At last!

We're on the Tennessee River!  We completed the Tenn-Tom around 5 pm and spent last evening at the Grand Harbor Marina on Pickwick Lake.  Our intentions were to:  1.  Walk for a couple of miles; 2.  Wash clothes;  3.  Fuel up and fill our water tanks. 

What actually happened:  We accomplished #2 (thanks to a boating couple, Jerry and Deena, who exchanged our dollars for lots of quarters) and #3, and met the Hollenbergs.  Together with Steve and Kathy (Loopers, 2005 Mainship 400 MV "Red Pearl" from Indiana, also on their way to Joe Wheeler State Park for the AGLCA Rendezvous) we had our first "docktails" (Steve served us "Dark and Stormy"s; Brenda brought roasted almonds and olives to go with them).  Afterwards, full-of-energy Mike washed Tenn-Tom mud from the fenders and anchors (therefore tired-but-not-exhausted Brenda did more organizing of the limited closet space). With more energy to spend, Mike then made a quick trip to the grocery store with the Marina courtesy car (stores were closed). This time, Brenda sat in an easy chair and numbly watched a show on Amazon Prime until his return.

The Tennessee River is gorgeous!  It's wide and clean and lined with densely wooded bluffs and attractive, well-maintained residential areas.  The temperature is a perfect 72 degrees.  The sky is mostly cloudy which, like driving a car, makes for nice boating (sun's not shining in our faces).  Since we're out of the isolation of southern Alabama, we have good cell phone coverage which allows Mike to catch up on Puget Sound Mobile Wash work and Brenda to catch up with family and friends.

We expect to get to Joe Wheeler State Park in Alabama at around 2 pm this afternoon.  The America's Great Loop Cruising Association (AGLCA) Rendezvous at Joe Wheeler started this morning. Today through Thursday, the AGLCA will provide a series of educational seminars about the Great Loop and how to plan and implement our adventure.  There will also be opportunities to swap stories and experiences with others, as well as meet vendors with offerings.  This is a popular event for the AGLCA and registration gets filled-up fast.  While we missed the registration deadline to take in theh classes, we're registered to participate in a Looper Crawl (docktails and touring others boats!) and will participate in the social aspects of the event.

Velsignet will be anchored at Joe Wheeler for the next 3-4 days, the longest we have stayed in one place since purchasing her.  How we look forward to taking a deep breath; giving ourselves some time to unwind, meet friendly people, and make plans for what we're going to do next.

This photo was taken this morning at about 7:45 a.m. as we entered onto the Tennessee River. 
What beautiful scenery we are surrounded in!

These trees were seen periodically along the Tenn-Tom Waterway.  They are trees that grow in the water.  Mike thinks they are "Pond Cypress" trees.  At full maturity, they will grow up to 70 feet high. 

This is the Whitten Lock, the 12th lock we've gone through between Mobile, AL and the Tennessee River.  The large tug gives a perspective of the locks height.

Velsignet is in the Whitten Lock, tied securely to one of its floating bollards, ready for the Lockmaster to close the doors and begin rising us to the upper river water level.  Here you can see the doors are closing.  

This photo is taken from the sundeck on Velsignet looking up the lock wall within the Whitten Lock.  The wall in total is about 85 feet.  The Whitten Lock is the 9th highest single lift lock in the United States and the last lock on the Tenn-Tom.  On the other side of the lock is water that is noticably cleaner and clearer; we're getting close to Pickwick Lake!

This is a view along the Tenn-Tom Waterway.  Notice how in this area, both shores are lined with rock; one really does think of this as a man-made ditch (which it is).  Overhead is the Jamie L. Whitten bridge.

The Tenn-Tom is a 234-mile man-made waterway that extends from the Tennessee River to a river junction (the Tombigbee and Black Warrior Rivers) near Demopolis, AL.  The Tenn-Tom was completed late in 1984 by the US Army Corp of Engineers and links commercial navigation from the middle of the United States to the Gulf of Mexico.

Yesterday, October 12th, was granddaughter ROSE's birthday.  We had some facetime with our daughter, Allison, and this 8-year-old with good wishes.  You can see Rose's fun and silly-ness in this photo!

This is a view taken on Pickwick Lake, located on the north end of the Tenn-Tom Waterway and just below the Tennessee River.   The water is beautiful with island and inlets abounding.  Lots of blue herons and bald eagles.

This is Steve and Kathy in their Mainship 400 as they leave Grand Harbor Marina this morning.  We look forward to seeing them again at the AGLCA Rendezvous at Joe Wheeler State Park.

We took off at 7:25 this morning.  This is a photo of the Grand Harbor Marina on Pickwick Lake where we stayed last night.  The Grand Harbor is a condominium complex with a marina for its owners and transient guests.  The Grand Harbor will be a sponsor at the Rendezvous and gives AGLCA and BoatUS members discounts on its fuel and dockage.