Pickwick

Easy morning at Grand Harbor Marina.  The Captain worked on the blog while waiting for the girls to rise and shine. 

Grand Harbor Condos

Out of the marina at 10AM.  Arrived at Pickwick lock at 10:40.  Big Eddie was in the chamber going down so we had to wait for the lock tender to turn the lock around.  

Mystery passenger!

We shut down the motors and drifted in the bright sunlight while Rachael worked on her tan. 

The doors opened up at 11:12 and we motored passed some fishermen into the chamber.  We left the lock at 11:45.

Melissa concentrates on keeping us secure in Pickwick Lock.

Best Crew on the river.

Another successful lock through.

Pickwick will be the last lock we pass through on this leg of our journey.  We plan on leaving the boat at Kentucky Dam Marina just a mile from Kentucky Dam.  When we return June 30th we will lock through at Kentucky Dam but no other locks until then.

Yuck!

Passed the tow Alvin Johnson going up at 12:25.  We stopped to swim about 1:30 just outside the channel.  We all got in the dingy to motor over to shore.  First Mate Melissa had to row us back to the boat to retrieve the key to the motor as the Captain had forgotten about that part of the equation. 

The girls decided the water was too muddy so we motored around in the dingy for a while.  Back onboard and had lunch.  The dingy davit system the Captain had installed in Key West worked great.

“Peg Leg” motored by at a fast pace and waked us pretty bad.  The Captain called Peg Leg on the radio to let them know we were not pleased by the lack of consideration.

Nice home

Nice Shed

Nice Tent

Nice Canopy

Nice Stilt House

Must be a one percenter

This tree must believe in the advice from Gunnery Sargent Highway...Adapt, Improvise, and Overcome!

Dredge

Rock formation

This lady stopped by as we went down river to ask if we were Loopers.  She and her husband had just completed the Great Loop on their boat.

We were back underway by 2:30 with a target of 5:30 arrival at Riverstone Marina.  Melissa took the helm for most of the completion of the day’s journey and we pulled in right on time.

Riverstone Marina is a very nice small marina operated by Matt Spitzer.  Very nice guy.  He and his staff really went out of their way to make sure we were comfortable.  

Aye Sea No Snow safely secured at Riverstone Marina.  

Their full phone number is 731-549-2345 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            731-549-2345      end_of_the_skype_highlighting

Very secure location to hold up during spring storms!

We plan on stopping at Riverstone again next fall on the way back down. 

We hunkered down for the evening as some strong storms were moving through. 

The crew is finally off duty for the day!

The girls are happy with satellite TV giving us the MTV Music Awards.   The Captain kept an eye on the lines to make sure we were safely secured.

Back on the River

The plan is to be at Kentucky Dam Marina on Wednesday.  We have a total of 220 miles to go in five days so we can take our time.

Missy and I went to town for coffee and then took the rental car back. We pulled out of the marina in Florence just after 10 AM so now Aye Sea No Snow is back on the river cruising.

Wilson lock is just a mile or two up stream from Florence Alabama.  Wilson lock is the highest lift lock east of the Rocky Mountains with a lift of 93 to 100 feet and so it became a must do before we headed downstream toward Kentucky Dam.  The lock tender had the doors open waiting for us when we arrived so we pulled right in and locked through by 11AM.

Wilson Lock upper gate drops.  Very unique.

We then spent a couple of hours exploring the homes and coves above the dam.  Skip Jack was headed downstream so we timed our cruise to get back to the lock after the tow had finished going through the lock.  This area of the river had some very deep water, up to 150 feet in places.  The coves run 40 to fifty feet deep with lots of places on the water.

Preparing for a lakeside wedding.

Rachael takes the Helm!

After Skip Jack had locked through we pulled in behind three other boats to go downstream.  Shifting Colors, Casper, and Formulator.  The crew on Formulator had a really hard time grabbing the Bollard!

They dropped their line on first attempt, went around in the lock to have another try, then almost backed into Aye Sea No Snow as the Captain got confused.

Missy prepares to drop bumpers as we enter the lock.

The Crew of Aye Sea No Snow!

The Crew of Aye Sea No Snow had things well under control and we felt so bad for the people on Formulator.  Once the doors closed and we started down we had a spectacular water fall from the upstream gate.

I have video of the waterfall but I need Josh's help to edit it.  The Wilson lock was definitely worth the trip.

We pulled out of Wilson at 2:55 and met the tow Lexington waiting to lock through up stream.  We then cruised at 9 knots to get to Grand Harbor Marina by 7PM.  There we a ton of boaters out on the lake enjoying the beautiful day.

We timed things perfectly so we had access to the courtesy car to go into town.  Counce Tennessee is not really a town.  Just some gas stations, a Dollar General, and a few restaurants on the highway.  The restaurant we googled was not open, the next restaurant we went to based on a sign on the highway was destroyed by last year's tornado, so we took the recommendation of the desk clerk at the Hampton Inn to go to the Broken Spoke.

Very nice restaurant with live music and ambiance. Adam, our server was a little nervous as it was his second week.  The owner came around to every table to say hi and then joined the due on stage to sign.  Darrell would love this place.

Back to the boat for a couple of rounds of Yahtzee.  The three of us have so much fun constantly.  Rachael and Missy get to laughing about the silliest things.  Their latest habit is talking with a southern drawl.  Very entertaining for the Captain.

Florence Alabama

A cold front moved through Thursday night and brought us clouds and colder temps on Friday.

We stayed in Florence for the day took care of provisioning and did a little retail therapy.

Rachael brings her smile aboard as Melissa gets some work done remotely.  

Rachael wanted to see "Snow White and the Huntsman" as it came out Friday.  We decided we might as well make it a day at the movies and also caught "Dark Shadows".  Then we had a nice dinner in downtown Florence.  We were surprised by the amount of night life in Florence, the girls were especially amused by the crowd in front of "Guns and Such".

Melissa lets the Captain know she is a little fed up with all the picture taking.

We may head up stream a bit on Saturday before we head downstream toward our ultimate goal this trip; Kentucky Dam Marina.

Rachael plans our itinerary en route to Kentucky Dam Marina.