We had planned on leaving Green Turtle Bay and heading South because we are booked to go to a Loopers rendezvous on Oct 4 to the 7th....or so we thought. We had planned on anchoring in the lakes on the way to the rendezvous as we were told it would only take about a week to get there. We got talking to some other Loopers and they told us they thought we had our dates wrong on the rendezvous...it's more like Oct 14-17. Soooo what are we going to do with a month....we're going to Nashville. Checked out the Grand Ole Opry for the time we thought we would be there and bought tickets for Blake Shelton, Scotty McCreary, Gaitlin Brothers....and possibly Rascal Flats. We're off to Nashville!
We pulled out of the Marina and said see you later...not good bye to our friends.
We know we will catch up with Time Out and Aerial again as they are also taking a detour to Nashville. Really hoping we will catch up with Knot Home, Al and Kaye Stirling. Al snapped a shot of Kaye and I at dinner the other night. Steve calls her Lucy...love this woman, she has told us so much that we are about to experience. Kaye and Al are from New Orleans. They have experienced the horrific storms of Katrina and come back to live life to it's fullest.
There are no egos here. The water doesn't care how much money you have....the water treats every one the same and Loopers tend to do the same. We are not even half way on this journey but have already met some friends that we hope to know long after this journey is complete.
Stayed at anchor the last couple of nights. The first night we stayed just 5 miles from Green Turtle Bay so it was a very short day. Steve tried to catch us a fish dinner but no luck.
The next day we did a 30 mile day...which takes about 4 1/2 hours. We cruised past Kentucky's only prison. This is where they keep the worst of the worst they say.
There are many barges on the lakes and rivers but we can see them with our navigation equipment and we can tell how far away they are and how fast they are going. The barges usually travel much slower than we do. Well we noticed one approaching going 11 knots.....we were travelling 7 knots. It wasn't that far behind so we knew it would pass. As it approached we could see it wasn't a barge but a cruise ship. "Queen of Mississippi". This doesn't look like a narrow part of the river but it shallows outside the channel so we pulled off and let her pass.
Stayed at another beautiful anchorage. When we are at anchor we find it much easier to use the kayak to Dexter to shore, rather than the dinghy. I'm not as good at it as Steve is and Dexter tends to fall off when I take him. So, the other day while we were in Green Turtle Bay and went to Walmart we picked up some non skid material. Steve attached some to the front of the kayak which makes Dexter's ride much more secure. I can't remember....were we this good to our kids? When the water allows..... Dexter would much rather swim and we would much rather see him exercised.
After a good day on the boat...one tired Jack.
Time sure flies on the boat and by the time we sat down to eat dinner we ate by a beautiful sunset. Doesn't get much better than this.
Day is done....gone the sun...until tomorrow.
Left that anchorage and stayed at another about another 30 miles. Easy travelling days. We passed Fort Donelson and anchored about 2 miles past there so after we were settled we dropped the dinghy and went back to explore.
The next night we were at the town dock in Clarksville Tenn. Isn't there a song about a train station....last train to Clarksville?...Monkeys? All I know is I've been singing it all day! We watched people fish and wake board as we sat on the back of our boat. Everyone is so friendly. We had 2 teenage boys come to the boat and ask Steve how much it cost. Steve's reply.."well she's an old girl, not as much as she was worth in 1984". The one kid said "well I give you props Sir".
We got up and had a quick breakfast. Just as we were finishing up I looked down and noticed I had been sharing my space with a little green frog. This frog did not want to leave us. After Steve put him on the dock we noticed him again on the side of our boat....so we put him on the dock...then as we left we noticed him on our fender.
Off to our next anchorage. We are taking our time getting to Nashville as our reservations are from Sept 20 - 22nd. Grand Ole Opry on Sept 22nd.
This is big hunting and fishing country....somewhat like the Mississippi, they take their duck blinds very seriously. This one even has a car port, or I mean boat port.
We are getting closer the City of Nashville so we are starting to see more houses along side the river. We noticed this one with a unique boat lift. We figured you would actually have to board the boat on the lift and ride it down.
We arrived at our stop for the night. There were a few houses at the entrance to the anchorage. I found this one quite interesting. Notice the lawn chair on the roof...guess that's where they do their sun tannin.
Once again a really nice anchorage with bluffs that reminded me of one of our favourite anchorages in Killarney. We were up early to the sound of gun fire, yes it's hunting season. We ate breakfast and pulled anchor on to Commodore Yacht Club.
What a great Marina this is!!! $25 a night, free laundry and a huge piece of grass for Dexter to run off leash. They also have what the call the party room. It is huge tent with picnic tables. 2 kegs of beer on tap that you can help yourself to, on the honour system..... $1. for a red solo cup.
The people are so friendly. Two of the boater friends we left in Green Turtle Bay showed up here today. We were talking with one of the boaters here and he pointed out a boat the Alan Jackson used to own. All of you country music fans will know who he is. Alan Jackson sold his boat but named it Lady J for his wife. I think the boat went with the wife. It is a beautiful boat and is actually aluminum not fibre glass or wood.
Tomorrow is Nashville...."One Bay at a Time"
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