Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Joe Wheeler State Park













Our Looper Rendezvous ends today so there will be a mass migration of boats leaving this state park and headed all directions. There are 57 boats here for the event. Some will stay a few more days, and some will head up river toward Chattanooga. I am guessing most will be like us, and start our way back to the Tenn-Tom Waterway, and head south to the Gulf. That makes a lot of buddy boats to share marinas and anchorages which is mostly a good thing. Could be interesting trying to stuff 10-12 boats into a lock at the same time.

It has been a fun event. It is always fun to meet so many other couples (and a few single-handed boaters) who enjoy boating and have the same mission as we do. Remember that boaters love Happy Hour. It is ironic that they put this largest gathering of Loopers in a location that is a dry county here in Alabama. Good thing everyone stocked up ahead of time.
Half of us are close to our finish, while there are many who are just getting started. I am personally really looking forward to getting the boat to Florida and the Keys. That is a wonderful cruising ground, and both Shelley and I are anxious to explore it.

So we will leave in the morning for the two week journey to Mobile, where we will dock the boat for a couple of months while we go back to Austin for the Holidays. I cannot believe we are going to move from a 44' boat to a 28' RV at the La Hacienda RV resort on Lake Travis. Am I crazy? Yea, I know.

But we are looking forward to catching up with the Wurth family, Erin, Mark and Gayle, and all our friends in Austin. Plus everyone is coming to Austin for Christmas. That will be a great week. But there is some high adventure still ahead before we get to Mobile, and that is the Tenn-Tom.

This project completed in the late 1960's, moved more earth than the Panama Canal. It is quite a tribute to human engineering, and I am excited to navigate our way through it. So my next post will be from somewhere in Mississippi or Alabama as we wind our way south to the ocean. YeeHaa!!


No comments:

Post a Comment