Fall Color Cruise

We've just returned from a short cruise in the Chattanooga area with our parents. We enjoyed the fall colors even though the leaves were about one week beyond their peak.

"A new Captain at the helm"

"Where are we??"

"Fall Colors along the TN"

Abigail has Arrived!

On Oct. 27th Adam and Heather's first child was born. What a great experience, becoming Grandparents!! We were all blessed with the arrival of this beautiful, healthy 6 lb. 15 oz. baby girl. What a welcoming party she had. There were grandparents, great grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends at the hospital awaiting her. Abigail Lee arrived at 10:41 AM. She is precious and we are enjoying spoiling her!!

"Adam and Abigail"

"Abi"

"Our precious angel"

For Sale

Play Dough is now officially For Sale. We've cleaned out a lot of our personal items, changed her oil and filters, filled her fuel tanks and signed a brokerage agreement. She is listed for sale by Erwin Marine in Chattanooga. The listing can be found at several sites on the internet including
www.erwinmarinesales.com

We'll continue to make blog entries in regards to our boat while we decide what direction this blog may go. We haven't decided whether to end the blog when the boat sells or to continue, but change directions. We're thinking since our family and many friends have this site already bookmarked, we may continue with entries of what's going on in our lives. This would allow those interested to check in and keep up with us while also creating a permanent record for future generations.

Kentucky Lake to Chattanooga, TN

We just completed an 8 day, 429 mile trip from Aurora, KY to our final stop, Chattanooga, TN. After driving through Atlanta in the torrential rains as we were headed to KY, we knew the trip upstream would be exciting. Not only did we have the strong currents to contend with, we traveled in rain for 2 1/2 days. We had a windy day that created waves greater than 2 ft. We were even in the middle of a situation in which a person attempted suicide by jumping from a bridge. We paid between $2.11 and $2.94 for fuel. We moved south across TN, then east across AL and back north into Chattanooga all while moving upstream against a 3+ mph current. Our average fuel mileage was 1.7 mpg. Play Dough is now docked at Chickamauga Marina. We'll be working as we get her prepared to list for sale as well as cruising some around Chickamauga Lake.

Day One- Aurora, KY to New Johnsonville, TN

54 miles- 6 hours-light rain

Day Two- New Johnsonville, TN to Clifton, TN

61 miles- 8 1/2 hours-light rain

Day Three- Clifton, TN to Counce, TN

58 miles- Locked up at Pickwick Dam

8 hours- rain stopped before noon

Day Four- Counce, TN to Florence, AL

41 miles - 5 hrs.- Foggy morning

Day Five- Florence, AL to Huntsville, AL

78 miles - 9 hrs, 45 min.

Locked up at Wilson Dam and Joe Wheeler Dam

Waited for railroad bridge and search for bridge jumper

in Decatur, AL., (Winds 15-20 mph)

Day Six - Huntsville, AL to Scottsboro, AL

44 miles - 5 1/2 hrs.

Locked up at Guntersville Dam

Day Seven- Scottsboro, AL to Guild, TN

53 miles - 7 hrs.

Locked up at Nickajack Dam

(stopped at Hales Bar Marina where we departed exactly

11 months earlier)

Day Eight - Guild, TN to Chattanooga, TN

40 miles - 6 hrs.

Locked up at Chickamauga Dam

"As fall approaches, the hunters are preparing their blinds for the upcoming duck season"

"Beautiful Home near Savannah, TN"

"A Drive-Through Boat House"

"The Captain also serves as a deck hand when locking."

"We waited for the fog to lift, but nothing stops the tugs"

"When the fog lifted, we were happy to finally have a sunny day for traveling. Pickwick Lake is a beautiful mountain lake."

"A man was found alive 1/2 mile down stream after jumping from this bridge"

"You see all types of boats on the river."

"Relaxing after a long day on the river"

"Cranes are frequent sights along the river"

"Downtown Chattanooga, TN"

More sights from LBL

Well, we finally have a destination for Play Dough, it's Chattanooga. When we leave Kentucky, we'll be heading back to Chattanooga where we'll keep the boat while it's for sale. Just as when we began, Chattanooga is as close to home as we can park her. This will allow us to travel back and forth to care for the boat as well as use her for short local cruises.

We did a bit more sightseeing before leaving for home. We visited Fort Donelson National Battlefield at Dover, TN. Fort Donelson was the site of an interesting Civil War battle at which the Confederate troops sank several of the Union's Ironclad Battleships as they came up the Cumberland River. We also visited the Woodlands Nature Station, another attraction of the LBL National Recreation Area. Woodlands is an exhibit with much of the native wildlife on display. We saw everything from owls to eagles, bobcats to coyotes.

"Furnaces like this were common here-used in the iron industry from 1820's to 1920's"

"From this position Confederate troops could see smoke rising above the trees as the Union battleships were steaming upstream to attack Fort Donelson"

"Bobcat having a mouse for lunch"

"A Barn Owl"

"A Bald Eagle"

Paducah, KY and Marion, KY

We drove up to Paducah, KY where the TN River empties into the Ohio River. The town's existence and history revolve around the rivers. After the town had flooded several times, a flood wall was erected. Over a 10 year period, an artist painted murals depicting the town's history on this floodwall. While there we visited the town's museum housed in the old market place. We also visited the River Discovery Center as well as the National Quilt Museum. The quilting organization brings 35,000 people to Paducah one week each year.
We also crossed the Ohio on I-24 to the town of Metropolis, IL. What would you expect to find in a town named Metropolis??

"Notice the different history scenes on the Floodwall"

"Downtown Paducah"

"Driving through the floodwall leads directly to the water's edge"

"Tugboat simulator-hands on experience"

"Superman on the town square in Metropolis"

Traveling North to Marion, KY, we toured through the Amish community. It's hard to imagine living this simple lifestyle in this time period. Try to picture shopping in a store with no electricity. Light was provided by the sun through skylights. Through grates in the floor you could see wood furnaces in the basement below which heated the building. The only refrigeration was one residential size kerosene powered refrigerator. Their feed mill as well as their sawmill was powered by diesel engines. Each farm seemed to specialize in what they sold to the public. Stopping at the farm with the bakery could be habit forming!!! We respected the wishes of the Amish by not photographing the people themselves. They consider this an invasion of their privacy.

On this excursion, we rode the ferry across the Ohio River to Cave in Rock, IL. There we walked inside the large cave along the riverbank. This cave was once home to actual river pirates and appeared in several movies as such.

"All Amish farms look alike"

"Their only form of transportation"

"Signs advertise what's for sale at each farm"

"No Clothes Dryers at these houses"

"Notice scars on the road made by buggy wheels"

"Driving on to the Ferry"

"Cave Entrance"

"Room in Cave"

"Inside Cave looking out"

Touring Western Kentucky

In this blog entry you'll see our most unusual rental car yet! On our last trip home this was our only nearby option for a one-way rental.
On our way north, we toured the town of Murfreesboro, TN. One attraction was the Cannonsburgh Village (the original name of Murfreesboro), a recreation of the town around 1800.

With Play Dough parked at Kenlake Marina as our base, we are touring by car the sites and attractions of this area. The Land Between the Lakes (LBL) is operated by the U.S. Park Service. This uninhabited park is fairly remote with one road running North & South and Hwy. 68 crossing East & West. The LBL is bordered on the west by Kentucky Lake and on the East by Lake Barkley. The LBL has many campgrounds. We had lunch at one campground designed for campers and their horses. It has 112 miles of trails and comes with horse stalls for the animals' overnight stay. LBL has large fenced ranges for bison and elk to demonstrate the animals native to this land before any settlers. Several visitor centers through the park have museum type displays and movies about the area's history. "The Homeplace" is a living museum. It is a typical farm and home of the early 1800's complete with animals and docents dressed in period clothing.

We've also driven to several towns in the area one of which is Grand Rivers, KY. While there we attended a musical variety show at the Badgett Theatre. We also ate at the infamous Patti's. Patti's is known for its' 2 inch pork chops and its' pies topped with 6 inches of meringue. We tried both. This is the only restaurant we can recall walking in at 1:30 and their first available table was at 9:30. We got in at 5:00 after a cancelation. No, we did not wait for 3 1/2 hours. We attended the show and shopped.

"Actually cheaper than a car from Hertz and a lot more room!"

"Cannonsburgh Village"

"One Room Schoolhouse"

"Town Grist Mill"

"Our pool and view at Kenlake Lodge"

"The bison herds ignore the cars"

"The elk aren't as friendly as the bison"

"Farmhouse at The Homeplace"

"Men working on garden gate at the Homeplace"

"Oxen making use of the shade"

"Patti's Restaurant and Gardens actually cover an entire city block"

"Waterwheel in the Gardens at Patti's"