Catch Up

Thought I would share a few photo's with you. We had a great day at rattlesnake cove on the 4th, and a boat full of fun people to spend the day with.

Back From The Gulf

I missed some days of posting for we were at The Gulf of Mexico and time was very scarce. We went there with Mark Davis and his eighteen year old daughter to attend the free Jimmy Buffett concert on the beach. Us and 36,000 others had a great time. The only things allowed in the concert was your blanket and field glasses. But we sure did have a good time and we sure did eat some good sea food. We stayed in a condo on Perdido Beach which is a beautiful place with white sand and blue- green water. Did a lot of swimming and keeping busy site seeing. Went to a place called Flora-Bama enough said on that topic. Went down there on Friday and returned Monday. The boat was still in good shape and the dog -Peanut- was doing just fine staying behind with Dale and Joy -two of our new friends who live aboard here at the marina. We have big plans which we will be reporting to you as they occur. Plans such as a trip to Tuscaloosa to see the Univ of Alabama; a bid fish fry at Mark Davis house on The Black Warrior River; another big catfish has been caught on the trout line , 50 pounder this time to go with the previous 32 pounder; Mark said he is making hush puppies with halopeno peppers in them along with some red beans and rice-sounds good does it not; we are also going fishing and we are going to anchor out. Today we are taking some people to the local Mexican restaurant, which is very good by the way, for lunch for some favors they have done for us. In conclusion we have some people coming to visit which will be fun. We are hoping for son Nate from NY City and friend John Cook from Indiana. So as you can see we are staying busy and having a lot of fun ....all the while we are still doing jobs on the boat. In fact Jan is on the boat while I am posting this and she is cleaning and polishing all of the teak wood in the inside of our boat. And let me tell you that is a lot of wood and I very luckily am not allowed to touch it for obvious reasons.......which does not upset me in the least. I am sitting here on The Wall posting and it is pouring the rain. I have an overhang above me and it is actually cooling things a bit. We had plans to go fishing early this a m but changed them when we awoke to threatening skies. Mark is going to clean that cat this evening so Jan will be able to post some pictures of him. We went over on our own yesterday to take pics of him but he got real aggitated when I tried to pull him up out of the water for the pics. We decided to wait instead of risking letting him get away. He has been tied for a few days with a rope thru his lower jaw . Thank you for reading our blog...sorry I missed a few days. Tom

Photo's from the River

We have decided to stay in Demopolis rather than travel back up to Chattanooga. There is plenty of water to explore, fish to catch and wonderfully nice people to hang out with!

I do envy the simple life - Now

Our famiy camped when I was young. One particularly hot weekend dad was putting up our army surplus tent with my older brother, mom was taking care of my younger brother and I was filling up the water jugs from the nearby faucet, (my job). Across from us was an old fashioned and ornate wagon. I remember being told to be mindful of the owners as they were Gypsies. I remember being fascinated with their dress but the children seemed friendly enough. This particular day the tent was giving dad fits and it was HOT! A little boy wandered over from the wagon and looked in the tent. He looked up at dad and said; you po po people, you ain't got no floor in your tent! He was right we didn't. We slept on cots, had no fancy equipment, and ate well or slim dependent on whether dad was working or the mill was on strike again. My point? We have a nice home and several big boy toys, but none of it has made us any happier than Fred and Sue who have been living, fishing and enjoying the river for fifty years, ( they are in their 70's). They live in a modest home on stilts and enjoy life simply and to the fullest. Always a smile coupled with an exuberant greeting, a fish story or two and a positive attitude. Life for many is so much simpler here and for those we have met it seems to be a rich and happy life...toys not needed.

Eighth Day on the water - time to blog!

From Jan;
I arrived Monday, the 28th. of June at about 2:30pm. When arriving at a new vacation destination, it sometimes takes a bit to "settle in" to your new surroundings and relax. Not so with my arrival at Demopolis Yacht Basin. Stepping on to Laughter was like putting on your favorite lounging clothes after a long day at work. Feel that transition mentally and physically take place.......ahhhhh, It's more than a vacation, It's like coming home!

Rattlesnake Bend

Well ever since I told Jan about the owner of the restaurant here at the marina telling me he was having bands in the sand for a big Fourth Party in the sand ,complete with bands , dancing and hoopla. She had her heart set on seeing what was going on up there. Rattlesnake Bend is so named because they kill rattlers up there. In fact one of theguys who went with us ,David , told a story of him and a buddy killing a rattler in the water while swimming there. It was really a nice place ....big beach area, many boats,and alot of people. It was quite a party. We had 15 people on board and I would like to point the fact that this group of young people on board were as nice and as helpful and as polite as one could want. I really had my confidence in our young people restored. These people even cleaned up all the trash on the boat as they left.As I mentioned pitched in and helped when something needed done. To the point ofsuggesting solutions or just going ahead and getting things done. We have really made some nice friends here in Demopolis...some of them live a boards some of them locals ...most of the locals are thru our friend Mark Davis . He has two wonderful girls and a great son and of course they have friends so that is how we meet so many people . And my cousin Kathy Fornier sp from Bham came down and it was good to see her and she seemed to really have a good time. When we got back we all got unloaded and then went to Mark's house on the Black Warrior for supper beforewatching the fireworks which were set off across the river from the marina...maybe 400 yards from the boat..great view. Oh and I have to mention another local Jan's friend THE MAYOR...Thanks for tuning in Tom

Thursday's Action....Fun,Fun, Fun

Yesterday we got up and at em and got our jobs done early morning. We had lunch and then ran a bunch of errands before the big weekend kicks off. While we were running around ...Jan had three or four stores she wanted to check and I had at least three places tostop....but anyway a man helps Jan out tothe car with some gifts she had bought for back home. He is just talking away with her and is the nicest guy. Jan introduces me to him as a former D 3 football player and he is telling about all the placeshe played at while in school. He says D 3 is where footbal is at anyway for the guys are playing for the love of the game. Anyway he gives me his business card and says if we ever have any trouble around Demopolis just call him. Well I think that is a little unusual so I look at his card.....He is the mayor of Demopolis. So the woman who owns the shop is his wife and he was just stopping by the shop to check on things and gets involved in conversation with Jan and his wife...neat. So we are going to look for him on the Fourth at the parade or at the fireworks. After that we went on a boat ride on our boat with Mark and his two daughters Sarah and Nicole. Sarah is a college softball pitcher and Nicole goes to college this Fall to study to be a vet. The boat had problems because the Impeller that I had put in that leaked on the last boat ride now burnt up and was not pumping water. So on a hot day in the river with Jan driving on one engine Mark and I changed the impeller for a new one. Then things were fine. We camebackto the slip cleaned up and sat on the back deck fishing for an hor and I gave up and went to bed . We were supposed togo over to Mark's and run the trout line with him but we were too tired. The older couple that were his neighbors had taken a 30 lb cat off the line that morning.....can you say catfish sandwich....Thanx for reading along Tom