The Tenn-Tom in all its glory

Three of the twelve locks are under our belts (keel), and we're sharing the waterway with lots of Great Loopers returning to their home ports after completing the circle (around Florida, up the east coast, west through Canada and the Great Lakes, south down the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers, to the Tennessee River and the Tenn-Tom to Mobile and on back to Florida). There was a rally at Joe Wheeler Dam and Marina last weekend, so there's a lot of traffic from trawlers and cruisers.

We also share (or they share with us) the waterway with tugboats, pushboats and barges (this is the Diane Siegel), since this is a major commercial waterway. The operators of both the commercial boats and the locks are very courteous and helpful, and we sincerely hope all pleasure boaters will be the same.

For those who think the waterway is a long and boring ditch, this is our third trip on it in three different seasons, and it's still gorgeous!

Wet again and on the way!

The red grit is almost out of our ears, teeth, eyelashes, etc., and we've been splashed and are on our way again. Lee Spry is a wonderful working marina, with a great staff and owners. This was our second visit there, and we highly recommend it. We met some new best friends, Bill and Charlotte on Omega, who were also sanding, patching, and polishing their teeth with blue instead of red (he looks like Darth Vader and Papa Smurf). After sharing the courtesy truck for a final trip to Lowe's, we had a goodbye dinner on Omega.

Working, working....

Sanding done, painting done (except for where the pads are to hold her up on the hard), most buffing done.....where are the sunsets and pina coladas? Where are the sandy beaches? The lobster?

I've been tricked again!!

Hard work on the hard

Miss Dippity is at Lee Spry Marina, a working boat yard. We've sanded, scraped, washed, and heat-gunned till our hands don't work. We're staying at the Victorian Inn in Iuka, Mississippi -- a quaint little place that has a gorgeous big white dog in the lobby and two friendly cats (one multiracial and one huge mostly Siamese). We couldn't stay on the boat because our refrigeration and our flushes are water-dependent (and it's a long climb down that ladder in the middle of the night!). We plan to splash on Monday, at which time we'll sport a new coat (or two) of bottom paint, a newly waxed hull, a newly replumbed emergency bilge pump, and hopefully a working oven....this may suck since the Admiral hasn't had to bake anything in the last 5 years! The fuel and water tanks will also be inspected and cleaned before we leave. We've had the use of a courtesy pickup truck, which makes it much easier to drive 20 miles to Iuka every night. Plans are to leave Tuesday morning for Bay Springs Marina, beginning our journey in the 30-mile divide cut canal of the Tom-Bigbee Waterway.

The Eagle has Flown!

We are SO gone! Finally, with frogs and turtles and cats and dogs raining down, we left Blue Springs on Friday, Oct. 9. The weather cleared as soon as we hit the channel, and October's beauty has been all around. We did freeze our fannies off for a day or two, and we did have some rain, but to quote William, it does not suck. We spent a few days in Chattanooga with two of our three children and our two sweet grandbabies, then headed south again. We're now in Florence, AL for a day or two, then will head to Lee Spry Marina for some boat work (new bottom -- unfortunately, for the boat and not the crew) before we traverse the Tom Bigbee Waterway. We've been through 6 of the 18 locks necessary to reach salt water, and have settled into the traveling life we knew before.

Second Postponement

Woodwork is progressing (because Ken Page and Bob Hunt are master craftsmen), wiring is done (because George Laggis is brilliant), engine is perfect (because Russ Jones is a genius)....awaiting deliveries from SailRite and MarineTex, then we hope to leave by Wednesday.

We're provisioned and ready (anxious) to leave, but the postponement lets us attend the Cheeseburger in Paradise party this weekend, so the wait isn't bad at all!

Rumor has it that Cuba may be open for visits in early 2010, so Jay is dancing around in the Cuban flag again...pix to be posted later...