Sitting stationary at the same marina for any length of time has its upsides and its downsides, as we have learned over the past month or so. Since we’re renting a slip by the night, it doesn’t make much sense to take our boat out of that slip, unless we happen to get a really nice weather window (lower temps, lower humidity, sunshine) that is conducive to untying the lines and unplugging the cords to go find a nice, private anchorage for a night or two. So far we’ve experienced two types of weather up here in Grand Rivers, KY, and that’s either blazing hot temperatures with through-the-roof humidity, or RAIN. Therefore, Legacy (aka The Mother Ship, per Steve) has remained in her slip while we’ve either explored the nearby parts of Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake in Digney, or surrounding land areas by car. Sadly, many of the attractions usually attended in this area are suspended or closed completely due to the fears and resulting restrictions of COVID-19. GTB offers guests a nice spa called Jade and Earth Spa & Fitness Center which provides massages, nail salon, beauty-treatments, work-out equipment and large indoor pool. I was looking forward to taking advantage of the water Zumba classes normally offered regularly in the pool, but unfortunately those have been suspended indefinitely. I’ve been telling myself I’m going to use one of their treadmills for several weeks now, but have yet to get around to make that happen, oddly enough! Still, back to my original point, renting a slip in a marina is handy because it’s almost like having a dirt home, in that you can easily access your home from land, plus you’re close to amenities like marina restaurants, restrooms, laundry facilities, library, ship store, etc. If you happen to still have your vehicles, they can usually be parked in close proximity to your slip, which makes them handy for errands and excursions. If you don’t have your own vehicle, most marinas provide what is called a “courtesy car” for use by transient boaters to utilize for short trips, as long as any fuel used is replaced before returning the car. Steve has found a nice pavilion at the top of the transient dock stairs that he has claimed as his own for early morning or late evening outdoor enjoyment, since – because our boat is no longer underneath a cover (as it was at Joe Wheeler State Park) – the fly bridge is a veritable oven this time of year, and not enjoyable when the boat isn’t underway. “Steve’s pavilion” provides a large covered space in the shade of large trees, with a plethora of nice outdoor furniture at which to gather. He can call it his pavilion because so far he seems to be pretty much the only person here that utilizes it! When it gets super hot, though, we’re both holed-up down here inside of Legacy. She has a great air-conditioning system that we’re both really hoping doesn’t decide to go out anytime soon! As you can imagine, the walls of our tiny home tend to close in on us if we spend too much time inside, so we try to venture out at least once or twice a day. Even if it’s just driving 30 minutes to Paducah to the drug-store or Walmart or Lowe’s, at least it’s getting out. The downside of remaining long term at a marina is that we’re not moving the boat anywhere, which we both truly enjoy doing. But we’ll be doing plenty of that once we leave here in about a month to head for Knoxville, and definitely once we start on the loop in November!
I managed to track down a regular yoga class at the Grand Rivers Community Center (a 3-minute drive from our boat) that is offered on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 9:00 am to 10:00 am. Surprisingly (NOT), Steve isn’t all that interested in attending, but it has been a lifesaver for me. I enjoy my social time with other women! I just wish it was offered EVERY morning! I even drove to Walmart and bought myself a couple of yoga outfits, to at least look the part (even if I do lose my balance every time I try to execute tree pose…)
On Thursday evening, 07/23/20, we attended a dinner play that was being held at the Commander Yacht Club, but was actually sponsored by the Badgett Playhouse, which is located nearby in Grand Rivers. This play was a comedy murder mystery that involved one doctor with three separate wives who were all suspected of his murder, along with the doctor’s nephew and a detective. We were seated with another couple, Carol and Mark, who live here in Grand Rivers. Mark owns his own business and Carol is retired. I even determined that I’d driven past their very house earlier in the week in my attempts to find the community center! White house with a red roof and the only view of Lighthouse Landing marina on Kentucky Lake. Carol and Mark have lived in Kentucky their entire lives, moving to different towns through the years. This Grand Rivers house is where they plan to retire soon. They both asked us many questions about our live-aboard lifestyle and were amazed at the changes required to get to the point we have. One thing is for sure – our new way of living is a definite ice-breaker, pretty much wherever we go. The food was tasty and the play was entertaining, even though all the actors were wearing face-masks for their performance, which put a damper on things, especially since none of the audience were wearing masks because we were dining at a restaurant(?) At least we were able to see the actors’ eyes, which had to be overly expressive as they performed, since the rest of their faces were covered. They were also each miked, which helped us to understand what they were saying. (Have I mentioned how READY we both are for our world to please get back to normal??)
On Friday, 07/24/20, we drove to Eddyville, KY, to try the locally-touted catfish dinner at a restaurant called Willow Pond. While the restaurant was nice and clean, and the service was impeccable, neither one of us were overwhelmed with the food. In fact, we both agreed we preferred the catfish at our favorite restaurant in Anderson, AL, (on the way to and from Joe Wheeler State Park marina) called The Fish Kreel. Still, you don’t know if you don’t try, and Eddyville was just a short drive from our boat. After dinner, we took a pleasant sunset dinghy ride, with Kristin at the helm for part of the trip. (Baby-steps.)
Everyone that knew we were coming here has insisted we try the famous 2-inch thick pork chop at Patti’s Settlement here in Grand Rivers, which we have yet to do, because apparently everyone else in this part of the country is doing the same thing right now! Because of lower restaurant capacity rules in place, we now need reservations to eat at Patti’s, and they’ve been completely booked up for several days out. We will definitely try again, because it’s a law that you eat at Patti’s if you spend anytime in Grand Rivers at all.
On 7/28/20, the weather was much cooler and threatening rain. We decided to take Digney over to The Thirsty Turtle for lunch, with me helming all the way to the dock, where we tied-up. I much prefer to drive on the smoother waters we find on the lake during the week!
One day we drove to Cabin Pizza here in Grand Rivers which is reputed to have the best pizza in the area. We agreed it was worth the trip and we will return.
We met a couple on a Great Harbour 37 trawler called Blue Barnacle, named Janice and Dean. They recently retired, moved onto their boat, and started their loop out of New York. They rushed to get down through the locks on the Illinois River before they closed for maintenance earlier this year. They are now exploring the Tennessee River until hurricane season is over this fall, when they will proceed on to Florida, which means we’ll probably run into them several times on our journey, as we’re on roughly the same schedule. They left GTB last week to make a run down the Cumberland River to Nashville and back. They said the trip itself was enjoyable, but they slipped at Rock Harbor Marina in Nashville and were not nearly as impressed with the condition of their facilities, compared to those here at GTB. Plus, they weren’t able to enjoy Nashville to its fullest because of COVID restrictions. We’re planning to make that run to Nashville at some point, but will probably wait until next year to do so, in hopes that the craziness will have ended by then. And we may try to slip at a different marina when we do!
Position: N 37° 00.458, W 88° 13.628