And Just Like That It Is Over

Coffee, cinnamon rolls and fruit in the salon with the generator thumping away to heat the boat. Frost on the deck still hadn’t melted by the time the sun was high enough to see through the fog.

We left our last anchorage and headed down river to Mobile 53 miles to the south. We meet three tows almost right away. The first was the most memorable though as the captain said, “Yes sir, meet me on the twos. I can probably give you enough room”. John moved to the left descending bank and throttled back just before the corner. Then we heard, “Come on buddy, get her going”. He needed to skid his tow over to the side we were on.

Two more tows in quick succession then we settled into watching the scenery roll by. It changed from one bend to the next from forest to bayou. Too cold for alligator spotting but brown pelicans entertained us by winging low over the water, swooping up 10-15 feet, and then diving down for some tasty morsel.

I was also working the phone to find a dock for a few nights as the weather forecast said a front will move through with its associated storms and winds. Mobile Bay is large and so shallow that a boat like ours can bottom out in a 4 foot swell. Despite a crowd of loopers, I finally found a spot in Fairport on the east side of the bay.

And just like that it was over:

• 326 miles on the Illinois,
• 228 miles on the Upper Mississippi,
• 54 miles on the Ohio,
• 275 miles on the Cumberland River and then back,
• 603 miles on the Tennessee River and then back,
• 29 miles on the Little Tennessee River and back, and finally
• 412 miles on the Tenn-Tom Waterway

Bring on the beaches and tiki huts. We’re ready.