

We are now at Clifton, TN. We arrived last night after an 8 hour run & decided to stay today & leave early in the AM, barring fog. We will have a long run tomorrow & one lock. Fingers crossed the lock doesn't hold us up to long.

We left Green Turtle Bay in heavy fog which eventually burned off, thank you. While there, we had torrential downpours. I have never been in anything like it. With the rain pounding on the metal roof, one couldn't even talk & be heard. We were glad to be under cover. Didn't even have to close up the canvas. Well, the wind swung around while we were sleeping & we SHOULD have closed the canvas. Did I mention with air conditioning running we cannot hear much from the outside. Not always a good thing. Before we left the inflatable had to be pulled up on the swim platform. Tim is usually able to do that with only a little help from me. He complained it was extremely heavy. Once on the platform we saw the lower chamber was filled with water. I'm surprised it didn't sink.
We dined with locals Saturday night. They invited us to their steak fry. It was quite a spread. We even had homemade ice cream.

We are now in the land between the lakes. We anchored in Sugar Creek. It was sunny & warm. I decided to go for a swim. Riley & Tim were on the swim platform. Riley jumped in after me. He has never gone in without MUCH encouragement. He swam for awhile & decided it was time to get out. He put his front paws on the platform & unfortunately on Tim's foot. One of his nails punctured Tim's nail bed. Tim continued to swim that day. By that night, his toes was red & painful. I made him soak it, but by morning it was worse. Luckily, the boat we were with had a nurse aboard, who was much better prepared than I! She had some antibiotics & we started him on those, with a drastic improvement. We eventually docked & took him to an urgent care, where he received IM ATB & oral ATB. He is continuing to improve. Another notable events at Sugar Creek, the coyotes were having a party. Howling much of the night.

We left that anchorage in the morning for the next anchorage. Tim's foot improving with ATB & warm soaks, but he had to stay out of the water. That is a problem at anchor. It is his job to take Riley to shore which means river water. I needed to step up to the plate. Did I mention my spider phobia? We tried to take him to a ramp, but some locals had set up camp with about 5 dogs. (Can anyone guess the tune running thru my head?). They suggested we take him across the cove to the other shore, which of course we did. It was rocky & I was wearing flip flops. On purpose, because I knew I would be walking in the water. I have never seen so many spiders in one place. Everywhere I stepped they scattered. My mantra was, "They are more scared of me than I am of them. " Just kept telling myself that & begging Riley to do his thing so we could get out of there. Finally Riley complied. Yea, out of there. But of course I would have to go back for another outing & it would be dark! Maybe that was better. What I couldn't see wouldn't hurt me, right? Guess I was right, as I am here to tell about it. A side story to this particular adventure: While leaving the "camp" water bugs were in front our inflatable. At least I think they were water bugs, I couldn't see anything, but the trails they left as they swam to stay away from us. The trails were beautiful. My best description would be a modern art line drawing that just kept evolving as I watched.
That night the wind kicked up. The anchor held, but waves slapped the hull all night. Not a restful sleep.

We went next to Pebble Isle Marina. We stayed 2 nights. We used there courtesy car to re provision & take Tim to an urgent care. He was better, but I wanted him checked & I needed to replace the ATB's I borrowed. Mission accomplished. We kept busy. Tim washed the boat. I did laundry. Riley met Lucky & they ran around & chased each other. Long time since he was able to do that. Riley & I also went for a long walk/run in Nathan Bedford State Park. Riley had to be patient while I soaked in the history & then we ran. Speaking of history, this area is steeped in it. We saw civil war barracks, cemeteries, cannons & redoubts. Very cool. Reading about what those men & horses went through is incredible. Don't think many today could survive it.
Last, but not least, I had finally had it. No reception for days. I decided to get a hot spot from AT&T. It was not to be. It's not like being at home, where one can google (remember no reception) & shop around. Had to go with Verizon. Anyway I now have a Verizon phone/account to use as a hot spot. The situation is only marginally improved. This is really AT&T country.

Next stop Perryville Marina, or so we thought. The water was too skinny. We could not get in. Our 40 mile run turned into a 63 mile run to Clifton, TN. We made it just before dark. We left late, not anticipating such a long run. The river was loaded with bass boats. It was Friday. I said to Tim, "Don't these people have anything to do but fish?" As it turns out, there was a fishing tournament going on! Anyway, Clifton Marina was very welcoming. Nice people & a restaurant on site. The burger & fries hit the spot after that day. We decided to stay another day. Went to town in the courtesy car. Very small. Not much open. Once again history everywhere & a building that reminded me of New Orleans. Riley got to run around off leash which he appreciates. He also got a bath.

Wednesday 10/18/2017

Still have not been able to post or get my pictures due to poor reception, so I will just keep writing & post when I can.

We left Clifton on Sunday morning. It was hazy, but nice. We had one lock to get thru & were hoping for the best. The shoreline among the way was a kept us entertained. One island was inhabited by wild goats. Along the the shore it ran the gamut from multimillion dollar houses to trailers. It was not unusual to see a kettle or committee of vultures.

When we got to Pickwick Lock, we were told it would be awhile & we could tie to the wall to wait. It took us 3 hours to get thru that lock. Luckily, we were not going far after that, as storms were coming in. We got to Pickwick State Park got settled in & the rains started. Timing is everything.

We took our time leaving in the AM as we were only going 10 miles to Aqua Marina & no locks. It is a big yard with a lift. Tim wanted the shafts checked as we were experiencing some vibration. We arrived Monday & are still here on Wednesday with no idea when we will be leaving. It has been very slow going. We are at least a 10 minute walk to the service department. Our service man brings 1 tool & decides it is not right & walks back to get a different one. One tool at a time. & we are paying by the hour! Hopefully it all turns out well. Friends we met along the way are here also. They started out having a vibration checked (which is fixed), but now need an air conditioner which was punctured by the service man when he was checking it. They also found a slow leak in the bow by the thruster. Evidently whoever installed the bow thruster goofed. That now needs to be fixed.

While here Riley did get to a groomer. He is as handsome as ever! & an added bonus, he now has a Halloween scarf. He looks better than Tim & I. He is still trying to make friends with Gypsea the cat. We call her puppy/kitty so he maybe a little confused.

The locals invited us to use there grill & table. We had a feast last night. We also have access to a courtesy car so we have been to town to re provision.

AT ANCHOR

DOWNTOWN CLIFTON

GREEN TURTLE BAY

LIMESTONE ON THE TENNESSE

MAKING FRIENDS???

MIST IN THE AM, PERRYVILLE

Saturday, October 7, 2017

10/7/2017

I know it's been awhile. It is hard for me to believe 2 weeks. In my defense, we've had some really long days & poor to no reception. I will not give a day by day of the last 2 weeks, but an overall picture. I am having difficulty remembering the day, date, & my whereabouts. The whereabouts are kind of important, because markers on the rivers change, depending on if we are going up stream or down. At home it was always "red right return". Easy. Also all the rivers have mile markers. Some numbers go up & some down depending on where one starts. We cruised the Illinois, the Mississippi, the Ohio & are currently on the Cumberland at a place called Green Turtle Bay. We will stay here 1 week. We need the rest & it is comfortable. We are at a covered slip among the locals. It did not start out so well. GTB lost our reservation & initially put us on a less than desirable dock. After we talked with the dock master he moved us here. Our neighbor has a TV on the dock. He gave us the remote so we could watch whenever we wanted. The marina has a courtesy car which we used to re provision. They have a laundry, a spa & an excellent restaurant called Patti's. Their specialty is a 2" pork chop. Tim had that & it lived up to it's billing. It also had a bathroom with an Indian in a bathtub. He spoke when one entered! So we are using our time to relax, do laundry, clean, give Riley & the boat a much needed bath.

When we left Alton our destination was Hoppies. It & it's owner, Fern, are a legend on this trip. It is nothing more than 3 old barges tied to a stone wall. They do offer fuel & electricity. Once we were tied up, we were told we would need to move as there was a bigger boat that needed that space. We moved to the other side which turned out to be a good thing as it was more protected. The" big boat" we moved for turned out to be 2 boats, The Nina & The Pinta. Not sure of their route, but we have seen them several times on this trip. Fern gives a daily "river briefing". The briefing consists of current info on locks & water levels. It is a short walk up a steep hill to the town of Kimmswick. It is the home of the "famous" Blue Owl restaurant. It was featured on The Travel Channel & as one of Oprah's favorite things. Mary Hostetter, the owner, was very gracious. We had to go thru the Mel Price lock to get there. We were very glad we were not first in. There was 30 feet of logs, trees & general debris at the lock wall we had to go out. I was hoping when the doors opened some of it would be pushed out of the way. No such luck. We had to go thru it, but the boat in front of us took the bigger hit. As Tim said, we spit toothpicks for awhile.

We next stayed on the Kaskaskia Lock wall. No amenities, but it was free. Riley needed to be taken to shore via dinghy. Tim did find a boat ramp, so they did not have to slog thru the mud. While docked there we saw 2 Eagles on the opposite shore feasting on fish. We left early in the AM as we had a long run scheduled & the days are getting shorter & we prefer to be docked/anchored before dark. Haste is not always a good thing. The windows were fogged & the river was misty. It is a very busy barge area with curves. We came very close to one before we even saw it. That was scary & a lesson learned. We ran that day from 7AM till 545PM.

Our next stop was Boston Bar. An anchorage, our first on this trip & also a first with this boat. I will just say, it could have gone better, but in the end we were fine. Riley was pleased as he was taken to shore & allowed to run on a sandy beach. Unfortunately he needed to go thru deep Mississippi mud to get to the sand. When he got back he needed to be hosed down for what seemed like forever.

We were not sure of our next stop. We had 3 possible anchorages. Unfortunately none of them worked. The first one was blocked by a barge, the next ones did not seem inviting. Other loopers running in front of us were going to keep going to get thru the locks. We had heard some of the waits on these locks were very long & it is usually better to have more boats. So we went for it & it was a good decision even though it was a long day. We were able to get thru 3 locks at a pretty good pace. We ran from 7:30 AM till 6:45 PM. We were anchoring just as it was getting dark. It was a quiet place, but surrounded by woods, so very buggy. Tim had to get the dinghy out for Riley's shore trip & I put up canvas as fast as I could. I feel like I am training for survivor. For people who do not know, I am a bug phobic! I am now grabbing them with bare hands & disposing of them! When Tim & Riley came back, I was on the swim platform as usual to help tie the dinghy & get Riley aboard. Riley was a little to anxious to come aboard & jumped to soon. His hind quarters did not quite make the platform. I had a death grip on his leash while also grabbing his backside. Got him on board & only then realized it was literally a death grip, as his leash is attached to a choker collar. I could have strangled him! Luckily he was fine & I learned a lesson. Let go of the leash! He can swim!

We pulled anchor at 9:20 AM & reached our destination, Paducah, KY at 10:00. Tim could not figure out why they did not have room for us the day before. It was billed as a new 200 slip marina. Well the question was answered when we arrived. It is still under construction. There was one dock that could accommodate about 10 -15 boats, depending on size. The town was pretty much closed down as it was Sunday. One restaurant Does, was open. It is famous for its steak. There are only 4 in the states. It lived up to it's billing. The dock was all loopers, so it was a big crowd that went to dinner that night. The town had it's annual "Pig Out" on Saturday & they were busy cleaning up after a crowd of 30,000! Fun fact: Paducah is the home of the National Quilt Museum". It was also closed. Many trees were dressed with a crocheted quilt. Never found anyone to ask about it.

The run to our current location was about 6 hours. It was pleasant except for the sun in our eyes. It reminded me of driving to work at this time of the year, with the sun so low in the sky. We made it thru the Barkley lock in 15 minutes. That is our personal best, & it was a 57 foot lift. River traffic was minimal. We are now waiting to see what hurricane Nate is going to do. We have been advised to stay put until we know.

Now for more random thoughts....

River cruising can be very relaxing or very tense & it changes in seconds.

Make sure you know how your binoculars work! Have been wishing my eyes were as good as they once were. Moaning quietly about our poor quality binoculars. Tim finally showed me the button I wasn't using to focus. WOW what a difference.

The mouth of the Ohio river was very busy with barge traffic & staging. We have never seen so many barges. They were everywhere, with no discernible (from our prospective) pattern. It looked like we were caught in amaze, with no way out. We just kept following the sailing lane & snaked our way thru.

Logs appear when you least expect them.

Riley remains on guard for Asian Carp. He has really adapted. Never complains & mostly well behaved. He is glued to Tim.

At one marina I noted a dock hand, that I told Tim I would cast as a prison inmate in a movie. Found out later that marina employs some from the county jail.

Did I mention Riley is slowing making a new friend. Gypsea, a 15 week old kitten. They have been nose to nose several times. Without harm on either side!

It never ceases to amaze me the people that choose to do this trip. They come from all walks of life & all areas. One couple is from France. They shipped their boat from France to Fort Lauderdale & started there. Another guy is from Australia. He bought his boat in New Hampshire & is looping solo. Just met a couple from Colorado yesterday. Many have never even been boaters! There is a large group vying for the same anchorages & dock space. That means a little advance planning. The majority will cross their wake somewhere in the south.

T Mobile is not the network one wants on the loop. Many areas with poor or no reception.

Now for the picture portion of our broadcast. Please note, pictures are in no particular order. (Because I am still challenged with this site! Some things never change.)