Day by Day

. . .Our First Week Underway

Monday

The lines are tossed!  We started our adventure at 1:15 p.m. today with sunny, beautiful blue skies and wind at +/- 8 mph.  We locked through Chickamauga dam and docked at Marine Max Marina in downtown Chattanooga for the night -- a short day, but relaxing.  

Our friends, Bob and Trish are accompanying us in Pogopelli, their 23-foot Jenneau, as far as Fort Walton Beach, FL.  It’s great to have the company of friends. 

We met another “Looper” couple, Hal and Cheryl Baker, Mas Bueno, who were Looper Harbor Hosts at the Chattanooga dock.  They told us that Loopers get a special rate of $.75/ft. through November! That saved us $.50/ft.  What a great way to start the trip. Hal said they started their Loop like we did, saying they were going “a little farther” until they found they’d completed the Loop.

We shared a champagne toast on the dock, wishing for a good trip.  Later we enjoyed a light show of reds, purples, and pinks in the BlueCross north tower that overlooks the river. It turns out that the company was honoring the Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure by lighting the tower pink. We happened to be there when they were searching for just the right shade of pink.

Bob, Trish and Kent just before the lines were thrown on the dock.

Tuesday

It was another beautiful day!  After passing Hale’s Bar Marina, we were traveling waters that were new to us. We got to Shell Mound State Recreational Area right above Nickajack Dam at 4:30.  The docks were free. The facilities were nice, clean.  Skeeter-magnet Jane kept the rest of us safe from the pests. We’re starting to see amazing sunrises and sunsets.

Pogo and Carina at the FREE docks. Did we say FREE?!

Wednesday

The sunrises are awesome, too. It’s a little warmer this morning, our first day in totally new territory. We locked through Nickajack Dam and proceeded to our anchorage at Jones Creek.  It was very scenic with a beautiful bluff once we made it through a very narrow, twisting approach through the weeds and lily pads.  As we had sundowners on Carina that evening with Bob and Trish, we were treated to an awesome sunset.

At Shell Mound, the sun's up. Where's Pogopelli's crew?

Sunset at Jones Creek.

Bob and Trish, sharing a moment with each other and sundowners with us at Jones Creek.

Thursday

The sunrise was spectacular that morning. We left Jones Creek before 8 a.m. and wound our way back out the lily pad trail.  Once again, we enjoyed blue skies and puffy clouds, although there was little wind. 

On a boat, it’s the little things that make you happy. About 1:00, Squirt did #1 on his green pad!  He’d held it for about 30 hours. Going aboard the boat was a first for him. 

We stopped at Goose Pond Marina – a very nice place -- for ice.  They only charged $1.25 for the ice.  

We then continued on to our anchorage behind Goat Island, just a few miles above Guntersville Dam. Goat Island was a protected bay off the river, largely undeveloped, with a beautiful rock bluff.

Looks like fire on the mountain as the sun rises over Jones Creek.

Friday

Morning found us really fogged in.  Bob called the lockmaster who said he couldn’t see the other end of the lock, so we waited, finally locking through at 10:40.  

Because there was very little river traffic and good current, we arrived at Ditto’s Landing Marina, Huntsville’s municipal dock, by mid-afternoon -- in plenty of time for the start of Jane’s high school reunion that evening.

As she expected, she didn’t recognize many people from “back in the day,” but found others to talk with who were as clueless about their former schoolmates.

Saturday

The day started a little cloudy with rain predicted the next day. We reprovisioned at a nearby Wal-mart, refilled water tanks, did laundry and pumped out. 

Dressed for the main reunion that evening, we drove to Marriott Tranquility Base, a very Huntsville-sounding name. Although Jane didn’t know any more people on Saturday than Friday, we did manage to make connections with three other sailors in the group. 

One, Margaret Meyers-Selby, turned out to be a friend to our friends Pat Noonan and Dick Davis and a member of the Fairhope Yacht Club, that had helped our friend Paul Gallant on his trip south a couple of years ago.

We clean up fairly well.

Sunday

With a rain front moving in, we stayed put at Ditto’s Landing, taking a side trip to the Alabama Space and Rocket Center. It’s known for having one of the biggest collections of space hardware anywhere. The Saturn V rocket that was created in Huntsville is something to behold. Only three exist – the one in Alabama, one in Houston, and one at Cape Canaveral.  We spent hours at the center and saw about half of it.

Kent, Trish and Bob tour the Alabama Space and Rocket Center.

The Saturn V rocket is massive! Jane and Trish listed closely to tour guide Mike.