Chick Magnets?

As part of the AGLCA's Rendezvous events, we participated in the "Looper Crawl" this evening between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. (The rain on Tuesday postponed the "Crawl" until today). We had the opportunity to visit a wide variety of boats owned by Loopers: from a 24-foot center console with a 50-horse outboard to a 55-foot luxury cruiser with several bedrooms and baths.  On board each vessel, it was interesting to see how owners managed their limited space and made it their home.   

Bert (a good looking guy; maybe 45-ish) is doing the loop solo on a 30-foot Grady White cuddy-cabin with two 200-horse Evenrudes.  He began the Loop in Charleston, SC.  After Joe Wheeler, he'll continue cruising (avg speed:  30 mph; top speed:  50 mph) to the Gulf of Mexico, then to the Florida Keys, Tortuga in the Caribbean, then Cuba, the Bahamas and back up the East Coast to complete the loop in Charleston.  With this experience, he will earn his Captain's license, afterwhich he aspires to acquire a 50-something-foot yacht.  Why all this about Bert?  He's looking for a woman for whom he can share all this with.  If you can help him out, we'll get his contact info to you!

 After the "Crawl," Mike and I and new friends, Steve and Kathy from Indiana, toured each others' 2005 Mainship 400s (their hull is red; ours is navy).  We met Steve and Kathy at the Grand Harbor Marina last weekend and the 4 of us cruised together from there to Joe Wheeler State Park.  Steve and Kathy introduced us to "dark and stormies" at Grand Harbor Marina; tonight at Joe Wheeler, we provided a nice bottle of red wine as we discussed the similarities and differences in our boats and furnishings and the adaptations that make them our own.  

The Rendezvous at Joe Wheeler State Park concludes this evening.  Tomorrow, a group of at least 4 boats (2 couples from Indiana and 2 couples from Minnesota) will leave the marina at 8:30 am to travel up the Tennessee River towards Chattanooga. We've planned a cruising day of about 56 miles.  Some will anchor (like the Finkenbinders) and some will stay in a marina (most likely those traveling with pets).  The weather is predicted to be sunny with pleasant temps for Friday with conditions to change to rain, wind and cooler temps on Saturday.  Let's go!

This is a photo of last year's Rendezvous participants, but it gives you an idea of how many people gather here at Joe Wheeler State Park for this event.

On Wednesday, Mike and Brenda rode their bicycles to Rogersville, AL. located 4 miles from Joe Wheeler on winding, hilly roads.  You can see Mike on his bike at the end of the dock. 
We were able to pick up groceries and other supplies for the journey to Chattanooga.

Today is the 9th birthday of our grandson, Owen.  We began our day with facetime with Owen and his mom (our daughter), Jordan and "hi's" to Owen's older brother, Killian, and Owen's dad, Jared.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, OWEN!  We think you're a cool guy who can be alot of fun. 
We love you, sweetheart, and wish you a great day!

Today Mike did some maintenance in the bilges.  Here, he is inspecting the forward bilge where the air conditioning and washer/dryer vents are located.  In this photo, he's using a flashlight he was given just for such tasks as a gift by our friend and Long Lake neighbor, Donna Zelinsky.  Thank you, Donna!

Brenda is checking out our route we'll be taking to Chattanooga, including locks (we'll go through 2 along the way), marinas, towns, and potential anchorage sites.  Because the days are shortening (just less than 12 hours of daylight), we are more limited on how many  miles we can cover in a day.  She figures it'll take us 4 days to get to Chattanooga, averaging about 55 miles for the first 3 of them.

Mike replaced a belt and an impeller on the generator, which is located in the aft bilge.  His toolbox, which he brought from home, once belonged to his dad, Glen. 
On the Glen Finkenbinder, Inc. farm, Glen had this toolbox with him in every John Deere combine he operated.