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