MARATHON, FLORIDA

The pictures are from our last leg of the journey to Marathon Keys. We arrived here on November 15th and will be here until mid-January - first of February. Then we will head to the Exumas. We are going home for Christmas and our daughter's college graduation. Mandy is graduating Summa Cum Laude of her class (one in the top seven of her class). We are so proud of her. We have really enjoyed the trip and have met so many other boaters along the way. The picture below was taken on the ICW, just one of the many cool places you see along the way. Next blog will be pictures of the family from Christmas. Jess and I wish everyone a beautiful Christmas and a Happy New Year.



We are off-shore from Ft. Myers making our way to the Keys. We are about 5 miles out and the depth was around 10ft.



Anchorage at Little Shark River. This is our last stop before we get to Marathon Key which is about 45 miles away. Little Shark is in the Everglades. When the sun goes down, you do not go outside....NO SEE-UMS. They are tiny tiny tiny bugs that can eat you up!



Our view from the bow. This is looking west to the Florida Bay/Gulf of Mexico. Fifty miles from here is Key West. We see this everyday!



And this is our view from the stern. It is normally clear but when fronts come in off the Gulf and the Florida Bay, it blows the grass in.



Ed Boden, from Houston, came to see us for Thanksgiving. Ed and I worked together at the Wyndham Hotel (now the Omni) in Corpus Christi in 1991. We have been friends all these years and LOVE his visits. We took a three hour cruise in the Florida Bay off the Florida Keys.



...Mr. Boden holding the "Golden Loop Flag"...

KENTUCKY TO FLORIDA

Buzzard Rock: Can Happen To Anybody! The owner of Reflections owns Buzzard Rock Marina were we stayed for two weeks. Super marina, super folks and Wayne and his family are gracious host. They were heading out for a week's family vacation and the Capt. was looking at his cell phone and this is what happened. They were not even a mile from the marina (which was good for them). Things can happen to the best of the best.



Side view of Reflections. They had to bring in two barges and a crane to get her off the sandbar. Everyone felt so bad for Wayne and his family. Volunteers from the marina went out to the boat at night to keep watch on her.



THE $100,000 FLAG. This is our Gold Loop Flag for completing the loop. We joke about calling it the $100,000 flag but we proudly display her on our bow. Loopers see it and know right off that we did the loop.



History on the Tennessee River. This is the Cherry Mansion. Built in 1830 by landowner and planter, David Robinson. He presented the house as a wedding gift to his daughter Sarah and her new husband, W. H. Cherry. General Ulysses S. Grant was eating breakfast here on April 6, 1862, when he heard the distant dull thud of artillery fire as Confederate forces suddenly attacked his army at nearby Shiloh. The house served as Grant's headquarters during the fierce two-day battle. By the time the battle ended over 23,000 men died.



The Whitten Lock. We shared an 85ft drop with a huge barge. No biggie for My Cin - the pro's.



We are anchored off the river in this beautiful, peaceful cove enjoying the colors of fall.



Boaters can experience the FOGGY mornings on the Tenn-Tom. We left our anchorage and hit thick walls of fog right before entering a lock. There is no turning back and we had to inch our way into the lock. It was one of the scariest moments on the trip.



Incredible sunset in Perdido, Florida. We stayed at the Holiday Harbor Marina right next to the Sunset Grill. Now you know where they got the name. My sister Cathy lives in Pensacola, which is about 6 miles away. We had a wonderful visit with her and Sandi. Great marina, Sunset Grill owners, staff and food THE BEST!



Anchored right off of Panama City with another gorgeous sunset.



Sunset on the Gulf of Mexico. We left Carrabelle on 11/5 at 12:30pm for our crossing to Tarpon Springs. Weather/water conditions were perfect until 8:00pm. Winds picked up and it was not a pleasant run until about 5:00am the next day. We arrived in Tarpon around 11:30am on 11/6, anchored and crashed. My Cin made it.



Cruising south on the Intracoastal Waterway and just one of the many beautiful neighborhoods along the way. We are currently in Venice, Florida and will head to Ft. Meyers tomorrow. We will arrive in Marathon Keys by Sunday or Monday. Jess and I will fly home in December for Mandy's graduation (Teaching Degree) and Christmas. We will head to the Bahamas in mid-January and explore the Exuma Islands. In the spring, we will head back to the States and start making our way back home to Texas. It's been an incredible run but we are ready to head home for awhile and be with our kids. By the time we get back will be exactly two years on the water. But in the meantime, we will continue our blog with more pictures and stories.

MY CIN COMPLETES THE GREAT LOOP

Captain Still and Admiral Cindy all dressed up. This past May, we went to a wedding in Houston. It was truly a love story wedding. Jess worked with Rick Griffin and Larry Wiltz at Valero. Rick's son (Ricky) and Larry's daughter (Leslie) are the bride and groom. It was a beautiful wedding and it was good to see the gang that Jess had worked with for years. We hope you have enjoyed our journey on the blog. When we leave here October 14th, we will make our way back to the Keys then on to the Bahamas and explore the Exuma Islands. After that, we will see where the wind blows us. More to come on our blog.



Buzzard Rock Marina, Kuttawa, Kentucky. We stayed here last year and love this marina. It's very quiet and the scenry is beautiful. We arrived here on 9/29 and will pull out on 10/14. Jess took this picture early in the morning.



Another shot of the marina. We are enjoying the fall season and colors here.



September 29, 2008 4:40PM, Barkley Lake, entrance at Green Turtle Bay Marina. MY Cin has crossed her wake and completed the Great Loop. Patti Clifford took our picture to record this special moment. When we left Corpus Christi June 1, 2007, we traveled with Whichaway to Green Turtle Bay Marina in Kentucky where we stayed the summer. When we left last September, that was the start of our Great Loop adventure. I have to say, it was an emotional moment for Jess and I as well as Chuck and Fabin. We traveled 8,894 miles in 16 months. WE DID IT!!!!!!



The Barkley Lock on the Cumberland River. This is our last lock of the Great Loop. When we enter on the other side, we will have crossed our wake and completed the Great Loop!



Now we are on the Cumberland River. This is "Illusions" behind us and the trees are starting to change color. Since we left Grafton, Illinois, we cruised four rivers...Illinois, Mississippi, Ohio and the Cumberland. The Cumberland River is in Kentucky.



"Whichaway" going up the Ohio River. You can't really see it in this picture but where the Ohio River meets the Mississippi River, the color of the water changes. There literally is a line at the entrance....Mississippi brown and the Ohio blue.



There are huge barges that travel the rivers. The longest one we have seen was a tow with 25 barges. It's amazing how they handle and move these barges on the river.



The Arch at St. Louis. It was so cool to cruise by this wonder. Just beautiful. Billy and Patti Clifford on "Illusions" went to St. Louis one day and went to the top. They said it was incredible.



We left Grafton Marina on Friday, September 26th to make our way down the Mississippi River. This is a Casino on the Illinois River right before we enter the upper Mississippi River. The river current was still strong but safe for pleasure crafts to cruise. The one good thing was we had great speed going with the current - up to 13 mph.

FLOOD - BEFORE & AFTER

We arrived in Grafton, Il on 9/16 and have been here for 10 days. At that time, the river was at flood level. Everything is back to normal and the Texas Boats are heading south tomorrow 9/26. The picture below is at the end of our dock showing normal water level. This shows you how high the water got up as shown in pictures below. We are ready to get moving again and really did enjoy our stay in Grafton. The owners of the marina and their staff were very accommodating. We greatly appreciated their kindness to the AGLCA River Rats.

CAN'T GO UNDER IT...CAN'T GO THROUGH IT...HAVE TO GO OVER IT!

Michigan Lake and Illinois River...has been a wonderful trip. We didn't go to Chicago but could see her from the boat going into the Illinois River. I took pictures but it was a very hazy day. The rivers are closed to high water and fast currents from the aftermath of Ike. We are hoping to be able to leave here sometime next week. This picture was one of the first harbors we stayed in off Lake Michigan. The house is so neat as well as their yard.



Our own personal Swan Dance at one of the marinas.



The shores of Lake Michigan are beautiful. Many tall sand dunes along the shore.



Labor Day Weekend.....beaches were packed.



Labor Day Weekend on Lake Michigan. We are coming into port and the boat traffic was insane.



As we entered the Illinois River, we had a series of low bridges we went under. We lowered our antennas and made all of them. One bridge in question was 19 ft. We were prepared to take our satellite and anchor light down but the river was low enough we made it with one inch to spare.



We shared a lock with a Tow and six barges. It was scary at first, but once we got in, no big deal.



Here we are going down the lock with the Tow and barges.



Had to show this picture. Capt. Still cleaned the AC strainer and look what he found.



Tall Timbers Marina in Havanna, Il. It is a small marina but gorgeous with all the plants and sitting areas around the docks. Super nice folks and a pleasant stay. We were here when the rains came from Ike.



This is our last lock on the Illinois River. The drop going down is 10ft. As you can see, the lock is completely under water. Next picture will show you how we passed the lock.



Soooooo, My Cin had to go over it! As we went over the dam, the depth was 20 ft. Once we passed over, depth was at 30 ft. That was a first for us.



There are many River Homes along the river banks. The homes are all sitting in water and some areas the roads are blocked due to high water.



A Picnic Cabana under water.



The dock in the picture separates us from the Illinois River and you can see just one of the MANY logs flowing downstream. The current is running about 3-4 miles per hour. The river was up 25 ft. above normal pool.