Day 4

On this somber anniversary, I found myself wishing it was possible for us to lower our US flag on the stern of Legacy to half-mast. But, considering the mast is not much longer than our flag is wide, there was no way to do so. Due to the proximity of Wolf Island to the Pickwick Lock and Dam, the current in which we anchored was running strong. Even though we’d set the anchor securely the night before, and have an anchor alarm onboard to rudely awaken us if our anchor drags even an inch, Steve confessed that he slept very lightly through the night. Nothing untoward occurred, luckily, and we pulled anchor fairly early to get to the Pickwick Lock before the days’ commercial traffic started lining up. As I’ve probably mentioned before, recreational or pleasure crafts are very last on the priority list when it comes to locking through. If Legacy should arrive behind a barge or multiple barges, Legacy got to idle and wait until all barges have locked-through before traversing the lock herself. Steve had called ahead and the lock master advised us to come ahead as current lock traffic was low. So, unlike the last time we locked through at Pickwick, we had very little wait at all and locked through with ease.

As soon as we came out on the other side of the dam, we were in the largest portion of Pickwick Lake. The topography of the river changes dramatically here, going from relatively flat fields on lower banks to high, steep cliffs upon which many high-dollar lake houses are constructed, each with its own spectacular view and boathouse far beneath it on the water.

Our whole reason for stopping again at the Aqua transient dock was to have them install our new Splendide washer/dryer unit, as the original one on the boat was on its very last leg. We asked to tie up on the wall this time, in hopes of not blocking out our DirecTV satellite signal again. We did keep our signal, but – even though this was not a holiday weekend (like last time) – our boat still rocked the entire time we were at Aqua – UGH! It is one busy marina, transient spaces are not sheltered ones, plus there is very little attention paid to the no wake barrels that line Yellow Creek, and apparently not enough staff to enforce those no wake laws.

Position tonight: N 34° 59.481, W 88° 14.830

Distance traveled:  19.3 NM

Total distance traveled: 165.6 NM

Time underway: 2 HRS 28 MIN

Total time underway: 19 HRS 18 MIN

Total marina nights: 1

Total nights at anchor: 3

Locks today: 1

Locks Total:  1

Day 3

We had another peaceful and uneventful night at Double Island anchorage (if you don’t count the occasional late night or very early morning fishing boats that enjoy zooming right by our boat to wake us [and WAKE us]), we arose to bright, clear and HOT weather conditions.  Our travel time for the day was short, so we took our time getting up and around.  No surprises on the anchor this time – thankfully!

Another short and pleasant travel day, we arrived at our Wolf Island anchorage just in time for sunset and adult beverages.

Position tonight: N 35° 13.078, W 88° 17.403

Distance traveled: 35.7

Total distance traveled: 143.9

Time underway: 3 HRS 29 MIN

Total time underway: 16 HRS 28 MIN

Total marina nights: 0

Total nights at anchor: 3

Locks today: 0

Locks Total:  0

Day 2

After a peaceful night at Cane Creek, we awoke to a gorgeous sunrise to rival the stunning sunset from the night before.

With a long travel day ahead, we got around, showered and ate breakfast early. Steve readied the boat to pull anchor. It was another spectacular weather day, with cool morning temps and just a slight breeze. I stood at the bow-sprit with the hose ready to wash-down the anchor as Steve raised it from up in the flybridge. We were wearing our “marriage saver” headsets to communicate with each other in normal, loving vocal tones, rather than impatient, aggravating shouts. (What a concept!) As the anchor chain drew in, I leaned over to see whether or not the anchor would be covered in mud. As it emerged, I was at a loss as to what I was seeing! “Oh, my God!” was what I uttered into the headset microphone. Since Steve couldn’t see what I was seeing, he immediately assumed (as always) that my startled exclamation was just another one of my dramatic, female exagerations. Once I was able to figure out what was dangling before me, I realized our anchor had snagged and pulled up an entire TREE TRUNK from the creek’s bottom. Steve finally decided to take me seriously and came down from the flybridge to see what we’d “caught”.

Needless to say, Steve ceased his scoffing and went to grab the boat hook. He assumed the wood was so old and rotted that he could break off the tip which had snagged the anchor chain and just “push” the tree trunk off the anchor and back into the depths from which it had come. Sadly, his assumption turned out like most assumptions do, and the wood was not at all brittle, so had no intention of breaking off, no matter how much force Steve placed on it with the boat hook. He tried for several minutes before he had me go up into the flybridge and lower the monstrosity back down to the water’s surface, in hopes of reducing the effects of gravity on the trunk. In addition, I watched the chart plotter, to make sure Legacy wasn’t drifting into shallow depths (as we were no longer anchored). After another several minutes of struggling without even budging the tree, Steve announced we would need to lower our dinghy into the water, so he could get to the problem from water-level and close up. I dropped the combo anchor/tree trunk back to the bottom so Legacy would again be anchored to the bottom of the creek while we lowered the dinghy. Deploying the dinghy isn’t the quick and easy feat one might expect. It involves first removing the large, cumbersome dinghy cover, unstrapping the dinghy from its mounts on Legacy’s deck, then the two-person job of accessing and operating a series of hooks, clamps, crane-control mechanism and cabling, and a pully-system, just to ready the dinghy for lowering. Once we completed all necessary steps, we were both dripping with sweat and thinking we should’ve waited to shower. We raised the dinghy off its mounts into the air and spun it slowly around (we estimate it actually weighs 1200 lbs) as we craned it out over the boat railing and hovered it above the water. Steve slowly lowered it into the water next to Legacy’s starboard side, donned his life jacket and climbed aboard “Digney” as I kept it from floating away from the boat. After releasing all necessary cabling and lines, Steve started the dinghy motor and maneuvered up to Legacy’s bow, while I raised the anchor/tree from the creek bottom to dinghy-level at the water’s surface. Steve readied himself to grab hold of the anchor. As it surfaced, however, Steve exclaimed that there was no longer a tree trunk hanging on our anchor! Apparently, when I’d dropped it onto the bottom, that was all we needed to do to dislodge the trunk. D’OH! As Steve motored the dinghy back to the back of the boat, and we reversed the tedious steps to raise and remount the dinghy back onto its above-deck mounts, we learned another valuable lesson the hard way: BEFORE deploying the dinghy, always first try dropping the anchor back onto the bottom once or twice, to dislodge the offending object! UGH!

Disaster averted, we headed the boat on up the Tennessee River toward our next planned anchorage, which was called Double Island.

Because we had such a long day, we called Mermaid Marina, near Decaturville, TN, to see if they had a transient slip available for us to rent for the night. They said they did, and told Steve they believed their current shallowest depths could handle Legacy’s 5-foot draft. I readied the lines and hung out the fenders as Steve approached the marina’s entrance. Unfortunately, about a third of the way into the marina’s entrance, Steve felt our boat nudge the bottom, and our depth meter suddenly read only 2/10ths of a foot below our keel! He instantly placed Legacy in reverse, and we saw clouds of muddy water come billowing out from underneath the bow. Probably due to winter pool, that channel was too shallow for our comfort. We decided to continue on to another anchorage called Kelly’s Island. But once we got there, we saw that winter pool had definitely dropped its water level way below the normal pool depth listing of 20-feet. So we cruised on to Plan C, which was our original destination of Double Island. We got lucky at this anchorage and found a depth of 12 feet, with which we were comfortable. We dropped anchor and settled in for a peaceful night.

Position tonight: N35° 27.755, W88° 01.928

Distance traveled:  59.2NM

Total distance traveled: 108.20

Time underway: 7 HRS 28 MIN

Total time underway: 13 HRS 6 MIN

Total marina nights: 0

Total nights at anchor: 2

Locks today: 0

Locks Total:  0

Day 1

We’d originally planned to officially ‘start the loop’ in November of 2020 when we will have our boat insurance company’s go-ahead to finally cruise south of the hurricane belt at Demopolis, AL, on the TennTomBigbee Waterway, but finally realized we could start our loop anywhere, so why wait until November? Therefore, we deemed Green Turtle Bay marina our starting point, which means when we “cross our wake” at the end of our loop, we’ll be right back at GTB. A favorite of us both.

Legacy left GTB this morning after fueling up and getting pumped-out.  We got underway about 10:15 am; beautiful day, slight breeze on the nose, which made for a very pleasant trip even though the temperature was in the upper 80’s.  (Thank God we had the canvas work done at GTB, so we could open it up! Otherwise, we would’ve been driving from the inside salon helm in the air conditioning). 

Soon after leaving GTB, we passed three fellow boaters that we’d bumped into at other marinas, one of which was Gypsy’s Palace, who hailed us on the radio.  We learned that they were headed to GTB as we were leaving.  We chatted a few minutes, wished each other luck and kept heading upriver.  The entire day, we only saw a handful of bass boats, and a handful of non-fishing boats.  We had the waterway almost completely to ourselves. Much different from this past weekend, which was Labor Day.

After almost 6 hours of travel, we decided to stop and anchor-out for the night in Cane Creek behind the old abandoned building and dock once used for shipping grain, on the east side of lower Kentucky Lake.  History says it was at one time to be demolished, but was discovered to have been so strongly-built, it was left as a landmark (river mark?) instead. The evening was cool enough to actually enjoy our adult beverages from the cockpit, sitting in our cabana to watch the sunset. The cabana has been a bit of a conundrum since we bought this boat. It was custom designed by the boat’s original owner for use up on the Great Lakes, which makes perfect sense, since the summertime temps up north can sometimes be on the chilly side. I can totally see how that covered bench was great to sit in on a sunny morning or evening, with the cabana serving as a perfect windbreak from any brisk breezes that might cause discomfort. BUT, fast-forward to the boat now inhabiting much warmer waters further south, and that cabana turns into our boat’s mini-greenhouse, second only to the flybridge, which can be our main greenhouse! So, sadly, we’ve not utilized the cabana as much as we’d like to. Steve has plans to change it in some way (maybe ventilate it, or perhaps remove the cover completely), but that’s in the future.

Position tonight: N36̒° 18.139, W87° 56.278

Distance traveled:  48.8 NM

Total distance traveled: 48.8

Time underway: 5 HRS 45 MIN

Total time underway: 5 HRS 45 MIN

Total marina nights: 0

Total nights at anchor: 1

Locks today: 0

Locks Total:  0

So, the boat is finally ready. Oil and filters changed on both propulsion engines, (7 gallons each, wow!), oil and filters changed on both generators. Impellers changed on all engines. Stabilizer repaired. For the stabilizer, somehow on the trip down from Lake Michigan last year, a rod end on the hydraulic ram on the starboard fin had broken off. With the Mississippi River flooded such as it was, and with all the debris floating, Steve suspects they hit something rather large that popped the eyelet.

Steve installed an AIS transponder, (Automatic Identification System). This is just like an airplane transporter, transmitting information about our vessel to others. Location, direction of travel, speed, size of vessel, even our vessel’s name. In return, our vessel receives that same information from other vessels that are equipped, transposing that information onto our chart-plotter. This is not a requirement, but is a very nice safety feature. An example; on the Tennessee Tombigbee River, from the Tennessee River to Mobile Bay, there are some stretches along which out-of-the-way anchorages are really rare. In those cases, we must anchor in the main river, outside the navigation channel, but still very exposed. Leaving the AIS on all night, not only will we be seen on the tow’s radar, now they will actually see that we are a boat at anchor and not some false blip on the radar. Secondly, it will alarm if it sees that you are on a collision course with another vessel so that you can take appropriate action. You may be thinking, what idiot wouldn’t be able to see that he was on a collision course without electronics? Steve has an extremely good example. Last year, as Mike (Wehrle) and Steve were bringing the boat down from Lake Michigan, they received a briefing from the owner of Heritage Harbor Marina, on the Illinois River in Ottowa, IL. They were talking to him about their trip, and he offered to give them the same briefing as he gives Loopers as they come down the river in the fall. In that briefing, he told them about the major tow terminal in St. Louis. For a 5 – 10 mile run down the Mississippi, according to him, the waterway is busier than New York Harbor. Steve says that there were tows coming at our boat from every compass point, and it was constant. You may have a giant tow coming toward you, and as you’re meeting him, a tow is crossing the river right behind him. For that 5 -10 mile run, Steve says that he didn’t think he took a single breath, and his head was on a constant swivel. With the electronics, not only will we be able to see the tows on our chart-plotter, we will receive an alarm if a collision is becoming imminent. In addition to that, the tows will be seeing us, too. So AIS, while not a requirement, is a very NTTH, (nice thing to have).

Also, we had some canvas work done while here. We have a very nice flybridge, with great visibility, but… The heavy acrylic used for clear windows was probably perfect for the Great Lakes. Nice and heavy, durable and warm. As we come further south, however, the flybridge turns into a greenhouse. The acrylic windows are too thick to roll up or fold. There was a system to unzip them and snap them to the top of the flybridge, but the large panels were so heavy, they wouldn’t stay snapped and would come crashing down at the most inopportune times. Therefore, we had several large panels replaced with strataglass. This is a very nice clear material, but it can be rolled up and secured, opening the flybridge up almost completely, dropping the temperature inside dramatically. Hooray!

Lastly, but not least; we had the bottom cleaned and inspected. A couple divers came, suited up, went below and scraped and scrubbed all the algae from the bottom, the props, etc. They also did an inspection of the bottom paint and looked for any damage to props or fiberglass. We were holding our breaths as they came up after about 45 minutes. We were afraid of the dreaded words, “well you’ve got a problem below the waterline”. Steve approached, asked them about it while wincing, the reply was quick from both divers, everything was perfect!! No damages, no problems, bottom paint looks beautiful and can go at least another year before needing repainting! If Steve could’ve danced a little jig, I think he would have!

On August 27th , at the end of my yoga session, I received a lovely bouquet of flowers picked from my yoga instructor, Jeannie McAlpin’s, garden. It was very pretty and so special – it made me miss my former garden in Franklin, TN! I brought it inside the boat so we could enjoy it as we hunkered down for the arrival of Tropical Depression Laura into the Grand Rivers area on Friday, 08/28. We were a bit nervous because we’d been in touch with friends and relatives down in central Arkansas earlier in the day, when Laura plowed through there. Our daughter, Kinsey, said at one point she had to pull over to the side of the interstate, the rain was falling in such torrents. She said there were cars in the ditch and in the median, all having hydroplaned off the interstate and therefore waiting for tow-trucks. My brother, Steve, reported a 35 mph headwind as he was driving home from work to his home in Cabot. Some trees had even come down in the Little Rock area. I could hardly wait to ride out a tropical storm on a BOAT… But amazingly enough, Laura hit Grand Rivers with no more than a stiff breeze and some misty rain. Our boat only barely rocked a couple of times. Which, come to think of it, was a GOOD thing!

On 8/29/20, we made another errand run to Paducah. We went downtown for lunch and ate at Broussard’s, which is a tasty Cajun restaurant. As usual, they were only operating at about 50% capacity, but business did seem to be steady. After lunch we stopped at the Paducah farmer’s market for some beautiful tomatoes and some peaches. Steve found a Pioneer Woman peach cobbler recipe online, so after picking up baking supplies, I actually made us a cobbler! And of course we got some vanilla ice cream with which to top it. Steve exclaimed that the boating lifestyle has put me into a cooking/baking mood, but I assured him it was just a fluke, and NOT to get used to it. Lord knows we do not need any help packing on the pounds of late, so those special desserts will be few and far between, if it’s up to me.

On 09/02/20, we got up early and drove the Lexus down to Brentwood, TN, for a minor medical procedure for Steve and an eye appointment for me. Afterward, we picked up our first rental car of this new life, and then sold my beloved Lexus. 🙁 It broke my heart, but we are now carless! (I feel like I’m 15 years old again, as that was the last time I didn’t have my own car at my disposal.) We rented a 2019 Nissan Altima that I had to drive back up to Grand Rivers, because Steve couldn’t legally drive after the light anesthesia he’d had for his procedure. It was a perfectly good car, just not my baby “truckster”.

On 09/03/20, I attended my last Grand Rivers Yoga session and said goodbye to my new friends. I’m really going to miss my yoga and my girlfriends! But one of the things we’ll have to get used to on this adventure is meeting and leaving new friends on a regular basis. Totally different from our previous life! After yoga, we picked up our very first courtesy car to use when returning our rental car to Enterprise in Paducah. As I’ve mentioned before, most marinas have at least one courtesy vehicle available for boating transients to reserve and check-out for quick errand runs during their stay. We had read that these vehicles were not the fanciest of vehicles, but they get you where you need to go, and – as my mom always used to say – beggars can’t be choosers. The rule at GTB is to keep the car for a two-hour period or less, and replace any fuel you use on your run. Obviously, though, cleaning up after yourself is not a requirement, nor does the GTB staff clean the courtesy vehicles on a regular basis…(?) The vehicle we took this time was about a 10-year-old Dodge van which had recently escorted around a large dog, with long white hair, which did not coordinate well with my dark navy shorts. Note to self: Always carry along a lint roller when using the courtesy vehicles…

On 09/04/20, I carried my last load of bedding up to GTB’s laundromat, since we’re leaving GTB the morning of 09/08/20. I’ll have to go back to washing one bed sheet at a time in Legacy’s tiny washer until we encounter some more laundry facilities. I’ve been really spoiled by GTB’s facilities, though. I have a feeling it might be downhill after here; at least until we get to another large, full-service marina.

On the morning of Saturday, 09/05/20, we hopped into the dinghy and drove it over to the Kentucky Lake side of Grand Rivers to view and photograph the Trump 2020 Labor Day boat parade. We got there early, so there was very little boat traffic, but by the time the parade got underway, we realized – even though we were not IN the parade – we might as well have been, with the constant 3 to 4 foot waves created by all the boats and activity. We had originally planned to stay on the side of the lake, but I wanted to try to snap pictures of the event with my iPhone, which meant we had to get closer to the action. I spent the next hour bouncing up and down and all around in our dinghy and snapping away, fearing that 90% of my pictures would be nothing more than blurs. Fortunately, Steve was a master at the helm and worked to keep the dinghy pointed into all the waves, rather than allowing one of them to come over the side and swamp us. There were hundreds and hundreds of boats of every size, color and shape. Even jet skies participated in the parade! I wound up taking over 80 pictures, 2/3rds of which turned out well, considering the circumstances. Steve told me, as things started to calm down a bit, that if that hour-long “amusement park ride” didn’t make me seasick, then I must’ve overcome any seasickness tendencies I once had. I was so laser-focused on getting as many pictures as I could, it never even crossed my mind to get seasick, thankfully! It wasn’t until we decided to head back to the marina (passing through the narrow channel that connects Kentucky Lake to Lake Barkley) that we realized that we were the ONLY dinghy out on the water during all that bedlam. There were so many boats in that channel, that we were literally 6-8 feet from each other at certain times. The captain of one of the sailboats we passed leaned over and shouted for us to “be careful [in that tiny, 12-foot dinghy], it’s really ROUGH out here!” We assured him we were well aware of that, but it was too late for us to do anything but carefully weave our way through the chaos, trying not to get hit, or sink in the process. Once we got back into our marina, we could breathe a sigh of relief, since we didn’t lose anything overboard (an iPhone, for example) or neither one of us fell overboard, or – even worse – one of those waves didn’t end up swamping or flipping our little dinghy! We admitted we’d both escaped what could’ve been a disaster. We also fully understood why we were the only people out there in a dinghy! Another lesson learned. Once our pulse rates calmed, we lunched at the Turtle and then enjoyed our last dinner at the Commonwealth Yacht Club that night.

On 09/06/20, some new friends picked us up from our marina on their really nice pontoon boat. I had met Eileen Sacks at Grand Rivers Yoga and she knew Thursday was my last session, since we’re leaving GTB on 09/08/20. She arranged for us to get together for dinner at the Thirsty Turtle as a send-off. Other friends had been invited, including Libby and Ron Johnson, but since it was Labor Day weekend, it wound up just being the four of us. The weather was incredible – cool temps and low humidity – and the sunset was spectacular. Eileen and Larry live on Sled Bay on Kentucky Lake and we fully intend to meet up with them again when we return to GTB next year.

Position: N 37° 00.458, W 88° 13.628

On 08/01/20, we decided at the last minute to trust the weather radar (which said all rain for the day had already passed by us), and hopped into Digney for a lunch ride over to the Thirsty Turtle. I finally learned why I can never start the dinghy engine when I’m at the helm! Steve has instructed me repetitively on pulling out the choke on the motor before turning the ignition key, which I always do, but with no success. Finally, Steve took my place and of course the motor started right up without a hitch! UGH… Steve shut-off the motor, put me back at the helm, and said, “Okay show me what you’re doing when you try to start this thing.” I took the transmission out of gear, pushed the lever up to give some gas, pulled what I thought was the choke, and turned the key in the ignition. Steve rolled his eyes and said, “Well I see the problem right off the bat! You’re not pulling out the choke, you’re releasing the lever that raises and lowers the motor out and into the water!” D’OH!! Hahaha! I burst out laughing and declared, “Well, NO WONDER this stupid thing never starts for me!!” Obviously I’d not paid close attention when Steve originally showed me where the choke was located… 🙂 Surprisingly, when I tried again (pulling the correct handle this time) that little motor started right up for me! TA-DA! That whole ordeal gave me the giggles so badly, I could not stifle them for the entire ride over to the restaurant. As we sped over the lake, we noticed the skies were still extremely gray, and the temps were super-cool (like just before it rains), but the radar said we were good, so we pushed onward. We enjoyed another lunch alfresco and just as we finished, Steve looked across the water, pointing to what he thought was a wall of mist. NOPE! Turned out to be rain, not mist! Suddenly it appeared on the radar and was going to get worse before it got better. We paid our check and ran for the dinghy as it began to sprinkle. Steve drove as fast as he could, but the closer we got to the marina, the harder it rained, until we finally arrived back at our slip completely drenched, looking (and feeling) like two drowned rats! We passed several boaters on the lake (with covered boats…) who chuckled at how ridiculous we looked boating in the pouring rain. UGH again! We learned a valuable lesson not to go by radar alone. If the weather looks and feels like rain, it’s most likely going to RAIN.

Fortunately, the weather cleared up and brought with it some sunny, cooler days with very low humidity over the next week. During this time, we enjoyed a 3-hour dinghy ride over to the other side of Lake Barkley, where we found some beautiful, private coves to which we could bring the mother ship to anchor-out for a night or two. Our dinghy ride this time was much drier and so much more pleasant! When we returned, we met our new friends, Janice and Dean (on Blue Barnacle), upstairs in “Steve’s pavilion” for evening adult beverages and sparkling conversation. Blue Barnacle left GTB the next day, bound for Knoxville, TN. We hope to catch up to them again in the next couple months.

On 8/3/20, we got up early and drove both vehicles down to Nashville for Steve’s cardiologist check-up appointment and to sell our BMW Z4 to Carmax. This was not a joyful task, but one that had to happen. Living and traveling full-time on a boat is not conducive to automobile ownership! We got what we felt like was a good price for our beloved convertible, and drove back to GTB in the Lexus, both feeling sad. We’ve had some really great times in that little car and will miss it!

On 8/4/20, we discovered that Legacy’s washer/dryer unit was apparently leaking, because we found some ugly finish damage to the teak wood directly beneath it. UGH! I promptly took our remaining dirty laundry up to finish it at the marina laundromat, while Steve tried to figure out the problem with the washer. He determined that the O-ring that surrounds the water filter was old and hard so it wasn’t making a good seal around the filter, which was causing a slow leak that we were completely unaware of. He cleaned and lubricated the existing ring and ordered replacements on Amazon. We now need to repair the teak finish damage done by the leak, but are both hesitant to do so, as we’re afraid of making it even worse! (We may wait and find a professional to repair it when we get down to the Keys this winter.) The good thing was that I could start using our unit again rather than the laundromat. When I finally graduated from apartment living, way back in the day, and moved into a house with my OWN washer and dryer, I vowed to NEVER darken the doors of another public laundry facility! And I didn’t for decades. But, as the saying goes… never say NEVER, because look at me now!

On 08/06/20, the weather was still so nice that my yoga group decided to meet OUTSIDE for that day’s session! We used the end of the pier at Lighthouse Landing marina, which is just west of GTB, on Kentucky Lake. This was my very first time to do yoga outside and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The sun was shining brightly, not a cloud in the very blue sky, with a nice, low-humidity breeze to cool us during our workout. When I returned to the boat after that session, I exclaimed to Steve that my morning had been just shy of a spiritual experience! Needless to say, he didn’t share my exaltation, but too bad – his loss!

Another major break-through for me on 08/08/20, when I helmed Digney back from lunch at the Turtle to our slip and successfully backed that puppy right into our slip next to the mother ship all by myself!! Even the Skipper was impressed with Gilligan’s rare, stellar performance.

We finally got reservations for dinner at Patti’s 1880’s Settlement! Granted, it was on a Monday evening, (08/10/20) at 4:30 pm, but you gotta take what you can get. We had heard such great things about this place, we were really looking forward to it. We each ordered their famous 2-inch thick pork chop, both of which were tasty, but HUGE. In fact, we carried home to-go boxes that evening and enjoyed those pork chops for two subsequent dinners afterward!

On 08/12/20, we drove back to Paducah to run errands and decided to have lunch at one of the restaurants we’d enjoyed last year in the town’s charming, refurbished downtown district on the Ohio River. Sadly, as soon as we arrived, we realized that Covid-19 has made it’s mark on that formerly lovely area. Many of the little shops and restaurants were closed and some had even been boarded up! The vibrant feel we’d experienced last year was now gone, with an almost ghost-town atmosphere replacing it. We know this is just one small casualty of the self-induced devastation our country has inflicted upon itself in the name of Covid. 🙁 We did manage to find Doe’s Eat Place still open and enjoyed a nice lunch there. Their lunchtime business did seem to be steady, if not bustling, which gave our hearts some hope for the future.

On 08/19/20, I drove the Lexus back to Paducah for its last maintenance appointment before we sell it the end of this month. 🙁 While I was gone, Steve stayed with Legacy while the marina performed general maintenance on her such as changing oil and all filters on each of 4 different engines, as well as replacing all impellers. Having extensive maintenance done on the vessel that is actually your HOME, can be disruptive, to say the least. The engine room is accessed by literally pulling up the floors in both the galley and the salon, which means I was relegated to the aft-berth for several hours during this multi-day process, while Steve observed and assisted the mechanic. Ocean Alexanders apparently don’t frequent this area, because we wound up having to order several parts and pieces needed to complete all repairs. During the boat’s long river journey down from Lake Michigan last year, the starboard stabilizer was damaged when the hull evidently collided with some debris floating in the above-flood stage rivers. It hasn’t worked correctly since then. Steve figured out the replacement part needed for that, and as soon as it arrives, the mechanic will return to complete the repair.

Wonderful weather lingering, I enjoyed another satisfying outdoor yoga event on Kentucky Lake on Thursday morning, 08/20/20. This time, our group had the added bonus of watching a bald eagle glide right over our heads and into the trees behind us, where some hungry baby eagles were eagerly awaiting their morning meal! This time I DID have a spiritual experience!

On 8/21/20, we jumped into the car and explored some of the “LBL” (Land Between the Lakes) area. We lunched outside at Cabin Pizza again, then headed south on the Woodlands Trace (KY state highway 453) toward the Elk and Bison Prairie, north of Dover, TN. The 700-acre prairie is lush and beautiful and home to 45 elk and 55 bison, as well as turkeys and other wildlife. A 3.5-mile, paved drive meanders through the prairie and entry costs $5 per automobile. Right inside the prairie gates, we saw several large elk snacking leisurely, and they even held still long enough for us to photograph them! Further on down the drive, and in several different areas, we saw many turkeys right up next to the road. Although we saw elk several times, and even drove the 3.5-mile loop twice, we never saw a single bison, though we did see plenty of evidence that this place was their home. Further on down the trace, we stopped at The Homeplace 1850s, which is a working homestead and farm from way back in the day. Staff members dress in period clothing and demonstrate everyday life and chores from back in the mid-19th century. I exclaimed several times as we walked around the grounds at how beautiful I found the place and that I thought I could’ve lived there once upon a time. Having grown up on a dairy farm, Steve is well aware of the toil and drudgery of farm life and scoffed at my exclamation. He’s right, of course, so I amended my statement to say that I thought I could’ve lived back then and WATCHED everyone else do any and all required labor. (I would’ve enjoyed some light tending of the spacious garden, though.)

On 8/22/20, we met Libby and Ron Johnson on Tug O’ My Heart, a 25-foot Ranger tug, and Janice and Frank Dooley on Tug Dooley, which is another 25-foot Ranger tug. I first met Libby in my yoga class. Libby and Ron are retired and living on their boat, like us. They sold their house in Illinois, along with most of their belongings, and moved aboard several years ago. They started out doing the loop, but have yet to complete the entire thing. They decided to slip their boat over at Lighthouse Landing marina back in March of 2020, when all the Covid mess began and are still there. They plan to continue their travels once everything returns to normal. Janice and Frank Dooley are also retired, and still have their “dirt home” in Iuka, MS, near Pickwick Lake, where they slip their boat at Pickwick Landing State Park marina. They travel and explore on their boat for 3-week intervals multiple times throughout the year and live in their home the rest of the time. Sadly, Tug Dooley headed down the Cumberland River toward Nashville the very next morning, but I’m sure we’ll encounter them again as we’re finding this live-aboard lifestyle makes for a pretty close-knit community.

Position: N 37° 00.458, W 88° 13.628

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

We had to get up bright and early on Friday morning, 07/10/20, to drive the BMW from where it had been parked at GTB, awaiting our arrival on Legacy, back down to Aqua Yacht Harbor on Lake Pickwick to pick-up the Lexus. With mainly two-lane highways making up the shortest distance between the two points, our total driving time on Friday was more than 7 hours total. As much as I love still having our vehicles, I must admit the shuttling part gets old!

On Saturday, 07/11/20, we slept in, relaxed onboard, and enjoyed a nice dinner at the Commonwealth Yacht Club right here at GTB and only a stone’s throw from our boat’s slip location. Bill Gary, the harbor master at GTB, had issued us a temporary membership to the yacht club as soon as we arrived, encouraging us to try out their food and possibly decide to join the club once the temp membership expired. The food was noticeably better than the standard, deep-fried fare served at most marina cafes. We finished dinner around 7:30 pm, and the heat of the day had gone, so we dropped the top on the Z and drove it over to The Thirsty Turtle (also part of GTB) for adult beverages and to listen to some live music by the Tommy Akers Band. Considering Grand Rivers is a tiny town in southwestern Kentucky, and The Thirsty Turtle is a very informal eatery (outdoor eating and porta-potties for restrooms), we did not expect the music to be as good as it was. Tommy Akers is one of those vocalist/lead guitarists whose appearance does not match his singing and playing abilities. We stayed through both of their sets, with Steve enjoying the Turtle’s only IPA, West Sixth, and I had a Tipsy Turtle, a pineapple/rum concoction that goes down easy.

We looked up some recommended scenic drives near The Land Between the Lakes and took advantage of Sunday, the 12th’s, milder temperatures to enjoy a leisurely drive and take in some local scenery. We’d hoped to stop for lunch somewhere along the drive, but none of the tiny towns we drove through had any open restaurants that we could find. We returned to GTB and ate a late lunch/early dinner at T. Lawson’s Tavern on the main drag in Grand Rivers. Thanks to COVID, the restaurant was operating at reduced capacity, so even at 2:30 pm, our wait was still more than 30 minutes for a table. And of course we had to wear our face masks from the front door to the table, where we were permitted to dramatically rip them from our faces and sling them across our table top.

On Monday, the 13th, we awoke to the news that there had been an early morning marina fire on one of the docks right there at GTB, that destroyed 5 boats and damaged another 10! Fortunately, no one was injured before the fire was extinguished by the fire department. We never found out for sure exactly what started the fire, but we strongly suspect a lightning strike, as a loud electrical storm had come through our area just before the fire started. Steve managed to pull the port side of our boat right up against the port finger of our slip, which gave us just enough room to lower the dinghy off with the crane between the starboard side of our boat and the starboard finger, without damaging either boat. We idled around inside the marina, getting as close to the fire-damaged area as we could (the fire department had placed a floating ballast around the gasoline and diesel spilled into the water during the fire, until it could be cleaned up by hazmat). Fire in a marina is a very real and not uncommon danger, especially for boats stored under covered docks. Luckily for us, the dock that burned was at least a half a mile from the transient dock where we were slipped, but we sure felt sad for the owners of the damaged boats, as well as for the marina, which will be replacing that dock soon. We took the dinghy out of the marina and onto Lake Barkley for a really fun ride. Even though it was sunny and HOT, as long as we were flying along the water, we stayed relatively cool.

On Tuesday, the 14th, we took “Digney” (that’s what we call our dinghy since the previous owner had hand-labeled it’s key with the word DIGNEY – seems only fitting to leave her name the same) back out onto Lake Barkley and around the point of land where The Thirsty Turtle is located. We tied up to their private dock and climbed the hill to have lunch in their “open-air” seating. It was during this meal that Steve deemed GTB to have a real FLY PROBLEM. We ate our lunch with one hand, and used the other hand to wave away the millions of flies that decided to share our table.

Position: N 37° 00.458, W 88° 13.628

Finally, on Thursday morning, 07/09/20, it was time for us to finish our trip to Green Turtle Bay Resort in Grand Rivers, KY! Kristinwas more than ready to get to a slip we could stay put in for awhile! We left Irvin Cobb Marina about 9:00 am and headed out onto more glass-like water. We experienced no locks nor problems, thank you very much! About two hours into the trip, Steve called the number listed for Green Turtle Bay Resort to let them know we expected to arrive there that afternoon. (Steve had already contacted GTB earlier this summer to find out if we needed to reserve a slip in advance, and was told there was no need, as their transient docks almost always have space available this time of year.) The first person Steve spoke with worried both of us when she said she thought the transient docks at GTB were all full. This gave us both a start, considering we had been planning for quite some time to spend July and August of 2020 at Green Turtle Bay! She told us she would verify and return our call, but we heard nothing back from her. In the meantime, Steve found a different phone number for the GTB marina office, where he spoke with harbor master, Bill Gary, who had much happier news for us. There was plenty of transient space available, as Steve had originally been told, and Bill assigned us Transient Slip #13 once we arrived. We had over-estimated the amount of travel time we had between Irvin Cobb Marina and GTB – delightfully – and arrived at at the Green Turtle Bay Resort by 1:00 pm. We found our slip with no trouble and were glad to see it is relatively close to the marina restrooms and laundry facilities. (Always a big plus in my book!) We are in an actual slip this time with dock fingers on either side of our boat (rather than being on a wall, with only one side of our boat protected). We are right in the middle of the action, which means we’re within walking distance of several restaurants. Not long after we arrived, we had people coming down onto the docks and inspecting our boat. People walk right out onto the dock fingers next to the boats, which means they can peer right into any uncovered windows, whether the boats’ inhabitants are onboard or not! We’ve had more than one person gawk right in on us several times, so we’re mindful of which drapes we open or close.. I noted to Steve that a major difference between our former (“dirt home”) lifestyle and our new live-aboard lifestyle is that we didn’t formerly wake up each morning to wash the entire outside of our house down to remove all the insect carcasses, nor did we have to worry about strange peoples’ faces suddenly appearing less than a foot outside of our windows and staring inside!

Once we got settled into slip T-13, we walked over to Dockers By the Bay (one of the marina cafes) for a marina cafe style lunch, then we aired out Steve’s BMW Z, which we had shuttled up from Aqua the previous week. We drove it to Paducah (about 30 minutes away) to pick-up some of my prescriptions that I’m now having to request be transferred to different pharmacies around the country, rather than automatically refilled at our good old CVS on Carothers Parkway in Franklin, TN, as they’d been for the past 8 years.

Position tonight: N 37° 00.458, W 88° 13.628

Distance traveled: 28.6 NM

Total distance traveled: 192 NM

Time underway: 4:15

Total time underway: 31:08

Total marina nights: 10

Total nights at anchor: 1

Locks today: 0

Locks Total: 3

After a peaceful and frustratingly internet-free night at Pebble Isle Marina, in New Johnsonville, TN, we left on the morning of 07/08/20, presumably bound for Ken Lake Marina State Resort Park in Hardin, KY. This was another lock-free run in perfect (albeit hot) weather conditions. After a long day of cruising, Steve called Ken Lake to let them know we were almost there, only to be told they were completely full that night and had no space available for us! Steve then looked further down river on the charts and found Irvin Cobb Marina in Murray, KY. Fortunately when he called them, they had plenty of transient space ready and waiting. When we arrived, we had three different marina reps standing on the dock waiting to catch and cleat our lines for us. This was a charming little marina named for American author, humorist, editor and columnist, Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb who gained notoriety in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and hailed from Paducah, KY. We could tell they rarely received larger boats at their marina, so our arrival was a novelty, and all were very complimentary of Legacy.

Position tonight: N 36° 38.575, W 88° 07.727

Distance traveled: 41.5 NM

Total distance traveled: 163.4 NM

Time underway: 5:35

Total time underway: 26:53

Total marina nights: 9

Total nights at anchor: 1

Locks today: 0

Locks Total: 3