On Monday we ate breakfast at a litle place in Clearwater Marina. While drinking my coffee, decided to ck. my e-mail. My phone was totally DEAD. I just got this Motorola from Verizon and was lauding the service we received along the rivers, so was a little dejected when I didn't connect. Along the route to Mobile, we spotted a Verizon store and stopped to have the phone evaluated. Couldn't believe the battery was definitely DEAD. OK...
When we returned to Mobile, we discovered the window on the car that was broken was on the passenger's side of the vehicle. This made the situation much easier as John was able to drive to the airport when I returned the rental car. If the windshielf had been shatterted, he would not have been able to legally drive.
We sat on the bench in front of Quality Glass in Mobile while they replaced the window. My rear is really getting tired of sitting while all these repairs on the boat, car, etc. are being done.
Back in WV after 3 days of agonizing travel by car. Which is worse, 9 mph on a boat for 13 1/2 hours or sitting in a car for 1500 or whatever miles? Anyway, we're overjoyed to be in our home and looking forward to seeing friends we've missed while away for 7 weeks. And, I might add, I'm especially looking forward to seeing my hairdresser on Monday!!!
Winston is elated to be back in his own yard, racing around with a grin on his face. As for me, umm, back to the old routine, time to make dinner. Laundry is also waiting!!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Finally able to get back to my impressions of the adventures on our trip south. John has kept a rather detailed log, so you can get more information from his report.
We did have a few nice dinners along the way, one at Lulu's in the Gulf Shores and two others at Caroline's in Appacholia Marine. Lulu's establishment is owned by Jimmy Buffett's sister and was relaxing with good food and a 3 pc. combo. Highly recommended.
I won't go into detail about crossing the Gulf and finally running aground, or Winston almost drowning in the Panama City Marna with John jumping into the Bay to rescue him, or learning our car windshield in the marina in Mobile, AL is shattered...
We're presently tied up in the Clearwater, FL marina which has access to nice restaurants and shops. We had breakfast yesterday in a neat little cafe where Winston was welcome as well. We were going to rent a car for the weekend but the price was so outlandish that we decided to wait until Monday when we'll get a car to drive to Mobile where we'll pick up our car. From there we'll return to Charleston, pay our dues to Uncle Sam and take care of any other business like my HAIR!!! I got it cut once but no color. A good thing we won't run into anyone I know. Can't wait to get back home to get a tune-up.
Clearwater is lovely: sunny, green, and warm! This is the Florida we were looking forward to. The boat will remain here for a month. We'll then continue south, taking our time as we tie up in new ports. We're especially looking forward to Sarasota.
We did have a few nice dinners along the way, one at Lulu's in the Gulf Shores and two others at Caroline's in Appacholia Marine. Lulu's establishment is owned by Jimmy Buffett's sister and was relaxing with good food and a 3 pc. combo. Highly recommended.
I won't go into detail about crossing the Gulf and finally running aground, or Winston almost drowning in the Panama City Marna with John jumping into the Bay to rescue him, or learning our car windshield in the marina in Mobile, AL is shattered...
We're presently tied up in the Clearwater, FL marina which has access to nice restaurants and shops. We had breakfast yesterday in a neat little cafe where Winston was welcome as well. We were going to rent a car for the weekend but the price was so outlandish that we decided to wait until Monday when we'll get a car to drive to Mobile where we'll pick up our car. From there we'll return to Charleston, pay our dues to Uncle Sam and take care of any other business like my HAIR!!! I got it cut once but no color. A good thing we won't run into anyone I know. Can't wait to get back home to get a tune-up.
Clearwater is lovely: sunny, green, and warm! This is the Florida we were looking forward to. The boat will remain here for a month. We'll then continue south, taking our time as we tie up in new ports. We're especially looking forward to Sarasota.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
January 29, 2011
Today is the tenth day residing in the La Quinta Inn and Suites. Our week consisted of breakfast in the motel, checking on the Panacea repairs and taking day trips. We saw the devastation left by Katrina in Orange Beach, FL and oil clean up at the Gulf Shores. We drove to Pasgagoula, MS yesterday and went to a botanical garden in Mobile today.
We found Fresh Market, similar to Whole Foods, and plan to restock the boat on Monday. If we don't get it launched, I just may climb the 20' ladder and take up residence again. Are we having fun yet????
Below are a couple of shots of hoisting the Panacea from the water, the damaged prop, and the boat on blocks. (Not in that order; I'm still learning how to manipulate this blog!)
Friday, January 21, 2011
January 17-21, 2011
Monday we finally got a car from Enterprise. Early Tues. a.m. we headed to Iuka, MS to pick up our car. After 6 hours, we did a turn about and started right back to Mobile. We stopped in Columbus, MS for the night, got up early and drove straight through to Mobile. Returned the rental car and drove off in our own car for the first time in weeks.
Thurs. (20th) the boat was hoisted out of the water and the bottom examined for painting and possible repairs. Much to our astonishment, the starboard propeller was indeed damaged and had streaks of green paint on it. It was determined we hit a sunken buoy in the Tenn-Tom. The strut is also loose on that side, causing a slow leak. It makes me a little weak in the knees to think what we could have endured. Like sinking? Well maybe not that drastic, but it could have been worse. We were on a desolate, deserted river in the middle of BFE!
A worker at the marina said he was retired from the Coast Guard and they are responsible for accidents such as we experienced. John contacted them and we are waiting to hear from the specialist who handles such matters. Hope they come through since we have a high deductible on our boat insurance.
Once the boat was propped up on land, we went to the Waffle House for the first of many breakfasts we'll be eating out. It'll take a week or so before the boat is back in the water. Next, checked into the LaQuinta. We frequent this motel since they are pet friendly. Since we'll be staying several days, we were upgraded to a mini-suite so are quite comfortable.
Thursday we drove to Fairhope. We definitely have to go back. John checked out a couple of antique stores, but I want to get into the quaint shops. There will be plenty of time to explore the area.
Today (Fri.) we drove to Dauphin Island. Quite disappointing. Rather bleak looking this time of year. The ferry was not running, why we don't know. We looked all over the place for a restaurant which proved to be as scarce as hen's teeth before happening upon a bakery/cafe. It didn't serve the seafood John has been seeking, but did have delicious sandwiches, and of course fresh baked goods.
Ordering pizza for this evening. I love the "no washing dishes" aspect of motel living, but do miss preparing our own meals. Tomorrow we have to find a seafood restaurant for John.
Thurs. (20th) the boat was hoisted out of the water and the bottom examined for painting and possible repairs. Much to our astonishment, the starboard propeller was indeed damaged and had streaks of green paint on it. It was determined we hit a sunken buoy in the Tenn-Tom. The strut is also loose on that side, causing a slow leak. It makes me a little weak in the knees to think what we could have endured. Like sinking? Well maybe not that drastic, but it could have been worse. We were on a desolate, deserted river in the middle of BFE!
A worker at the marina said he was retired from the Coast Guard and they are responsible for accidents such as we experienced. John contacted them and we are waiting to hear from the specialist who handles such matters. Hope they come through since we have a high deductible on our boat insurance.
Once the boat was propped up on land, we went to the Waffle House for the first of many breakfasts we'll be eating out. It'll take a week or so before the boat is back in the water. Next, checked into the LaQuinta. We frequent this motel since they are pet friendly. Since we'll be staying several days, we were upgraded to a mini-suite so are quite comfortable.
Thursday we drove to Fairhope. We definitely have to go back. John checked out a couple of antique stores, but I want to get into the quaint shops. There will be plenty of time to explore the area.
Today (Fri.) we drove to Dauphin Island. Quite disappointing. Rather bleak looking this time of year. The ferry was not running, why we don't know. We looked all over the place for a restaurant which proved to be as scarce as hen's teeth before happening upon a bakery/cafe. It didn't serve the seafood John has been seeking, but did have delicious sandwiches, and of course fresh baked goods.
Ordering pizza for this evening. I love the "no washing dishes" aspect of motel living, but do miss preparing our own meals. Tomorrow we have to find a seafood restaurant for John.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
January 14-15, 2011
Frost on the pumpkin again this a.m. and a rather eerie haze on the water. Our goal today is to go through Mobile Bay to the Turner Marine where we will stay for possible maintenance and to set foot on solid ground for awhile.
The Tom Bigbee river is a scene of total desolation. No people and very few structures in sight. The run down "buildings" we did see probably belonged to fishermen. We both practically shouted "hooray" when we sighted civilization entering the Bay from the Mobile River. John didn't have charts from the Mobile River to the Turner Marine and it was a rather hairy hour or more before we were tied up in the marina. We followed a cargo ship out of the bay area, looking for markers 65 and 63. Supposed to turn between these markers and look for markers 1 and 2, then chart a course for 305 degrees between them. Right! We could see land on the horizon miles away, but there we were in this vast area of ocean water and didn't know where in the heck we were going to end up. It was difficult to see the markers, spaced so far apart and we ran on faith most of the way until we saw #7 and the marina.
We were both deeply relieved to be tied up again and Winston was overjoyed. He hadn't been off the boat for 8 hours and was on a mission. He spotted a cat, however, so there was a great deal of excitement about that. He was a real trooper these past weeks. Deserves a tenderloin if you ask me.
A glass of wine and dinner out would have fit the bill, but there isn't a restaurant at this marina. Alas, the "necessary liquids" had all run out, so we couldn't even relax or celebrate on the boat with a bit of cheer. John tried to rent a car, but they didn't have any at Enterprise and we decided it wasn't worth the effort to keep looking elsewhere. I made a meatloaf for dinner. We were too tired to watch a movie; it was an early night.
Saturday: Still no rental cars. Something BIG must be going on in Mobile. We took a cab to the Food Mart (or whatever) and stocked up on groceries. The driver then took us to a liquor store for the necessary liquids, but it was closed. These things are few and far between down here, state run and obviously very independent. We drove to W. Mobile and found a package store near a mall with sky high prices. We made a mental note to stock up when we return to Mississippi to get our car which is at the Aqua Yacht Marina.
John purchased something called "souse" which looks a little bit like scrapple. It's made from pork snouts and tongues. Ugh! It was labeled extra hot and it about blew his head off when he tasted it. He suggested we use the remaining pieces in chili. I do not want pig snouts and tongues in MY chili.
The weather is awesome. It's clear with plenty of sunshine. The temp is about 50+, and a real treat after the nasty cold weather we experienced at the beginning of our adventure. Now for some shopping!!
The Tom Bigbee river is a scene of total desolation. No people and very few structures in sight. The run down "buildings" we did see probably belonged to fishermen. We both practically shouted "hooray" when we sighted civilization entering the Bay from the Mobile River. John didn't have charts from the Mobile River to the Turner Marine and it was a rather hairy hour or more before we were tied up in the marina. We followed a cargo ship out of the bay area, looking for markers 65 and 63. Supposed to turn between these markers and look for markers 1 and 2, then chart a course for 305 degrees between them. Right! We could see land on the horizon miles away, but there we were in this vast area of ocean water and didn't know where in the heck we were going to end up. It was difficult to see the markers, spaced so far apart and we ran on faith most of the way until we saw #7 and the marina.
We were both deeply relieved to be tied up again and Winston was overjoyed. He hadn't been off the boat for 8 hours and was on a mission. He spotted a cat, however, so there was a great deal of excitement about that. He was a real trooper these past weeks. Deserves a tenderloin if you ask me.
A glass of wine and dinner out would have fit the bill, but there isn't a restaurant at this marina. Alas, the "necessary liquids" had all run out, so we couldn't even relax or celebrate on the boat with a bit of cheer. John tried to rent a car, but they didn't have any at Enterprise and we decided it wasn't worth the effort to keep looking elsewhere. I made a meatloaf for dinner. We were too tired to watch a movie; it was an early night.
Saturday: Still no rental cars. Something BIG must be going on in Mobile. We took a cab to the Food Mart (or whatever) and stocked up on groceries. The driver then took us to a liquor store for the necessary liquids, but it was closed. These things are few and far between down here, state run and obviously very independent. We drove to W. Mobile and found a package store near a mall with sky high prices. We made a mental note to stock up when we return to Mississippi to get our car which is at the Aqua Yacht Marina.
John purchased something called "souse" which looks a little bit like scrapple. It's made from pork snouts and tongues. Ugh! It was labeled extra hot and it about blew his head off when he tasted it. He suggested we use the remaining pieces in chili. I do not want pig snouts and tongues in MY chili.
The weather is awesome. It's clear with plenty of sunshine. The temp is about 50+, and a real treat after the nasty cold weather we experienced at the beginning of our adventure. Now for some shopping!!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
January 12-13, 2011
Wednesday dawned bitterly cold. We were determined to leave Demopolis Marina hell or high water. Four days of being detained by the cold weather was enough. The knots in the lines were frozen stiff and John had to use his leatherman to pry them loose. We got underway about 7:30 a.m. and ran for 10 hours until we finally spotted Bobby's Fish Camp. This was our goal for the day, but we both agreed, that we overdid the hours navigating.
We had heard some rather derogatory remarks about Bobby's Fish Camp, but I thought it looked like a little bit of heaven. The dock looked fairly new and certainly secure. No asisstance tieing up tho' so our hands were about frozen when finished. John took Winston up to do his business. Boy was he relieved in more than one way (the dog that is). There was a phone number posted on a tree by the walkway that John called to let someone know we had arrived. A short time later a woman in a pick up truck came down to collect the $44 docking fee. That seems to be the norm on this river, electric or no. We have a Kohler generator that I protested loud and long about buying, but now I thank John (and God) every day that we have this wonderful machine. The space heaters did a fairly good job of keeping up with the cold temps, and hot homemade chili warmed us up as well.
John purchased a plan with Verizon Wireless for 2 droid phones and a MIFI2200 gismo that supplies us with almost constant contact with friends and family. It also allows us to watch Netflix movies even in this remote area. We watched "The Package" and then I headed to bed with flannel sheets and a nice warm comforter.
Thurs: Still chilly, but sunny which lifted our spirits as we set off again. Today we hope to get half the distance to Mobile Bay. We will anchor out tonight. Demopolis Marina gave us a list of safe places to spend overnight.
By the way, I underestimated the number of locks we went through and much to my chagrin, there was one yesterday and another this a.m. John assures me these were definitely the last of them. It's not a big deal, but when the wind's whipping and you're bobbing around trying to lasso a bollard, it's not my favorite activity.
After about an hour of running, there was a loud thump which indicated only one thing: we hit a submerged object. There was nothing visible before or after that we could see. John said usually if something underwater is hit, you can see it bobbing around behind you. He went down below to check for a possible leak, but things seemed intact. He did determine we dinged the starboard prop, so we've slowed down to be kind to it. We had been running around 11+ mph with the current, now down to about 9. Hopefully the rest of the day will be uneventful.
We had heard some rather derogatory remarks about Bobby's Fish Camp, but I thought it looked like a little bit of heaven. The dock looked fairly new and certainly secure. No asisstance tieing up tho' so our hands were about frozen when finished. John took Winston up to do his business. Boy was he relieved in more than one way (the dog that is). There was a phone number posted on a tree by the walkway that John called to let someone know we had arrived. A short time later a woman in a pick up truck came down to collect the $44 docking fee. That seems to be the norm on this river, electric or no. We have a Kohler generator that I protested loud and long about buying, but now I thank John (and God) every day that we have this wonderful machine. The space heaters did a fairly good job of keeping up with the cold temps, and hot homemade chili warmed us up as well.
John purchased a plan with Verizon Wireless for 2 droid phones and a MIFI2200 gismo that supplies us with almost constant contact with friends and family. It also allows us to watch Netflix movies even in this remote area. We watched "The Package" and then I headed to bed with flannel sheets and a nice warm comforter.
Thurs: Still chilly, but sunny which lifted our spirits as we set off again. Today we hope to get half the distance to Mobile Bay. We will anchor out tonight. Demopolis Marina gave us a list of safe places to spend overnight.
By the way, I underestimated the number of locks we went through and much to my chagrin, there was one yesterday and another this a.m. John assures me these were definitely the last of them. It's not a big deal, but when the wind's whipping and you're bobbing around trying to lasso a bollard, it's not my favorite activity.
After about an hour of running, there was a loud thump which indicated only one thing: we hit a submerged object. There was nothing visible before or after that we could see. John said usually if something underwater is hit, you can see it bobbing around behind you. He went down below to check for a possible leak, but things seemed intact. He did determine we dinged the starboard prop, so we've slowed down to be kind to it. We had been running around 11+ mph with the current, now down to about 9. Hopefully the rest of the day will be uneventful.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
January 10-11, 2011
Hooray! It warmed up enough by late morning to melt most of the ice on the docks so we could safely pick up the keys and drive the courtesy car to Wal Mart. I am not a died-in-the-wool Wal Mart shopper, but it was a welcome change to browse the Super Mart. Sadly, the little town of Demopolis is all but out of business with the move-in of the Wal Mart. There are still the usual fast food places: McDonald's, Hardies, Dominoes Pizza, etc., but the shops and supermarket are closed.
We had a delicious beef stew for dinner and then hiked up to the restaurant to watch the Auburn/Oregon game. I was rooting for the Ducks, since Lora and Jason live in Oregon, but John was sitting right there beside me rooting for Auburn! Sorry Jason.
Tues. temperatures are still below normal and it's supposed to go down to 19 overnight. We refueled, ready for the last 2 locks and the long haul south.
I went on another cleaning rampage this morning. Really feel we're making progress organizing but John is questioning where all the trash is coming from. I've found stuff I can't even recognize in some of the nooks in this boat. It will be so nice to put our feet up and sip a glass of wine while we watch the sunset set over the Gulf from the back deck of our nice clean boat!
We had a delicious beef stew for dinner and then hiked up to the restaurant to watch the Auburn/Oregon game. I was rooting for the Ducks, since Lora and Jason live in Oregon, but John was sitting right there beside me rooting for Auburn! Sorry Jason.
Tues. temperatures are still below normal and it's supposed to go down to 19 overnight. We refueled, ready for the last 2 locks and the long haul south.
I went on another cleaning rampage this morning. Really feel we're making progress organizing but John is questioning where all the trash is coming from. I've found stuff I can't even recognize in some of the nooks in this boat. It will be so nice to put our feet up and sip a glass of wine while we watch the sunset set over the Gulf from the back deck of our nice clean boat!
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