Adventures on Slàinte Mhath

Day 105: October 31: Nothing new to report.  It was so cold last night as usual, dropping to in the 20's. Sleeping in sweat pants and sweatshirts, sometimes a hat! Keep moving south is all we can do.  The morning was beautiful though with the foggy mist dancing on the water.  We caught up on a few things in the morning, including a nice hot long shower, browsed the free library in the marina office, chatted with other Loopers, and bought a pair of sweatpants and a Green Turtle Marina burgee (all at 40% off). The burgee is made exceptionally well by a company John likes; only $12.00.  Here are a few shots of the covered dock we are tied up to. It is filled with huge house boats; I think about 80 footers! There are structures at the end of the docks that serve as patio areas. Folks have beautiful furniture, grills and more. I'm sure they all have a great time in the summer. John talked to one man who is a live aboard; he is a captain and transports boats for people....

 Day 103: October 29: Rainy and cold again. It seems strange, we put miles and miles behind us heading south, but we just can't seem to get out of the cold. An unusual cold spell it seems. At the same time back home has had some great weather; 80 one day from what we were told. Indian summer at its best.  We pulled the anchor at about 8:30 and headed back onto the misty, dreary Ohio. We dodged barges for most of the day, still chasing 80; otherwise the trip was uneventful.  At Mile 935 is Paducah, Kentucky. Here it becomes decision time for folks traveling the rivers. You can either continue up the Ohio and join the Cumberland River at Mile 923 or enter the Tennessee River at Paducah at Mile 935 and proceed via the Tennessee. The route via the Cumberland is longer by about 25 miles but can be preferable, as the route via the Tennessee includes the Kentucky Lock which is renowned for long delays waiting on commercial traffic. We will be taking the longer route via the Cum...

Day 102: October 28 : It rained off and on all through the night. At 3:00 am we found ourselves outside throwing out a stern anchor. John woke up as he usually does a few times when we are on the hook, always alert to any sudden noises or bumps. He ventured outside to find we had done a full 180;  the wind had shifted and our bow was now facing out toward the entrance to the channel. Realizing we had spun completely around in the narrow inlet, he was thankful we had not swung closer to the bank and had not hit anything. Rather than take any chances, we pulled the Danforth anchor off of the bow. Like superman, John threw the chain over his back and carried the anchor to the stern. Even at 3:00 am I found the sight to be somewhat comical.  We waited for the boat to straighten out and then tossed the anchor overboard. All this while standing in the cold rain. Luckily I was able to get back to sleep for a few more hours before it was time to pull up the anchor and get UW.  Te...

 Day 101: October 27: It was a very peaceful night. We read that is is supposed to be warm today, maybe 80 degrees. Full of happy thoughts and great expectations, we got UW at 8:30 am, leaving what turned out to be a great anchorage at Kaskaskia Bend.  I put the coordinates for Little Diversion Canal (N 37.15.04, W 89.31.04) into the Chart Plotter as I usually do every day. Once into the plotter, the route is established and autopilot does the rest. Unless we are dodging a tow or deadhead or want to use the compass heading instead, autopilot is the way to go!  While it wasn't as cold as it could have been, the cloud cover certainly prevented the temps from getting anywhere 80. A couple of layers including sweatshirts were still a necessity.  One of the first things we saw along the river was a state penitentiary; Chester Prison; surrounded by fencing and guard towers. Imagine "living" on the water and not being able to enjoy it!  The Muddy Mississippi did not fa...