Wednesday

November 2nd, 2016

This was our last 62 miles of river before we enter Mobile Bay

Here we are at 3 Rivers Lake Anchorage just off the river with two other Loopers.

This boat in front of us is facing the opening to the main river...

Jet Stream was across from us.... (retired Airline Pilot)

Elwood enjoying a river snooze...

Scrap Metal unloading on the river...

Entering Mobile Bay

Travel Lift with a Tow

Naval Ship Building

I wouldn't want this chasing me down...

Catamaran?

more building

Cargo Ships

Loading steel containers...can you pile them any higher?

Fairhope Yacht Club

Our view from the boat... $10 a day to stay here...sweet!

This could be Tony Buck from SSYC's sister!

Hey Tony, I found your long lost sister...

This is Sue, the bar manager of Fairhope Yacht Club. Sue let us use her car while we were here.

Lakeside view of FYC

Circular drop off of FYC

Various entrances off the front...

This side overlooks Mobile Bay and is full of members during cocktail hour just rockin and talkin. 

Oh, FYC had Taco Tuesday which is free to all members and guests...

FYI Yacht Club Members...

Fairhope Yacht Club Associate Membership (first year)

$500 Entrance Fee,  Dues $670 per year, $56 per month minimum in bar or restaurant.

not bad!!!

Fairhope Yacht Club Equity Membership (second year of membership)

Equity members must purchase a $5,300 Debenture Bond which may be paid in full within thirty days of acceptance or may be paid in installments over a 24 or 48 month period with a 8.5% interest rate...

what the heck....

Before Hurricane Katrina the bond was $300 dollars.... Water, not Wind from Katrina destroy the Fairhope Yacht Club completely and insurance didn't cover it all....thus the change...

Sunday

October 30th, 2016

Up at 5 am, in the lock by 5:30 with Loopers, Sweet Tea and Phase II in front of us.

This is using the flash...

Day lite finally!

We saw our first Gator....a big sucker!  Found him/her at Mile Marker 136 at 2:25 pm on 11-30-2016

This is Joell's first live Gator she's ever seen...(outside a zoo)

We're anchored for the night just short of Bobbies Fish Camp were we'll be getting more gas for the boat.

Saturday

October 29, 2016

We will be finishing up the Tenn-Tom today.  There were a total of 10 locks on the Tenn-Tom:  Jamie L.Whitten, Montgomery, John Rankin, Fulton, Glover Wilkins, Amory, Aberdeen, John C. Stennis, Tom Bevill and the Howell Heflin.  We have two more locks before entering mobile bay.  Those two locks are on the Black Warrior River and the Mobile River.  

Yesterday, Joell spent a few hours watching for Alligators.  She didn't see any yet.  Looks like at anchor tonight or tomorrow during the day is our best bet at seeing any.  Since no alligators were spotted yesterday, we swam in the river one last time.  We were at anchor with our buddy boat, Myron and Lynda.  They are staying at Demopolis, AL tonight, while we anchor again.  We will meet up with them again at 0700 tomorrow morning.  

When we anchor tonight, we will be 214 miles from mobile bay.  We have been traveling 40 to 60 miles a day.  We will do a few longer runs in the next couple of days.  At most, we run ten miles an hour.  

A few pictures from the last few days to follow, this evening.

Mile Marker 243 on the Tenn-Tom

A Tow running at night past our anchorage...

Elwood in one of the locks...

Flooded river area...

Mostly all Loopers...

Industry along the river...

A phone booth on the rivers edge...

An old paddle boat removed from the river and used for ???

Mikee Likes It rafted stern to port with Miss Bailey for the evening...

Having drinks with Myron and Linda on Miss Bailey...

Elwood after a swim at our anchorage...

On the river at 7am...

Rivers edge...

Here's Enterprise following us...

We wake at 6 am, leave our anchorage at 7 am.  Today we ran 63 miles, went through only one lock today at aprox. 8 mph and found our next anchorage around 3:30 pm just above the Demopolis Lock and Dam.  Tomorrow we repeat it all again...  but we're getting much closer to the Gulf of Mexico.

Our anchorage for Saturday evening...a little skinny getting in, but floating is 12 feet of water.