November 2006 Mississippi to Alabama

Celebrating Thanksgiving at a feast with other boaters in Demopolis, AL
One of the locks on the Tenn-Tom
Jim is holding onto the line that is attached to the bollard. This is a floating bollard. You tie your line to it and hold on as the water and the bollard rises or lowers in the lock.
The Bevill lock visitors center, it was built in the 1980s as a replica of a antebellum home
The Magnolia antebellum home in Aberdeen, MS




November 23 Happy Thanksgiving.
We are celebrating Thanksgiving in Demopolis,AL. Some of the boaters organized a Thanksgiving pot luck, complete with turkey and ham. Everyone is bringing the holiday goodies. Yum! We plan to move south tomorrow and be in Mobile, Alearly next week. I understand cell phone coverage is poor in this area of the country so we'll catch up with you next week. We've had some cold nights but it's now close to 70 during the day and 40s at night, much better weather
November 21 we traveled into Alabama and stayed at the Marina Cove Marina in Carrolton, AL. There we visited the Bevill Lock visitors center that is housed in a modern day replica of an antebellum home. Great displays of the locks, the Tenn-Tom and the animals here in Alabama. Also on display was the 108' snagboat Montgomery that was retired from service in the 1980s.
.November 18 We are still in Columbus MS. In the 60s today but the nights are cold. November 13 A quick trip to Florida. We drove to Florida last week as my dad was admitted to Orlando Regional Hospital and had three stents put in. He was released on Friday and is doing well. It's good to see him home and resuming normal activity and having a positive outlook. Thanks to everyone who kept him in your prayers. We are celebrating Jim's birthday today (just a couple days early) and then are leaving tomorrow to drive back to Columbus MS where we left the boat. We hear there is a Michigan Ohio State party this weekend at the marina. Our friends on Niagara Myst who are also at the marina in Columbus, MS are from Ohio and cheering their team on. Too bad they will lose!We plan to leave Columbus next Monday the 20th and head down toward Demopolis, AL and then to Mobile.
November 5 Still in Mississippi First I want to say hi to my Dad, who had a heart attack last week but is now home from the hospital and sounding good.. He's due to go back in a couple weeks to have a stent put in. Please keep him in your prayers. Love you, Dad
November 1 .I can’t believe it’s November. Mark at Aqua Yacht finished up the installation Nov. 1 and we now have a working invertor. We left there early Thursday. It’s still cool but at least the sun is out so the flybridge warms up nicely. We are beginning the Tenn-Tom system and will go through ten locks on our way to Mobile, AL. The first lock , Whitten, takes you down 88’. We were with five pleasure boats and the Delray Belle (a paddlewheel boat) coming out of the lock and met a barge. He asked us to turn around back to the straight part of the channel because of the wind and the curves of the narrow channel. Of course,we did and let him through. You don’t challenge barges! Frost predicted tonight. Headed into Midway Marina in Midway, MS. 3 locks today.
On Friday November 3 morning we had a thin layer of ice on the bow of the boat and on the back steps in the cockpit. Fortunately it was sunny and the ice soon melted the ice and it warmed into the 60s. It is to be cold again tonight though. With the time change it now gets dark by 5pm. 3 locks today. Came into Aberdeen Marina in Aberdeen, MS for the weekend. On Saturday November 4. we went into the city of Aberdeen. The city was once a major cotton growing area with large plantations. It was a major port on the river and consequently has a lot of historic homes, some are antebellum, dating back to the Civil War era. They weren’t burned during Sherman’s march because of Gen. Bedford Forrest and his troops. The folks here are proud of their city and many of the homes are privately owned and have been preserved and restored. We did get to tour the Magnolia Home that is now owned by the city and used for weddings and other events. The home is furnished with wonderful antique furniture, lots of fine wood is used in the floors and bannisters and it even has a Waterford crystal chandelier over the winding staricase. The home is a real touch of the Old South.
On Monday November 6, we will move to Columbus Marina in Columbus, MS and stay there for a week. The weather is predicted to get warmer going into the 70s during the day. Sounds good to me.