Tennessee: Pickwick State Park to Grand Harbor Marina

Day: 107
NM today: 8
NM Total: 2224
Locks Today: 0
Locks Total: 83

Travel time today was one of the shortest ever on this trip.  We covered the 8 nautical miles to today's stop in just over an hour.  We extended our travel yesterday to include the Pickwick Lock because we knew today's weather forecast included rain with potential thunder storms.  It is no fun locking through or waiting to lock through in pouring rain.  As it turned out this was a wise decision because throughout the afternoon today we got both rain and thunder.  With today's short travel time I was surprised to find that the Captain / Photographer managed to capture some shots for the blog.

Before leaving our anchorage we swung by to say goodbye to Corinne and Robert (and Lucy the dog) on Ariel and then waved goodbye to Mike and Gail on Time Out who were already busy pulling up their anchor as they planned on leaving the anchorage shortly after us.  This is where we part ways with Ariel for sure as they will complete their Great Loop trip within the next six weeks or so and return to Oregon.

When we exited the anchorage, we looked back down the Tennessee River to see the Pickwick Lock and Dam.

Looking back on Pickwick Lock & Dam

As we pulled out of the side channel into the main channel of the Tennessee River, we saw a very large boat moving at quite a clip along the river.  The boat's name was Moon Shine and was a 50+ foot long Hatteras - nice boat!  He threw quite a wake as he passed in front of us so we rocked a bit.

On the far side of the river we saw a number of nice, large homes overlooking Pickwick Lake.

Nice, Larger Homes on Pickwick Lake

Today's boat ride was interesting because the marina is situated at the junction of the Tennessee River and the Tenn-Tom Waterway -- a waterway that connects the Tennessee River to the Tombigbee River.  Once we turned onto the Tenn-Tom to get to our marina for the night, we left the state of Tennessee and navigated waters in the state of Mississippi.  However, because the marina is positioned in a creek off to the side of the Tenn-Tom, we are now enjoying one last night in Tennessee.  When we leave here tomorrow to continue our travels, we start by navigating the Tenn-Tom in the state of Mississippi and very quickly turn onto the waters of Alabama as we reenter the Tennessee River.

Junction of the Tennessee River and the Tenn-Tom Waterway

 When we arrived at Grand Harbor marina, we immediately saw several boats we recognized.  First, we saw Aunt Aggie, a Mainship like ours, that just completed their Great Loop voyage.  Their boat now proudly displays the Gold AGLCA pendant.  Then I noticed Sea Venture whom we had met on Lake Michigan.    We also saw the vessel Knot Home whom we met back in Canadian waters. However, as usual Knot Home was "not home" as they have left their boat and taken a trip.

We also met a few new folks.  We saw a Mainship similar to ours just leaving port as we arrived as well as another vessel whose owners are planning to attend the Rendezvous.  We expect to see the owners of both of these boats later.  When we checked in at the office we inquired about the distance to town.  It is a long way to town with hilly terrain!    Both courtesy cars were fully booked, but the marina staff mentioned that Sea Venture was looking for folks interested in sharing the car for the trip to Corinth, MS.  We said, "Sign us up!"

We met up with Ron and Bev from Sea Venture just before the designated 2:00 for the drive to Corinth, Mississippi where Enterprise rental car (their destination) and a food store (our destination) can be found.  No sooner did we get into the car and get under way than then heavens opened up and poured rain in buckets!  I was very glad Clark and I had brought raincoats and hats.

It took a full 40 to 45 minutes to drive to town.  We only had the car for the 2-hour limit.  By the time we dropped Ron and Bev off at Enterprise and found our way to Walmart, we had about 15 minutes to do our shopping.  Well I can be fast in a store, but I cannot work miracles especially in an unfamiliar store the size of Walmart.  I moved as quickly as I could and left some items on my grocery list for next time.  When we came out of the store to leave it was 3:50 already and once again pouring cats and dogs!

Grand Harbor Marina

We drove back to the marina as quickly as the rain and speed limits would allow.  Fortunately I had thought to "drop a pin" on Google Maps at the site of the marina, so when it came time to ask for directions, I didn't have to try to figure out where the marina was located.  The road was wet and twisty, so we had to travel slowly to be safe, and we had to stop to replace the gas we used in the car. All told, by the time we got back, we were over our time slot by at least 20 minutes.   Apparently this is not an uncommon occurrence, so the marina staff have a window between signup times to allow some breathing room.  I guess they don't tell folks that ahead of time or they'd have to add breathing room to their breathing room.

Once we got settled back on the boat after our shopping excursion, I printed boat cards (like business cards but with boater details) for Sea Moss on the blanks sheets I bought at Walmart.  Having met so many boaters and exchanging cards all along our trip, we are getting very low.  We figured we needed to replenish for the Rendezvous.  We now have 190 more cards to trade as we meet more boaters on the loop.