Alabama: Joe Wheeler State Park (Day 3)

Day: 113
No Boat Travel

Rendezvous activities started early today with complimentary breakfast starting at 7:45.  We did well we got there just after 8:00.  You know you are in the south when the hot food includes biscuits and gravy as well as grits.  Clark and I attended three lecture sessions today as well as three "show and tell" sessions.  The well-presented lecture sessions gave the what-to-expect coverage of upcoming segments of the Great Loop trip.

Today, in the lecture sessions, we covered "Tenn-Tom Waterway to Mobile, AL" and "Mobile, AL to Tarpon Springs, FL".  The latter topic required two sessions since there are two distinct ways to get across the Gulf of Mexico to the west coast of Florida - the "stick-close-to-shore, Big Bend" path or the "shortest-path, straight-line route".  I found the lecture sessions to be well-presented and very informative.  The information gathered at the rendezvous is well worth the price of admission.

Some interesting facts / things I learned in the lecture sessions today:

• Marinas on the other end of the scale from five star variety are called 'Character" marinas.
• Navigating the Tenn-Tom Waterway is referred to as "Ditch and River Driving" - drop a stick in the water, wait ten minutes, and then follow it downstream.
• A tow boat with barges is roughly the same size as a nuclear aircraft carrier.
• The standard size for an Army Corps of Engineers lock is 9' deep x 110' wide x 600' long.
• When you call a marina and ask if they have a restaurant and they say, "yes", ask if it is open tonight?  The answer may very well be no.
• Alligators have been seen in the Tenn-Tom waterway.
• Snakes have been seen in some locks.
• Joe Wheeler State Park is named for a Confederate General.  When the lock and dam were constructed and the park established, rich farm land belonging to the family plantation of Joe Wheeler's granddaughter was included in the land to be flooded and taken over by the government.  His granddaughter resisted the take over until she realized the effort was futile.  At which point she agreed they could take her land with the stipulation that the park and lock and dam be named after her famous grand-daddy.  The government agreed.  
• Brigadier General Joe Wheeler is the only, or one of the only, confederate generals buried in Arlington Cemetery.  (I have heard both "the only"  and "one of few", so I do not know which to believe.)

The show and tell sessions covered topics like life jacket safety, towing insurance, boat inspections, and flare demonstrations.  At the first session we attended we received a stamped card.  For each show and tell we attend we are to get our card stamped.  If, at the end of the rendezvous, we have attended every show and tell session, we can submit our cards and be eligible for a drawing for a prize of some sort.  Today at one S&T session Clark and I each won a t-shirt because we had entered the sponsor's drawing, and we attended their session - we had to be present to win.

The day ended with the flare demonstrations which, of course, had to be done outside over the water. The demonstrator had hand-held flares of differing types including smoke flares as well as flare launchers (guns).  Apparently calling them flare guns is now taboo.  I fired a flare "gun" launcher but did not attempt the hand-held flares.

Demo of hand-held flares of two varieties

Demo of smoke flare

The flare demonstration concluded today's instructional sessions, and we had the rest of day to do as we pleased.  For anyone interested in exploring town, a school bus was provided by the program.  We decided to take advantage of the opportunity and go explore Rogersville, Alabama.

The bus dropped us off at the local pharmacy a few minutes before 5:00.  Clark needed something from there, and we were not sure what time they closed so we ran in there fast.  As we were leaving the store, after getting what he needed, we saw several "loopers' sitting near the front of the store eating ice cream cones.  Clark decided that even though our next planned stop was a restaurant for dinner, he wanted ice cream.  He got two scoops, but I passed on the ice cream today.

We left when the other loopers left to stroll around the small town to see what we could see.  Several of the shops had decorations out for Halloween.

Happy Fall Y'All

Town Square with Fountain, Clock
and Gazebo not shown in picture

Main Street in Rogersville, AL
note the colorful, metal rooster on the roof

Clark and I signed up and paid to attend the concert provided for "looper" entertainment tonight scheduled to start at 7:00.  Due to time constraints, we needed to abandon the other folks wandering around town and get dinner.  We slipped away while they explored the nooks and crannies of an antique store in town.  When we arrived at the steak food restaurant, we were told there would be a 15 minute wait for a table.  This was worrisome because time was ticking away for getting back to the bus pickup spot by the designated 6:30 time.

We put our names down on the wait list and decided to look at the menu to save time when it came time to order.  As I looked at my menu, Clark looked over and pointed out to me a table with all loopers seated there.  The table had two empty chairs, so I went over and asked if the table was for "gold loopers only" since they were all folks who had completed the trip in the past.  They invited us to sit with them.  Timing was perfect and our order was taken fast.  Conversation was interesting and informative.  The food was fine.

At 6:20 Clark reminded me that we had a 6:30 time commitment to get to the bus.  The Gold Loopers had a car, so we were on our own as far as making the bus in time.  We paid our check and got out of there as quickly as we could.  Clark had me nearly running to get to the gazebo to meet the bus, but when we got there, no bus!  Six other loopers arrived at the gazebo when we did.  Five of the six went directly into the grocery store there to find food of any possible kind.  Apparently, they were not so lucky as we were at the very same steak food restaurant.  They had the 15 minute wait for a table which we discarded.  Once seated, they managed to place drink orders, but the waitress never took their food order.  They left without eating after being there an hour.  Sadly their suppers from the grocery store varied from potato chips to beef jerky.

After waiting 20 minutes for the bus to arrive and deciding that we had been forgotten, I called the Joe Wheeler lodge to let someone know we needed to be picked up.  I worried that I would miss the show or worse yet not have a ride to get back to the boat several miles away down pitch dark roads. Finally the school bus transportation arrived to pick us up at 6:50.  She had been on her way all along but had taken a long time to get there.  I later learned that she had been on her way to the gazebo but had been flagged down by loopers all over town.  Ultimately she had a full bus and had to drop off that load before she could come get us.

As we drove down dark roads she called out, "Does anyone know how much time we have before 7:00?"  I was near the front with my FitBit watch that lights in the dark, so I yelled back, "You have 4 minutes!"  She responded with a chuckle and, "Well, that's alright then because I'll have you there in two."  Sure enough, two minutes later we arrived at the concert venue.  We found it interesting that we only just arrived, the musicians sounded like they were warming up, and some loopers were already waiting for the bus to arrive to take them back to their boats.

Sadly it did not take long after we got seated to figure out why folks had left practically before the show started.  The sound in the tin box, Cotton Gin venue was atrocious.  The volume was jacked up to the point of distortion, and with the metal walls, the sound bounced around terribly.  On top of all that the music tended towards the hard rock variety which was not at all what I was hoping for.  I wanted some down home Alabama fiddle / banjo music to stomp my feet to.  Instead I practically had my hands over my ears.

The group that played is "Fathers and Sons".  They have been playing for over 40 years and are a fathers and sons group of musicians.  Given the right sound system, they might actually be good.  I will never know.

"Fathers and Sons" Band

Early on in the second set I decided that my ears needed a break, so I went to the restroom and then outdoors hoping to find a waiting school bus to take me back to the boat.  No such luck on the bus, but I did strike up a conversation with some folks attending the rendezvous who had a car and were leaving.  When I expressed my feelings that I thought they were extremely lucky to be able to escape, they offered to take me back to the boat.  I went and collected Clark and got us out of there.  Dawn from "Movin' On" was seated with us, and when I said I had an escape route, she jumped up and came with us too.

I have to say that I did enjoy one thing with the concert tonight.  Over on the far side of the building a fire was roaring away in the huge fireplace.  Beside the fireplace a table was set up with marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers with two young boys ready and willing to demonstrate the art of making s'mores.  When I went over to investigate, I was given a straightened metal coat hanger and step-by-step instructions by a lad of about 10 on how to construct and eat a s'more.  I enjoyed the training (although I already had the basic idea of how to make a s'more) as well as the disgustingly fattening do-it-yourself dessert.