Saturday, July 11th.
It is hard to believe it's Saturday and I have not updated my posts since the sixth. It has been an extremely busy week filled with fun and frustration. On Tuesday afternoon Tom and I arrived at Paris Landing State Park and Marina in Paris Kentucky. We enjoyed their great buffet and pool and busily prepared Laughter for her next set of guests. My brother Ron and his girlfriend Natalie were to arrive that afternoon. They called and told us they were in Ill. but were turning around. Natalie had a family emergency. We were disappointed that we would not get to spend time with them but we were really sad for them. I know how important vacations are for renewal of the body, mind and soul and I know how hard they work and needed a break.
On Wednesday we were up early with a heading of Green Turtle Bay Marina, on Barkley Lake in Kentucky. We thought we would arrive about 12:30. My cousin Gary and his wife Leah were meeting us. Remember when I said fun and frustration? Well, Laughter would not start again! After an hour plus she was running and we were on our way to Green Turtle. We arrived about two hours later than planned but you have to look at the bright side. We did get there!
On Wednesday evening my brother called and said all was well on the home front and they were on their way! Yeah! Wednesday evening we visited with Gary and Leah, tootled around the marina in the dingy and did a little dock fishing, and yes, Peanut fell in again!
Thursday morning everyone had arrived and eager to get out on Barkley Lake. One of our pre-departure jobs was to return the dingy to her position up on top. Easy right, attach the cable push the up button on the crane remote and up she goes, except the cable wouldn't move! Between the mechanical talents of my brother and my cousin the cable problem was resolved. All right, fire up those engines and let's go! It is now late morning and in the ninties! The starboard engine (the one we were having issues with)started right up! Yes! I turn the key for the port engine, and nothing happens! Unbelieveable! Never fear our mechanic relatives soon figured out the problem and we were on our way to Barkley State Park marina. Thank goodness for great relatives with uncanny mechanical ability! We took our time, stopped and swam, pulled people on the tube, got caught up on our families and most importantly laughed until my face hurt! Check out a few of the pictures.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
July 6, 2009
Our plan was to leave Grand Harbor early yesterday morning and arrive early afternoon at Clifton Marina. We were up early and ready to go, the problem was Laughter was not. We had an engine that would not start. After hours of working down in the engine room, a very hot cramped area underneath our salon floor, Tom was able to fix the problem and we were up and running! We pulled out of Grand Harbor about 1pm. It rained off and on all afternoon. At one point during a torrential downpour a gust of wind blew our bow pads into the river, so we spent some extra time driving around in circles rounding them up. The rain made it hard to see but unlike cruising Lake Michigan we had no high waves to battle. We arrived at Clifton marina about 6pm. Clifton is a small and very friendly marina but I am not to fond of the entrance. It is narrow and you can't really see if someone is coming out as you are entering. We were excited to have the same people we grew so fond of two years ago waiting for us to pull up to the dock. It was great to see them again and get caught up on our lives. We used the courtesy car to get a bite to eat at the only place open within miles, a truck stop, and called it a night.
THE DREADED PICKWICK LOCK! This morning we left Clifton early. As we approached Pickwick Lock I found myself pacing the aft deck. After the problems we had two years ago I had no desire to go through this lock ever again. At least we had help this time. The wind in the lock was brisk but not near what is was when we entered the lock going south. There were no white caps this time. John corralled the bollard easily and we were ready for the 58 foot drop to begin. It felt like it took forever to get to the bottom! Those gates could not open fast enough for me! When they did open the wind came in strong as if to say hey, remember me? I am still here. I briefly looked back as we cleared the lock and started breathing again. We arrived at Cuba Landing about 1pm. Here we said goodbye to John and Lynn. What a great friend we have in John! We did some laundry, a few jobs on the boat and a little fishing. We have to learn to keep peanuts life jacket on even at the dock. Tonight she got so excited when Tom caught a catfish she fell in, and it is a pretty high dock! Tom saved Peanut, thank goodness, but lost his fish!
Our plan was to leave Grand Harbor early yesterday morning and arrive early afternoon at Clifton Marina. We were up early and ready to go, the problem was Laughter was not. We had an engine that would not start. After hours of working down in the engine room, a very hot cramped area underneath our salon floor, Tom was able to fix the problem and we were up and running! We pulled out of Grand Harbor about 1pm. It rained off and on all afternoon. At one point during a torrential downpour a gust of wind blew our bow pads into the river, so we spent some extra time driving around in circles rounding them up. The rain made it hard to see but unlike cruising Lake Michigan we had no high waves to battle. We arrived at Clifton marina about 6pm. Clifton is a small and very friendly marina but I am not to fond of the entrance. It is narrow and you can't really see if someone is coming out as you are entering. We were excited to have the same people we grew so fond of two years ago waiting for us to pull up to the dock. It was great to see them again and get caught up on our lives. We used the courtesy car to get a bite to eat at the only place open within miles, a truck stop, and called it a night.
THE DREADED PICKWICK LOCK! This morning we left Clifton early. As we approached Pickwick Lock I found myself pacing the aft deck. After the problems we had two years ago I had no desire to go through this lock ever again. At least we had help this time. The wind in the lock was brisk but not near what is was when we entered the lock going south. There were no white caps this time. John corralled the bollard easily and we were ready for the 58 foot drop to begin. It felt like it took forever to get to the bottom! Those gates could not open fast enough for me! When they did open the wind came in strong as if to say hey, remember me? I am still here. I briefly looked back as we cleared the lock and started breathing again. We arrived at Cuba Landing about 1pm. Here we said goodbye to John and Lynn. What a great friend we have in John! We did some laundry, a few jobs on the boat and a little fishing. We have to learn to keep peanuts life jacket on even at the dock. Tonight she got so excited when Tom caught a catfish she fell in, and it is a pretty high dock! Tom saved Peanut, thank goodness, but lost his fish!
Saturday, July 4, 2009
July 4th, 2009
We arrived at Grand Harbor Marina and Condominiums on Wednesday. I have had difficulty with Internet connections so posting has been delayed. Grand Harbor is quite a facility. In fact so large that many of the boaters have golf carts to get around. The marina did have a shuttle service over the weekend which we took advantage of. Thursday we took the dingy to a popular swim area and enjoyed the warm water. I enjoyed swimming but not the occasional nip from the blue gills. Tom, John and Lynn jumped off the cliff as I watched with envy. We also pulled the kayaks along side the dingy. Tom said they were great fun. Yesterday (Friday) we felt the boat traffic on the waterway was to much for us in the dingy so we stayed within the marina going up and down the fairways looking at all of the different boats. We also swam in the pool and visited with folks we met. Today was a repeat of yesterday. There were so many boats and wave runners out that it reminded me of I65 from Crown Point to Indianapolis on a holiday weekend! The weather has remained in the nineties so the marina has been very busy. In fact we were told by one of the supervisors that they broke a record in profits yesterday. We have enjoyed sitting still for a few days but are ready to move on. We will leave bright and early for Clifton.
We arrived at Grand Harbor Marina and Condominiums on Wednesday. I have had difficulty with Internet connections so posting has been delayed. Grand Harbor is quite a facility. In fact so large that many of the boaters have golf carts to get around. The marina did have a shuttle service over the weekend which we took advantage of. Thursday we took the dingy to a popular swim area and enjoyed the warm water. I enjoyed swimming but not the occasional nip from the blue gills. Tom, John and Lynn jumped off the cliff as I watched with envy. We also pulled the kayaks along side the dingy. Tom said they were great fun. Yesterday (Friday) we felt the boat traffic on the waterway was to much for us in the dingy so we stayed within the marina going up and down the fairways looking at all of the different boats. We also swam in the pool and visited with folks we met. Today was a repeat of yesterday. There were so many boats and wave runners out that it reminded me of I65 from Crown Point to Indianapolis on a holiday weekend! The weather has remained in the nineties so the marina has been very busy. In fact we were told by one of the supervisors that they broke a record in profits yesterday. We have enjoyed sitting still for a few days but are ready to move on. We will leave bright and early for Clifton.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Friday July 3, 2009
Midway Marina with it's relaxing rocking chaired porches, nice lounge, hot tub and friendly atmosphere will be an easy choice for a return visit. On Wednesday Tom called the first lock master about 9:30am. He told us to be there in 10 minutes. We started out and an engine overheat light came on. Because the entrance harbor and surrounding area at Midway was thick with weeds I suspected our props could be covered with them. A quick switch to neutral and some power in reverse threw weeds up behind us. Pleased that is was weeds and not an impeller,we were again on our way to the lock. Greatfully the lockmaster was waiting with open doors . We found ourselves sharing the lock with another small boat. I thought we looked little inside these locks, they looked like a bug up against the wall. In fact they were so small they had to use a pole to reach up and put their line around the bollard! We met up with the little boat again at the next lock. It was the hurry up and wait concept or what our friend John called the Tortoise and Hair effect. They took off after each lock passing us with great speed but their they sat in the shade along the bank waiting for the next lock to clear and open when we arrived. As we waited for the second lock to open we talked with the couple in the little 16 foot aluminum boat with a 30 horse power motor, coolers, and more. The boats name is "Little Bastard". Because of some advise regarding the name of their boat from one of the lock masters they refer to themselves as "Little B" when calling the lockmaster for passage through. The captain of "Little B" just retired from his position as juvenile court judge. He told us that whenever he would pass people who had to deal with him in court they would say, hey there goes that little bastard, thus was born the name of his boat. What is remarkable is that this couple started in Chicago and traveled all the way down near Mobile in this boat! They are now headed for Chattanooga where their ride will pick them up. They have camped along the rivers thirteen of fourteen nights, staying in a hotel one night and have had a ball. About the time you think you have challenged yourself and feel good about what you have accomplished someone like this comes along to remind you what a real challenge/Adventure is!
Midway Marina with it's relaxing rocking chaired porches, nice lounge, hot tub and friendly atmosphere will be an easy choice for a return visit. On Wednesday Tom called the first lock master about 9:30am. He told us to be there in 10 minutes. We started out and an engine overheat light came on. Because the entrance harbor and surrounding area at Midway was thick with weeds I suspected our props could be covered with them. A quick switch to neutral and some power in reverse threw weeds up behind us. Pleased that is was weeds and not an impeller,we were again on our way to the lock. Greatfully the lockmaster was waiting with open doors . We found ourselves sharing the lock with another small boat. I thought we looked little inside these locks, they looked like a bug up against the wall. In fact they were so small they had to use a pole to reach up and put their line around the bollard! We met up with the little boat again at the next lock. It was the hurry up and wait concept or what our friend John called the Tortoise and Hair effect. They took off after each lock passing us with great speed but their they sat in the shade along the bank waiting for the next lock to clear and open when we arrived. As we waited for the second lock to open we talked with the couple in the little 16 foot aluminum boat with a 30 horse power motor, coolers, and more. The boats name is "Little Bastard". Because of some advise regarding the name of their boat from one of the lock masters they refer to themselves as "Little B" when calling the lockmaster for passage through. The captain of "Little B" just retired from his position as juvenile court judge. He told us that whenever he would pass people who had to deal with him in court they would say, hey there goes that little bastard, thus was born the name of his boat. What is remarkable is that this couple started in Chicago and traveled all the way down near Mobile in this boat! They are now headed for Chattanooga where their ride will pick them up. They have camped along the rivers thirteen of fourteen nights, staying in a hotel one night and have had a ball. About the time you think you have challenged yourself and feel good about what you have accomplished someone like this comes along to remind you what a real challenge/Adventure is!
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