6/29/20 – 7/1/20 – Joe Wheeler to Aqua Yacht Harbor

So it begins. Sunday, June 28, we had our good friends, Mike and Brenda Wehrle, join us at Joe Wheeler State Park Marina. They accompanied us as we cruised Legacy on a fairly short cruise to Florence Harbor Marina at Florence, AL on Monday, the 29th. The marina at Joe Wheeler is on Joe Wheeler Lake on the Tennessee River, and is located just above the Joe Wheeler lock and dam. Monday morning, we called the lock master and gave him our location, he told us to come on to the lock and he would begin raising the water to pick us up and lock us down river. Having helped to bring Legacy all the way home from Sturgeon Bay, on Lake Michigan to Joe Wheeler, Mike became an expert at locking through. He patiently taught Kristin the steps to successfully secure the boat to the side of the lock, while Steve was at the helm using the engines to help keep the boat in one place, throughout the entire locking process (which – depending on the size and mechanics of the lock – can take from 10 minutes to more than an hour). Once the lock master had lowered us down to the bottom of the dam, and opened the exit gates, he sounded his horn, which was our queue to release our loop from the securing pin on the side of the lock, and for Steve to maneuver the boat out away from the side, to exit the lock. After slowly leaving the lock, we enjoyed a leisurely cruise through Wilson Lake to the Wilson lock and dam, as Mike and Steve regaled Brenda and Kristin with memories of their US river cruise southward last summer bringing the boat home. This particular lock features the largest change in elevation east of the Rocky Mountains, at 94 feet. As we entered the lock chamber and began the drop (this time with Kristin taking the lead as Gilligan – er First Mate – and Mike supervising), we watched a popup thunderstorm brewing to the west. In the 20 minutes or so it took to get through the lock, the storm had moved much closer to us. We had about two miles to cover to get from the lock to our new home on the transient dock at the Florence marina for a few days, and the race was on to get tied up before the storm, which was exhibiting a judicious amount of electricity. Thankfully, we made it. Got a little wet tying up, but the worst of the wind and lightening came just after being safely secured. Talk about great timing! Later Monday evening we drove the Wehrles’ vehicle, which we had shuttled down to Florence the day before. After a delicious meal at Ricatoni’s in downtown Florence, before heading back to the boat. We enjoyed adult beverages up on our flybridge that evening and people-watched. The Florence marina is adjacent to a nice city park, so there was quite a bit of comings and goings (even on a Monday night) until later in the evening. During the night, several more traveling boats tied up to the transient dock, so we had surprise neighbors the next morning! We spent Tuesday driving around the Florence/Muscle Shoals/Sheffield areas, searching for musical history. Unfortunately, our options were limited due to the COVID restrictions, but we made the best of it and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Tuesday night we had another tasty dinner at Ray’s At The Bank, in Florence, which came highly recommended. The Wehrles left us on Wednesday morning and drove back to their home in Nashville. The boat seemed awfully still and quiet after their departure.