Sailing Kathryn

What’s a Normal Day?

Fall River View

Sunset at Grand Harbor Marina

A number of people have asked me, “What do you do every day when you are on the boat?” As I blog and give updates of our adventures, you might know, not every day is full of excitement. I call those “normal days”. The last two days have been what I call “normal” so that is where this blog is coming from this A.M.

Leaving Clifton, TN to Pickwick, MS:

* Left the harbor around 8:30 (which is late for us) due to ground fog. You don’t want to meet a tug/barge in the fog!

*Sailed up river past all of the areas we had driven by and visited on our road trip to Shiloh. We saw the Savannah, TN bridge over the Tennessee River, the cat fish restaurant and Pittsburg Landing where the Union troops arrived by boat at Shiloh.

*In Savannah, from the river you can see the historic mansions that still remain. (see picture below) The Cherry Mansion was the headquarters for General U.S. Grant in the spring of 1862. Alex Haley’s paternal grandparents (the author of Roots) lived in Savannah. His grandmother Queen worked as a maid at the Cherry Mansion and his grandfather was a ferryman. They are buried in a Savannah cemetery. Interesting note, also, was that the women who worked in the Cherry Mansion were Confederates, so Grant would not wear his uniform when he was in the home out of respect for them.

*We were sailing up current in the river and the current became very strong the closer we got to Pickwick Lock and Dam. (In non-boater terms…if we normally go about 7 miles per hour, in strong current we only go about 4 miles per hour…much slower travel.) Steve called the lock to let them know we were getting close and the lockmaster replied, “Keep it coming, Captain, I’ll have the doors open for you when you arrive!” He was good to his word and we sailed right in. This lock took us up 57 ft. and out we went into Pickwick Lake. This is a beautiful recreational area for southern Tennessee and northern Mississippi. We pulled into the marina at 5:45 P.M. and tied up.

*Ate dinner, relaxed and went to bed. SEE….a normal day!

Cherry Mansion

Drove over this bridge one day and under it the next

Hagy's Catfish Hotel from the river

Pittsburg Landing

A Day at the Grand Harbor Marina

Condos at Grand Harbor

*After our morning coffee, I made pancakes for breakfast.

*Laundry day…enough said about that. Yahoooo!

*Steve and I signed out the “loaner van” from the marina and went into the local town. We found a place for Steve to get a haircut and stopped by a local coffee house and talked with the locals. Southern hospitality is so gracious and heartfelt. J Next, we picked up a few groceries and headed back to the boat.

*Met some boaters for a little happy hour on the dock. They have the cutest covered gliders on the waterfront and it’s so nice for just sitting and talking.

*Got a shuttle ride to a local restaurant, Freddie T’s, for dinner. The Loopers we have met several times along the way, joined us, too.

*Back to the boat and time for bed.