It's Been a Lovely Cruise

 George takes a walk along Wrightsville Beach, NC.

Jimmy Buffet was right.  George agrees. We're sitting at dusk on a spiffy clean Aunt Aggie, having our final gin and tonics and eating stale popcorn.  Here is my last blog posting.

A couple of months ago I thought of the lessons I learned by living on this boat.

1.  Move slowly and you will get fewer bruises. 

I got this terrible bruise on our first week, when I tried to swing onto the boat like 

the workers in Mobile did.  

2.  Everyone's boat has a leak. We were invited to dinner with some of our favorite folks, who have a fancy, bigger boat.  The hostess was serving lots of different dishes because she'd discovered her pasta was getting moldy due to a leak.  (I was surprised and happy.)

3. Size only matters if you are uncomfortable. We have been happy and content on our 35 foot boat even surrounded by bigger and more expensive craft.

4. Having less of everything is a pleasure.  Since we have a small refrigerator, we eat fresh food; I had to spend time looking for the right, small piece of art; we wear our favorite tee shirts.

5. Take care of health issues in the daytime.  In the middle of the night you will think you have appendicitis. At least twice in remote locations, I worried that I had appendicitis.  This was not gas.  Once it was stress; the other time it was lower back pain.  George's sprained ankle also was a worry in the night.

6. Find a repetitive, calming activity that you can do when you are under stress. 

Knitting and playing solitaire worked for me.

7. Accept help when it is offered.  A woman in the medical center emergency room in Little Current, Sally, offered to drive us to the pharmacy.  We hesitated and then let her.  She saved us time and money + we had a pleasant experience and memory.  

8. Watch the wind. Before this trip I never noticed wind direction and speed.  For a beamy boat like ours, wind makes the difference between an easy trip and a miserable one.

9.  Trust your math. This was important in reaching swing bridges that open only on the hour and locks that open at 9:00 am.  Sitting in a river and waiting for a bridge is hard work.

10. Take your drink over and visit with the neighbors at 5:30 pm.

11.  It's easier to stay on course if you have a marker at the horizon. Just looking at the compass and trying to stay on 135 degrees is hard.  If we can look at a cloud or the end of an island, we can easily steer.

12. You’ll have more fun if you plot your own course. We often traveled with other loopers for a few days.  It was a treat to be together at night and a relief to plan together.  But everyone makes his/her own plans, and that way we are only responsible for ourselves.  Several times we had to decide whether to go in iffy weather when others were leaving.  Those choices are lonely, but we want to be responsible for our own joy and trouble.  No blaming other boaters. Being alone for a few days made the reunions sweet.

                                                           "These moments were left with
                                                            May you always remember
                                                            These moments are shared by few
                                                            There's wind in our hair
                                                            And there's water in our shoes
                                                            Honey, it's been a lovely cruise"

Mothers' Day at  Solomons Island, Maryland

Full Circle with Loop Friends

Yesterday we had two interesting end of the loop experiences at Florence Marina in Alabama.

We stayed at Florence Marina, where we had stayed with another group of loopers in October 2014.  At that time we were the newbies.  We had just been on the loop for a couple of weeks, and we did not have close ties to anyone. Many of that group had been to Canada and down the Mississippi River together. We felt shy as we came outside for docktails. I remember John from Last Mango using a gasoline-powered blender on the dock to make margaritas. There's a photo of him in the blog from that time.

Well, yesterday we were the experienced ones on the dock.  The marina was full.  At docktails we still only knew a few people.  This time our lack of connection was because most of the group was just starting their loops.  They are headed to Joe Wheeler Marina for the Fall Rendezvous.  We felt a bit removed from the scene as people met each other and asked perennial questions.  For example, there was anxiety about the Gulf Crossing already coming out.

A lovely connection happened for us yesterday before docktails. Sue and Bud Hansen, from the boat called "When I'm 64", came to our boat for a visit.  We were so glad to see them.  Sue and Bud were on the Florence dock with us a year ago.  We met them at that 2014 rendezvous.  They stopped their loop last fall and left their boat in Demopolis, AL, for a year.  They just retrieved it and are on their way to Chattanooga.  We had dinner with Sue and Bud and Kenny and Kathy from "No Zip Code."  It was really good to catch up on their lives in Iowa.  They told us about a trip they took along the west coast, which sounds like something we might do too.  Seeing Sue and Bud felt like the completion of the circle of friends on this voyage.

Wilson Lock raises boats 94 feet. We entered this morning with 5 other boats. 

We left Florence today with five other boats and went through Wilson and Wheeler Locks. Then we
motored on to Lucy's Branch Marina, 10 miles past Joe Wheeler State Park.  Our boat broker came over to film Aunt Aggie with a drone as we arrived, so he could have a video of us moving in the water. Kenny and Kathy are here too. They brought us a lot of boxes for packing when they went to town. So we packed five more boxes. We have a boat cleaner coming tomorrow morning.

We also are picking up a rental car and loading it.

There is beauty in the most humble place if you just look up at the sky.

One more blog entry tomorrow!

The Road goes on Forever, and the Party never Ends...

Loopers celebrate our wake crossing with dinner at Freddy T's near Grand Harbor.

We thought our loop was over.  We spent a couple of hours yesterday afternoon packing boxes in the galley.  George turned on the VHF radio to give me the up-to-date mileage from our loop.  We heard Kenny's voice, calling Grand Harbor and saying that they were entering the marina. Kenny and Kathy from No Zip Code were here!  We went out and grabbed lines.  The rain that had been threatening started in earnest, so we retreated to our boat after making plans to go to dinner.

Napping seemed like the thing to do during the storm.  We heard a boat entering near us.  That boat tied up in the rain right in front of Aunt Aggie.  George peeked out and saw Something Special docked ahead of us.  Evelyn and Sid on Something Special are the Canadian friends of Sue and Dan from Tranquility.  I sent George out to inquire:  Are Sue and Dan here?  Yes, they are.

So last night we had a looper party at Freddy T's restaurant in Counce, TN.  Twelve loopers were at the table:  No Zip Code and Tranquility, two of our favorite boats; Something Special and Sum Escape, new friends; and Lee Loo, with whom we've traveled on the rivers.  We had a jolly time with toasts and stories.

Autumn is coming to the Tennessee River.

This morning we headed out to Florence, AL.  The day was cloudy and cool.  The sun did not really break out until we were docked.  As we entered the Florence Harbor Marina, we were told that they did not have a slip for us in spite of our call yesterday.  So we are on the fuel dock with no power.  We don't really mind.  I just did not want to be turned away.  There are lots of loopers here.  The marina is full.  So we are having docktails at 5:00 pm.

Tomorrow we are going past Joe Wheeler, where the Rendezvous is happening.  We will dock at Lucy's Branch Marina about 10 miles past the Rendezvous.  Our boat broker is planning to bring prospective buyers to see Aunt Aggie next week.

Today we traveled with our gold looper flag.  

Celebrations and Statistics

We got out the gold burgee today, showing we are gold loopers,

who have completed the loop.

This is a day of satisfaction and transition.  Our friends, the Murffs, left Aunt Aggie today to return to Atlanta.  They were such good company and helped us celebrate our completed loop.  

Good friends make a big occasion even better.

We returned to the boat and hung our gold looper flag on the bow. It looks fresh!

There are lots of loopers here, but we only know a couple of boats. I met some ladies in the laundry room, and we exchanged the basic information about home port and length of time on the loop, but my heart was not in the conversation. We will not become friends.  George and I are headed home, and they are headed to the Fall Rendezvous.  They are starting the loop, and we are finished.  

George fetched some cardboard boxes from the ship's store, and we packed the galley and our art.

We are neatening the cabinets, so Aunt Aggie will look good for prospective buyers.  We have the loaner car this afternoon, so we can buy a few groceries and collect more boxes for packing.  

Here are some numbers that describe our loop:

Miles Traveled: 5820 

Total Days for the Loop: 366

Travel Days:  152

Days away from the Boat:  85

Pump Outs:  25

Boat Cards Collected:  110

Good Friends: 33 boatloads

Thank you for reading this blog.  Writing daily was important for me in several ways.  I was able to process and remember our trip because I wrote each night. I tried to be honest, so that I would remember the real details of our days.  I appreciate the many of you who were regular readers.  I did think about you during the day and carry you with me.  Sharing the adventure made it even better.

Tomorrow I will share twelve lessons I learned from the loop.

Woohoo! We crossed our wake!

We left Clifton, Tennessee, at 7:00 am.

They said it couldn't be done, but we did it!
Actually, I felt a few times that we could not do it, but we did.  We completed the Great Loop today.
We are proud.

It is hard to believe that our journey is finished.  We have traveled over 5000 miles on Aunt Aggie, made so many wonderful friends, seen new places, experienced weather ups and downs, and laughed together daily.

Today we went the final 56 miles to Grand Harbor at the top of the Tombigbee River.  We went through the Pickwick Lock.  Anne Murff went with us.  Phil had the day off and toured the area by car.

U.S. Grant stayed in this house during the Civil War. 

One day his breakfast was interrupted by a messenger, who told him the Battle of Shiloh had begun.

Martha and Anne in the Pickwick Lock.  We went up 55 feet.

As we walked to dinner at Freddy T's tonight, the sky was stunning.

Tomorrow I will write more about the end of our loop.  I have some fun numbers and observations to share. We will stay at Grand Harbor for two nights to do laundry and organize ourselves for the last few days on Aunt Aggie.

Rolling on the River

 Two barges passed each other behind us on the river this morning.

Anne and Murff took the day off the boat today.  They visited Shiloh and ate lunch at the Catfish Hotel.  Then they rejoined us in the afternoon.

We left Cuba Landing at 9:00 am and headed further south about 43 miles.  It was a beautiful day.  We had glassy water and no trouble all day.  We did meet a few barges, but there was no drama all day. Here are a few photos of the land beside the river.

These white cliffs come straight down to the water. 

I wonder how the round earth discs were shaped by erosion.

Around 2:30 pm we pulled into Clifton Marina.  There are several other loopers here.  We hosed off Aunt Aggie immediately because once again we had lots of spider poop.  And we had just cleaned the 

boat two days ago!  We have a new cleaner that really works, so we sprayed the poop and washed it off.  By the time we finished, Anne and Murff were here.  

Anne and I walked to town.  We actually walked for 20 minutes in the wrong direction and then came back to the marina and took her car to town. (Being on the loop has not improved my sense of direction.)  Clifton was not as charming as I had hoped.  It had some city services:  fire, post office, bank, general store, spa, and churches. It had fresh brickwork and sidewalks. Most doorways were decorated for fall. Water Street borders the river and has fine, large homes. However, there was not a single restaurant open today.  One bar/restaurant is open on Friday and Saturday in the evening.  It is hard for small towns to make a go of it.  Our loop has in some ways been a tour of small town America. 

Tomorrow we cross our wake at Grand Harbor at the top of the Tombigbee River. 

Tennessee River Trip

Phil Murff is a happy camper on Aunt Aggie.

Today we traveled from Paris Landing on the Tennessee River to Cuba Landing about 50 miles south.

Anne had a day to herself in the car, and Murff traveled with us on Aunt Aggie.  We had a quiet day with glassy water.  It was beautiful. We passed many fishermen.  We were waked once by a fast boat.  Flashlights and peanuts and water glasses tumbled, but no harm was done.  

We enjoyed having Murff with us.  He is a cheery passenger.  Murff makes sharp observations and is curious about the world.  He appreciated the lake, as we did.

Our main issue was getting in touch with the marina.  They are closed on Monday and Tuesday, so George finally called their emergency number to ask if we could tie up at their dock.  I felt as if our needing a spot for the night was not a true emergency, so I didn't want to do it.  George had a good chat with the owner and got directions for us.  

We passed this abandoned grain elevator on the lake. 

It was on the river bank when the lake was created in 1944, and now it sits in the middle.

Three more floors are beneath the water.

When we pulled into the marina, we saw the open dock.  I lassoed the middle cleat.  Murff roped the stern one.  We were quickly set up. Soon Anne came walking down the dock to join us. She had ice, a rare treat.  This is a quiet, rural spot.  The bathrooms/showers are up the hill.  It feels like Girl Scout camp, which is a pungent and sweet memory for me.  

We had happy hour on the front of the boat to avoid the sun's rays as it set.  As we were enjoying our chips and dip, a huge TVA tow came into the marina.  Fishermen scattered to get out of the way.  The tow pulled even with us but on the other side.  They are here for the night.  A guy came out on the deck to grill supper.  

The TVA tow sits across the way.

A tiny frog appeared this afternoon.  Did he come throughout the hole in the deck?  

Should we toss him over?

We had a great  dinner of pork chops, corn on the cob, and salad.  Now we are settling in for the night. So good to be with friends. Tomorrow Anne and Murff will have a day to themselves: They plan to visit Shiloh, the Civil War battlefield.  Anne also is excited about a catfish restaurant for lunch. We'll have separate adventures and then see each other at the end of the day.