Locking Heaven

(Sunday, Oct. 31 - Dist: 38.5 mi: Avg Speed: 6.6 mph; TTT: 7:35 hrs; Locks: 4)

If you like locks and locking through a number of dams then this next section is the place to be.  Three boats left at dawn and locked through Whitton but were held up on the low side by fog.  Our crew is less energetic and take some time to get things rolling in the morning so we did not pull anchor until after 8 AM.  We were immediatley locked through and 6 boats pushed on.  As it turned out we caught the early birds at the next lock which made 9.  There are 10 floating bollards in each of the Tenn-Tom locks so no problem until....2 speed demons caught us in the 3 rd lock.  The 2 sailboats rafted together and all was well.  On our fourth lock for the day the speed demons left the group and surprisingly got through the next lock.  I say surprisingly because the locks usually wait for the slowest  boat so all can lock through together and minimize the number of times that the lock needs to turn around.

Once through the Divide Cut we soon ran into some low lands.  This is what I would expect in the bayous of Lousiana but here they were.  Neat.  It seems that each river or water system has a unique shoreline.  That and the birds and wildlife make travelling at trawler speeds almost enjoyable.

Linda has been driving the boat more and more.  I have been getting into the habit of having an afternoon nap each day that we are travelling.  With the early mornings and long, long hours behind the wheel I start nodding off a little after lunch when the sun warms me up and there is little to do.

Today, Linda even passed a dredge in very tight quarters.  I am waiting for the day that she takes us into a lock or even docks us for the day.

For the night four of us anchored just above the Wilkins Lock and Dam near the town of Smithville, MS.

Here are some random photos from the day.

Good night all.

Starting the Tenn-Tom Waterway

(Sat. Oct. 30 - Dist: 36.9; Avg Speed: 6.6 mph; TTT: 5:50 hrs)

There was a 1 1/2 hour fog delay before we could get started down Yellow Creek.  This is the start of a 2 billion dollar project to connect the Tennessee River system with the Tombigbee River system.  I will give you some facts but don't hold me to them as Linda only read these to me while we were under way.  The Army Corp of Engineers undertook this project in the 70's and completed it in 1984, I believe.  It was and still remains the largest single civil project ever undertaken by the Corp.  It basically allows boats / barges to shave off 800 miles if travelling from the mid west or Great Lakes to Florida or beyond.  One no longer is only limited o the Mississippi River.    

For pleasure boaters like us it is a god send and is probably the reason that the Loop is becoming more popular.  The Rivers are much more scenic and pleasant with many desirable lakes and sites to visit.  Marinas are more plentiful for most of the trip and cater to the boaters which travel back and forth to Florida or warmer weather each fall. 

To connect these two watersheds which drain differently (that is the Tennessee River to the Mississippi and the Tombigbee, then Black Warrior Rivers to the Gulf) a series of 13 locks was necessary and a number of canals. 

The Divide Cut is the biggest of these canals and basically cuts through the highest part separating the two watersheds.  It is 23 miles long and more earth was removed for this than was moved to build the whole of the Panama Canal.

  It does get narrow at parts and some sections are real marshy, almost everglade like.  We heard last night that there are even alligators up in this area.  Haven't seen any but will now be more careful when we dinghy around in the middle of nowhere.

We decided to anchor in the Five Fingers area just above the Whitton Lock and Dam.  Whitton is supposedly one of the top ten highest locks.  At 84 feet it is 9 feet less than the Wilson Lock on the Tennessee.  It is also the first of 13 drops that will take us 342 feet down to the Gulf.  The Five Fingers area is a fairly large bay that has, guess what, 5 coves.  It was a busy place.  I keep saying that but it is like rush hour in a big city; everyone is in a hurry to get to Florida or the south somewhere.  We shared our cove with 3 other boats. 

Rescue at Sea

Linda and I decided to host the happy hour this evening but it was still early enough that we launched the dinghy and explored some of the other coves.  It seems everyone had the same idea since it was so beautiful and the day was sunny and warm, probably mid or high 70's.  After chatting with a number of others, the last couple that we were speaking with could not re-start their engine and they were drifting into an area of stumps and dead trees.  We pulled them out into the open.  When they could not start their engine even after his repair attempt, we towed them back to their boat.  Of course, their boat was in the furthest cove at the far end.  This couple was from Minnesota or Iowa, I forget which.  Our friends were so disappointed because we ended up delaying happy hour.  None the less, we had a pleasant evening and early night in this beautiful setting.

Aground

(Friday, Oct. 29 - Dist: 63.7 mi; Avg Speed: 9.5 mph; TTT: 7:30 hrs)

Even the best Captain’s run aground. It was not me this time but this cruise boat with a crew of 17. Not sure how many passengers were on board at the time but they were evacuated and on buses by the time we passed. They were looking for one of the tows to pull them off.

After a week at Joe Wheeler we had to start south again as it was getting chilly in the mornings. The Rendezvous was good, full of information. The cocktails hours were good, very good as well. Thanks to The Old Grouch we went golfing again at the RTJ course at Muscle Shoals. We played the Mighty Joe this time. It is a beautiful, links style course with water on 14 of the 18 holes. It was further complicated by 62 sand bunkers. Our scores were a few shots worse than the previous game but it was a joy to play.

The trip back down the Tennessee River actually went pretty smooth even though it was a long day. Out timing for the 2 locks was impeccable. Two of us were in the second wave of morning departures and the Wheeler Lock was waiting for us with the gates open and the green light. From there we headed for the Wilson Lock and as the dam came into sight we called the Lockmaster and he informed us that if we could get there in the next 20 minutes he would lock us down before picking up the up bound tow that was approaching. We made it and the tow was waiting on the wall as we exited the lock. This lock, one of the highest if you have been reading closely, dropped us the 93 feet in about 15 minutes. It was the fastest, smoothest drop that we have had yet. We passed Florence in a record 2 hrs 55 minutes. On the trip up it took us 4 hrs 20 minutes. The only down side to this leg was that there was a bass tournament going on out of Florence Harbor. Since we were alone, the number of bass boats prevented us from taking off on plane so it was a long day.

We spent the night at Aqua Yacht Harbor on the Yellow Creek. We had planned on anchoring in one of these beautiful coves but we caught up to our friends on Serendipity and Windsong and since they had already arranged for a courtesy vehicle so that we could go to the Catfish Hotel we gladly joined them. First though we had to stop at a local catfish farm for some cured, smoked catfish. This was a small family run business and was quite busy considering it was already after 7 PM. As for the catfish??? We had a taste at last one of our subsequent happy hours and it wasn’t bad on crackers with a lot of cheese and a wedge of apple. The verdict is still out for straight up eating.

The Catfish Hotel on the other hand was superb. It was literally miles off the highway in the backwoods somewhere in Tennessee. It was a wooden building quite large and was packed. No wonder; the food was superb. Linda had the fried catfish filets and I ordered the ribs. Both were arguably the best that we have ever had. A great place.

Well I am writing this on Monday morning waiting for some tows to clear this lock and it is getting time for us to pull up the anchor. As we say adieu, here is a photo of one of the houses in the area across from the marina.

So Much to See; So Little Time

The Looper Rendezvous is exhausting. There are three days of lectures where expert Loopers discuss their favorite places and stops along segments of the Loop. We covered from Joe Wheeler State Park south to the Florida Keys, over to the Abacos and then up the east coast to Norfolk where the spring Rendezvous will be held in May of next year. We were told of so many marinas, towns, anchorages, restaurants and “must visit” sites that there will not be enough time to see half of them in this next year.

On top of that we were given expert advice on everything from crossing the Gulf; to making reservations at favorite places; to reading the weather for an ocean crossing to the Bahamas; to moving form buoy to buoy in sections of the ICW; etc. So much valuable information; I just hope that we can remember when the time comes.  We have notes but will they be handy in a month or so??

We are now really, I MEAN REALLY, looking forward to getting to Florida.  There are still some neat places to see in Alabama, but we are anxious to get to the sandy beaches and take it easy.  We have a number of suggestions for extended stays and I think that we will take advantage of some of those.

The plan now is to leave here on Friday morning and to backtrack to the start of the Tombigbee waterway system near Pickwick Dam.  I figure that it will take us about 2 1/2 weeks to do the 400 plus miles to Mobile Bay near the Gulf.  Once we reach here, we plan on staying at a couple of marinas for a couple of days each and then heading into the GICW.  Reports are that the beaches are just fine and that there is very little evidence of the oil disaster in this area.  It will probably take us a couple of weeks to cross the Florida panhandle because there are some neat stops and towns.  From Carrabelle we will be dependent on the weather.  The Gulf crossing is 170 miles, basically crossing the widest part of Lake Erie or Lake Ontario and then back again.  We are not going to undertake the journey in any waves that are greater than 2 feet.  In the past two years, the best years in a long time, there are about 6 - 10 days in the months of December and January that meet this criteria.  Oh well, we will worry about that in December.

As I said it has been exhausting here.  The day before the conference, one of the Loopers prepared 30 pounds of shrimp for us boaters and everybody else brought pot luck.  What a feast.  The good thing though, once the conference started there were fewer and shorter 'Happy Hours'...because we had to go to the 6 PM cocktail hour at the lodge.  In truth the party was just bigger and cheaper.

We did get back to Muscle Shores today and played the "Fighting Joe" course at the Robert Trent Jones site.  Just excellent.  The holes are so pretty and interesting and the conditions are superb.

The tornadoes missed us by a hundred miles or so; so that was goodness.  We were prepared with a disaster plan here at the lodge and we had the boats tied down pretty good so there really was not anything else that we could do.  We were fortunate though as tornadoes touched down just east of us near Huntsville AL.

Well I must get back and get ready for our departure tomorrow.  We may be anchoring out periodically so updates may be sporadic for awhile.

I do have a concern though.  I may not be welcome back to my home marina, Westport.  Some of my friends have upgraded or are planning to upgrade their boats.  My dirty tired old boat may be out of place and unwanted when we return.  It is just too bad that there are not newer and bigger "Singer" type boats out there.  Our friends could use one.

Have a great weekend.

Joe Wheeler and the AGLCA Fall Rendezvous

(Friday, Oct. 22 - Dist: 20.7 mi. + 2 locks; Avg Speed: 7.6 mph; TTT: 4:30 hrs)

We have arrived and so have dozens of other Loopers.  The Marina and Lodge are fully booked.  It was quite a scene coming into First Creek where the marina is located.  There were 7 boats in the Wheeler lock just 2 miles away and there were a couple of boats coming down river, from Decateur, Chattanogga (sp?) way. 

Wilson Lock doesn't look all that special from these views but at 93 feet it is one of the highest locks in the world.  It is also one of the older locks that we meet until we get to the Erie Canal in the state of New York. 

 We struggled quite a bit with the turbulence in this lock.  Linda and I like to just keep the fenders bouncing off the lock wall but in this case it took all my effort and considerable strength to push the boat away from the wall in the front before the two fenders collapsed.  I was not impressed.  Anyway we encountered history first hand.  This lock was built during WWI and is now a National historic land mark. 

 

This lock was interesting as well because the gate on the upper end did not swing open but rather dropped down so we could go over it.

Well we have achieved our first hard scheduled dead line and now we can enjoy the rendezvous and the company of all of the friends that we have met thus far.  It was like a homecoming when we arrived.  The afternoon and evening was taken up getting current with all of the boaters that we had met earlier.  It was neat fun. 

We will be here for a week.  Today, Saturday, will be used to clean up the boat and to get things squared away as well as continue to meet with friends as they arrive.  We have a tee time tomorrow with 2 other boaters at the Robert Trent Jones course in Muscle Shoals. Later on Sunday is registration and a cocktail get together before dinner.  The seminars will take up Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday...day and night.

Enjoy your weekends; I know that we will.

Florence, AL

(Wednesday, Oct.20 - Dist: 48.4 mi; Avg Speed: 10.3 mph; TTT: 4:30 hrs)


Not long after fueling up at Pickwick Landing we passed the cutoff to the Tombigbee Waterway which is the way south.  Pickwick Lake was another beautiful lake that was as wide as Kentucky Lake but not nearly as long.  We were able to get up on plane for a short distance but then as it narrowed we started running into more traffic, mostly fisherman, and some of the shore was built up so we went back to trawler speed and had a pleasant lunch while underway.  We also soon left the state of TN and had the state of Mississippi on the west (LDB or left descending bank) and Alabama on the east or RDB.  I am not sure at exactly what point we entered AL fully but we now have AL on both sides of the river.  My navigator and colour commentator neglected to provide me with that info. 

Joe Wheeler Park was still about 60 or 70 miles further up the Tennessee River so we headed for Florence, AL.  Florence is a mid size town with Muscle Shoals just across the river.  We got to see both as we walked the downtown area of Florence (not much to see or do although we did find a cantina with some nice cold Dos Equis dark beer on tap) and got a lift from our slip neighbour to the Walmart Supercenter in Muscle Shoals.  That is the great thing about boaters; they are super friendly and help others out.  Our good Samaritan is from Colorado and keeps his Trawler Catamaran in Florence.  He has done a lot of boating to Florida and even the Bahamas from this location but has committed to babysitting his grand kids for a few years so only gets to the boat a couple of times a year.  He says he comes to turn on the air conditioning in the spring and the heater in the fall.  I am not sure if I have mentioned yet that the marinas in this part of the country are open year around and the boats stay in the water all the time.  It seems though, that except for the fisherman, there is very little boating going on.  The marina operators complain that the winter is dead.  In fact, we bought the last bag of ice from Pickwick Landing; the next shipment will not come until next spring.

I see that the weather is changing a bit in Canada especially in Orillia.  Too bad, Len and Carol but here I am still concerned about sunburn.  I washed the boat in my swimsuit and was sweating the whole time.  It is still getting to the high 70's and the odd day in the 80's.  It is kinda nice to be able to run from the cooler weather. 

I am completing this update on Friday morning; we are waiting for a couple of tows to clear from the Wilson lock which is just a few miles up river.  I will have more to say about this lock when / if I get the info.  I think that it is a unique one but I do not have the details at my fingertips.  After the Wilson Lock we only have to travel another 15 miles and we hit the Joe Wheeler Dam.  The State Park is just on the other side so with any luck we should not be too late today.

It seems that neither Linda or I are really into picture taking; we keep forgetting or just do not see the photo ops around us.  We will try to get better.

I can't believe some of the abuse I take and since I have been know to toss out the odd crack about someone or something, I thought that I would share a couple recent comments:

Denny wrote:  PS…Did you guys do a “weigh-in” before leaving home!?...seems to me by what you are telling us about your life style that there is a serious risk you’re gonna need a bigger boat!

Carol wrote:  Stompin Tommy Gee where's the cowboy boots, jeans and hair??????   I don't remember you ever singing either!!!!

Just remember folks, with a couple of quick strokes you can be removed from my list.

Have a great day.

Two Steps Closer to Joe Wheeler

(Monday, Oct. 18 - Dist: 50.9 mi; Avg Speed: 6.8 mph; TTT: 7:50 hrs)

We continued up the Tennessee River heading south.  The Tennessee like the Cumberland drains into the Ohio River which as you have seen runs into the muddy Mississippi.  The river was still wide and quite shallow in places with lots of shoals and small islands.

It is hard to tell from this photo but we are passing Camden, the supposed mussel and pearl capital of the world??  We can only go by the guide books because we sure could not tell.

The actual mussel fisherman were in small boats and checked their traps? alone.  The photo shows one of them. They wear hip waders and seem to pull up small boxes which I presume are the traps.  I wish that we had a camera with a better zoom lens to catch some of these things as well as some of the birds and sights along the shore.

Things are pretty relaxed when one travels at trawler speeds and we are beginning to like it.....for the first 4 or 5 hours; then it becomes tedious even when I through in an afternoon nap.

 

We for the most part have it pretty easy but so do a lot of others in Tennessee.  I am amazed at the number of fishing boats that are on the water all throughout the day.

This was taken near the mouth of the Duck River and there were at least as many other boats nearby.

We spent the night at an anchorage behind Double Island with 4 other boats.  The waters are getting congested with Looper boats.

(Tuesday Oct. 19 - Dist: 58.2 mi; Avg Speed: 7.0 mph; TTT: 9:20 hrs)

We did beat out two of the other boats on this special day and again headed up river on our own.  Although we planned to make time it was impossible to go up on plane because there were so many fishing boats or we were in a town that had boats docked on the shore.

We could do some house hunting; how do you like this development??  Riverfront property which only floods a couple of weeks a year.

The water get up a little higher here;  extra tall storage area underneath your living quarters.  A lot of the builders do not even bother enclosing the lower level; makes for a large carport for 4 vehicles.

In our quest for history we thought we had found the house that General Grant used as his headquarters for the war.  Quite well kept up including the landscaping.

Oops, not sure who owns the nice property next door to the real place.

Well we got to the Pickwick Lock and Dam at a pretty decent time but just behind a tow that was taking 15 barges up river.  So we waited for 2.5 hours.  Fortunately we could tight up to the lock wall to wait it out.  This shows the lock chamber being emptied in order to allow us to enter at the lower end.

There are actually 5 boats lined up here ready to go in.

It was late when we got through, just are 5 PM and of course the place where we were going to fuel up closed at 5.  We did catch him on the phone and he gave us permission to use the condemned docks near the fuel dock.  Fortunately, there was another boat there already and he helped us get into a 32 foot dock;  the dinghy was overhanging the dock by a foot or so and our bow was stuck about 15 feet into the channel.  It is very protected here so it was not a problem.

Here is another photo of a mussel fisherman as I sign off for the night.

.

 



Pebble Isle Marina

(Sunday Oct. 17 – Dist: 31.4 mi; Avg Speed: 8.5 mph; TTT: 3:40 hrs)

Just another pleasant day; we have been blessed with great weather since we got off Lake Michigan….we deserve it. Linda and I are still in awe with the scenery and the Tennessee River in general. No wonder so many boaters retire to this area or leave their boat in this area. Marinas are open year around and boats stay in the water. I hear that not much boating actually happens, except of course the fisherman, but I suspect that a few healthy Canadians would change that.

There are so many coves and bays to check out, anchor or fish in; just beautiful.

In this section of the river there were a couple of interesting sights. Here is an old railway bridge where the centre spans were removed.

Then we came across an abandoned dock?? I have not found out what the dock supported or why it is just in the middle of the river but there it is none the less.

It was an easy day and we arrived at Pebble Isle Marina to the sight of numerous Looper boats, some of which we have not seen in awhile. It is a nice place and the operators are the most friendliest people ever. It is too bad that we are now on a rather tight schedule. We have reserved a slip at Joe Wheeler State Park for the duration of the AGLCA (America’s Great Loop Cruising Association) Fall Rendezvous. We now need to travel from here, Mile 96 to Joe Wheeler Park at Mile 277 in 5 days. This segment also includes 3 Locks and Dams. Oh well, it is easily doable if we do not run into any problems.

There are a ton of Loopers here and all available dockage space has been used up including one of the fuel docks. The owners and staff here are great; so friendly and helpful despite the huge influx. We ate at their own Heron Grill and besides being good and tasty, it was so plentiful that we have another meal in leftovers. We are off shortly, as soon as Linda is up and ready, to an anchorage some 30 or 40 miles away.

That’s all folks.

The Tennessee River

(Friday, Oct.15 - Dist: 43.9 mi; Avg Speed: 12.1 mph; TTT: 3:50 hrs)

A short distance from Green Turtle Bay on Lake Barkley is a short canal, maybe 1/2 mile long, which takes you to Kentucky Lake.  These are two beautiful lakes with nice shore lines, numerous bays which are great for anchoring out and many small marinas.  There are cottages, some are mansions, but they are not so plentiful that they ruin the scenery or the great ourdoor feeling that one gets on these lakes.  Fishing of course is very popular; I have not yet met any guy that does not have a bass boat or that does not fish every chance he gets.

Kentcuky Lake was large enough that with just a 10 mph wind against the current of the river, there were white caps on the water and waves were about 1 to 1 1/2 feet.  Nothing like the Great Lakes but the first that we have seen since Chicago.  The leaves are starting to change into their fall colors.  The colors do not seem as brilliant as we see in Canada.  I am not sure if it is the gradual change in tempatures or the types of trees that are done here.  Regardless, we can't complain about the weather.  We have had weeks of sunny warm days in the high 70's and mid 80's and cool nights falling into the 50's and the odd time into the 40's.  For my Canadian friends this is all in Fahreneit degrees.  I have adapted easily to the old ways of measuring distance and temperature. 

Paris Landing State Park

With the lake being as large as it was we went up on plane and arrived at the marina by 12:30.  We had a nice lunch on board, a couple of cocktails, BBQ for supper and had a relaxing afternoon and evening.  There is a golf course in the park, we have a tee time of 1:08, and the lodge has a buffet almost every night.  Tonight we are going to partake of the Prime Rib evening at the lodge.  It will be interesting to see if we can still swing a club.

Well as you can see, we did golf and we are glad we did.  The course was pictureques, hilly, narrow and generally provided an all around a pleasant afternoon.  The temp was good and the leaves were just starting to change.  Our golf was less than spectacular but it really didn't matter.

I noticed that there were many houseboats both large and small at Green Turtle Bay and again here at Paris Landing.

My neighbors here have a 73 foot older houseboat.  They are live aboards and really use this as their home.  They do not take it out nor go on any trips with it.  They have a smaller houseboat which they use for day trips and taking the grand kids to the beach.  They were telling me that it was so hot this past smaller that they had to take an extended visit with one of their children in Seatle.  I could see doing some slow touring in something that comfortable but to sit in one place???  Oh well, a different lifestyle.   

A couple of photos from earlier today and I am all caught up.

The Return Trip

After our great visit to Nashville we headed back down the Cumberland River to Green Turtle Bay.  We had to return there, besides it being on the way, to have our new dinghy cover fitted.  Our dinghy cover was ripping and shredding every time I used it.  Mark, the canvas guy from Grand Rivers is very good and very reasonable in costs so we had him do it for us.  It looks and fits good.

We cut a day off our travel time so we went all the way to Clarksville the first night and then we tried a Kentucky State Marina the second.  That has been our biggest disappointment thus far on the trip.  It was over 2 miles off the main river, which I knew, but it was not as well marked as it should have been.  We treaded very slowly to the harbor and were told we had to dock at the fuel dock.  The dock hands were friendly but not boat savvy.  The wind was off the dock and they were reluctant to loop the lines around the cleats but then found out that they could not hold the boat; oh well after some direction we got things tied down.  I would have much preferred to go directly to our covered slip.  Linda went in to pay but they would not accept us until we showed them our insurance???  No explanation.  After much probing and being told repeatedly that the info is on the website?? (which did me no good at the desk or the previous 5 days on the boat)  we found out that it is state policy that each boat must show that they have at least $300,000 in liability insurance.  Luckily, I did bring the policy and I did find it so we were allowed to stay.  Then we asked about washrooms and laundry only to be told that it is not there responsibility it is the parks group that handles that.  They did tell us where the building was but would not give us any indication what they were like.  Well after lugging all of our laundry to the building up the hill we discovered that it was very rustic; a fish cleaning table, washrooms that you might find in a wilderness park, that is no doors, concrete floors and spiders everywhere, and an old rusty, filthy washer....Yyyyuck.  To top it off, the wifi did not reach our boat.  On the bright side, we only paid $24.60 for the privilege of going through this h.....

Our next day was worse.  We were so glad to leave and got out of the bay without a problem.  Things were looking up, we only had 30 miles to GTB, our friends had a courtesy van reserved for 2 PM and the canvas guy was set to stop by in the afternoon, then......were is the next buoy???  Neither of us could find it so we were going dead slow on the proper side of a buoy just off our port in 65 feet of water.  It still did not feel right.  There was a fishing boat ahead of us and a tug to our right.  Just as I started to turn right, still no buoys ahead, we ran aground.  We were stuck.  It didn't sound nasty, there was no bump, we just stopped moving.  I decided that I would first lighten the load on the boat before trying to move myself off of whatever I was on.  I had almost 200 gals. of water on board which we started to empty.  I was also thinking of taking the dinghy off as that would be a few hundred pounds.  Before we really got started in earnest, the fisherman in the bass boat came over and said it gets shallow pretty quick there.  In fact, they were on our right side in 52 feet of water and we were in 4 feet and stuck.  They offered to help so I tossed them a line and they gently pulled us off the sand bar.  So far so good.  I started the engines and put each one in gear and could not detect anything untoward.  We continued on our journey, after getting directions to the channel (it was not clear at all) and when the opportunity presented itself, I took the boat up on plane.  No apparent vibrations; this is good.  Well back at the dock I went into the water and checked the props.  I could not see well but I was able to feel the edges of all four blades on each propeller and did not find any nicks or feel any bends.  I think that we got away with one.

The rest of the day went as planned and the next day was good as well.  We re-provisioned the boat, completed the laundry, had the dinghy cover completed and installed and went out to supper with friends both nights. We are ready to go again.

The Stars of Nashville

Stompin' Tommy Gee

One never knows who you might see in Nashville or on the stage here at the Ryman Auditorium.

We are glad that we undertook this side trip as Nashville was great.  Broadway, the main drag in the District ran right down to where we were docked.  I won't get into the hour by hour goings on but will give you some of the highlights.

Of course bars and country entertainment are what Nashville is all about.  We especially enjoyed The Second Fiddle and Tootsie's.  Both had the type of country that we liked best.  Honky Tonk, Bluegrass and Country Rock were just not for us.  Live acts started in the afternoon and I am told ran to 3:00 AM, some supposedly til 6.  Some of the streets were blocked off or had reduced traffic just to accommodate the number of people that were walking from bar to bar at night.  Everything was quite reasonable.  No cover charges and beers were only $4.  What surprised me most was that the entertainers were not paid.  These were not amateurs either; most had gigs elsewhere or performed regularly in other cities.  A jar was passed around periodically but no pressure.  In fact, we never had any qualms of throwing in some money because the groups were good, really good.

We also found two exceptional restaurants.  Joe's Crabshack became a favorite; we ate there 3 times.  We may have gone back so often because we craved seafood and here the crab legs were superb.  After trying King Crab, Snow Crab and Dungeness, the latter became our most favorite. The 2 for 1 beers didn't hurt either.  Monells restaurant was very special.  They serve family style so you are seated with others at large tables that seat at least 10 people.  That is only incidental to the quality of the food.  Everything was superb, perhaps the best that I have had on the trip.  Southern fried chicken, pulled pork, sausages and sauerkraut, corn pudding, german potato salad, and green beans were superb and of course it was all you can eat.  We stopped at Monells after spending the morning at the Farmers Market and after having a couple of beers at the Octoberfest tent in Germantown.  It was a good thing too because Monells was not licensed.

No visit to Nashville is complete without a visit to the Grand Ole Opry.  We could not get tickets to the 85th anniversary but we did get there the day before the celebrations.   It is an institution and is quite enjoyable even if you are not a country fan.  The only down side was the commercials.  The Opry is still a live radio show so it comes complete with commercials.  On Friday we saw Crystal Gayle, Whispering Bill Anderson, Joe Diffie, Roy Clark and Mike Snider to name the ones that I knew or remembered.  The new site (since they moved from the Ryman Auditorium) and the hotel are quite impressive.  The adjacent shopping mall however was still closed due to the floods in May.  Linda and I also toured the Ryman Center to complete our history lessons about the Opry.  I am so far behind in updates that you will have to look it up yourselves.

All in all we spent a very enjoyable 4 days in Nashville.