Meeting People -- Great Part of our Adventure

We knew one of the best parts of our adventure would be meeting people from all parts of the country.  This has certainly proven to be so true thus far.  Little did we know we would meet people not only from the U.S., but also from Canada.  Many folks have started their boating trip from the northern states (including Canada) toward Florida and the Bahamas for the winter.  With the tragic devastation in Florida from Hurricane Irma, many of the marinas and tropical destinations these folks (i.e., loopers) were planning to dock at during the winter months are now either damaged significantly or completely destroyed.  It will be interesting to talk with these people to see what their "Plan B" is now.  A truly sad situation for the home owners and businesses in Florida -- it will take a long time for them to recover.  Also devastating for the loopers that love to spend the winter months in the warm weather.  I'll update those stories as we get more information.

I wanted to spend a little time introducing you to some of the wonderful folks we have met since we embarked on this adventure:

Rock Harbor Marina - Nashville, TN www.rockharbormarine.com
There are several "live-aboards" (folks that live on their boat year-round) at Rock Harbor.  It is in the heart of downtown Nashville and easy for them to get their groceries, to get to work, get other supplies they need and of course enjoy the Nashville night-life!!
1) Joe left Chicago and moved to Rock Harbor 4 years ago.  He bought a boat that had 2 engines; however, only 1of them worked!!  So he headed south on 1 engine in his boat.  He didn't have any sophisticated maps -- he used the GPS map on his cell phone!!  As he was going thru Paducah, KY, he looked at his cell phone GPS system and said "huh, I'll go to Nashville and stop there".  4 years later, he is still at Rock Harbor Marina living on his boat.  He was very interesting to talk with -- and he always had a story to tell....we enjoyed getting to know him.
2) Rowing Coach at Montgomery Bell Academy (MBA) - a very established and elite private boys high school.  He is also a full time resident on his boat.  He moved to Nashville in February/March of this year from Michigan and is now the rowing coach at MBA. He was kind of quiet, but one story I remember him telling is that he dropped his keys in the water as he stepped off his boat a few weeks prior to us meeting him.  So every night he "fishes" for his keys by putting a magnet on a rope and dangles it in the water in the area he dropped them trying to recover his key ring.  It was a huge set of keys for MBA.  As of the time we left Rock Harbor he still had not found his keys!!  We will have to stop by some time in the next few months to see if he found them!!
3) Kayak Man -- we didn't meet this person, but we saw him paddle up to the marina.  He had a 10' kayak loaded with all his worldly possessions including a tent, cooler, extra clothes.  I presume he came to the marina to take a shower and/or get something to eat.  Next time I looked for him, he was gone.....from what I was told, there are several folks that kayak the Cumberland River -- now that's roughing it....
4)  Blue Moon Restaurant at the marina - this bar/restaurant was packed every night.  They had a big food selection and absolutely the coldest beer I've ever had!!  Wednesday nights are "writers night" and they have a lot of local Nashville talent singing for about 3 hours.  One writer wrote a song that we found hilarious -- the title of the song is "I may not be a cactus, but I know a prick when I see one".  Well that wasn't our favorite song selection, but it was one of the most memorable lyrics of the evening!!  How in the world did he think of those words to put to music -- only in Nashville!!


Green Turtle Bay Marina - Grand Rivers, KY www.greenturtlebay.com
We were at this marina for 4 nights and stayed in an uncovered slip along with about 40 other boats that were only there for a short stop-over (these are called transient slips - short-timers). At this marina, we started meeting the "Loopers" (the people traveling south for the winter).
1) Mike and Lois have a boat called Inch-n-Along.  They live in the Memphis, TN area but their boat stays at a marina on Pickwick Lake in northern Mississippi.  They are seasoned "loopers".  We learned a lot from listening to their stories of where they went, where they stayed, who they traveled with and the number of miles per day they traveled.  We really enjoyed talking with them.  They had great stories about seeing the Statue of Liberty, going thru the Erie Canal and into Canada.  They love traveling on their boat.
2) Byron - his boat name is Bright Angel.  They are from Minnesota I think.  We actually met him when we drove to Green Turtle in June...and when we arrived via Cloud Nine in August, they were still there!!  Byron had to have surgery on his shoulder and was unable to drive and travel on his boat. He was hoping for his surgeon to release him so he can start "looping" again.
3) A couple on a sailboat (didn't get their name or boat-card) that left Minnesota on June 1 and arrived at this marina on August 20.  Their sailboat did not have air conditioning and it was 90+ degrees that week.  They were struggling with the heat and humidity.  We saw them again at Pebble Isle Marina where we are now.  We enjoyed seeing them again and hearing about their travels in their sailboat.  Now that is slow-going.  They had to be in Pensacola by October 1 to have their mast (the tall sails on a sailboat) put back on.  As sailboats travel thru Chicago, IL, the bridges are too low for the mast to go under so the mast has to be taken down and shipped to Pensacola or Mobile where they can have it put back on so they can travel on to Florida and/or the Bahamas.
4) Couple from Lake Tahoe -- this couple sold their home in Lake Tahoe and live full time on their 46' Carver-brand boat.  They are also seasoned "loopers".  They travel full time and absolutely love it.  The wife loves to feed the turtles and the turtles knew she fed them 3 times a day!!


Kenlake Marina - Hardin, KY  www.kenlakemarina.com
We only stayed here 1 night, but we met the sailboat right next to us because we were "using" their electricity.  That's a hell of a way to meet your neighbors, but Gene and I went for a walk thru the park after dinner and when we got back, the neighbors were curious why we were hooked into their electricity....when we told them the marina told us to do it -- they said "that figures" and the ice was now broken and we had a great conversation with them.  They go to south Florida, Cuba and/or Bahamas every winter in their sailboat.  They plan to leave no later than October 15 to head south.  Given the damage of the Florida marinas, their plans may change some.  They also met and traveled with another sailboat couple we followed their blog for the past 2-3 years.  It's so interesting to talk with people here that have either gone south and/or have met other boaters and we have followed their blog over the years.  Small world......

Pebble Isle Marina - New Johnsonville, TN  www.pebble-isle.com
As a result of the weather and rain from Hurricane Harvey that hit Houston a couple of weeks ago and then Hurricane Irma that hit Florida last week, both of the remnants of these 2 hurricanes impacted weather here in the Nashville area with both heavy rains and wind.  So we have been at this marina for about 2 weeks.  During this time, we have met, yet again, several interesting people.
1) Sailboat couple -- We met Tom last week.  He and his wife have traveled over 11,000 miles in 4 years.  They live in Nashville, TN and as they were returning from their long trip this spring, they had hoped their sailboat would make it back home to Nashville so the engine could be re-built, but as luck would have it -- it "died" near Pebble Isle Marina -- so the boat has been here since March.  They plan to leave on October 1 for Key West, FL where they will dive for a month then move on to the Bahamas for the winter. Obviously they may have a change of plans since the hurricane.  This couple has traveled to Cuba, to Europe - they left from Savannah, GA to Europe and they were in the Atlantic Ocean for 20 days.  From there they went to Spain, Africa and back to the Bahamas.  I cannot fathom being on the water for 20 days where you see nothing but water -- and either he or his wife had to stay awake the entire trip to ensure they were on the right navigational course......wow that is a lot of work and dedication, but they thoroughly enjoyed that trip.
2)  Jerry and Jenny have a boat called Sweetgrass.  They live in Charleston, SC and their boat "winters" at Joe Wheeler State Park Marina in northern Alabama.  They are long-time boaters and they finished the "loop" in 2012.  Now they travel to places they want to re-visit.  When we saw them at Pebble Isle, they were headed to Nashville.  We now read their blog story and they ran into some travel issues, but made it to Nashville and are enjoying a few days there.
3) Another couple is from Green Turtle Bay Marina but they were traveling to Chattanooga and back to Green Turtle Bay.  They had been on a 5-week excursion from Green Turtle Bay in Northern Kentucky Lake to Chattanooga and back.  When we met them, they were going to be home the next day.  They carried their bicycles on their boat and enjoy riding trails whenever they can.
4) Snake on Board -- this next boat had come to our dock just to stop for lunch.  It was a pontoon that had about 4 kids and 2 adults on it.  They left their boat tied up near us for about an hour.  The kids came back to the boat first.  As one of the girls started to step on the boat, she screamed and jumped right off.  Several of us ran over to see what the problem was along with her dad.  She said she saw a snake and he apparently went into the speaker box on the boat!!  The dad kicked on the box and made some noise -- they waited for about an hour and the snake never came out -- so they left and headed home!!  We don't know how far this family got before the snake re-appeared, but I presume the family got back home and left the snake alone before he got brave enough to come out and hopefully find a new home!!
5) Boat Just for Trip of a Lifetime - we met a couple that purchased a 26' cruiser for the sole purpose of taking it from Minnesota to Mobile.  They bought their boat in Iowa and trailered it to Minnesota where they live.  When we met them at Pebble Isle, they had been traveling on their boat for 2 weeks.  They rented a car and drove to Nashville for 2 nights for some Nashville Honky-Tonkin and a big bed on dry land to sleep on!!  When they get to Mobile, Alabama, they will trailer their boat back to Minnesota.  They purposely bought a boat that would allow them to trailer it back home so it is 8-1/2 feet wide and 26' long.  They were going to sell the boat after their trip.  What a great way to spend a couple of months!!
6) Roy and Edith are from Scottsboro, AL.  They travel with some friends that travel at a different "rate of speed" than Roy and Edith.  Roy travels at about 30 mph while their friends/travel buddy travels at about 8 mph.  So needless to say Roy likes to drive fast and use a lot of gas!!  He gives his travel buddy boat an hour head start when they leave a marina -- they still catch up and pass them then get to the next marina, take a nap and wait for their travel buddy to get there.  Apparently that works for them all -- it was a funny story to us!

So in our short time traveling on the water, we have met some wonderful people.  We have loved hearing their stories -- and when we tell them we have traveled a whopping 244 miles so far and they have traveled 11,000 miles, well, you gotta start somewhere!!  Many thanks to the friends and acquaintances we have met over the past month.  We are grateful for what we have learned and look forward to continue to meet and learn from all the folks we will meet.  Hopefully one day we will be able to share lessons learned with "newbies" we will meet along the way.