Slappin leather , Fulton MS to Mobile AL 11/11 - 11/16

After falling behind all of our Looper friends- we decided to make up some time and try to get further south as fast as we can. Our friend Jon calls this slapping leather. We put in some very long days but we made it to the GULF! We were traveling most of the Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway by ourselves after leaving Ditto Landing, Huntsville AL. We finally found a group of Loopers at Demopolis (Kingfishers Marina) and decided to move out with them at "o-dark thirty"- 5:30 in the morning. We went through the Demopolis Lock with 8 other boats. FRYEDAZE appreciated our organizer Ed for getting us through the lock in a timely fashion and then the fleet started splitting up. Three of the "go-fast" boats moved out ahead and three fell behind as they were going to an anchorage in Bashi Creek. We were encouraged by the faster boats to push through and get to Bobby's Fish Camp all in one day- 98.6 miles our longest run ever. But it so was so worth pushing through and gaining a day in our schedule! We enjoyed the seafood with 6 other Loopers.. What a fun time! Bobby's is a no frills fish camp with great food. We rafted up with Gallivant along a simple floating dock right off the center of the river. The next day we pulled out in the ground fog and pushed through another 88 miles to a beautiful anchorage on the Tensa River with Gallivant. We made it to Mobile Bay the next day and were thrilled to see the beautiful city of Mobile and about 25 tows and barges! It is the busiest port on the Gulf Coast. We made it to Eastern Short Marina in Fairhope, AL where we reconnected with our friends on Velomer and Gallivant!

On Tuesday we rented a car and went to Pascagoula and Biloxi, Mississippi where Dave was stationed in the Navy. It was fun to go back and visit all the places he remembered from 36 years ago. He was even able to find his townhouse from back in the day. Pascagoula and Gulfport still have a lot of open waterfront properties that have not been rebuilt from Hurricane Katrina. Biloxi on the other hand has really been built way up from when Dave was there! All their casinos used to be on floating barges which were all destroyed. In order to rebuild their economy quickly after the hurricane, they legalized gambling on the land and the area has really grown. It was amazing to see all the high rise casinos and restaurants. It looked like Atlantic City but the structures were much higher off the ground in case another storm hits the area. We enjoyed eating a wonderful lunch outside in the 81 degree temperatures- knowing how cool it was getting on the east coast made it seem sweeter. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal and the entire day.

After a terrible rain and wind storm in Fairhope, we left this morning to cross Mobile Bay and start on the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway (GICW). We landed at a beautiful resort marina- The Wharf and have really enjoyed this beautiful day here. There are five restaurants steps from the docks, as well as boutique shopping, a ferris wheel, movie theater and a daiquiri bar! It was a fitting way to celebrate as today is our "half-way" day- we left Maryland exactly 6 months ago today. We have taken the time to look back and reflect on all our experiences and now are looking forward to the next "half" of our Loop trip. Our trip has been beyond anything we have ever dreamed and planned for! We appreciate all of you who has been following our adventure and sending us wonderful comments and questions along the way!

 

 

Rather than a dam, this lock had an overflow area beside the lock

We have seen so many pulp mills and the chips being loaded on to a barge

Huge pile of pulp chips waiting to be loaded




This barge was headed towards us and you could see smoke. We thought that is may have something to do with the asphalt he was hauling. As we got down wind we figured it out. The smell was delicious. The smoke was from a smoker and they were cooking up dinner.

We were surprised at the amount of invasive Hydrilla that was all around the Columbus, MS area. The non-native species started from aquarium plants gone wild!

We saw a lot of barges carrying the chemical Adipontrille which we googled and it is a dangerous chemical used to make nylon

We continue to see the changing leaves along the waterway

It was so cool seeing this eagle eating a fish that was way bigger than he was- or so it seemed! He worked hard at it and protected his dinner from a herring that was very near him on the river bank



Trees with lots of hanging moss all along the rivers

 

The beautiful White Cliffs of Eppes. I think this is the most commonly pictured landmark by all the Loopers



Saw this cool riverboat in dry dock coming into Mobile

This was the morning we left at 5:30 for the Demopolis Lock. The fog was sticking close to the water- it was beautiful!

The beautiful Dream Girl Kadey-Krogen that we were in the Sumter Anchorage with.

Maids in the mist.

Brand new Navy ships being built by Astral in Mobile

This tree was totally covered with Spanish Moss- just can't figure out how to turn it right side up!

We heard about seeing deer swimming in front of boats on the Tombigbee- caught this small one. Amazingly fast!

This checked off the last of my boxes- alligators! This big guy was sunning himself on the side of the river. Probably trying to get warm in the sun after our cold 41 degree morning

 

One of the biggest houseboats we have ever seen!

Just another beautiful morning on the river!



Our friend Bill on Corsair



Steamboat and beautiful museum at the Stennis Lock

It was so cold one morning that our balls were deflated!

Our new friends from Gallivant- Don and Pam at Bobby's Fish Camp. Not much on ambience but great food!



Gorgeous oak tree at Bobby's with my favorite Spanish Moss



Sunset on the Tensa River with Gallivant in front

A tall ship in dry dock getting refurbished

The view of the shrimp boats from our table at lunch in Biloxi.

 

Dave and our brother-in-law Chuck's townhouse in Pascagoula from their Navy days!

 

 

Our entertainment at the Shrimp Docks at Eastern Shore Marina. These individuals were incredibly talented musicians! We thoroughly enjoyed listening to them!

 

The sunset last night almost looked fake. It looked like the sky was on fire. We are thrilled to begin the next chapter on our Great Loop Trip.