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Robert & Kay...

"An interesting stop of our adventure was at Columbus, Mississippi, the birthplace of playwright Tennessee Williams, which we visited. Two of his plays were Cat On A Hot Tin Roof and A Streetcar Named Desire, which won a Pulitzer Prize. Also in Columbus were many mansions from the early to mid 1800's which were spared destruction during the Civil War because the homes were used by both the North and South as hospital facilities. One such home that we visited was the Waverly Mansion, built in 1852, the family home of a 15,000 acre cotton plantation. In Columbus was Friendship Cemetery, a national cemetery of The Confederate Army. There were many monuments and unknown and known graves of the CSA soldiers. At this cemetery was the site of a recognition developed by some local women, which years later became known as Memorial Day. "

" At one of the locks on the Tombigbee River a "Snaggboat" operated by the Corps of Engineers to remove debris from the rivers was on display. This boat was the last steam powered vessel in operation in the United States."

"An unbelievable amount of cargo moves up and down the Tenn-Tom Waterway and rivers from the Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico. We have met and passed four or more "tows" (tugboats and barges) daily. Each tug would be pushing from two to nine barges. Probably that many passed us at night while we were at anchor. "

"Another interesting stop down the rivers was last week at Bobby's Fish Camp. There on the shoreline of the Tombigbee River was a dock which appeared to be just long enough for 3 boats. By "rafting" boats up beside each other we were able to secure 10 boats to the dock. Bobby said that the record was 17 boats, one can only imagine. Then it was up to the "fish camp" restaurant, where the sign on the door reads "hot beer, lousy food, and bad service - Welcome". The food was really quite good, and their specialty was catfish, either pond raised, or fresh out of the river. I had hamburger steak, and Kay had a catfish sandwich. "

"At 7:10 am on November 21, we were locked through the Coffeeville Lock in southern Alabama. This was the last of approximately 125 locks we will go through on our adventure, we lost count at 43 somewhere in Canada. That means we are now back at sea level, in saltwater, with tidal flow, and tide changes. It also means that we will not have to contend with spiders like we experienced in the freshwater environment. Our first lock on the adventure, where we left saltwater back in June, was on the Hudson River at Troy, New York. It almost makes us fell like we are at home with the brown pelicans, dolphins, and crab pots. Did I mention the crab pots?!"

"And boy has it been cold lately. Late last week we were anchored in part of the Alabama River and the Tombigbee River. When we got up the next morning it was 26 degrees outside, and 45 degrees inside the boat. Wow, was that good sleeping! The waterline that I use to wash mud off the anchor was frozen. I had to route a water hose from inside the boat that morning. "

"The riverbanks continue to be wonderfully carver limestone creations through parts of the rivers."

"We have now completed our travel down the river systems and are in Mobile Bay, Alabama, at the town of Fairhope and have made it to the Gulf of Mexico.Having now completed just over 4,000 miles since leaving Southport on May 14, 2008, we have completed approximately 2/3 of our loop around the eastern United States."

Robert & Kay

C-Life