November 24, 2017 - Tenn-Tom Waterway to Mobile, AL

We headed out on the last stretch of the inland rivers on November 8th after spending 3 nights in Aqua Marine getting the sea water impellers changed in the engines and generator.  We also had a smell we couldn't identify which would follow us to Pensacola, FL and took 3 tries to figure out and repair.  More about that no fun adventure later.  This portion of the trip is the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway or the Tenn-Tom.  We traveled through Mississippi and Alabama, all the way to Mobile, AL.  When you include the Black Warrior River it's a 450 mile journey and included 12 locks which had a total of 415' drop down to sea level at Mobile Bay.  We also moved from fresh water back into salt water along with having tides again.  Though there was some awesome views and beautiful fall days, this portion of the trip was more about the friendships we made and the adventures with those friends.  We had traveling companions the entire way.

We left Iuka, MS with Terry and Dorothy Godbold on Magic.  They are from Rockport, TX and will be completing (completed) the loop in Mobile, AL.  Great traveling companions with a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience.  Terry's sense of humor and stories kept us all smiling and laughing.

Iuka, MS - We left with Magic in the lead and a flock of ducks in between us.  They just drifted on over without a care in the world that we were coming up on them (above).  They finally decided that we weren't moving around them so they took off (below).  Just too cool to see!

We had clear and calm cruising, and went through 3 locks with Jamie L. Whitten lock having the highest drop at 84'.  It was here that we also encountered a floating island of water grass that once we were locked up, made its way up to our stern.  Thank goodness for the dive platform, as it got no where near our engine intakes.

 Whitten Lock and Dam - Where is the round up when you need it.

Most of our days were long and covered an average of 50 to 60 miles a day, mainly because marinas and good anchorages were not in abundance.  I know that doesn't sound like much but when you consider we our normal cruising speed is about 9 to 10 miles an hour, it makes for long days.  One of our favorite places was when we anchored in Sumpter Landing.  It was a quiet and secluded anchorage with lots of room to swing.  The fall colors were beyond peak but still an awesome setting.  We also celebrated the Marine Corps 242nd birthday.  Terry flew the Marine Corps flag and I wore my USMC shirt.  Both Terry and my Dad served and are proud Marines.  I am very proud to and appreciate their dedication to our country.  Semper Fi!

Sumpter Landing anchorage in AL - Picture perfect weather and so calm the reflection on the water was breathe taking.

As we continued down the waterway we came upon the White Cliffs of Epes.  They are part of the Selma Chalk formations which were deposited about the same time as England's famous White Cliffs of Dover.  Definitely not something we expected to see, so what a treat.

White Cliffs of Epes - in Alabama.  Magic is off our bow at about 1:00 to give a sense of the height of the cliffs.  Most of it is a bright white and gives a stark contrast to the water and landscape.

On Veteran's Day we docked in Demopolis, AL for a 2 day stay.  Nice to be able to sleep in and eat out.  Terry and Dorothy joined us for Mexican food.  Really enjoyed those margaritas.  Probably one of the reasons I slept so well.  :)  Terry was sporting his USMC t-shirt with its bulldog mascot, Chesty.  Loved what Chesty has to say......

Me and Terry - Under the USMC, Chesty's comment is "If you are not the lead dog..."

Next pic is the hmmm....rear end of Chesty finishing his comment "...the view never changes."  OORAH!

After another long day, 71 miles, we were rewarded with another good anchorage in Bashi Creek.  Though pretty narrow, we definitely had room for our boats.  Below is Magic the next morning.  Lots of fog but didn't slow us down for long.

After a short cruise we arrived at Bobby's Fish Camp in Bladen Springs, AL.  Talk about a memorable stay.  We arrived early to make sure we got a spot on the ~125' dock wall (not counting the fuel dock) and power.  It is famous for good Southern cooking, especially its fried catfish.  By late afternoon we had a total of 7 boats with 6 of us rafted together and one on the fuel dock.  The restaurant is only opened Thursday through Sunday and as luck would have it we arrived on a Tuesday.  (:  But we had heard that if you have a party of 8 to 10 they would open the restaurant.  WE HAD 12!!  So we got to experience the fine southern cooking for ourselves.  Sooooo good!

Bobby's Fish Camp, AL - Independence and Magic before the crowd arrived.

View off of Independence's bow after the crowd arrived.  3 boats in front, 1 to port and 2 on our stern.  A party indeed.

During the day, I took several walks up the road, mainly dirt, to the highway and found lots of interesting sights.  The first being a sign of the rules at the dock, below on left.  My favorite is #3 'We will decide the number of boats to dock here."  Sounds like there may have been disagreements in the past.  I got the impression that boaters were not the only ones who needed some visual reinforcement of the rules (below right).  :)

I knew I was definitely in the South when I saw all the moss in the trees.  Loved it.

On my first walk, I was alone.  I was enjoying the sunny, cool morning when 2 BIG dogs came bounding out of their yard, barking like I was going to be this morning's breakfast.  One stayed at the edge of the yard but the other stopped me dead in my tracks.  I wasn't really scared but at the same time wasn't a happy camper.  He continued to bark and sniff till he finally decided I wasn't fit for breakfast.  Thank you Roofus, I am sure he thought I was weird dog with Roofus smells on me.  With that, the other dog came to make friends too.  He was the bigger of the two and liked to jump on me.  I decided to try to continue my walk but they were having nothing to do with that, so I started walking backwards towards the fish camp.  That worked though I was sandy and dirty by the time a got back.  I called them 'Big' and 'Bigger'.  I encountered them on each one of my walks.  'Bigger' actually walked out to the highway with me and Dorothy, on my second walk, and the owner actually drove up in her car to retrieve him.  My next walk was with Ken, 'Big' followed us all the way back to the docks and stayed.  I made him leave the dock hoping he would go home but he stayed the afternoon.  I finally got him to walk with me on my forth trip down the road and he bounded for home when he heard 'Bigger' barking.  I felt a bit sad as I headed back....as they were really sweet dogs.

Love the sign below left.  The road I walked 4 times actually closes at 10:00pm.  That is not something you see everyday.  Ken pointed out deer tracks below right.  My favorite sight was the 'Hillbilly Heaven' cottage, bottom.  Now that is a proud Southern!

Dinner time finally arrived.  We were a fun and rowdy group but we all got very quiet when our meals arrived.  I had the best catfish ever and the fried okra and hushpuppies were perfect compliments.

Bobby's Fish Camp - Dinner time with the crews (counter clockwise from bottom) of Magic, Crow's Nest, Wild Willie, SV Cormarant II, Dreamin' and Independence.

Ms. Sally was our waitress and the cook, her husband.  Wonderful people

The next morning we awoke to fog so thick we were delayed setting off for about an hour.  In the meantime, I got some great pics beside the dock of the lights through the fog.

Coffeeville, AL - Last of the big locks for the rest of the trip.  Ken has his sad face on.  Poor boy.

We reached Mobile Bay two days after leaving Bobby's Fish Camp, on the 16th, but not before another final beautiful day on the waterway.  The water was so clam that the sun reflected off it like big diamonds, below.  The only ripples came from Magic's wake in front of us.

As we made our way through Mobile Bay where saw our first dolphins since NJ on the Atlantic ocean.  They are quick things so did not get any pics of them but did manage to get one of a pelican off our bow.  What was really neat was the shrimp boat heading out into the bay and all the birds that followed it.  We decided to head for Fairhope on the eastern shore of the bay rather than to Mobile for our first night, so we could be with Terry and Dorothy, as they and Magic crossed their wake.  We got to be with them when they changed their white burgee to gold.  Then we headed to town to celebrate.

Mobile Bay, AL - We had a guide off our bow as we entered the bay.

Mobile Bay, AL - Shrimp boat heading out.  The birds are everywhere, even sitting on the cabling.  Can someone say 'lunch time'.

The closer we got to Fairhope, the calmer the bay got....so glassy.

Terry and Dorothy with their gold burgee.  So excited to be part of this happy ending to a great adventure for them.  They are actually going to continue on and they may finish again and get a platinum burgee.  They headed home for Texas for a break but we hope to see them again soon.  Maybe in Chesapeake, VA....

Dorothy all smiles with Magic sporting its new gold burgee.  Looking forward to the change of colors for us and Independence!!!  Hopefully in May 2018.

That evening we headed into Fairhope where we were lucky enough to be there for the lighting of trees downtown.  Quite a celebration with lots of happy holiday goers and even a few smiling Southern belles.  We had a great time.

The next day we headed back across Mobile Bay for much needed maintenance and repairs.  We rented a car that I used everyday we were there!  Laundry, groceries, supplies, starting Christmas shopping....so much to do and so very, very nice to be off the boat.  Ken stayed behind to be with the mechanic.  It was thought that once we found the house batteries were dead, that was the where the smell was coming from.  With those replaced, Independence also got an oil change and her engine valves adjusted.  Ready to head for the Florida North Gulf Coast, our next leg of the loop.

One of fun things we got to enjoy was a Thanksgiving lunch hosted by the owners of Turner Marine.  The Turners cook the turkeys and we all brought a side dish.  It was a great get together and really appreciated the touches of feeling like we were at home.

Ken getting ready for the mechanic and the start of repairs.

During the week we got to spend time with Chuck and Margaret Stiles on Francesca.  They are loopers from Ohio, IL that we met Chattanooga, TN.  We traveled together on our way back down the Tennessee River.  Super nice couple.  During our stay in Mobile we took a day trip to Fairhope to see the town, eat and shop.  Pic of us, below left, with Mobile Bay in the background.  While we were in Fairhope I found our Christmas tree for the boat....a tree covered with oysters shells.  Prefect theme to go with our loop adventures, below right.

PS From Roofus:

I have to say it has been a good few weeks.  My extra cookies are gone but my Mom human tells me I am all better and don't need them anymore.  I guess I understand but it would been ok to keep getting them to me even if they don't have a gooey middle.  There have been lots of sunny days for me to catch the rays and I even agreed to go back up in the pilot house since it has been very, very calm on the water.  I got to meet lots of other humans who think I am just too cute....smart humans!  And I got to enjoy lots of doggie bag treats as my humans seemed to be eating out a lot more.  Not a problem as long as I get some too and I don't even have to leave the boat.

Well, I think that is it for now.  Time for my 6th nap of the day.  Or is it my 7th?  Heehee....life is good!