Blogs from Alabama, United States, North America - page 20

19 November, 2010 We spent a productive day working on the boat and ourselves. Sara and I gave each other haircuts and then Sara re-dyed her hair blue. Kerry and Sara got the new transducer installed and we now have a depth finder. Wonderful! Yesterday afternoon we got the marina courtesy car and went to Walmart to reprovision. We were down to canned goods and not great ones at that. On the way we stopped for hamburgers and French fries. Mmmm good. Trevor and I went back to town this afternoon, looking for a hose for our boat and a belt for theirs. We struck out on both counts. I had to go back to Walmart, too, because I forgot I needed a prescription refilled. I also bought a carrot cake for Sara’s birthday. I finally ... read more

Wednesday, 17 November, 2010 The day turned pretty after this morning’s fog. We continued downriver, passing white chalk cliffs and colorful fall foliage glowing in the sunlight. At mile 224 of the Tombigbee Waterway we followed Earendil into a sheltered cove at what the locals call Rattlesnake Bend. The water was only about 6 feet deep at the entrance to the inlet, but soon dropped to 20 feet. Trevor set their anchor and we rafted up with them. They took the dinghy to shore and walked on solid ground for a while. The temperature started dropping as soon as the sun went down and the fog moved in quickly. By bedtime we couldn’t see the mouth of the inlet or the sailboat, Take 5, anchored there. Late in the night clouds moved in, the temperature climbed ... read more

Saturday, 13 November, 2010 A sunny and warm morning after last night’s excitement. The day didn’t start out too well. First we spilled coffee and wet coffee grounds all over the galley counter. Big mess. Then we got an email saying the package containing our new transducer could not be delivered to the marina in Demopolis as addressed. It turns out the guy at the marina had given Kerry the physical address, not the PO box where they receive mail. We stopped at Pirate’s Marina Cove near Bevill Lock and Dam so Sara could get some fuel and be assured of making it to the next fuel stop a little over 100 miles downriver in Demopolis. It was a breezy day and we thought about anchoring in the bay near the marina, but it was too ... read more

Midway Marina Fulton, MS 10/4/2010 Since I had arrived back from my drive to St. Louis late I could sleep in the next morning. It felt a little lonely to be by myself for a couple of days. I decided to visit the Shiloh Church battlefield. This battle during the early years of the Civil War cost about 26,000 soldiers their lives. The Union troops had taken a fort on the Tennessee River and another on the Cumberland River and after these successes tried via the Tennessee River to occupy Corinth, which had an important railway connection. Access was necessary in order to reach and control the all-important waterway - the Mississippi River. The commerce of the confederacy depended on the river. The Union troops landed at a place today known as Pittsburgh Landing. The Confederate ... read more

Tue 14th Sept- Got on the local bus in the wrong direction so took over an hour and a half to get downtown instead of 15 mins and bus was a loose term it was more like a minibus-very hot and made me feel soooo sick!! Finally made it downtown and then we took the trolley on two tours around the town to see all the historic sights such as the capitol building and the house of martin luther king. Great value for $1 and the tour guide/driver was so funny and nice. Also headed down to the river front and then eat downtown before going back to the Inn. Wed 15th Sept- Managed to successfully get the local buses to an out of town shopping mall, didn't buy anything but it was a really hot ... read more