Rita here, posted November 2, 2023 on Facebook.
What a day! We started out at 6:50 this morning in the fog with a temp of 37 degrees and headed to Coffeeville (I love that name) Lock. These lock masters have a lot of power over us. There are days when the group of us would like to head out at 8-9:00, but the lock master says jump; so we go. Otherwise, you potentially could spend most of your day waiting to get through. They are very pleasant people, but sometimes I am not a fan of their timing.
Anyhow, in a very Scooby Doo type setting we and 5 other boats set off. The fog is scary but also very beautiful. We head right into the lock with no waiting at all. Locking went smoothly with probably the least amount of boat movement during locking that we’ve had yet. This is our last lock for probably two weeks! Can I get a Hallelujah?!
Onward we go traveling down the Tombigbee River. Here’s the thing about the river system – it takes 5 miles to go a mile because it’s so so so very very very curvy. Those u-turns I mentioned the other day are called ‘’oxbows,’ and there are a lot of them. We had some epic oxbows today. I have a pick of our navigation map and probably a couple other pics too. As we were approaching the most twisty part of the river, something came over me, and I actually told Scott I wanted to drive. He gladly said yes and graciously sat next to me to help me out. In my head I asked God to send me all the tools he had to help me know what to do. I asked for wisdom and skill and angels and Holy Spirit insight, and then I had such a peace and calm about it; I just knew I was gonna get through this just fine. I actually told Scott he should lay down and take a nap. It was the best! I slowed down for a kayak, I chatted with captains from other boats, and managed to watch both navigation maps and the water at the same time. Praise the Lord because I am certain I did NOT do that on my own!
It ended up being a very nice day – about 65 I think. It was warm enough for a big ‘ol alligator to be basking in the sun on the shore off our port side. A short while later, I saw a gator in the water off our starboard side. I wasn’t sure what it was at first, but as I looked closer I could see its eyes and make out a dim outline of the rest of the body. Unfortunately, I figured that out too late and didn’t get a pic, but I did get a photo of the first one. Also, these crazy seagulls were following us for the longest time. They would fly to within a few feet of the boat, turn left or right, circle back and do it all over again. There had to be at least a dozen of them. I took video, and if that turns out I shall post it. It was so much fun to watch.
We are spending the night at the Tensaw River Anchorage. Lots of room, calm water, and it’s a beautiful night. I read in some reviews that there was a beach area where we could drive the dinghy and take Jazzy for a walk. Normally, I don’t like to do the dinghy walk thing because stuff is so muddy, but a beach – I can handle that. We find what looks like it could be a beach-like area, but once we pull the dinghy up it looks more like dirt. That’s OK because Jazzy needs to do business, and we have shoes so what’s a little dirt? Oh My Goodness! I think I took less than 10 steps when I totally sunk in, and my foot came right out of my shoe! Ok, I guess my feet are getting a mud bath. People pay money for that stuff, don’t they? I take off my other shoe and carefully continue on. Before ya know it, Scott sunk in the mud up to his ankles and fell over onto his caboose! He’s sitting in the mud trying to hand me Jazzy’s leash so he can stand, but I make him wait until I can get a picture because this is just too good not to share. We managed to get enough of a walk for Jazzy to finish up and headed back to the boat to clean up. I hung my feet over the side of the dinghy on the way back to rinse them off and was surprised at how warm the water is!
We are now home and clean and ready to relax. I hope you all have a great night! Enjoy the pics, get some sleep and get ready to make tomorrow a great day! Be a blessing and be blessed.
Surf & Turf Retirement Adventures 