Midway Marina, Fulton, Ms.

68 low / 84 high                                         3 locks today / 69 for 2014

I forgot to mention yesterday that we were met at Bay Springs Marina by the owners daughter. A cute young lady with a long southern drawl, but what I noticed the most was her manners. The "yes ma'am" "yes sir" reminded me of when I grew up. You don't see those manners much anymore. The advantage of being just before the lock is in the morning you call ahead and ask if it's convenient to come. If there are delays they'll tell you to wait. We were lucky and got right through and the lockmaster coordinated with the next 2 for our passage. This first lock was the Whitten Lock with a drop of 85'. It's the 9th highest single lift lock in the US. The last lock even held a boat in the lock until we arrived. Again the scenery is changing. The end of the trip reminded me of cruising through a swamp with all the stumps along the bank. Pat met us and caught our lines as we arrived at Midway Marina. After we got settled he gave us the courtesy van to drive into town for lunch.

Later at the appointed hour we met John & Sue up on the rocking chairs by the boaters lounge for docktails. Sue brought up some smoked tune spread to which we topped with hot jalapenos. We had never seen that before but it was delicious. Today will be another short day with only one lock that we can see from here.

Bay Springs Marina

48 low / 68 high

Sun. night was another gathering of many loopers at Grand Harbor for docktails.

We left Monday morning after a huge thunderstorm passed. A relatively short day to just before the first lock on The Tennessee - Tombigbee Waterway. The first section is a man made ditch of 24 miles called the Divide Cut. Once you enter there is no stopping. The scenery is ever changing as we go further south. We pulled into Bay Springs Marina and got settled in just in time for the heavens to open up again.

A meeting.

He wins!

Grand Harbor day 4

48 low / 66 high

Yesterday was another blustery day here with winds over 20 mph at times. It was also Sat. which means college football. Ann saw the Gators squeak a win over Tennessee and John saw Alabama loose to Ole Miss. A whole bunch of looper boats arrived and all did an excellent job docking in less than ideal conditions. Again there are so many of us we are scattered all over this huge marina. Many went to Freddy T's last night for dinner.

Grand Harbor day 3

68 low / 77 high

Very nasty thunderstorms passed us Thursday night with high winds. Friday morning we took the courtesy car and drove into Corinth, Ms. so Sue from Thanks Dad could pick up her rental car and head home to Pensacola for a wedding. Right across from Enterprise is Abe's Grill. It was recommended by the harbor master here. It's been run by the same people since 1974 when it opened. Very small with only about 8 stools along the bar but constant take out orders going out. The food was great and down south. The experience was also entertaining.

Found in the town of Corinth.

Grand Harbor Day 2

70 low / 86 high

Yesterday morning we got the courtesy car and went to the Shiloh Battlefield National Park. The visit started with a 45 minute movie that explained the battles and the maneuvering of the union and confederate armies. Then we took a driving tour for about 13 miles that wound through the battlefield. There were markers and monuments describing key events. The whole experience was very educational. There were 23,746 casualties in the 2 day battle.

Our courtesy car!

Monument to the Confederate troops.

A replica of the Shiloh Church.

After our tour we went to have lunch at the Catfish Hotel. No outside pictures as it was pouring rain. Food was plentiful and inexpensive. The remains will be dinner tonight.

After a relaxing afternoon 6 of us caught the shuttle to Freddy T's for drinks and dinner. Looked like a Key West wannabe in Tennessee.

Grand Harbot Marina on the Tenn. - Tom Waterway

60 low / 90 high                                            1 lock today / 66 total for 2014

Another planned early start that was delayed a bit for the fog. Once it lifted we had another wonderful travel day. The scenery continues to amaze us as well as all the different variety of homes along the way. We had about an hour delay at Pickwick lock waiting for a tow to come through. All in all we did 215 miles on the Tennessee River and turned down the Tenn. - Tom arriving at Grand Harbor. This is another resort marina with condos, a spa and pool. There are several other looper boats here with more expected over the next few days.

This one made of shipping containers.

These next ones are on Pickwick Lake.

Tennessee continues to Knoxville.

We turn right at mm 215

Grand Harbor

Happy hour!

Clifton, Tn.

62 low / 88 high

We awoke to dense fog in the anchorage so didn't get underway until almost 1000 am. It turned out to be another beautiful day. The Tennessee River continues to impress us with it cliffs and beauty. We arrived at Clifton City Marina and were snug by 330 pm. Dinner plans had John cooking chicken thighs on the grill and we made spaghetti squash salad. It was great.

Morning fog.