Saturday, November 16, 2013
Steve and I are back on Dream Chaser following the Tennessee River back to Pickwick Lake. Tomorrow morning, we will begin back tracking- locking through Chicamauga Lock, Nickajack Lock, Guntersville Lock, Wheeler Lock, and Wilson Lock. From Pickwick Lake, we will head down the Tenn-Tom Waterway.
We have had a wonderful time in the Chattanooga area and are sad to leave, but Florida is calling. Dream Chaser has been very happy at Shady Grove Landing Marina. We are grateful for our neighboring boat friend, Len, who watched the boat and assisted us with so many things. To Len and his little dog, Captain: You have shown us true Southern Hospitality-Thank You!
Sunday, November 17th
Our day began with cloudy, misty skies and temperatures in the low 60's. Our usual morning routine of prepping before departure went smoothly and everything appeared shipshape.
At 9:15 am and with Len's help, we dropped the dock lines and bid farewell to Shady Grove Marina.
Back in the upper helm, we settle in with mugs of hot coffee and slices of pumpkin cheesecake loaf bread. Dream Chaser headed into a brisk wind and motored down river into the small waves.
As the morning progressed, the fog moved in and out with patches of fog so thick that the captain used radar to make our way. Although motoring through fog is fascinating, it is spooky when huge cement barge tie-offs along the sides of the river loom at us through the fog. The mist is almost mystical, but we are very relieved when it finally clears.
Our dockage for the night is at Shell Mound Recreational site, a RV park with a lovely picnic area.
We have the dock all to ourselves and this amazing view!
Monday, November 18th
We woke up to a brilliant sun bringing the trees alive with rich fall colors.
We dropped the boat lines at 7:03 am and arrived at the Nickajack Lock and Dam ten minutes later.
Without a waiting period, the lock master sounded the horn and gave us the green light to enter the lock chamber.
Mary tied the line to the floating bollard.
We waited as we were lowered to the river level beyond the lock wall.
At 8:30 am, we motored into Alabama.
We passed under the Interstate 24 bridge which has the longest bridge span on the Tennessee River.
As we passed by this scene, we observed the sunken boat in front of a large, beautiful house and wondered what the story was behind it. I've become a true boat lover and this scene makes me sad.
The sunshine was so wonderful and the leaves were lit up like a patchwork quilt.
Steve double checked the route.
At 3:35 pm, we arrived at Alred Marina in Guntersville, AL (east of the Guntersville Lock and Dam), filled Dream Chaser with diesel, and slipped into our dock space. It feels like home since we were docked here only a few weeks before on our way to Chattanooga, TN.
After securing Dream Chaser, we jumped in the courtesy car and drove to town for provisions and to check out some downtown shops. When we returned to the boat, Steve took a stroll on the docks and struck up a conversation with a fellow Minnesotan, Greg, from Pequot Lakes who winters here on his boat at the marina. Greg happens to be a boat repair guy with his expertise in fiberglass repair. Yeah! Dream Chaser is needing some minor fiberglass work, and Greg volunteered to answer any of Steve's questions. Our list of things that need to be done on the boat is getting shorter.
You would be surprised to know that there are large numbers of people who live on their boats year round. The residences are of all sizes and types-from buildings on barges to houseboats and cruisers. We heard people this morning walking on the docks from there boats on their way to work.
Tonight's dinner consisted of grilled rib eye, sweet potatoes, and sauteed zucchini followed by a Hallmark movie and Monday Night Football! Doesn't get any better than this. :)
Tuesday, November 19
After a restful night, we are up at 6:33 am and enjoying the sun lighting up our back deck. Temps are at 37 with a promised high of 57, so we have turned on the heat and are happy to see the sun!
Before leaving for a lock, we always call the lock master for lock information. After calling the Guntersville Lock, we still had no idea as to the wait time at the lock. The lock master merely said first come first serve. He must not have had his morning coffee because the southern hospitality was definitely missing! Every lock master we have conversed with on our journey, so far, has been helpful and informative-until now.
Steve did his routine check of fluid levels and then proceeded to clean the four water intakes for engine, generator and heating/ AC -due to milfoil in the river. All looked good!
At 7:07 am, we tossed off the lines and climbed to the upper helm. With the sun peaking over the tree tops and birds flocking overhead, we motored out of the harbor with steaming cups of coffee (with a splash of peppermint mocha creamer!) and apple cinnamon oatmeal (my boat-meal crock pot recipe) in front of us.
The winds increased and blew through the upper helm, so we added a few more layers of clothing. The peak for the fall colors is past, but we still see deep golds, copper browns, and touches of yellow here and there. The picture below shows our view from the upper helm.
This picture below shows our view from the lower helm.
Below, this is our view from the salon (sitting area) in Dream Chaser. We enjoy these large windows
for viewing all around the boat.
On our arrival at the Guntersville Lock at 8:10 am, immediately, we saw barges in the lock-locking up river. DARN! Steve called the lock master several times when we reached the arrival point in front of the locks, but no answer. So, we drifted around upstream from the lock for two hours. We used the time to finish projects, watch a Rick Steves travel show in Paris on TV, and enjoy coffee and scones. Finally, when the barges cleared the lock, we received an OK to enter. The lock master knew there would be a wait due to the barge traffic, but apparently chose not to tell us when we called earlier. We could have had a leisure breakfast and taken a nice walk before leaving the marina, if we had known about the wait time. Also, with two hours less for motoring today, we hope we can still get to Wheeler State Park to dock before dark!
Our lunch of home made chicken and rice soup with crackers tasted really good on this cold fall day.
We were motoring across Wheeler Lake when night fell and the sunset was amazing!
The sunset started by painting the brown trees along the shore a brilliant orange.
These pictures were taken in an area on the river between Decatur and Florence, AL.
We made it to Joe Wheeler State Park Marina about 6:15 pm with heavy darkness wrapped around us. We had not planned on arriving in darkness, but due to our hold up at the Guntersville Lock and how quickly darkness falls at this time of year, we were now dependent on electronics. We were grateful for radar and the ability of the Garmin to retrace our path to Joe Wheeler State Park Resort. Dream Chaser motored for an hour feeling her way through the darkness. We were eager to see the lights of the Joe Wheeler Resort just east of the Wheeler Lock and Dam. Mary was challenged with setting the fenders for dockage in the dark. Steve was driving from the lower helm and as we arrived at the resort, edged into the boat slip without difficulty. Only after the dock lines were secured, did we realize that the power from our slip was being used by a neighboring large yacht. Darn! So, we moved Dream Chaser out and over several slips, secured her, and found available power. Yeah! We are cold and tired, but happy to be docked.
After we registered in the lodge office, we enjoyed a delicious warm catfish dinner at the resort lodge.
With services at the marinas at a minimum due to the cold weather, we need to get to Florida!
Wednesday, November 20
Our morning began with temps in the 40's, a sunny sky, hot coffee, and steaming oatmeal.
At 7:45 am, we dropped the lines and pulled out of Joe Wheeler State Park Marina.
It was a beautiful day for locking through both Joe Wheeler and Wilson Lock and Dams and, we had minimal entry wait times. Time to just tie up and relax!
Lunch of BBQ ribs and salad was in the upper helm with temps in the low 60's. It was about a month ago that we were motoring the opposite direction towards Chattanooga, so much of our view is familiar. As we motored along today, we saw several groupings of pelicans-hundreds of pelicans!
We were docked at Grand Harbor Marina by 4 pm. After securing the lines, Steve worked on boat "stuff" and Mary took the courtesy car into Savannah, TN and purchased things on "the list". Grand Harbor Marina, unlike many of the marinas, still has water and pump-outs available, so we will be sure to take advantage of those services before we head down the Tenn-Tom Waterway.
We had a late dinner at the Broken Spoke Restaurant in Counce, TN and were treated to an evening of music (Blues, Country, and Folk) by recording artists Lisa Lambert and Reba Russell.
On our return to Dream Chaser, we popped in a load of laundry, watched a bit of local news, and called it a night under the full moon.
FYI...
We took on a second captain prior to Thanksgiving. He seems nervous- I think he's running from something!
The fall colors are beautiful.
ReplyDeletePhil
Great job on your blog! Sounds like you are having a blast with Dream Chaser!!!
ReplyDeleteBrad