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!
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