Log 58; Day 162; Oct. 30, 2008; Columbus, MS.

This is the office area (actually the dinette in our salon) where Deb does her book work, and I write the logs when it's too cold on the back deck in the morning

Deb at our first lock today...she's really getting this locking thing down pat. The bow and stern thrusters make locking much easier.

This is "Good News" coming into her slip in Columbus Marina

Our trip to the Waverly Mansion

Dinner at Woody's with Andy and Mary on "Good News"

Log 58
Day 162
Thursday, October 30, 2008

6:20 AM CDT
Location: Columbus Marina; Columbus, MS
Weather: 42* and foggy; forecast is for 72 and sunny

It’s about 8* warmer this morning than yesterday, and is forecasted to get warmer each day. Also, the fact we continue to move 40 to 50 miles south each day helps. Still too cold for me to write my logs on the back deck each morning (I miss that) because it takes a while for the heater to warm things up, so I continue to write them in the salon area (see the picture). Not the same feeling as being out on the back deck.

Yesterday...we were on the same morning drill. Call the lockmaster and check the lock status and leave the marina as soon as the lock was open and we felt it was safe enough, fog wise. I monitored the lock from about 5:30 on and called them at 7 to ask the status and he told us to come when ready. I talked to “Miss Mary” and “Good News” and they said they were ready to leave when I was...so we left at about 7:50 and were in the lock by 8 am. You can see by Deb’s sweatshirt and warm clothes it was cold out...but also very sunny. We traveled 48 miles and through 3 locks to get to Columbus Marina in Columbus, MS. This is a very nice stop with a small ships store and great restaurant on site. They also have the cheapest fuel we have bought yet ($3.19 @ gallon) so we took on 150 gallons. After tying up and getting settled, we joined Andy and Mary on “Good News” who had reserved the courtesy car to visit the Waverly Mansion...a local mansion in the area that dates back over 100 years, and was once 40,000 acres with cotton fields and about 200 slaves. We got a personal tour from a very passionate young fellow (Jimmy) who knew more about the history of the south than you can imagine. Not sure if I can highly recommend anyone take the time to visit the mansion...but I can definitely say it was interesting. After our mansion tour we stopped at a liquor store, and a Kroger (hard to believe we get excited about finding a grocery store...especially a Kroger) and then back to the boat. We also made plans (with Andy and Mary) to eat at Woody’s...the local restaurant on site...and that turned out to be a great meal. To top it off...we met Woody, who took a shine to Deb. It was a great day.

Today...not exactly sure of our plans yet. I have been working on the charts and waterway guides this morning to decide what to do. One option is to go through one lock and another 25 miles to Pirates Marina...where we currently have a reservation, but that makes for a very long day tomorrow of 2 locks and over 90 miles. Another option is to keep going past Pirates, but there are no marinas between there and Demopolis...so that would mean we would need to anchor out...not our favorite thing to do, and we will need to do it two more times before we reach the Mobile Bay. Decisions...decisions.

I’ll keep you posted.

BK.