As we mentioned earlier we had our boat pulled out of the water.  The Marina set us up to have electric but we do not have marine heat or air conditioning.  We also have to watch how much electric we use at one time so we do not blow a breaker. Our heat is a small ceramic heater and an electric blanket. There were a few cold nights. We have to use a 12 foot ladder to get in and out of the boat. The shaft was pulled and final measurements were given to the shaft manufacturer.  In the meantime, we took Kit and Pam (India Jayne) to the airport.  They will return to California to spend the holidays with their family.  It was a good ride into Mobile and the airport.

On Tuesday we were informed that the shaft manufacturer needed the transmission coupler to complete the shaft.  If it was shipped to them, they would not be able to complete the shaft until January 6^th because they are closed Dec 23 – January 4^th.   We did not want to wait this long, so since we had the rental car we drove the transmission coupler to the manufacturer in south Tampa (9 hour drive).  We could not get there before they closed on Tuesday so we spent the night and delivered it on Wednesday AM.  They could not tell us when it would be completed but they said it would be before they closed for the holidays so we decided to drive back to Alabama.

Wednesday night when we returned there was a group of musicians gathering.  We went over to the dock area where they were and listened to the group.  Each person took turns singing a song. One person played a wash tub base and we were amazed at how much sound and how many notes he could make.

The next day we got a call from the shaft manufacturer at 3:00 PM, who advised that our shaft was ready.  This was great! We could have stayed an extra day to save us driving time but, hey! We are retired and we have unlimited miles on our rental car!   We set out at 1:00 AM on Friday to pick up our shaft!   Sixteen hours later we had the shaft at the marina waiting for Monday so that they could install it.  If all goes well we will be back in the water before Christmas! Boner was happy we came back the same day!

While we drove Deules installed  the new raw water pump.

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Today we spend the day cleaning and making a maintenance list for the boat.  The marina we are at has full service and can pull boats out,  We needed a new raw water pump on the Starboard motor so we thought we also have them check a few other preventative maintenance items: anodes, port impeller, transducer installation, stern thruster, and genset cooling issues.

On the brighter side, we met a few other “Loopers”: Rock Me Baby – was leading us by a few days since Pickwick Lake. We finally met the owners Amy and Bill.  Their home port is the Wharf Marina which is only 30 miles away by land but they are having engine issues and need to get them repaired before making the last few water miles. Happy Hour began at 1:00 PM.  We took the courtesy car to town for dinner and to check out the lay of the land.

Thursday, December 10, 2015

The mechanic was here bright and early – 8 AM- to review the water pump and other items on our list.  The shaft on the starboard side has vibration in it. We pulled our historical maintenance information to determine if we needed to have the boat pulled out of the water so it can be inspected further.  We decided to do this.  We are scheduled for Monday to have the boat pulled out of the water.  Therefore we will most likely be here until next weekend.

In the meantime we saw a shrimp boat pull into the city marina. We went over to watch them pull in. They said they would be selling shrimp tomorrow and they have some big ones!  We will be back.

We continued to work on the boat doing some cleaning and polishing.  Chris worked on the grill we have and Janis worked on the railings.  We then went out to dinner with Kit and Pam (India Joyce).  We tried an Italian place that was very good.  Gambino’s – Steve was our waiter and did a very good job reviewing the menu with us and making sure we had a great experience.

Friday December 11, 2015

Since we will be in Fairhope for a week we decided to rent a car.  We spent the day working on the boat.

At noon the shrimp boat was ready to begin to sell shrimp.  We got 10 pounds and tried a few out by grilling them.  – Very good – very fresh! We went back and got 10 more pounds!  We got some cleaned for dinner and then froze some for later in the week.

We heard that John and April and the kids were coming into Eastern Shore Marina.  We waited for them on the docks and watched as they came across Mobile Bay.  We took the opportunity to give Boner a walk – he was not happy to have a harness on but he did investigate the docks.  John and April came in and we got them parked.  We decided to go to dinner and walk the streets of Fairhope.  They have all the trees lighted and all the shops are decorated. Beautiful.

As we came back to our boats we were talking and it was darker than normal and Chris missed the walk way between the boats and went in.  It was scary for a minute because we could not see him.  He finally surfaced and we were able to get him to John’s swim platform to get out.  He has a large bruise on his leg that will hurt for awhile, but at least he did not hit his head and drown.

Saturday,   December 12, 2015

John and April pushed off about 9:30 AM.   We wanted to go to West Marine and the closest one was in Orange Beach.  Our neighbors Kit and Pam wanted to get out so we all took a drive to Orange Beach.  We passed The Wharf Marina on the way. Kit and Pam were thinking of going to spend some time at The Wharf Marina, so we decided to check it out.  When we checked in at the Marina office they told us that there was going to be a lighted boat parade of about 50 boats at 6:00 PM.  They also helped recommend a few places to eat.  The Wharf Marina is located near an open air shopping area and they have a number of stores and restaurants.  While still in the office Pam looked at a TV that had a camera of the waterway on it and guess who we see??  John and April and they intend to spend the night at the marina.  We met up with them again and then when to a late lunch. After lunch we decided we did not need to go to West Marine because we had a good parking space.  We met at John and April’s boat to watch the parade.  It was great.  All the boats had music and people shouting out good wishes and Merry Christmas.

Well it was time to get a few things done here at Eastren Shores marina, new starboard drive shaft, water pump, with spare kit,engine anodes install transducer, fix stern thruster…… But hey I get free rent in the dirt! So there’sa break !!!

Several people requested a map to track our progress. In the upper right corner see Paraiso location map and open. Current city location will be noted under the map. We will work on a better map!

Tuesday December 8, 2015

We got up at 6:00 AM because we wanted to run slow to Mobile Bay so we can enjoy the last part of the Tombigbee Waterway.  There was a layer of Fog on the river.  We checked our radar and found a number of tow boats that were not moving because of the fog on the river so we waited until 8:30 to pull up anchor and move south.  The back anchor was easy to pull up – Janis was able to this herself. The front anchor was easy also BUT we caught a log that would not come off the anchor.  Janis had to use our push poll and Chris had to maneuver the boat in circles to get the log to come free.  It took 10 minutes but we were able to get the log dislodged.

Because the barges were parked waiting on the fog we just happened to time it right to get by the first two before they started to move.   The day was sunny and getting warmer (72F).  We reached Mobile Bay at 1:00 PM.  This area was very busy.  Tow boats were moving barge sand ships on each side of the channel.  We pass two tow boats pushing a ship and got caught between them and a third tow this caused us to travel through the strong wake they were dishing out.  The boat leaned 30 degrees dumping stuff from draws and tables. Needless to say it caused our heart rate to go up a bit. Soon we were stable again.  Paraiso continued to follow the channel into the bay.  There was a unique factory making new aluminum war ships. We had a tow ahead of us and we had two tanker ships coming into Mobile that we had to pass.  The ship is much bigger than the barges so took a bit getting used to.

We were warned that there would be some dredging at maker 72 which is where we wanted to turn to go across the bay.  When we got down there we saw some piping left just to the north but at the 72 marker it was clear so we made an easterly turn striking across the middle of Mobile Bay.  The water was smooth – no traffic and it was a nice 6 mile and 7-10 feet deep ride over to Eastern Shore Marine.  We got our slip assignment and we found we were by Jim and Paula (Palmetto Paradise), whom we met at King Fisher Bay.   We got settled and made plans to take the courtesy car into Fairhope on Wednesday.  Done with the rivers!

Monday December 7, 2015

Today is the last lock on the river system! Gators and Gulf Coast ahead!

We called the Coffeeville Lock and requested to lock down.  They had a barge on the way and said we could go down if we left right now!  We had a quick push off at 7:20 AM.  We were in the lock at 7:40 AM.  The barge coming up stream asked that we wait for him to come by us so we had to wait at the Federal Moorings just outside of the lock until it was safe to pass.  The barge captains have been very nice.  We have tried to reach out to them before we are right up on them to give them time to advise how they want us to pass them.  Coffeeville Lock is the last lock we will see for a while.  We are now in gator country! We cruised on at 1800 RPM’s we were not in a big hurry since we intended to anchor out tonight.  As you travel down the waterway north of Demopolis you get a smell of paper plants now and then.  It reminded Chris of his consulting job with in Chillicothe, Ohio.  We did hit a submerged log along the way but it did not seem to cause any damage.  We found a place to anchor out at the Alabama River cut off.  It was a very beautiful water way.  We pulled in 200 feet to stay out of the barge traffic.  There was a strong current so when we set our front anchor the current took us into the small trees along the bank.  We threw a stern anchor to keep us out of the bank and also out of the channel.  There were a number of fishing boats that came by us at all hours.  We started our generator so Janis could make some dinner and then it over heated in 5 minutes time.  We checked the water flow – all OK – so maybe it is the thermostat??  Not sure but no worries – we made dinner on the grill and enjoyed the evening light and then viewed the stars.  Since there are no city lights near us the sky was so full of stars it was amazing!   Since this was our first time to anchor out we set alarms so we could wake up and check the boat during the night to make sure we did not change positions.  Because of this neither one of us got a good night sleep even though there were no issues. There some all night fishing people who buzzed us half the night.

OH yea no gator attack as seen in Janis’s dreams.

Sunday December 6, 2015

After a week in Demopolis AL we finally pushed off and headed south.  We and another boat traveling to Texas went through the lock at 7:10 AM.  We had a great time with Ron and Michelle (Spirit Journey) and also met up with John and April (Sequacious) whom we first met at Kentucky Dam Marina. Both were staying on at Demopolis in order to take care of family and holiday plans.  We hope to meet up with them at a later date on the “Loop”.

The boat traveling to Texas was traveling at a higher mph than us and we soon lost sight of them.  Since we had 100 miles to travel we ran at 2300 RPM our goal was Bobby’s Fish Camp.  During the trip we figured out how to get the Sirius radio to work.  There was light traffic on the waterway. We read comments from the trip up north in 2013 that Daryl documented – at mile 158 he stated “85 degrees F Clear – Good current water muddy to stained”   We could say the same today but only 60 degrees and partly cloudy.  It was fun to read the notes from the trip up north and compare to what we experience this time.  One thing we decided is that we are doing a bit more planning and forward looking at weather and fuel consumption than the boys did when they brought the boat up north.  This section of the river is very beautiful it reminded us of the Kentucky River.  We had a few sticks to dodge but nothing that we have not experienced before.  There were some nice homes on the river but all had to be built on stilts due to flooding.  We made good time running at 2300 RPM and arrived at Bobby’s Fish Camp at 2:30 PM.

The restaurant was opened so we had dinner there – catfish was great.  There is a guest log in the restaurant and we saw that the two tall ships were here yesterday so we are only a day behind them.

December 4,5   2015

Alabama State Championship BBQ Cook off

The event began at 5:30 PM – We could not believe it when we entered and paid $5.00.  They stated that the food and the beer was free for as long as it lasted!  FREE BEER and BBQ?!! There were a lot of different smoker grills and cooker’s.  D5 would have been in hog heaven. Everyone was very friendly and were proud to talk about how they cooked their meat and built their smokers.  The judging and winners will be announced on Saturday.

Two tall ships came into the marina – these were the ones we saw going up the Ohio River to Portsmouth in September and then coming back in November before we left.  They caught up with us!

Christmas on the River

We began the day attending the craft show down town.  We found some great hot sauce and homemade fudge.  We also got a fish shaped piece of Corian and thought of our friend and neighbor Jerry who works at the factory that makes this stuff.

A parade was held and was full of floats and bands with some pretty cool cars and trucks mixed in.  We had to get some of the “Carnie” food – alligator on a stick – chicken on a stick – philly cheesesteak and Italian sausage!

In the evening we watched with friends, from the marina dock, a nautical parade and the 30 + minute fireworks show.  It was nice and the evening was clear with no clouds.  Tomorrow we will begin to move toward Mobile Bay.  This will take us 2-3 days.  Still seeking the warmer weather. Many thanks to Michelle and Ron for the time they spent with us. We had great time. Hope that Spirit Journey finds us again in Fl. Peace be with you on your trip to Washington St.

WE hope to get online at eastern shores marina. It spotty  service. We were asked to add a map so ya ‘ll know where places like demopolus is.  Right now we are in mobile area on the upper eastern shores near Fairhope. Today the shrimp boats are in! $5/ for jumbos. 10 #min. I will be on A culinary blitz …. You can check bubba’s (forest gump) shrimp list! If anyone has an idea, send it in….

Just a quick note no wifi.  Or cell service. We’re camping out for the first time in the lower swamp. Janis had a dream a gator climbed on the swim platform. She is locking and loading and locking the back door! More to come!