Deb's 2 cents from Goose Pond Marina

Tuesday, October 14, 2008
10:45 am

Hi Y’all! As you can probably tell from BK’s logs, we are having the times of our lives on this trip…market troubles notwithstanding. I need to unhook a couple wires on that satellite system so BK can’t keep up with the hourly fluctuations. He announces every up and every down and if I see the bottle of Pepcid AC out on the counter, I can just guess where the Dow is!
Some people have asked me what I do on the boat all day. From reading the blogs, you already have an idea of Bob’s routine…and from those blogs you might have gotten the idea that all I do is read all day long, while Bob cleans the boat and plots our course and plans our days. And while I really do appreciate the work he does (please don’t make me crawl in the engine compartment at midnight to fix a busted fitting!) I do have my own responsibilities.
Along with the obvious things like, buying groceries, doing laundry, preparing meals, keeping the inside of the boat clean (which I’m happy to do as long as I don’t have to change the oil), but I do have other jobs. Here’s a little glimpse into my day.
The morning routine depends on whether or not it’s a cruise day. We’re back in the Central Time Zone again, which makes it a lot easier for me to get up by 7:00 am, but I never was much of an early riser, and so it’s hard to have a leisurely morning on the boat when the minute I get up, Bob’s pretty much ready to leave the slip and head for the next marina… “Are you ready yet?” By the time I get up, he’s been up for hours…had his coffee, written his log, checked the weather, walked the docks, and when I finally come out to the back deck, he’s usually standing on the dock with the hose in one hand and his other hand on the faucet just waiting to start the wash down process!
But bless his heart; he waits till I’m up before he starts blasting the boat with the hose. As Bob washes down the boat, I have my breakfast (PB&J E-Muffin & Diet Coke), and okay – I do get my book out for a chapter or two. But then I get to feeling guilty and so I start shaking the rugs and either vacuum or wipe down the back deck floor and all the surfaces because overnight the No Pest Strip has done its job and killed the gazillion teeny, tiny bugs that have found their way inside. It has become a daily ritual. By then, BK has finished hosing down the boat and I’ll go outside and help wipe down, concentrating on the windows so they don’t get water spots.
If it’s a cruise day Bob disconnects the electric cord, water hose and all but 2 lines, starts the engines and gives me the “high sign” to untie the last lines and off we go. I then get the lines wound up and put away, pull the fenders in and neatly tie them to the bow rail (after cleaning them if needed) and then (you guessed it) I get to sit and read for awhile. I do follow along on the charts, but not religiously…more out of curiosity…BK is totally in charge of where we are and how to get to the next marina. If there’s a lock to go through, I get the fenders ready and attach one line at midship and get ready to wrap it around the floating bollard as Bob eases us up to the lock wall. After leaving the lock, the line gets wound up and put away and the fenders need to be washed and put away again.
When we reach our destination, I get the lines set and the fenders positioned in preparation for pulling up to a dock. When the weather is calm it’s fairly straight forward…I can get both aft and bow lines attached without much of a fuss. When it’s windy, it’s a little tricky (I hate the wind) but we seem to handle it without many tears. (I hate to see a grown man cry!)
At this point, most times (not all) I help with the electric cord and adjusting lines, but at the end of the day, I like to see Bob make whatever adjustments he thinks are needed…I just sleep better when he has put his seal of approval on all lines and fenders.
Activities at marinas are determined by our need for supplies and clean clothes. At those times, we choose our marinas by checking if they have a laundry room and/or a courtesy car. About half of the marinas we stay at have at least one washing machine and dryer within walking distance. And if they do, I run loads back and forth during the day till I’m done, sometimes waiting in line for the machines. If there are no laundry facilities at the marina, I pack it all up, borrow a courtesy car, and head for a Laundromat. On yesterday’s laundry run I did 9 loads! I always take my book with me when I do laundry, thinking there’ll be plenty of time to read, but when those buzzers start going off and you’re trying to pour detergent and …don’t forget the softener and …oops I need more quarters and wait …is that my machine? And oh no …what’s that sticky stuff in the dryer? And hey! …that’s my cart! Then pretty soon you need to start folding the dry clothes while at the same time popping quarters into several dryers trying to keep them all going so your clothes don’t wrinkle! I feel like that guy on the Ed Sullivan Show who tried to keep a hundred plates spinning on sticks! Sheesh! Needless to say…not much reading gets done!
If we don’t need supplies or clean clothes, we either spend the time on any projects that have come up, or exploring the marina and surrounding area, or just plain relaxing. At around 5:00 (who am I kidding?...I count down the minutes till 5 pm.) we both sit on the back deck with a cocktail and a jar of peanuts. Bob watches Fox News and I grab my book (surprise) before getting dinner ready. If we don’t cook inside on our 2 burner electric stove, we have a grill that attaches to the rail at the side of the boat, but BK’s in charge of grilling so I just get the meat ready and he throws it on while I get the sides. Dinner is eaten at the back table while watching Andy Griffith reruns (we both love that show!) Clean up and washing dishes follow and soon Bob heads for bed while I catch up on email.
Yesterday we did laundry, tomorrow we’ll get groceries, the projects can wait…so today it’s a dinghy ride! I packed a lunch and will bring my book because BK’s bringing his fishing pole! Should be a quiet, relaxing afternoon.
Will sign off now because I have to get my gear into the dinghy! Before signing off, I wanted to mention that we meet the nicest people as we travel up and down the rivers. Boaters are a wonderful group! Last night we met the Robertson family…and I wanted to give a shout out to our new Alabama friends…Kevin, Shannon, Lindsay and Brett on their Chaparral cruiser…“4 Bama Fanz”. Have a safe trip!
Here’s to sunny skies and calm waters!
First Mate Deb (Still looking for someone to boss around!)

Log 52; Day 147; Oct. 15; Goose Pond Marina

There's a BASS Masters tournament here and there a lots of bass fisherman like this in the area

Me...on the other hand...choose to fish like this.

Check out the GPS sitting on the seat...this is what I use to find the cool coves. It works great. This is also the one that has XM weather on it which I use when we're cruising.

While I'm fishing...this is how Deb spends here time. Does this look relaxing or what?

This is where I call "the back of the boat" and where I spend most mornings...writting these logs...and many afternoons on the phone making slip reservations. In this case I was unsuccessful at getting in where I wanted to go.

Log 52
Day 147
Wednesday, October 15, 2008

7:15 AM CDT
Location: Goose Pond Marina, Scottsboro, AL
Weather: 61* and very foggy; forecast is for 85* and mostly sunny

Cool and foggy this morning...I took a walk over to the bait shop (they open at 5) and had to wear my blue jeans. After a bacon & biscuit, and talking to the bass fisherman (there’s another BASS Masters fishing tournament here) I came back to the boat. I also took a few minutes to get out my fishing pole and walk up and down the dock to try my luck at fishing...but the fish aren’t biting on anything I’m offering.

Yesterday...it was a near perfect day. Both the weather and the day. It was a picture perfect sunny morning. We cleaned the boat early and I went over to the bait shop and got my fishing liscense and a couple of lures they guaranteed to catch fish. At about 10 I jumped in the dinghy and went fishing for an hour. At 11 we packed a lunch and a cooler and headed out to South Sauty Creek...which turned out to be a large lake. My guess is that before they flooded this area this was a creek (the very narrow channel was about 17 feet deep) and then when they flooded it, a large lake was created. It was very pretty, and a great dinghy ride...we put about 20 miles on the dinghy. Along the way we stopped at a couple of places so I could try and catch a fish...no luck. You can see from the pictures that Deb was also enjoying the stops, because it gave her time to read her book. Back at the boat we both relaxed and enjoyed the nice weather, and I worked on some advance slip reservations. Dinner was a small salad as we watched the latest episode of Raising The Bar...good program.

Today...Deb is planning to use the courtesy car to go to the grocery store and I plan to do a couple of PM projects on the boat. I am also hoping to take some time to go bass fishing. It is supposed to be 85* today...very warm for this time of year. A cold front is due tomorrow night, and supposed to drop the temperature about 10 to 15 degrees, and get down in the 40’s during the night.

Tomorrow...after 4 nights here, we leave Goose Pond and head down river. Not exactly sure where we’ll be staying yet...I need to call at 9 am this morning to see if we can get in at Ditto Landing (we stopped there on our way up river). If not...I have another option in mind in Decatur, AL.

I’ll keep you posted.

BK.

Log 51; Day 146; Oct. 14, 2008; Goose Pond Marina

Here is our new slip at the far end of the dock and far away from any lights...and hopefully far away from the bugs.

This is a shot from our boat...looking at a boat leaving our cove. It gives you an idea of how pretty this area is.
Full moon last night and it was glimmering on the water so we took a picture
Log 51
Day 146
Tuesday, October 14, 2008

5:00 AM CDT
Location: Goose Pond Marina, Scottsboro, AL
Weather: 67* and clear skies; forecast is for 84* and mostly sunny

Up very early this morning. No schedule...and no reason...just had enough sleep. It’s really nice outside (although I have not been out of the boat) and the forecast is for a very nice day and light winds. Right now the moon is big; bright; and full. We took a picture last night of the full moon...not sure you can appreciate the picture...but to be here was cool.

Yesterday...the morning started out to be windy. It was sunny and warm, but very windy. The boat needed washing badly because the bugs had spent the night hanging out on the side. Our slip here at Goose Pond was right beside two very bright night lights and the bugs were having a blast leaving their marks on HQ. So I did 2 things. First I cleaned all the bug stuff off...then I went to the office and asked if I could move the boat. They said no problem, so we moved the boat to the outside end of a dock...furthest from any light. A little tricky in the wind...but no issues. We decided to get the courtesy car and head into town for some lunch and also do the laundry. So we found a great Mexican place for lunch, and while Deb went to the laundry mat I went shopping for a few things we needed. Back at the boat we did some organizing and I worked on our cruising plans for later this month. Dinner was left over ribs from Porkers in Chattanooga, as we watch some Andy Griffith re-runs.

Today...we plan to take the dinghy about 6 miles down river to South Sauty Creek and go back up this Creek and check it out. We talked to a captain a couple of days ago and he had heard this was a great spot, so we are going to check it out. Deb and I love to take dinghy rides, and we have not done much of this so far on this trip, and are looking forward to today’s ride. There are lots of coves and back waters in this area...can’t wait to see them.

Well it’s time to make some breakfast and get the day started. The first signs of light are just over the eastern horizon, so before long I can go outside and walk the docks.

I’ll keep you posted.

BK.

Log 50; Day 145; Oct. 13th; Goose Pond Marina; Scottsboro, AL.

A cool shot of the rowers at the races in Chattanooga on the day we left.

We docked just up river from this area...downtown Chattanooga was cool.
Typical view out the front of the boat when you're on the Tennessee
Do I look like I'm a happy boater?
Log 50
Day 145
Monday, October 13, 2008

6:20 AM CDT
Location: Goose Pond Marina, Scottsboro, AL
Weather: 70* and clear skies; forecast is for 80* and mostly sunny

Note: To go to Google Maps and see our location (click here)

We’re back in Alabama, and back in the central time zone. It’s still dark out this morning...but there is a little light off to the east and it looks like it is going to be a beautiful sunrise. Just a few wispy clouds in the sky.

We’re sitting in Goose Pond Marina, about 1/2 mile off the Tennessee River on North Sauty Creek near the town of Scottsboro, AL. This is a marina we stopped in on our way up to Chattanooga and we liked it so much we decided to stay for 4 nights as we head back down river.

Yesterday...was more of the great cruising on the Tennessee. I’ve run out of ways to describe how pretty it is, but will continue to say it is some of the best boating we have ever done. We made it to MM 378 (where Goose Pond Marina is located)...which is 85 miles south of Chattanooga. The first day we left Chattanooga we stopped at Hales Bar Marina for 1 night, and then yesterday we went another 60+ miles, and through the Nickajack Lock, to get to Goose Pond. It was an easy day on the Tennessee. We left our slip at 7:30 and called the lock at about 8:15. The lockmaster said to “keep it coming...there’s no traffic in the area” so we did and were in and out of the lock by 9:00. He dropped us 40 feet, and we are now dropping in each lock we will go through all the way to Florida. We also will be heading pretty much south from here on out.

We arrived at Goose Pond about 2 PM yesterday and after topping off with fuel ($4.09 per gallon...best price on the Tennessee) and pumping out our holding tanks we got to our slip about 2:30. I had been listening to the Bears game on the Sirius radio and was hoping to watch the end on TV. I got the satellite tuned in and the TV’s up just in time to see the last few minutes of the game...what a heart breaker for the Bears. I also had recorded the NASCAR race on Saturday night...so I watched Jeff Burton win (I picked him in our weekly pool) a very good race. After that Deb and I walked the dock and joined 3 other boats for a cocktail. We had been traveling with 2 of these boats the last couple of days. Really nice people who are from marinas another 100 miles down river, and we stayed and talked for an hour or so. We also met 2 other boats as soon as we docked...they came over to our boat asked a lot of questions. They both plan to be at the Loop rendezvous at Joe Wheeler...and one asked us to join them for Mexican food in the next couple days while we’re here. I wonder if that will happen?

For the next 3 days we will be here at Goose Pond. No real schedule...or plan. They have a courtesy car and so we can go into town to a laundry mat; a grocery store; and a liquor store...and I’m sure all 3 will happen. No real boat projects to accomplish other than cleaning and organizing which are an every day occurrence. Makes me wonder if I might just sit and read a book or something relaxing like that. I doubt it.

I’ll keep you posted.

BK.