We will begin our adventure in October, 2017.  Please join us as we journey through America’s waterways.

      The last few weeks have been frantic but we are finally on the boat and ready for departure.  In the few days prior, our pastor Bill Miller and his wife Sue were kind enough to send us off with the blessing of our boat and voyage.  At a farewell dinner with the family, the grand-kids celebrate our adventure with a chocolate milk toast!

Thanks to our Braxton friends who joined us on B dock to formally send us off on our bucket list adventure!

Our first day out on America’s Great Loop and our first of many locks was Cheatham Lock and Dam.  The lock master was kind enough to let us lock through with a tow boat and barges, saving us several hours.  It was a short travel day of only 30 miles and we docked at Clarksville Marina and had a celebratory dinner.

A cold and rainy day!    Was surprising to see the American Queen (the largest riverboat ever built) docked at little Dover, Tennessee for a historical tour.

Wildlife was bountiful and for two days now we have witnessed deer swimming across the Cumberland River and  flocks of American White Pelicans on Barkley Lake.  Arrived safely at Green Turtle Bay Marina in Grand Rivers, Kentucky in a downpour!  Will relax and enjoy a couple of days of re-organization of boat and selves.

This morning we walked a mile to town to begin our exercise routine for the next 10 months of our trip.  When we saw the famous Patti’s Restaurant, we decided we needed to have breakfast before the long mile walk back to the marina.  Finding Patti’s closed, along with every other place in town, we opted to eat at the local grocery store/deli.  How do you beat a BLT in the produce department of a local small-town grocery?  After some laundry chores and electronics education, we had dinner on the boat and called it a day!

First off, Happy Birthday to our son, B.T.  First birthday we have missed in 35 years!  We love you and miss you all already!

We pulled out of Green Turtle Bay heading to Pebble Isle Marina in soupy fog and rain.

We shared the haunted house on the river with our Grandson, Bryson.  And the Secret Society of the Duckettes is a special connection from the past (Brenda Byrd), “If I tell ya, I gotta kill ya”!

Docked at Pebble Isle Marina.  The lonely sailboat anchored out dinghied in….

We started our day with some famous Billy’s fresh baked cinnamon buns.  Billy’s tradition is to treat all transient boaters each morning with fresh baked and hand delivered cinnamon buns.  You can see Ron had seconds.   

Karen ate her bun at the Tiki bar and later she made Ron do a little work-out for his penitence for the second cinnamon bun!

Santa is on his way to Texas and for a while he took over Karen’s navigational duties but later we agreed to work well together.

We had no locks and some beautiful scenery along the Tennessee River today, and the weather was better!                                           

We pulled into Clifton Marina in Clifton, Tn this evening and was greeted by Sonja, who later grilled us some awesome cheeseburgers – not in paradise, but close!

We got an early start out of Clifton, with a very busy day on the river.  We passed or met nearly a dozen tows and barges and fought a strong current all the way to Pickwick Lock and Dam.                         

Our little turtle dude (our running mate) does well on dry land, but with the river water levels down – this boat, not so much!

As we entered the headwaters of The Tenn-Tom, we passed beautiful Grand Harbor Marina and ultimately arrived at Aqua Harbor Marina in Iuka, Mississippi.

As we flew the Titans flag on our boat, we listened to the game on the radio.  We arrived at Aqua Harbor Grill in time to catch the last of the game.  TITANS WIN!  Woo Hoo!

       We talked to the service department about the performance and a small fuel leak.  They recommended a bottom pressure wash and found a small part leaking in the generator.

We borrowed the marina’s courtesy van and drove to Savannah, TN to Walmart for provisions to get us down the Tenn-Tom waterway.  We stopped at The Outpost in Pickwick, TN for the most awesome platter of BBQ ribs, chicken, pulled pork and fried dill pickles.  They serve no alcohol, The Outpost is a workforce development ministry assisting individuals in their transition into society.