10/28/15 – 11/12/15    Tennessee-Tombigbee River to Pensacola, FL

10/28/15                      Grand Harbor Marina                                              

While at Joe Wheeler we picked Denny and Chyrl Neus up at the Huntsville airport. The next day we bid a grey farewell to Joe Wheeler to head back to Grand Harbor Marina.

Joe Wheeler Restaurant and Pool

Fall is really setting in

 

This trip gave our guests a real introduction to locks. We went through 2 locks the first was 85 ft. and the second 95 ft. If this sounds familiar, it is, we went through these locks on our way to Chattanooga. We covered 62 miles.

Grand Harbor Marina

10/29/15                      To Fulton, MS

This is the beginning of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway (Tenn-Tom).  Here are a few of the interesting shots along the way.

These are baffles to keep incoming creek water from rushing into the river. 

 

After a trip of 56 miles, we pulled into Midway Marina for the night. The next morning there was some fog that took a while to burn off. But it didn’t really delay us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10/30/15 – 10/31/15    Columbus, MS

We went another 59 miles down the Tenn-Tom to Columbus Marina.

 

There were loads of floating plants all along the entrance to and inside the marina. I actually took a small sample so I can see how it grows.

This was beside our boat in the slip

11/1/15                                    Lower Cooks Bend, AL                     

We travelled another 59 miles today. It was grey and rainy. We passed the USS Snagboat Montgomery. It was the last steam-powered sternwheeler in the south. It labored to keep 7 of the of the South's major waterways navigable.

 

We saw this strange looking boat just as we entered another lock. Little did we know that it was heading down river to assist our friends on Adventure II. They had run aground, and the little boat we had seen at the lock pulled them free, while we stood by in case they needed more help.

 

We wound up anchoring with Dave and Kelly. They also had a guest on board, Roy. All of us had a wonderful and fun dinner on their boat.

11/2/15                                    Demopolis, AL

As we continued down the Tenn-Tom, we passed a barge being loaded. This was another weary day with some showers.

 

Just as we got to the end of the Tenn-Tom we saw the White Cliffs of Epes.

 

We entered the Black Warrior –Tombigbee Waterway. This will take us down to the Mobile River.

This area had a lot of floating debris.  Unfortunately, we hit a rather large chunk that was below the surface and we dinged a prop.

 

 

Our destination for the night was Kingfisher Bay Marina. We were able to get the boat pulled the next morning and have our spare pair put on. We also did a little bottom maintenance and then we were ready for the next trip. The folks here were great. They sent the props to be repaired and then delivered to us down river at the Eastern Shore Marine in Fairhope, AL.

 We used the courtesy car and went into the Red Barn Restaurant with the crew from the Adventure II.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11/3/15            -11/4/15           Mile Marker 149 Anchorage and Alabama River Anchorage

As we continued down river we realized we were seeing more and more white heron. These were three of about 12 at this lock.

White Herons on lock wall 

 

There were also some interesting pictures along the way.

 

Dam from below lock



Spanish moss on trees



Bobby’s Fish Camp is famous for its fresh fish.

Beaches of sand at all major turns in the river.

One of many tows we passed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We anchored for both nights sometime after dark.

 11/5/15            - 11/6/15          Through Mobile to Fairhope AL

We woke to find ourselves socked in by the fog. If you look closely you can see a boat in the fog. We actually waited about an hour before heading out.

 

Somewhere along the way, the sun finally appeared. We had had too many days without sunshine.

 

We passed through Mobile and got lots of pictures.

A very busy port

New destroyers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we headed across the Mobile Bay to our destination, Eastern Shore Marina. This was our pick up point for our repaired and re-pitched props.

 

The city of Fairhope was a $10 cab ride away and was absolutely wonderful. We spent an entire day roaming through the town and waterfront.

 

11/7/15                                    Orange Beach, FL

We headed over to Orange Beach via the Gulf Intracoastal. This was an interesting ride.

Jimmy Buffett's sister Lucy's restaurant

 

We spent the night at the Wharf Marina. This is definitely not a place to miss. It is a waterfront marina with an upscale shopping plaza right behind it. And it even has a Ferris Wheel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also had dinner at Bimini Bob's with a friend from work and her husband. Cathy Evers and her husband Jeff joined us. This is the first time I have seen Cathy in over a year.

 

11/8/15            - 11/12/15                   Pensacola, FL

Our next stop was a short 29 miles away. We cruised up the Pensacola Bay and headed into Palafox Marina.

 

This is a really cute town and definitely worth the stop. We roamed  around the town visited quite a few of  the restaurants.



County Court House

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a really nice dinner with Denny and Chyrl the night before their flight back to their new home in Fort Meyers Beach.

 

While Denny and Chyrl were on board we cruised 593 miles and went through 14 locks. We also passed dozens of tows.

 Check back next week as we cruise farther into Florida.