Day 14 – 15
On Monday morning, 09/21/20, in gorgeous though windy weather, we left Joe Wheeler State Park marina for Ditto Landing marina, in Huntsville, AL. We both noted how the scenery along the TN River was becoming more hilly and scenic as we approached the mountains on the southern end of the Cumberland Plateau, south of Huntsville.
We arrived Ditto Landing easily and with no problems, once we understood where the harbor master wanted us to tie up our boat on the outside of a finger. Two other Looper boats traveling together had followed us up river to Ditto Landing, Premium Pleasure and Scholarship, and they tied up to fingers farther inside the marina than us. We finally decided our boat’s placement must’ve been based on Legacy drawing a deeper draft than the other boats, and the marina got more shallow toward the back. We did wind up positioned right beside the marina restrooms, so that was a plus.
Our plan was to spend only one night at Ditto Landing on our journey upriver to Alred Marina in Guntersville, AL, to stay well ahead of the rains coming our way from Tropical Depression Beta. However, early on Tuesday morning, 09/22/20, I woke up with a pounding headache and body aches. I had noted some minor sinus issues several days earlier, but wasn’t too concerned until then. I feared a sinus infection. I informed Steve of my physical condition, which sunk our plans to leave that day, since I would have to find yet another urgent care in Huntsville to prescribe me some antibiotics. (Steve declared then and there that my new hobby had become visiting various urgent care centers as we travel!) I didn’t find the situation all that funny, especially when we found out Ditto Landing marina provided no courtesy vehicle for its transient boaters. I had to get medical attention, so I downloaded the Uber application onto my cell phone and arranged for a pick-up at Ditto Landing marina and drop-off at CarePlus in Huntsville. With all the Covid rules in place (of course I was required to wear a mask inside the Uber vehicle), I was a little concerned the driver might not like the whole idea of escorting me to an urgent care, but he seemed okay with it, thankfully. After a bit of trouble finding the marina, my driver was a man named David, who was very chatty and informed me that he was retired from Lake Huron in Michigan down to Huntsville, AL, for the warmer climate, and used his job at Uber to supplement his retirement income. I did not feel like conversation, but I got it anyway! He was an excellent driver and got me where I needed to go quickly. It’s a challenge going places in a completely new area, but even more so when you don’t have your own vehicle. The driver asked me several questions about roads in Huntsville and I had to explain I knew less about the area than he did! After waiting almost two hours, I was finally seen by the nurse practitioner at the clinic. She agreed that my symptoms did sound like a sinus infection, that I had fluid in one of my ears and swollen lymph nodes in my neck, so I received yet another shot of steroids in the hip and a prescription for 14 days’ worth of antibiotics. The NP told me there was a Walgreen’s “right across the street” from their clinic, so I planned to walk over there before I summoned my Uber pick-up to return me to the marina. Once I got outside, I realized the Walgreen’s was on the other side of a busy 4-lane highway, and was also almost 3 city blocks down! There I was, feeling like crap, hoofing it across 4 lanes in my boat shoes, praying I didn’t trip and do a face-plant right in the middle of oncoming traffic. Once I was safely to the other side, I realized there was absolutely no sidewalk beside the highway, so unless I wanted to walk right in the road, I was forced to traverse multiple parking lots, curbs, and grassy ditches to reach Walgreen’s. Having avoided a mid-highway fall, I then feared being eaten alive by a swarm of seed ticks! All’s well that ends well, and Walgreens had my prescription ready after only about 15 minutes. I then used my Uber phone app to call for my return ride. This time, Jose picked me up in his white Toyota Corolla. His online reviews stated he was an “excellent conversationalist”, which wasn’t really a plus, because I didn’t feel like more small talk. Amusingly, Jose never said more than, “Hi, are you Kristin?” and “Goodbye, have a nice day,” during the entire drive. Admittedly, I didn’t attempt to engage any conversation, but I decided the reviewer who had deemed Jose an excellent conversationalist was obviously being sarcastic! The entire excursion took almost 4 hours and cost me $50 in ride fees. Steve said that was still better than trying to keep our own vehicle and shuttle it around with us all over the southeastern US, but the jury’s still out on that one for me. After my steroid booster shot and first dose of antibiotics, I was already feeling better, but it was too late to leave Ditto Landing that day, so we spent another night.
Ditto Landing
Position tonight: N 34° 34.581, W 86° 33.601
Distance traveled: 49.4 NM
Total distance traveled: 270.4 NM
Time underway: 5 HRS 59 MIN
Total time underway: 33 HRS 54 MIN
Total marina nights: 11
Total nights at anchor: 4
Locks today: 0
Locks Total: 3