Many of my readers will not enjoy this entry because it contains mechanical and maintenance issues while others will like it for that reason So be forewarned. We have been back for more than a week and left a dirty boat with a broken generator at the dock. This I cannot abide for long. But other issues needed my attention so I spent 3 days getting the yard back in shape. It had been cut every week by an able 13 year old named Thomas, but it needed edging, bushes trimmed etc. My robin had finall...

Today we finish up an amazing journey. Because of modesty I will not reveal what this trip cost but it was on a par with what we spent each month on the Great Loop. Just goes to prove that running a boat this size, staying in marinas and eating out has a fairly fixed cost. And we had a ball with our friend Steve. On the way home we ran into friends. Approaching Guntersville Lock we heard 'Arkangel' on the radio with the lockmaster seeking a ride down from Lake Guntersville to Lake Wheeler. I ha...

As we cast off from TPYC to move upriver to Riverwalk Marina in Decatur, AL, it was a move from uptown living to downtown slumming. In between we just eased along taking in the sights.   A lone Osprey stands guard over its nest.   Two men supervising the filling of a barge. It was so hot they needed an umbrella just to stand out there. You can still see them in the long shot.   Our one lock for the day was Wheeler. I was a rough ride because we were going up and we tied to the wrong bollard i...

Or how we beat two tows too Florence. As this adventure begins to slowly wind down you would think that things in general would slow down but that is never the case. We were off and running at 0700 because it was forecast to be very hot and we had 49 miles and one lock to go and no AC for little Trixie. Turns out it was mighty chilly upstairs with the eyebrows rooled up.   What are eyebrows you say? Several good examples are pictured above. I explained it once before somewhere in the archives, ...

Leaving Clifton was a little scary just like in 2012. Easy Water left before dawn. They have a schedule to keep and are meeting friends at their home port of Florence, AL. It will be a long day. We, on the other hand are trying not to beat ourselves up and are breaking it down into a two day journey. We waited until around 0800 to depart and thought there would be no problem. The air was chilly and fog forms when the chilly air meets the warmer water but things looked clear in the marina and as ...

Quick readers note: I received two comments recently that I need to address. First, my former Court Reporter, Lizabeth, inquired as to why she saw no photos of me and only those of Jan and Steve. Simple answer is no-one was taking pictures but me. As I look back there were zero photos of me in 21 days. Not that I am any great shakes to look at but that does not seem quite fair. Dr. Bell said he appreciated no pictures of me! You know, if I had not been the one actually shooting the pictures, I w...