Kentucky: Grand Rivers (Days 5 & 6)

Days: 98 - 99
No Boat Travel

A large portion of the day yesterday (9/30) and today (10/1) was spent on chores of one sort or another.  Clark worked on cleaning the boat -- tackling a portion each day as it was so filthy with dirt, dead bugs, and spider webs and droppings.  I defrosted the refrigerator, got a haircut, did some repair-type sewing, ...

Although we have been at the Green Turtle Bay Marina for six days already, we have been busy running around seeing the sites or doing chores.  When we first arrived here, the weather was in the 80s and hot and humid.  Today the temperature reached a high of 67 with a cool / cold breeze blowing.  Since arriving, we have had an agenda item to tour the marina facilities. With the cooler weather providing ideal biking conditions, at 3:00 this afternoon, we finally managed to get out on our bikes and enjoy ourselves for a bit.

We started our tour of the marina on foot because the path to the beach clearly specifies golf cart and foot traffic only.  Bikes unfortunately do not fit into either category.

View of Barkley Lake / Cumberland River from
Green Turtle Bay Marina

As we walked back towards the boat, we passed a trail off to our right that went past a pond and beyond.  Clark suggested we stroll that way and see where it took us.  What we found surprised us and made me a little sad.   Clark noticed it first - a gravestone at the top of the hill overlooking the lake, and then as we walked, we saw more and more neglected headstones covered by the brush and weeds.  What made me sad specifically was the number of headstones for children who died at a very young ages.  For example, I saw one for a child that died at birth.   I saw another that indicated the child had lived only 14 months and another of a young girl who died at the age of 11.  Of course we also found stones for folks who lived to older ages, but I found the stones for the youths to be especially poignant.  All of the stones I saw had dates in the late 1800s to around 1906 or so.

Old Overgrown Cemetery 

We moved on to a cheerier portion of our exploration as we toured the remainder of the complex by bicycle.  Green Turtle Bay has been around for a while as one can tell by looking at the old ad signs posted in various buildings around the complex.  Here are a couple of examples.

Don't those ads just make you want to bring your boat right on down to GTB?!

Green Turtle Bay has several slip areas.  I thought I was on the remote outpost being on Pier 6 until I met folks with their boat on Pier 8 who clocked their distance to the main office at 2 miles.  Then later still I met folks with a boat on Pier 12 who said that they are 5 miles from the main office.  Geez that makes my 1/2 mile round trip feel like nothing at all.  The folks at the 5-mile mark had ridden over to the "head" using a golf cart.  I wonder if the marina has one there specifically for that purpose.

View of Green Turtle Bay Marina
from Pier 8 area

As we rode around, we found the size of the complex to be just amazing as it stretched in every direction and provided every conceivable amenity one might look for in a marina - docks (obviously), dry / stack racks, boat repair facilities, a ship's store for boat supplies, boat rentals, pools (both indoor and outdoor varieties), tennis court, multiple playgrounds, a covered and an open chapel for services on Sundays during the summer months, condos for rent, a spa facility, and two restaurants.  The services are so extensive I am certain I have forgotten a number of services they offer here.

A number of condos are located on the property.  Some are more remotely located, others are next to the tennis court and outdoor pool, and still more are over by the boat rental building.  The terrain is hilly here, so we got a decent workout on our bikes checking out all the nooks and crannies of the grounds. Because so many services are available, but are spread out over a bit of a distance, golf carts are popular here.  We even saw that the maids providing laundry service to the condos go door to door with their linens on golf carts.  Way too cool!

Golf Cart used for laundry service to condos

Golf carts are available for rent on the grounds.  Street signs are posted in the town of Grand Rivers stating that only licensed drivers can drive them on the streets in town.  We have reserved one to rent for tomorrow to go see a "Branson-style" Variety show at a local theater.   I am looking forward to the golf cart ride into town just about as much as the variety show - that's the little kid in me that wants the fun ride to town.

As we rode around the complex we came to the ship's store where Clark inquired about any packages he might have received.  He happily came away with a bundle containing all our regular mail for the past couple of weeks.  He was told that if anything came to us via USPS it would be at the main office, so we stopped there as well and received a second package containing a chart book for the west coast of Florida.  We have one more package we are expecting for the chart book of the east coast of Florida.  We only hope it arrives before we leave, but we are running out of time for it to get here before we move onward.

After our exploration, and with packages in hand, we made our way back to the boat to prepare for this evening's festivities.  The marina held a "Looper Q" free barbecue  to show all the AGLCA loopers how much they appreciate our business.  The menu was pulled pork, baked beans, coleslaw, potato salad, green salad, dessert, and soda / water -- a great menu unless you are like Clark - cannot eat pork and will not eat baked beans.  Although he could not eat a large portion of the food, we both enjoyed the company and conversation of fellow loopers.

Covered Tent Event - Looper Q 

As the couples came into the tent, a lot of us paused to get our photos taken with the pig.

Getting Ready to Chow Down
at the Barbecue for Loopers

 Entertainment was provided for the feast in the form of a boat broker who plays guitar and is learning to play fiddle.  He played one fiddle song for us that he had written about Loopers.  All I will say about that is that he needs more practice with that particular instrument.

Our home-grown entertainment for the night

We have met many lovely people from all over the country and made some great friends on this trip.  To name a few ...

Boaters from Sea Horse, Always Home, Bamma Dream, and Sea Moss

We have even enjoyed the company of boaters traveling the loop from New Zealand and Australia.

Boaters from Jammin Jane, Knot Sew Easy,
and  Movin' On (from Australia)

The BBQ event started at 4:30 and officially ended at 6:30.  We enjoyed the company and conversation so much that we did not leave until almost 8:00.  Some folks are heading out of the marina tomorrow that we may never see again.  Some have completed their loop like Sea Horse; others like Bamma Dream will complete their journey shortly when they return to Alabama.  Yet another couple on Penny Pinchin is leaving here to head to Mobile, Alabama as fast as they can get there with plans to complete the loop there, sell their boat, sell their current 3/4 ton truck and fifth wheel mobile home, and drive to Indiana to buy a new, larger Fifth Wheel and requisite one-ton truck to go with it. Another couple is leaving here tomorrow by car for an unexpected trip to North Carolina as Hurricane Joaquin is currently threatening their home there.

Staying at Green Turtle Bay for as long as we have allowed some looper boats to catch up to us like Palmetto Paradise who arrived today and whom we have not seen since somewhere on Georgian Bay in Canada.   Although we part ways with some folks, we know we will once again see others who, like us, continue on with their journey.

After the BBQ, we walked over to the "head" (bathrooms) before going back to our boat.  It was full dark due to the time, and cloud cover precluded moonlight to light the way for us.  Always handy with the camera, Clark snapped a couple of pictures of our Pier 6 docking area as we approached the boat.

Pier 6 from a distance
(the red light in front that looks like a G is a 6)

To light our way once we get on the dock, string lights in a variety of colors have been strung over the beams of the covered pier all the way from the first slip to the last making a rather pretty tunnel of lights.

Pier 6 "runway" of lights

Weather permitting, tomorrow (our final day at Grand Rivers) has a bike ride to town for groceries on the agenda plus the golf cart ride into town to see the "Branson-style" variety show.