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.

Ditto Landing Huntsville AL to Midway Marina Fulton Mississippi.

   I'm back! For those of you who don't know, I suffered a detached retina in my left eye. I kept this to myself for about two weeks until I started to lose vision in my left eye. I finally confessed to Dave on a Sunday after total loss of my peripheral vision. We debated stopping in Chattanooga but was pushed on to get to Huntsville. God was definitely in control! I called a surgical eye center on Tuesday and was given a 9:15 appointment. After struggling to get a taxi to come to Ditto Landing Marina to pick us up, we arrived at the Huntsville office by 8:50. By 11:00 I was on my way to a retina surgical specialist with a diagnosis of a torn retina. By 2:30 I was being wheeled back for emergency laser surgery. What a whirlwind day- but again, God was definitely in control! I had five days of laying on my left side or staring straight down at the floor but it worked!  The head position gustopo was on my butt to ensure I was face down for five days. I really got tired of "Face Down" Betsy! I have regained all of my vision and I am so very relieved! During the down time Dave changed the 7.5 gallons of engine oil, replaced the starboard engine fuel pump, watered the batteries and spent two day polishing out Fryedaze.

This past Saturday morning under very rainy skies, we were finally leaving Ditto Landing. The picture below shows our boat totally alone- all our Looper friends had been long gone. It almost felt like we were getting back to the land of the living (except on the water)! We traveled to Joe Wheeler State Park where we started in October to a beautiful anchorage. It felt so wonderful just to be moving! From Wheeler we moved toward the end of our time on the Tennessee River to begin our journey down the Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway to MOBILE BAY, ALABAMA! The Tennessee River has been my favorite of our trip. We hope to someday return and explore the Tennessee for a much longer period!
We have been reading about and dreaming about the "Tenn-Tom" part of our trip for a long time! The Tombigbee is a man-made waterway that was created as an alternative route to get to the Gulf of Mexico other than the Mighty Mississippi. The Tenn-Tom is divided into three sections and we are already mid-way through the 2nd! We have already gone through 3 locks today and will go through 4 tomorrow. It is a beautiful waterway and we are enjoying all the wildlife and migrating birds that have made Mississippi their winter home.
Yesterday we put the final part of the back enclosure on our bridge. It has been very cool during the days and even cold at night. Today was delightful! We started at 56 degrees and ended up with 71 degrees this afternoon in Fulton, MS. It was wonderful to be back in t-shirts and shorts again! Although, the forecast for the next four days has the weather back to pretty cool (upper 50's and lower 60's during the day) as well as rainy, we don't care- we are headed south!
Our plan is to be in Mobile, AL sometime next week and are hoping to catch up with some of our Looper friends we have met along the way. We really miss them! That was my biggest concern with my surgery- would there be anyone left to cross the Gulf during the night with!? Not going to let it bother me though- it will work out!

By ourselves at Ditto Landing! The first three days Loopers came and went but after that it was just us.

 

A random sculpture that Dave saw leaving Florence. It first appeared to be a person fishing!

 

A group of white pelicans who were enjoying a rest on the TN River

 

Gorgeous skies on Sunday morning leaving Joe Wheeler State Park behind!

 

We have had a lot of "interesting firsts" along this trip. This was definitely one of them. As we approached Wilson Lock we were told that we would have about a 4 hour wait for a tow to push through two sets of barges. The lockmaster advised us to tie up to the auxillary lock chamber wall. Thought this was a great idea and place to wait out the time. NOT SO MUCH! The wind really kicked up and we were really getting beat up along the lock wall. You can see the big drop right in front of the boat. Needless to say- it was a "quiet" time on the boat!

 

It was pretty cold and windy when we went into the Wilson Lock. I had a winter coat on and still was cold! The lock is the biggest on the Tennessee River with a drop of over 84'.

 

We took the opportunity to do a selfie- but the depth of the lock can't truly be appreciated in this picture!

 

Another shot of the Wilson Lock looking up

 


Beautiful limestone and gorgeous homes built on top right outside Florence, AL.

 

This tree really captured my eye as it had all the colors of fall!

 

 

We grew up in a paper mill town. The large mountains of wood chips look familiar The steam is from the heat generated from the wood chip pile.



This was a huge pulp production plant along the Tenn-Tom. This was a big pile of trees waiting to be turned into chips. The morning was so cool that the chip piles were actually steaming!

 

 

Loved seeing the cypress trees and the knees sticking out of the water. Reminded us of home and Cypress Swamp!

 

This was one of our closest "passes" with a tow and barges that we had experienced to so far! Felt like we could reach out and high five!

 

This is right beside our marina tonight and the great white hunter is patiently waiting!

 

This is a shot of the canal portion of the Tenn-Tom that we sent through yesterday. The leaves were beautiful just hard to tell in this picture because of the cloud cover.

 

These were metal plates inside the first lock that we went through this morning. They were leaking! Fortunately where I was standing at the bollard I stayed dry!

 

It was just a perfect cruising day. The sky was kissing the water! Fryedaze is cruising in the clouds.

 

Love these signs at their dams!

 

The sun setting behind FRYDAZE this evening!

 
 

 


FRYEDAZE at Midway Marina

 

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Good Night from Fulton, MS