10/21 It's Fall again and that means that it's time to shove off and point our bow towards Ft Lauderdale. We had a great season in Stillwater and now it's time to get geared up for Florida. The colors are just starting to change …
… and it looks very pretty, but it's getting cold! So, with our new First Mate, Dave, we loaded up, started the engines (the port one freshly rebuilt) and cleared the Bridge at 2:00. It's our plan to have an easy day and stop at Red Wing. We'll get there just as we're losing light, but it'll be a good first day.
Here's our "Send Off" Crew …
10/22 Good First Day? Nope … engine problems, already. The newly rebuilt port engine had a hiccup. Fortunately, we were able to get some parts and put them in. Then, into bed at 2:00AM for the ride to Lacrosse. But wait … more engine problems? At 8:00AM we discovered more coolant in the engine oil. Luckily, we were able to get into Lake City Marina on one engine and tie up to assess the situation. $#@% … we want to be traveling!
10/25 Yahoo! A full day and nothing has broken!! Thank Heavens.
We shoved off pretty early into Lake Pepin and left behind some of the coldest temps of the season so far …
Brrr … But, Lake City Marina is really a very nice spot. Nice little town, great people, and a couple very hospitable dinner locations. Here's the Marina view …
And a peek down Main Street …
As we left Lake Pepin, on towards Wabasha, we crossed wakes with Queen of Mississippi …
As always, the morning sun is always in our eyes, but it did give a nice view of the approach to Lock #4 and Alma …
The Locks were pretty kind on us and the "waiting game", and we managed to get in to Lacrosse Marina before the sun did set …
We've been pretty spoiled having the world best cook on board (Marcia, of course), but Chef Dave is making a run at her. With no running and a lot of eating, I can see the pounds getting put on!!! … LOL!
10/26 Yahooo! Another day with no mechanical issues! Things are kind of settling into a groove. Early off the dock, watch the sun rise, wait for locks. Boy, we get disappointed with the waiting part. But, I guess it all averages out.
Today we made it to Dubuque a little while after sunset. That's not too bad. Lock #11 was in the dark and Dave did his magic …
Then, from the deck to the galley … more magic from Chef Dave on a great pizza!
10/27 A great morning for boating! Well, if you like cold and ice on your deck … LOL! We were off the dock and saw a beautiful morning …
No lock delays got us into Quad Cities and the Casino Marina in the daylight (fantastic!). In to the hotel and the all you can eat buffet, and another day is in the books.
10/28 Although we had 120 miles to go to get to Keokuk, IA, the day turned out to be pretty good. Not much for Lock delays, but the bridges were a different story. Burlington Bridge was about a twenty minute wait and then the Ft Madison Bridge was even worse. I had to call the Coast Guard and we were concerned that maybe someone in the Bridge House had a medical issue. As it turns out, when we finally talked to the bridge, they claimed "radio issues". Uh huh, right.
So we made it to the Keokuk Yacht Club for some great hospitality. Our pal Robbie was part of the Club to Club Liaison Committee, and we sure enjoyed everybody …
10/29 Today was somewhat a catch up day. We did some errands, some administration, and some repair. We stayed at Keokuk and Robbie and Charlie were kind enough to tote us around the area. We stopped at the local pub for some grub. Then chased back to the boat so I could try fixing that pesky transmission leak.
In the rain and fog, we left Keokuk Yacht Club off our stern, and headed to Lock #19.
Another day of luck with the Locks and we were fortunate to find a roost before dark. We're happy about that as the weather was pretty rainy and very foggy. It's pretty unusual to be having fog pretty much all day, but the temps were pretty nice (68 degrees), and that gives us the soup.
10/31 Off and into Alton Marina for the night. But rain, rain, rain. Plus, it was again pretty foggy. Nice to be stopped early, and then off the dock for an early start the next morning into Mel Price Lock …
Through the lock and just below, there's a dry dock that the St Croix Boat and Packet Co was using. Unfortunately, there's no spot closer for their big boat to get hauled out, so the long trip to St Louis is needed …
Then through the last Lock on the Mississippi, and on to Hoppies. First, we had to pass a secret boat of a friend from Minnesota. Note the name ...
And down to Hoppies for the evening, rent a car, and pick up the Ace, Number One Crew!!
Jusr back from the Airport and the grocery store. Already into the Fridge!
11/2 And we're off … 4:50AM, and we're out in to the River. Our usual places for a stop between St Louis and Paducah aren't available. So, we'll need to make the push all the way in one day. It was our plan to go to Paducah, get through the Lock, and then spend the night. But, Lock #52 had problems and there was a 53 towboat back log trying to get through. Some of those boats would be waiting for days. We got lucky and were able to get through in three hours, then out onto the fog and to our secret spot in Paducah. This lock is very, very old. It's very primitive and quite dangerous to us pleasure boaters. There are no even wall faces to lay on, and we got a dinger while locking up. Look at this nasty thing ...
Pretty good Crew, though …
Off to Paducah at 1:30AM. Unfortunately, the water was too low and the barge is gone … @#$%. So, out into the fog and up to Kentucky Dam. There were no boats moving, so we zipped right through, tied up at 6:30AM, got an hour of sleep, then back into Kentucky Lake for a beautiful morning. Here's leaving the Lock area ...
And headed south ...
We had a great great (shorter) day to get to Pebble Isle Marina. We put on a little fuel and then we were going to move a little farther south. But, some marketing on the Marina part, some weather-in-the-morning concerns, and Randy being lazy, left us at the Marina, having a fun dinner. C=Dave loved the steak, Mom enjoyed the Chicken, and Randy had a great Sunday … yahoo!
11/6 Yahoooo! I think the leak is fixed. Okay, it's that annoying transmission leak that's been bothering me since Stillwater. Well, we took a day at Grand Harbor for maintenance, and some exercise. And it paid off! Leak fixed, attitudes improved, minds refreshed. Now it's five days to Mobile. But first, some pics …
On the dock with Sea Bee …
And the two Maidens of the seas …
Marcia …
11/7 We had a great evening tied to a Lock wall. We arrived in the daylight and had a happy hour on the aft deck in temps of almost 70 degrees. While we were eating, the rain came through and it got a little colder. Not too bad though, and we shoved off at 6:50 for a ride in a mostly sunny day. We were lucky on the locks and made it to our Thursday stop in the afternoon. We stopped at the Tom Bevill Lock, and at the Lock is a Corps of Engineers snag boat. That's an old, steam powered vessel that would pull old trees, or "snags" out of the river channel. It was brought to the Lock, here in Alabama, to serve as a museum of sorts. Anyway, it was interesting for us to go through it and see engineering of the "olden days".
The view from the Pilothouse ...
Lady Chateau and Sea Bee, tied for the evening …
11/7 We had an easy day ahead, but we still like to get at it early. Sometimes, early means fog. Here we are, going into Bevill Lock …
We had a good day that had only two lockages. That put us in early enough to get a run and then go to dinner. Demopolis Yacht Basin has two "basins" and we were in the farther away one. It's pretty new with nice docks, but a little ways from the restaurant and Marina Office. So, they have golf carts to use … yahoo!
Up early and out of Demopolis Lock gives us a good start on the day …
We usually stop after about a 100 miles in this stretch, but timing was good and we decided to push on to make the last day to Mobile a little easier. We got pretty lucky on the lock timing and shared the lock with the local fishing bird …
And through the last of the "big" locks..
A great evening about 90 miles north of Mobile, and then a beautiful day of boating in warm temps was just we needed. Here's Howard and a masterful job at captaining Sea Bee …
Last year, a new bridge was built to replace a very old railroad bridge. It used to take forever to get through, but now it's just a zip …
Another 14 miles and we're into Mobile and Mobile Bay.
Mobile is a pretty good sized shipping port with many building and repair facilities. This time through, it appeared to be not very busy, but there were a few ships …
Monday morning, 11/11/13 and we're starting the process. We were hauled out right away, and now the work starts …
Our tag-team Chef Team...
Dave had to leave us in Mobile, but we'll see him soon ...
More grinding …
11/19 Ahhhh … It's been a week in the yard, and we're finally back in the water! Every year, we stop here at Dog River Marina and haul the boat to do our maintenance. Every other year it involves a Coast Guard inspection, but this was an off year for that. So, my stress level was less. But, there still was much work to do. We repair some of the top pair blisters that happen at the waterline, we paint the bottom with anti-fouling paint, and we buff and wax the hull. None of those chores are bad in themes;yes, but a week of all three leaves us wanting a little more yachting in the water. Here's a couple pics of our week …
The Slaves, getting ready for a masterpiece ..
Showing the primer before final paint ...
Final paint before the rain starts ...
It takes almost three days off buffing and waxing to finish the job. Here's the hull sides ...
The tides here can be pretty high. Sometimes, it makes it into the parking lot, and that makes it impossible to work. Fortunately, this year, the high tides were after dark. Here's what it looked like when it came in …
And getting ready to go back in ...
Here we go ...
11/19 We're ready to go! We shoved off at 5:50 and we're headed out to Mobile Bay.
It was a little windy from the north, but we're glad to be underway. A little help with the driving is always nice …
We travel past Pensacola Naval Air Base, and this is where the Blue Angles practice. Pretty impressive …
The day turned out to be pretty nice as we traveled across Pensacola Bay …
Ft Walton has a great City Dock, and we tied up as the sun was going down. We met a couple other boaters and had a great hour of "Docktails" and then dinner, and off to bed. The next morning was a view going past Destin at sunrise …
This section is so very nice. I always enjoy entering West Bay …
A night in Panama City was perfect. We picked up a couple supplies, cleaned the boat, got some exercise, and checked our weather for the Crossing.
An easy day to Apalachicola was our Thursday. Howard had a little work to do, and we needed to get to the local NAPA store, so off we went on another golf cart …
11/22 Much discussion was bantered about over the crossing weather. You can look at several different forecasts and get several different results. In the end, we decided to leave at 11:00AM and hope for the best.
We usually head out right from Apalachicola, but this time we decided to go east for about 25 miles. In a couple hours, the weather went from cloudy and windy, to calm and sunny (just as predicted). We're heading out towards the inlet …
Sure enough, it was pretty nice ...
Just about a third of the way across as the sun is setting...
Our plan was to head to Clearwater, and then decide where to go. The weather continued good, so we turned south to head to Venice. As it turned out, there's no space in Venice, but Sea Bee had to jump in for some fuel while we slowed and continued on.
As always, no matter where we are, one should always keep an eye towards the water. Sure 'nuff, I hit a crab pot. We heard it go "clunk" and saw the styrofoam remnants … oops. Better watch more carefully! But, it sure was a nice day to be offshore …
We made it into the St Charles Yacht Club for the evening (compliments of Capt Jim) and got up the next morning to take the crab pot line off the starboard propeller. The water sure was nice!
