Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Friday, November 13, 2015
DOG RIVER TO ORANGE BEACH
Nov 11- We left Dog River at 10:00 am heading down Mobile Bay for our next port Orange Beach at a marina called The Wharf. A pretty snazzy place but still at a $1.00 a foot. We arrived at 3;00 pm and had lunch. We know Gemini and Sadie Too are here somewhere but have not seen them as yet. I have finally run out of steam after the one 90 mile day and 79 mile day the next day. We are here for a couple of days to rest and enjoy the area. We left The Mist back at Dog River as they had some work being done on their boat. They hope to catch up to us in a day or two. American Pie had gotten his new props on and was sitting at the gas dock when we left Dog River. They may be along tomorrow. As this is Veterans Day I would like to extend our many thanks to all that have served and are serving in the Armed Forces to keep us safe and free.
Nov 12- We got up at 7:00 am as we are now used to doing that now and started wiping off the heavy dew on Manana. The American gentleman from the boat across the dock from us came over and offered to drive us to Walmart in his Mercedes if we needed anything there. Of course we said yes as we had just a few items to get. He was a gracious host and even drove 10 minutes out of his way to show us the beaches here and explained all about the area. He just keeps his boat down here, he is really from up on the Mississippi River some four hours away. He told us he is a retired kidney doctor but you would never have guessed that as he is a very down to earth kind of man. We met up with Jim and Moe from Gemini and they have invited us to lunch at a place called Pirates Cove. So we jumped into our dingy with them and met two other couples in dingys and away we all went. We hadn't seen these other couples since Joe Wheeler State Park so it was great to meet up again. We took our dogs with us as this place was dog friendly! It was about five miles down to this place and we were a little surprised when we saw all the dogs running around the place. It was a very low key kind of a place with mediocore food but it was an adventure! It began drizzling a little on our way back and we were all chilled when we got back. American Pie and Tuscobia have now arrived and are just down the dock from us.
Nov 13- We had told Gemini that we were leaving today but we have heard from The Mist that they are on there way here so we have decided to stay and wait for them-besides its Friday the 13th! It is a cool 57 degrees outside right now and the wind is blowing pretty good. There is a restaurant back down the river called LuLu's which is owned by Jimmy Buffit's sister. We are planning to go there for lunch and check it out. While we were at LuLu's The Mist went past on its way to The Wharf marina.When we got back we took Koby for a walk and went to see Bill and Bobbie. They suggested we should go out for dinner tonight and we did.
 |
| Leaving Dog River |
 |
| Channel markers have changed |
 |
| Passing two boats heading to Dog River |
 |
| Fishing boat out on Mobile Bay |
 |
| Passing a tow |
 |
| I think this is a lighthouse of some kind |
 |
| Three other boats heading to Orange Beach |
 |
| Heading towards ICW |
 |
| Condos on the ICW |
 |
| A few homes along the ICW |
 |
| LuLu's Restaurant (Jimmy Buffit's sisters place) |
 |
| Another restaurant |
 |
| A working marina |
 |
| The road runs alongside the ICW |
 |
| We have arrived |
 |
| The Wharf Marina |
Nov 12- We got up at 7:00 am as we are now used to doing that now and started wiping off the heavy dew on Manana. The American gentleman from the boat across the dock from us came over and offered to drive us to Walmart in his Mercedes if we needed anything there. Of course we said yes as we had just a few items to get. He was a gracious host and even drove 10 minutes out of his way to show us the beaches here and explained all about the area. He just keeps his boat down here, he is really from up on the Mississippi River some four hours away. He told us he is a retired kidney doctor but you would never have guessed that as he is a very down to earth kind of man. We met up with Jim and Moe from Gemini and they have invited us to lunch at a place called Pirates Cove. So we jumped into our dingy with them and met two other couples in dingys and away we all went. We hadn't seen these other couples since Joe Wheeler State Park so it was great to meet up again. We took our dogs with us as this place was dog friendly! It was about five miles down to this place and we were a little surprised when we saw all the dogs running around the place. It was a very low key kind of a place with mediocore food but it was an adventure! It began drizzling a little on our way back and we were all chilled when we got back. American Pie and Tuscobia have now arrived and are just down the dock from us.
 |
| Two other couples we went to Pirates Cove with |
 |
| Waiting for everyone to get ready |
 |
| We have arrived at Pirates Cove |
 |
| The gang waiting for lunch |
Nov 13- We had told Gemini that we were leaving today but we have heard from The Mist that they are on there way here so we have decided to stay and wait for them-besides its Friday the 13th! It is a cool 57 degrees outside right now and the wind is blowing pretty good. There is a restaurant back down the river called LuLu's which is owned by Jimmy Buffit's sister. We are planning to go there for lunch and check it out. While we were at LuLu's The Mist went past on its way to The Wharf marina.When we got back we took Koby for a walk and went to see Bill and Bobbie. They suggested we should go out for dinner tonight and we did.
Thursday, November 12, 2015
COLUMBUS TO DOG RIVER
Nov 5- We left a little late from Columbus Marina at 8:00 am as the fog was very heavy but fortunately Stennis Lock was open and we were through in about 15 minutes. The next lock called Bevill Lock was open as well and we had now caught up with Sea to Sea and Namiste here. We arrived at Sumpter Rec Area at 4 pm and found another Looper already anchored there. We are invited aboard Sonata for dinner again tonight. We played a game of Seqence after dinner and us girls got beat again!
Nov6- We left Sumpter at 7:30 am heading for Demopolis today. We traveled in fog again to and through the Heflin Lock. As we moved along the fog dispersed and the sun began to shine. We came upon a beautiful sight as we rounded a corner on the river called the white cliffs of Epes. We arrived at Kingfisher Marina at 4:00 pm and it had gotten quite warm by then but they were calling for thunder storms. Bonnie and I borrowed the courtesy car and headed for-wait for it-Walmart! We got our groceries and by the time we got back to the marina it was dark and pouring down. It teamed rain all night so our docktails did not happen.
Nov 7- We left Demopolis at 6:00 am as we have a 90 mile run today. It is a dull and dreary day as we are locking through Demopolis Lock with seven other boats. We are possibly all heading for the same place called Bobby's Fish Camp.This could be interesting as I understand it is not all that big a dock. We have just spotted our first pelican and seen our first spanish moss in the trees. We arrived at Bobby's at 4:30 pm and there are already three boats on the dock. Sonata will raft up to the first boat Red Eagle will raft to the second boat and luckily there is enough room for us on the end of the dock if Gemini moves up a few feet. The rain is teaming now and the wind is howling just as we are heading in to dock. Always the way right! The rest have all gone up to have dinner at Bobby's restaurant but we are staying on board for dinner but we will go up for dessert with them. It has been a long day so its an early night for everyone.
Nov 8-We left Bobby's Fish Camp at 7:00 am as the lock is waiting for us all. We have a 79 mile run today to and anchorage called Tensaw. There are six boats locking through the Coffeeville Lock, our last lock of a series of twelve locks. The rain is coming down in torrents and the wind is funneling down the river in great gusts. A lovely day in paradise! We arrived at the Tensaw River at 3:00 pm got anchored and rafted to Sonata. We then got Koby into the dingy and headed back down the river for about a half mile to a launch ramp we had seen coming through. It was a cold wet ride but the dog felt much better for it. We had dinner aboard Sonata again, played dominos and headed for bed.
Nov 9- We left Tensaw River at 8:30 am heading for Dog River Marina at Mobile. Gemini and Blue Haven are ahead of us about 10 miles. We have a bridge we have to call for a lift but no locks today horray! Maybe I can clean my fenders now and maybe they will stay clean. We are traveling through Mobile harbour among many large tankers from such places as Hong Kong and Africa and there are a couple strange looking Naval ships.We arrived at 4:00 pm and there are as many as sixteen Loopers at the docks. The restaurant at the marina across from us came over on a pontoon boat to get us for dinner and we had twelve of us at the table. We said our goodbyes to some of them as they are leaving in the morning to head on.
Nov 10- It is a sad day for us again as we had to say goodbye to Sonata this morning as they are on their way to New Orleans to visit family for awhile. We are hoping to meet up with them again in Florida. This morning Dave installed our new inverter that we had delivered here at the marina. Two fellow Loopers have had a little misfortune on their way here. American Pie is having two props replaced and a Canadian couple on Something Special are looking for a new shaft. A couple we have met on our travels on the boat called The Mist has a rental car and asked us to join them on a trip to Fairhope for the afternoon. We had lunch at a place that was recommended to us called Ed's and the food was great. We passed a ship called the S.S. Alabama that is at anchor and out of commission so we decided that it would be great to do a tour of this ship and we did for several hours. When we got back to our boat we had a call from another Looper who is having an engine problem so Dave is planning to go over there tomorrow morning to take a look. We may be heading out tomorrow depending how things go when he checks out this motor.
 |
| A foggy morning |
 |
| Heading down the river |
 |
| Weeds taking over |
 |
| First tow of the day |
 |
| A couple of homes |
 |
| Trees growing out of the river |
 |
| Our second tow today |
 |
| A river boat and library outside of a lock |
 |
| Sea to Sea and Maniste waiting for lock |
 |
| Pretty scenery |
 |
 |
| Sumpter Rec Area |
 |
| Dredging company |
Nov6- We left Sumpter at 7:30 am heading for Demopolis today. We traveled in fog again to and through the Heflin Lock. As we moved along the fog dispersed and the sun began to shine. We came upon a beautiful sight as we rounded a corner on the river called the white cliffs of Epes. We arrived at Kingfisher Marina at 4:00 pm and it had gotten quite warm by then but they were calling for thunder storms. Bonnie and I borrowed the courtesy car and headed for-wait for it-Walmart! We got our groceries and by the time we got back to the marina it was dark and pouring down. It teamed rain all night so our docktails did not happen.
 |
| White cliffs of Epes |
 |
| Scenery of the TenTom heading to Demopolis |
 |
| This is Manana's sister ship but not is great shape |
Nov 7- We left Demopolis at 6:00 am as we have a 90 mile run today. It is a dull and dreary day as we are locking through Demopolis Lock with seven other boats. We are possibly all heading for the same place called Bobby's Fish Camp.This could be interesting as I understand it is not all that big a dock. We have just spotted our first pelican and seen our first spanish moss in the trees. We arrived at Bobby's at 4:30 pm and there are already three boats on the dock. Sonata will raft up to the first boat Red Eagle will raft to the second boat and luckily there is enough room for us on the end of the dock if Gemini moves up a few feet. The rain is teaming now and the wind is howling just as we are heading in to dock. Always the way right! The rest have all gone up to have dinner at Bobby's restaurant but we are staying on board for dinner but we will go up for dessert with them. It has been a long day so its an early night for everyone.
 |
| Demopolis Dam |
 |
 |
| Leaving Demopolis Lock |
 |
| Strange looking shoreline |
 |
| This shoreline looks almost black |
 |
| Our first sighting of spanish moss |
 |
| Shoreline starting to look marshy |
 |
| Our river route looks like an intestine |
 |
| A few homes along the way |
 |
| Arriving at Bobby's Fish Camp |
 |
| Not a great thing to see |
 |
| The other two boats have rafted were going on the end |
 |
| Restaurant at Bobby's |
 |
| A look out at the dock |
Nov 8-We left Bobby's Fish Camp at 7:00 am as the lock is waiting for us all. We have a 79 mile run today to and anchorage called Tensaw. There are six boats locking through the Coffeeville Lock, our last lock of a series of twelve locks. The rain is coming down in torrents and the wind is funneling down the river in great gusts. A lovely day in paradise! We arrived at the Tensaw River at 3:00 pm got anchored and rafted to Sonata. We then got Koby into the dingy and headed back down the river for about a half mile to a launch ramp we had seen coming through. It was a cold wet ride but the dog felt much better for it. We had dinner aboard Sonata again, played dominos and headed for bed.
 |
| Heading into the Tensaw River for the night |
Nov 9- We left Tensaw River at 8:30 am heading for Dog River Marina at Mobile. Gemini and Blue Haven are ahead of us about 10 miles. We have a bridge we have to call for a lift but no locks today horray! Maybe I can clean my fenders now and maybe they will stay clean. We are traveling through Mobile harbour among many large tankers from such places as Hong Kong and Africa and there are a couple strange looking Naval ships.We arrived at 4:00 pm and there are as many as sixteen Loopers at the docks. The restaurant at the marina across from us came over on a pontoon boat to get us for dinner and we had twelve of us at the table. We said our goodbyes to some of them as they are leaving in the morning to head on.
 |
| Cliffs along the river |
 |
| Several smoky plants along here |
 |
| Staging area for tows |
 |
| Back to nice scenery |
 |
| Dolly Parton brige - you guess why |
 |
| Had to call for a lift from this railway bridge |
 |
| Coming into Mobile Harbour |
 |
| A couple of naval ships |
 |
| Heading out into Mobile Bay |
 |
| Entrance to Dog River |
 |
| Dog River Marina |
Nov 10- It is a sad day for us again as we had to say goodbye to Sonata this morning as they are on their way to New Orleans to visit family for awhile. We are hoping to meet up with them again in Florida. This morning Dave installed our new inverter that we had delivered here at the marina. Two fellow Loopers have had a little misfortune on their way here. American Pie is having two props replaced and a Canadian couple on Something Special are looking for a new shaft. A couple we have met on our travels on the boat called The Mist has a rental car and asked us to join them on a trip to Fairhope for the afternoon. We had lunch at a place that was recommended to us called Ed's and the food was great. We passed a ship called the S.S. Alabama that is at anchor and out of commission so we decided that it would be great to do a tour of this ship and we did for several hours. When we got back to our boat we had a call from another Looper who is having an engine problem so Dave is planning to go over there tomorrow morning to take a look. We may be heading out tomorrow depending how things go when he checks out this motor.
 |
| Aboard S.S. Alabama |
 |
| This is Bill and Bobbie from The Mist |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)