Columbus Marina

Columbus Marina is 335 river miles north of downtown Mobile and a welcome site to the boater traveling the Tenn-Tom.  For the first 216 miles you are stepping back in time. That stretch has no marinas and few places to launch a boat.  No boats our size can be serviced along that stretch.  Demopolis is the first opportunity at mile marker 216.  At times we would travel along that portion of the trip and not see a person for 1/2 a day. Then we would see a lonesome fisherman sitting on the side of the river wetting a line and wonder where did he come from?  We could see nothing but trees and swamp for the first 50 miles, then just trees and some small hills.  We did see two good size gators and one large water moccasin. We accepted the fact that we were in their territory and we stayed on the boat and they stayed in the water. After Demopolis, we saw some summer homes and even a few nice residences. Yesterday was work day on the boat.  We are docked under a shed so we can work on the boat with some comfort even as the temperatures get into the mid 90's.  Denniese cleaned and I worked in the engine room. I replaced the starter, cleaned the strainers, replaced the fuel filters and one water pump impeller. Denniese broke out the sewing machine and made some more pretty covers for outside stuff.  Who said boating is boring? Today we start getting the boat ready to leave for awhile.  We will leave Saturday for Murfreesboro and our land home.

We will take this picture with us in our minds as we go back to the real world.

We made it!

When we were planning this leg of our journey back to Tennessee with Lifestyle II, we had hoped to get as far as  Columbus, MS, and we made it to the marina at 5:00 pm yesterday evening.  We pulled up the anchor yesterday morning a 6:30 am from a quiet, secluded spot in Sumter County, AL.  Sumter Recreation Area has campsites, restrooms, a playground and boat ramp.  All we needed was the boat ramp and a little bit of grass for Maggie.

We had anchored in the same place back in November 2011 on our journey down the river and it was deserted.  We fully expected the site to  be busy on a Sunday afternoon in June, but again it was deserted with the exception of 2 local fisherman.  It was beautiful and quiet and HOT!

We knew it was going to be a long day on the water yesterday and that proved to be true.  We went through 2 locks and then into Columbus Marina - a welcome sight!  As we pulled into the covered slip, the temperature on the boat dropped about 10 degrees.  It dropped even further when we fired up the AC.   Thank goodness for shore power!

Maggie likes to ride in the dinghy, especially when she knows we are headed to shore!

Demopolis

Demopolis is a major goal.  Why you ask?  Because it is two hundred miles of nothing in between Demopolis and Mobile.  We left Gulf Shores Tuesday morning and passed downtown Mobile about noon.  We anchored about 12 miles above the city in a little cut off.  A storm come up and rained as hard as I have seen it rain. Lightening struck close to the boat and alarms went off in the boat.  No damage could be found but we did find eight small tree frogs living in various parts of the boat. It took us three days to find all them and return them to the water.  It didn't rain cats and dogs just frogs.  The past two hundred miles have been beautiful, challenging and tiring.  We were up before the sun came up today and stopped the boat this evening at 6:30.  We have had some really long days and we still have a couple of days before we reach our goal of Columbus.  More later when we reach Columbus.  Mike, Denniese and Maggie Mae

Foley, Alabama

Our marina, Homeport Marina, is east of Mobile and south of Foley, Alabama, so today we had to make a trip into town to buy some supplies.  Foley was our choice.  We thought getting away from the beaches would result in lower prices.  Not exactly, the food bill was still high.  It was nice to get off the boat but then we discovered all the traffic and were happy to get back aboard.  It rained here most of the morning so it was good that we were tied to a dock, even if it was behind Lulu's Restaurant.  Tomorrow we leave for the river system.  Our first is the Mobile River which will take us past downtown Mobile and then on to the Tom Bigbee River which will take us to Demopolis.  That will be our next stop and it is about 4 days away.  We will be away from wifi until then so stay tuned. 

We had supper with Bob and Norma.  They have been such a big help to us. It will be the last time we see them for awhile.  Also joining us were Steve and Betty Fry, who live in the area.  I had not seen either of them in a couple decades.  I first met them when we were in the Navy in Memphis. There is something really good about seeing old friends again. Denniese enjoyed meeting my friends from another era.

Sweet Home Alabama

Friday morning we departed Panama City Marina.  We had arrived the night before and were surprised to meet Mary at the fuel dock who just started working there and is a cousin to Karen Jones at 3BC.  Small world!  From there we had supper at a local spot that I have been eating at each time I sail into Panama City.  It is called Bayou Joe's and some years back it was a fuel stop.  Fuel prices got high and they found selling fish to the tourist offered a better profit.  Besides if they continued to sell fuel they would have clean and fix the place up.  It's not much to look at and it is hard to find but the food is good and the ambiance is the best.  We sat on a floating dock under a shaded extension from the building which itself was on floats.  One wrong step and you could be in the water. By 1130 Friday morning we had already made the canal west of Panama City.  Traffic was light and we were in the rural part of the Florida pan handle.  By two we were on Choctwatchache Bay.  The bay runs almost to Destin but we saw very little traffic.  One tow boat and two airboats and some local fishermen. At 1730 we dropped anchor off Cobb point near Destin.  We had covered 62 miles today, which is a hard day.  We then had to mount the motor on the dinghy and take Maggie ashore.  Denniese had found a cove for our anchor and a local park was just a dinghy ride away.  Maggie found some new grass and even a chicken bone which Denniese had to pry from her jaws.  Back on board we were rewarded with a beautiful sunset.  With no AC at anchor we depended on the breeze from the Gulf to cool us down.  About midnight it finally got cool enough to sleep.  Saturday we got an early start and brought up a muddy anchor at 0700.  Denniese drove the boat while I washed the mud off the anchor and the bow of Lifestyle II.  After that we had a good day on the water and stopped for the day off a sandy beach not far from Pensacola.  We dinghyed over to the sand dunes and walked to the Gulf.  Denniese took her last swim in the Gulf for awhile. Maggie does not like water and would have no part in the a/n swim.  Maggie took the attached picture but had trouble with the focus and just took a picture of Denniese leaving me out completely.  I guess its because she doesn't have thumbs. Back on board we had veggie burgers and were in bed by 9pm.  It was still light outside but we were ready for bed. The boat cooled off by 11pm and we were able to get some sleep.  Sunday morning we started off the day with lots of prayers.  The engine has been slow to start and I have it narrowed down to a bad battery or a bad starter. A diesel only needs electricity for the starter.  After it starts it is self contained. When I pushed the starter button it ground very slowly.  I stopped and let it rest.  Thank you Lord, it started on the third try. We raised the anchor and  by 1100 we were at the marina we had planned for a stopover.  We have some friends that live here (Bob and Norma) and they have been moving our car for us.  Bob is also an excellent mechanic and he came aboard and diagnosed the problem as a weak starter.  Tomorrow is maintenance day and I will evaluate our options. We will most likely press on but with lots of trepidation.  But tonight is supper at Lulu's the restaurant here at the marina. We will keep you up dated.
Mike Denniese and Maggie Mae.

Panama City

We departed Carrabelle and stopped at White City, FL.  The city offers a free dock to visitors such as Lifestyle II.  White City has one store and no traffic lights.  Denniese said the entertainment for the city is when a boat stops at the free dock.  Several of the citizens came out and took an evening swim behind our boat.  A few more were fishing.  Since we did not have shore power to the boat, we only ran the boat generator to recharge the batteries and the inside of the boat was unbelievably hot.  It finally cooled off enough to sleep about one this morning.  We had a good day on the water and called it an early day at 2pm at Panama City Marina.  Everything is going fine and the people we have met are inspiring.  Like the guy at White City that took me the two blocks to the only store for a loaf of bread and returned me on his golf cart.  I shared the front seat with his wet dog, but whose complaining.

The Crossing

With a little help from our friends we moved the car and got the boat ready.  We departed Tarpon Springs Monday morning at 0810. As we motored out of the the tourist town, we could see the vendors all ready getting set for a busy day.  The weather was just about perfect. A light wind was blowing from the south with small waves and gentle rollers.  Even better, was the blue sky.  As we got around the barrier island we felt the rollers take over the boat action and it was just the rolling action that creates sea sickness.  No one got sick but we didn't want any food or even the mention of food.  Bob Lawrence, a friend we met in Indiantown, was on board helping with the crossing.  Bob had worked on the west coast as a fire fighter for the forestry service. He has retired since and has done some commercial fishing and high tech engine repairs.  He is a good guy to have on board, and besides, it just works out better if you have three people instead of two.  Maggie did real good although we did put her leash on her so she would not roam about. By 1600 we were feeling well enough for a hot dog on the grill.  I cooked the hot dogs while Denniese and Bob manned the boat.  The good thing about grilling hot dogs on a moving boat is you don't have to turn them, they just foll from side to side.  The dogs were good except no one wanted seconds.  Sundown was about 2030 and it got dark in a hurry.  We had a sliver of a moon and it set in a short time.  No city lights, no other boats, no moon, just our running lights and the stars.  We had gone 1/2 way and we were right on schedule for our 133 mile 26 hour open water crossing.

Tuesday the sun came up at 0630 to some clouds and overcast skies.  Soon we spotted land, Dog Island.  Maggie just knows they named it for her.  We didn't stop because there is no dock and we motored on to Carrabelle.  We pulled into our slip at 0945 but the current took control of the boat and I had to back out and try again. The second try was not pretty either and I scraped a rail, stained the rail covers that Denniese had worked so hard on and even managed to knock out a window.  But like I always said when I was flying, "If you can use the plane again it was a good landing."  We can use the boat again so it must have been a good docking.  We had little sleep during the crossing and a bad docking didn't help our nerves but we got it done and walked the dog.  That comes first!! A good breakfast and a nap and we are ready for a new day in Carrabelle. Tomorrow we will start down the ICW going almost due West along the Florida panhandle and it may be a couple of days before we can write another blog. Thanks for the love and prayers.  Mike, Denniese and Maggie Mae