Port-A-Gee

10/19/20 - We took a day off and spent the day at Kingfisher Marina, Demopolis, AL .  Kingfisher is one of the nicest marinas we've visited. The pool was open, but we didn't take advantage of it.  We did, however, appreciate the big, clean laundry and shower facilities.  They even had free cable - but who has time to watch TV? I'm sure we would have appreciated it had we stayed longer. Cap gave Port-A-Gee a much-needed bath.  The chalk cliffs that we admired, attached their mineral deposits to the hull turning it white.  First Mate went for a run on gravel, but flat.  This is always a great way to check out the area. We were reunited with Seeker as they arrived late morning, and then used the courtesy car to get provisions - including some items for us.  We're saving our pints of Cherry Garcia for an evening on anchor. The crews of Port-A-Gee and Seeker borrowed the courtesy car to go into town for dinner.  We were pleasantly surprised to find Th...

After leaving Lighthouse Landing (Grand Rivers, KY), we repeated the waters we cruised in 2018. Ahh, the burden/convenience of a trailer-able boat. Red Neck Sign Co Sun, 10/11/20 - Lighthouse Landing to Pebble Isle Marina, New Johnsonville, TN (69 nm). We tied up to the transient dock with 1 other boat and felt comfortable that we had good protection for the evening.  It was pretty obvious that Covid-19 had taken its toll on this little marina, as it had few visitors, and the facilities were in need of some "attention" - it was very different than our stay in 2018. Big points for the complimentary hot cinnamon rolls in the morning though! Our visit to check out the showers (which were deemed unusable) rewarded us with a 10-minute display by Woody Woodpecker hammering away on the base of the trees. Google tells us it was a Pileated Woodpecker - it was a sight to behold! We also met Jim and Renee who were preparing for day 1 of their loop the next day.  Jim & Renee...

It's been a while since we've updated the Portagee Looper Blog.  Our last post was in October 2018 after we completed the 650 miles of the Tennessee River - Loop "side trip".  As a refresher, our Loop trip began in 2017 when we left Reefpoint Marina on Lake Michigan (Racine, WI) and navigated the Chicago, Illinois, Mississippi & Ohio Rivers, and ended at Kentucky Lake.  Essentially, the western 850-mile leg (or 15%) of the 6,000-mile Great Loop.  Plus the 650-mile TN River side trip - that counts! In July 2019, we skipped waaay ahead to Ontario and cruised the North Channel & Georgian Bay.  It was one of the best trips we've been on.  So much so, that we didn't squander a single second on screen time.  We are looking forward to returning as we make our way up the East Coast into Canada in compliance with the traditional Loop route.  Photos: Georgian Bay anchorages: Bear Island, Pearl Island For the past 6 weeks, we've enjoyed the hospitali...

Wed, Oct, 10 (63.1 miles) Hurricane Michael is threatening the Panhandle, and we are beginning to feel some of the residual effects on Kentucky Lake.  It's very cloudy, muggy, and the barometer is dropping.  We decided to get a early start with the hope of avoiding cruising in the rain.  We left Clifton about 8:45 a.m. and headed downstream on Kentucky Lake.  Locks and Dams are in our rear-view mirror, so we shouldn't encounter any delays.   Hurricane Michael must have sucked up the front, because the clouds gave way to sunshine and another hot day 80+.  Our 63-mile run to Pebble Isle Marina, New Johnsonville, TN (mm 95.6) was delightful.  We passed a crew dredging the lake and noted that the bottom of the river was surprisingly sandy.   At mm 130 we came across Lady Finger Bluff.  Legend has it that in the pioneer days, a lady chose to leap to her death from this bluff rather than be caught by attacking Indians.  We love these ...