Mobile here we come

Hi F and F,

We got up to a light mist hovering over the water after a very quiet night. Apart from Lynne and John had hear owls calling in the night.They are known in the area.

We set off at 8 am and headed back to the Mobile River junction. We started to see fewer herons on this river don't know if that's because we are near Mobile and the industrial area surrounding it or if the salt in the water has anything to do with it. The scenery was changin also and we saw more swamps and the trees looked different.

Started also to see evidence of the industry with the huge Barry's Steam Plant  at mm 33.

Then a train with an enormous amount of containers passed us by on a rail line beside the river. As we got closer to the Port of Mobile we saw lots of activity.

Container ships , Naval ships and more barge activity also. Last five miles we slowed down to wake speed and also took lots of photos.

Past the city of Mobile and just past Little Sand Island we saw a fishing boat dragging a net.This had attracted lots of seagulls and even a pod of dolphins.

We had crossed the 0 mile marker!!!

Then into Mobile Bay to find the entrance to Dog River Marina , our stop for two nights.Graeme had  called ahead to get a serviceman to look at the leaking window washer issue.

He planned to be at our boat by 1 pm. It was a little tricky at the entrance but fortunately there we good buoy markers to guide us in.

We have to say this Marina wasn't quite what we expected looking at the brochure! Definitely a no frill place, but the people are great and helpful. Good place to go to if you have any boat issues.

Arrived at the fuel dock to find the diesel  pump wasn't working , in fact it was completely dismantled.

Did a pump out and them tied up around the corner at the transient long dock. The serviceman duly arrive on time and Glenn the supervisor couldn't have been nicer.He soon had the problem diagonised ( another faulty solenoid ) and organized the F150 tuck belonging  to the boss of the Marina for our use.( the courtesy car was not in use today)The new washer part would be sent overnight and replaced tomorrow.

We were highly entertained by all the brown Pelicans just outside our boat dive bombing for fish , more like crash landing on the water.They weren't very elegant but certainly the method was  effective.Usually they came up with a fish which was swallowed whole. Lots of fishing boats going back and forth so a good spots for us to watch everything.

Found out the city is at least  10 miles or so from here so no fancy restaurant tonight!

Checked out the local scene and ended up going to Dick Russell's BBQ  for dinner.

Lynne and John wanted to host as it was their last night with us. The food was very good and as usual way too much , so  we got a doggy bag for lunch tomorrow!

Back to boat and Lynne and Erica played canasta, last round about 10 pm.

Guys had retired f the evening.

Over and Out, 

E and G

Some Photos Tensas and River scenes

Off we go Anchoring again

Hi F and F, 

Again apologize for some spelling errors ! Sometimes not much time to do a spell check!!!

We were up and away by 8.15 am after calling the lock keeper .

As we were clear to go, we headed off for the Coffeeville Lock about 2 miles away.

Aestival went ahead and we entered our last lock together!

Yippee! No more changing fenders and fender boards! We have done our share on this trip.

Another very hot day again so after a couple of hours we put the generator on and got our air con working to keep us cool. Luxury traveling style! The beauty of a non fly bridge style of boat, where you are not exposed to the elements.

Just after Coffeeville the water changes from fresh water to brackish( part fresh and part salt).

Nice and quiet today out on the river system , being a Monday.At one point we passed a dredge boating operation and realized one was the towboat and barge carrying metal pipes we had passed way back at the second lock after leaving Columbus . Remember we had to wait 2 hours there while the towboat Capt negotiated the lock with some difficulty!

The river then became a series of loopy bends including a sharp horseshoe bend at mm74 to mm 70 , the tightest we have seen so far. Still saw lots of herons, both white and blue .They are so elegant and make wonderful poses for photos as they sit on branches and logs at the sides to the river.

At mm 45 we came to the Alabama Junction and there the TomBigBee Rive became the Mobile River.Just after that we headed a 1/2 mile up the Tensas River to find an suitable anchoring spot.As it turns out we had the whole river to ourselves and we were well away from the tow boats , barges and any other water traffic back on the Mobile River. Erica read that it pays to be careful as mistakes can be made and barges have been know very occasionally to come up the wrong river!

We anchored in about 20 ft of water on a bend so could be seen from either direction.

A brief rain storm hit us just after we anchored , so a good free boat wash! We did have a couple of fishing boats pass us but that was it. This river was particularly calm very little current. 

Erica made hamburgers for dinner and we had an early night .

It had been a long run today of 8 1/4 hours.

Over and Out, 

E and G

Bobby's Fish Camp Another Loopers Hot Spot

Hi F and F, 

Very hot today around 94 degrees, feels like 104! so we are now using the air con  which makes. Ejournet so much more comfortable.Had our breakfast time in the cockpit surrounded by the lovely tranquil scenery .

We headed to Bobbys down the river.We saw little traffic on the way south , a few barges and fishing boats. Arrived at the dock at Bobby's Fish Camp around lunch time and decided to try the catfish up front even though we had originally  planned to only do dinner there.Good floating dock but only 150 ft long so good thing we are on our own so far. Apparently they sometimes raft up fve boats across.

That would be very interesting specially as we are directly on the main river with the barges going up and down.even at night.Wifi was good only if you stick with using it up at the restaurant.

Around 5pm Aestival the boat we had met up with in Demopolis  arrived at the dock and parked behind us.Later as planned we did go up to have dinner at the restaurant again.Lots of fun signs and memorabilia in this place and great friendly waitresses. 

Lynne and Erica had the whole catfish dinner

 1 lb which consisted of about five or six catfish dredged in cornmeal .very delicious an de ought to bring home for lunch tomorrow. Just got back on the boat before lightening and rain.

So cosy evening inside Lady Etica.

Over and Out, 

E and G 

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Off to Bashi Creek to anchor

Hi F and F, 

We left early around 9.15 am as there was a lock close by and another boat was leaving at the same time from Kingfisher.They recommended we try to go in together.Easy entry wth no waiting.

Still on the TennTom waterway in the river section.

Came across some lovely while cliffs for about 6 milestone we took the photo opportunity.

Then we developed a windscreen wiper issue, the water would not stop running.

Always something with a boat.Tried a solution which didn't work so keep going .Wepassd the famous Rooster Bridge no witha 121.8 ft high clearance.

The old bridge has an interesting story which we wil let the pictures tell!

Apparently the locals sold Roosters to pay for the bridge so it got named that way. So said the waitress at the Red Barn.

Lovely scenery and again not too much traffic along the way. We saw lots of white and blue herons.

Went through a second lock and we were amazed to see about 16 white herons  sitting on the lock walls, some even on the bolsters where we tied our lines.They enjoyed the 34 ft ride we guessed!

Finally found Bashi Creek a narrow but safe and calm anchorage.. Here we had to pull out the secondary anchor Erica worked the bow anchor ,Lynne and Johnthe  stern anchor and Graeme coordinated the process.Great team work and we soon were secure.

Then Erica and Lynne went for a dingy ride up the creek for about a mile

We recorded depths of 10 to 30 ft.Felt we were n America's Amazon River exploring!

Poor and Bess's Summertime song came to mind also.  Fish were indeed jumping .A young bright blue heron followed us almost back to the boat. Lynne said she had seen a humming bird join us as we had entered the creek.

A couple of boaters passed us later in the creek checking out the fishing prospects.

Evening it was still too hot to eat outside unfortunately , but we had a wonderful dinner of chicken tandoori, rice and salad inside in the air con.

Over and Out, 

E and G.

Full day in Demopolis

Hi F and F, 

Good wifi again so here we are!

What to do in the  small town here.With only two hours allowed with the courtesy car we headed to  Bluff Hall an Antebellum style house situated on the river bank .Originally wanted to play 9 holes of golf at the Ravine golf course, but they are pretty strict about the courtesy car so we flagged that idea away.

Anyway with the very hot temps it probably wasn't going to be a comfortable round!

We had a wonderful lady guiding us through the house at Bluff Hall She was very knowledgable and we had a great time .A lot of the furniture was original unlike the last place in Columbus.The house belonged to another lawyerFrancis Lyon and wife Sarah.

Old style washing. machine!

Then we went into the town pretty dead one  boutique and one restaurant open.

Vowels Supermarket for some items .Left over steak sandwiches from the Great Red Barn,  back on the boat then in the evening Lynne and John served us a home cooked meal of shrimp and pasta on board .It was delicious!. Happy to be in a lovelyMarina with all its facilities , but looking. Forward to some more anchoring experiences. 

Over and Out, 

E and G

Onto Demopolis Town

Hi F and F, 

Good thing is that we were close to the next lock only 3 mins away. Call to the lock keeper said  we could come on up the gates were open. Easy locking and a nice quiet journey along the River section.Not many fisherman and not many barges along the way.

Lots of grey and white herons however and even some pairs of these wonderful graceful birds. We did past the spectatular Epes white cliffs just before we arrived in early afternoon

At the Demopolis Marina.we  fuelled up at the  Demopolis dock we then moved around to Kingfisher Marina( it's all part of the same Marina) Found out that the tow boats put in anywhere between 5, 000 and 30, 0000 gallons a fill.The Mariina here does between 300, 000 to 400, 000 gallons per month!

We were directed to a wonderful covered slip.Lots of big boats in here and many are long term transients .Many of them waiting til November when they are able to travel south.

and their insurance will cover them by then .Hurricane season should be over in November as far as insurance companies are concerned.

Cat Daddy Captain came over for drinks around 5pm .

He is doing the Loop partly on his own .Later we took the courtesy car and went to the Red Barn ( the "in" restaurant in town.Great fun, quirky decor and lovely waitresses .The food was excellent.Cat fish and steaks are their speciality. We sampled both plus the blackberry cobbler and icecream.Back to the boat trying to get there inside the 2 hours limit.That can be a bit  stressful sometimes, but worth it.Grame and John watched a football game on TV and ladies went to bed with computers and books.

Over and Out 

E and G.

Photos in Columbus Town

Off to anchor

Hi F and F,

We got up early and after fuelling up and a pump out , left the Marina at 8.30am.

T ( Caldwell) the great dock master had called ahead to get the lock master to hold the lock doors open for us and so we headed back into the Tenn Tom river and went straight in!

We continued on a leisurely journey in this river section down to the second lock. Just beside the second  lock was the Snagboat Montgomery, the last of the steam powered stern wheelers .It was built in 1926. Now a museum and worth a visit apparently.

A catamaran Cat Daddy who had joined us in the first lock ended up waitiing out the two hours with us outside this next lock .

An old barge carrying large pipes and tow boat tried to navigate its way through the lock.He was also going south bound .But it was a  lengthy procedure, as he thought he had become uncoupled from his cargo. Once he finally cleared the lock , and then had to  be refilled with water for us both to be able to enter.

Cat Daddy made good use of the time by docking at the Montgomery small dock and checking out this old boat museum.

We anchored in a nice spot , sat in the cockpit and ate our lunch, leftovers from Huck's restaurant and a salad.

We continued on and passed the original anchor spot we had liked the look of , for one another closer to the third lock which we wanted to do tomorrow . Did enjoy those long waits in the heat.

Ended up at Sumter's Receational Area, a lovely quiet anchoring  spot with plenty of room ,and  about 10 ft of water .

We dropped anchor, and about an hour  later we saw Cat Daddy cruise past us.He was aiming to complete the third lock.It was good to relax after a long 8 hour day, in this tranquil setting.

We did see a small boat come in to a nearby ramp .Very friendly guy had finished his day testing water samples , part of the Alabama water quality control dept. He said it stacked up pretty well.

Had a nice BBQ dinner inside , it was still way too hot to eat outside, and enjoyed a quiet evening.

Over and Out , 

E and G

 

Another full day in Columbus

Hi F and F, 

Another hot day dawned .We did some extra shopping and boat cleaning. Erica transferred all her stuff out of the guest head ( bathroom) in preparation for Lynne and John's arrival.They are going to be on the boat with us as far as Mobile.They said estimated time of arrival was 1.30 pm .They decided to come by car and leave it at Columbus Marina , then rent a car from Mobile and drive back to their car.

All very easy!

Graeme headed off to Lowes to pick up the screw for the Freedom Lift. He successfully fixed the problem and Erica was so proud of him.

He has come along way in doing boat repairs. He said it's all about confidence and has been grateful for the help to do this.Lynne and John arrived  on the dot of 1.30 pm, they settled in and we sat in the cockpit enjoying the cool of the covered slip and catching up.

Later we had drinks and set off for Huck's Restaurant the best restaurant in town around 6 pm.

 It was Cajun style of food and very delicious! This was followed by a walk around the town , then back to Columbus Marina and an early to bed hour.

Lynne and John had driven 6 1/2 hours and we were used to the early bed time so it was perfect.

Over and Out 

E and G

Ps Some Pics at the Marina of the water hyacinths. 

Full day in Cloumbus

Hi F and F, 

Well quiet day today after all our 7 locks activity , although we did take the courtesy car to visit  Waverley Plantation Mansion.nearby. Wonderful old mansion in the middle of nowhere!

 Originally was surrounded by 2,000 acres . The  young man who gave us the guided tour was very informative and knew all the minute details about every thing inside the mansion. Orignally owned by an attorney ( so of them were very rich) George Hampton Young  (he was also given an honary title of Colone)  Unfortunately when he died and after his children had passed away in 1913 , the extended family were arguing over what to be done with the place and it fell into a state of disrepair.

Then young people in the area started using it as a hangout for their own use  and things were taken or damaged and it fell into severe disrepair. .It was later bought  by a Mr Robert Snow in 1962. As he was an antique dealer , he was able to restore the house to its former glory and refurbish the house with similar French , English and German beautiful pieces of furniture , china  and , that would have been around at the time of the original owner. Well worth a visit. One thing Erica learned from the guide , is during this era of mid 1800's women would save their hair and wind it into braclets to give to loved ones as a keepsake! Interesting!

Weather continues to be very warm , temps in low to mid 90's so we are thankful for the  shade under the covered  slip.

Did a couple of errands and then spent the day relaxing.Graeme had a Freedom Issue to deal with which he plans to finish fixing tomorrow. Took a bolt and nut apart and then couldn't find the nut again Erica  came to help but together neither could find this darn nut and it wasn't that small! .It can't have been far away.But apparently ,according the the dock master it's a very common problem and as the boat is not level it gets to slide down the end of the boat out of sight. He said you would be amazed what we find later, screwdrivers and other equipment .

Betsy Marie were coming to have drinks on our boat at 5 pm but took a pass.Th are planning. To leave early tomorrow morning.

Had nice salmon dinner on board  and a relaxing  evening.

Over and Out 

E and G