Chapter 13 - Day 14: 118 Miles to Mobile

4:20 am
Friday, September 17, 1999
Day 14
Yea I know it's early again. I went to bed so early (8:00), that I've already had plenty of sleep, so I got up to get some work done, and also send another captain's log.

The weather could not be more perfect. Cool evenings, and crystal clear. The days are sunny, and cloudless! I went outside before sitting down to write this, and the stars are amazingly bright. (of course we are in the middle of nowhere).

Yesterday (Thursday) was a great day. From a travel standpoint it was almost the opposite of Wednesday. Wednesday we ran hard to make four locks, and catch up on some time. (by the way I figured out we used 271 gallons of fuel that day) Yesterday, we got through the Demopolis lock first thing, then had all day to make about 100 miles. We took our time, and traveled almost the whole way at 1050 rpm & 10.5 mph. (using 10 gallon an hour of fuel) It was actually a lazy kind of day. Cruising at that speed on a meandering river was wonderful. In the morning, Steve drove for a while and I messed with the charts, getting ready for next week. Then after lunch Steve, Chris, and Debbie went out on the bow to enjoy the sun, and the scenery. At one point along the way Deb, and Chris came in for something (probably another Corona), and Steve was sitting in a chair by himself on the bow. At about the same time we met a barge going Northbound and as we passed the tow boat captain said "dat boy out dere on da bow bout got it made....... dun ee". It was perfect, and he was right.

Between Demopolis, and Mobile (216 miles) there are only two places to stop.
Bobby's Fish Camp, and Lady's Landing. If you read the books, neither seem like much, but you have to stop somewhere, so I chose Bobby's, at mile 118.

When we exited the locks early in the morning I thought I'd read about the sights along the way in the book, and it was then I realized that Bobby's Fish Camp didn't have a transient dock for overnight docking. Now that could present a problem. We didn't want to go through 2 locks today, and go all the way to Lady's Landing, so I called Bobby's. My first clue that we would be in the country was when he answered the phone, because he just said "hello?". I thought maybe I had a wrong number so I ask him if this was Bobby's Fish Camp, and he said "yeaya". I had read in the book that Bobby's had fuel, so I knew he had a dock. And I also read that he had a restaurant, and Bobby did the cooking, so I told him we were heading south, and wanted to stop and eat, and could we spend the night on his fuel dock, and he said "yeaya". I told him that was great, and ask him if it was ok if we got there about 4. He said "yeaya" That was it. I guess he wasn't much of a talker.

When we got to mile 118 we found out why they don't offer transient docking.
They really don't have a dock! Here's how Chris describes what they have----" I'll bet they were sitting around one day looking at this thing, and said Hey!, I'll bet this'll float---let's put this on the river in front of our place". She's probably right. I don't know how to describe it, other than it is a platform that floats, and has tires hanging from it.(probably so you won't harm the platform) I wasn't concerned about it sinking, but I was concerned that if we tied up to it, would it be here in the morning. It had 2 poles attached to the shore (one was some type of a drive shaft, because it still had the universal joint attached-I'm not kidding) It also had a couple of ropes tied to shore, just in case the poles let lose.(well they weren't actually tied) Did I mention that it is about 40 feet long, and we have a 50 foot boat? But it is morning----and we are still here.

Dinner at Bobby's was great. Catfish, french fries, hushpuppies, and cole slaw. Great food served, and prepared by Ann. (it seems Bobby went home) She also entertained us. Told us Bobby used to be a drunk, till she told him to either straighten up, or get him another waitress. (waitresses must be hard to come by because she's still here, and he hasn't touched a drop in over 4 years.) He didn't get any help from his wife though....bless her soul.....she's an alcoholic herself. But Ann told her "As soon as you're ready to quit, just call, and I'll stay up with ya all night if I have to" (somehow Ann has figured out how to cure this in one evening). Toooo much.
Today, we head for Mobile. I can't wait to get this boat back to some real marinas. I'm all for adventure, but I would never have made it as a pioneer.

Our plan is to be in Dog River, just of the Mobile Harbor by mid afternoon.

We have one more lock(about 3 miles from here), and 118 miles to go to get there. I can't wait to see Mobile Harbor.

Steve and Chris will catch a flight from Mobile tomorrow, and we will have a crew change. Ann Walleck (Deb's sister), and her husband Les, along with Jeanie (another of Deb's sisters) and her husband Terry will join us. We spend a fair amount of time boating with them, so this will be fun.

I just called ahead to the lock, and he said he'd take us down in about an hour(7:00), so I'm going to get the boat ready, I'll keep you posted.

BK