Bazar’s Second Wave

Yet another beautiful morning and another 50 miles under our keel!  We didn't find too many opportunities for pictures today but as I said before the scenery is improving. The pic above is the Old Louisville & Nashville Rail Road Bridge where only part of the span is there and the other part is missing.  The pic below was right after the RR bridge and it is an old abandoned dock.  The things you see along the way. Another great weather day to travel. Other than this sign in the ship's store there wasn't much to photograph in this very rustic marina.  The 2 very knowledgeable men that helped us dock went right back over to the patio, took their shirts off, and resumed their adult beverages until sundown (no pictures of that!).   We enjoyed a nice picnic supper with Doug and Dana and played cards until sundown, out come the mosquitoes and back to the boat we go.

Don't I just look thrilled to be underway. This was leaving Green Turtle Bay and heading into Kentucky Lake which will turn into the Tennessee River.  We were still faced with a 1-2 knot current against us that we weren't expecting so it was another slow day.  The scenery did improve though. Kentucky Lake is very nice with many scenic coves and lagoons. We got to Paris Landing early in the afternoon. This photo below was taken while coming into the marina. The breakwater below protects the entrance to the harbor. A USCG Tow Boat below used to set navigational markers. We really enjoyed our one night here.  The marina was part of a State Park so Dana and I set out in the afternoon for a gorgeous walk through the park.  Sorry I didn't take any pics. The marker board below measures the water level in the lake pool between the Locks. The office/restaurant/store in the photos above and below. Below i...

Today started out to be another gray day as we left Paducah but as we were underway the skies began to clear.  In the top pic you can see the color differentiation in the water.  The muddy brown water is the Ohio River converging on the clearer water from the Cumberland River.  Never had seen anything like this before. But the current pushed against us in both. Green Turtle Bay is another one of those milestones on the Loop when you feel like you have just completed another challenging section. Many people stay a week or more to rest and recover from the rivers that we have traversed so far. A couple we had met in Fort Myers, Tom and Jennifer, showed up in a golf cart and asked us if we wanted a ride to a restaurant onsite but quite far to walk and so we took them up on it.  The Resort is spread out so golf carts and shuttles are used often. Another docktails!!  I wonder if we will host a docktails everyday at 5 at our new resi...

Although it looks like night is upon us, it is a cloudy dawn. We left our anchorage at 6:45am (after removing a small tree from our anchor line) and completed our trip down the fast flowing Mississippi River. The picture below shows our speed right before we turned left to begin our slow trek up the Ohio River. Within seconds after our turn we lost 6 knots.  We knew the next 40 miles to Paducah were going to be a slow haul. The bridge below has a Kentucky span and an Illinois span. The water in the photo below is about 80 feet deep and the ripples from the current are clearly still visible at the surface. We arrived in Paducah at 6:30pm after almost a 12 hour day on the water.  We have never traveled that long in one day and it rained off and on all day which we have never had before either.  All in all an exhausting day!! Here we are along with about 10 other boats tied to the outside and inside of this new long city dock...