October 21-23, 2013 Grand Harbor marina

Looking out the entrance to the marina

No one in our little group rose early except Jeff so we didn't get ready to leave Pickwick Landing marina until almost noon.  Since we had pulled into the slip bow first, backing out of the slip and turning would be a trifle difficult with the dinghy hanging off the swim platform.  We were going to tie it off to the starboard side but in tight quarters getting the lines in and the tow line played out can be difficult.  So we decided to just haul it aboard.

It was in its cradle and I finally noticed what Mary mentioned before.  The prop.  It was superbly mangled.  Most likely a consequence of going aground twice while running over to the little swimming cover we found a few days earlier.  We have a spare though and I got it changed out in ten  minutes hanging 15 feet above the dock.  Nice view from up there.

Heading down Pickwick Lake

We, along with Arin E, pulled out leaving Just Fakin It and Good Grief behind since they needed to fuel.  They joined us later in the day along with Castaway. 

Pickwick Lake is really gorgeous.  It reminds me a little of the Wisconsin river near the Dells. Numerous little coves and inlets with high bluffs of what appears to be sandstone.

Grand Harbor

It took us about an hour cruising down the lake to get to Grand Harbor.  Very crowded but a marvelous place.  We're tied up near the fuel dock facing the marina store.  Convenient for sure.  Just Fakin It is tied up right behind us and Good Grief is across the dock behind Once Upon a Time.  Party dock!

Tied up

The next day we took one of the courtesy vans to the local grocery and hardware store.  Even went to WalMart.  The van is a little Ford pseudo mini-van that reminds one of those ice cream trucks that grind around a neighborhood enticing small children and blaring insipid music.  We stuffed 6 people in there and then returned with 6 people and 17 bags of groceries.  But not before we made a stop at the local hardware store where I bought a battery charger for the dinghy battery.   Six squished seniors and 30 minutes later we were back at the marina with all 17 bags of groceries intact.  Then four of us embarked on a 30 mile trek to Walmart.  We bought a lot but I cant remember why we needed to buy anything at all.

Larry talking to us at Pittsburg Landing

We made plans to visit the Shiloh Battlefield with several other boats that we've met along the way.  Two vans, 14 people.  We started out and ended up in the Corinth visitor center not the park service battlefield park.  Ooops.   We all know how to navigate the waterways.  Roads in Tennessee, not so much.  But we finally managed to find the correct place and pulled up just in time to see the 40 minute movie prelude.  Then we met Larry, the tour guide, a private guy we collectively hired to take us around and provide some detailed history.  He was great and incredibly knowledgeable with obscure little factoids about individuals involved in the battle as well as the battle itself.

Sunken road at the Hornets Nest

An even more startling realization for me was suddenly discovering I was standing on a fire ant nest while listening to Larry describe the battle at peach orchard.  He interrupted his talk briefly while I danced around the parking lot in bare feet brushing off fire ants.  Thankfully I was wearing shorts.  And yes, I ignored the many helpful suggestions regarding ants and underwear.  There's a rule against mooning in National Parks.

The Catfish Hotel restaurant 

All told we spent about 4 hours at the battlefield.  After Larry departed we all were getting hungry and headed over to Hagy's Catfish Hotel  restaurant which is really just a place to eat on the river.  Ribs and Catfish.  Pretty good too!   We all came back and ran into our boats to fire up the heaters.  A crisp clear evening on the river.




The next few days are forecast to be frigid.  As in  27 degrees frigid at night.  Maybe all these navigation instruments are broke and we're really traveling North?   Well anyway we're debating on whether to stay here another two days and endure the worst of it plugged in and running heaters.  Even though our mail arrived I think the consensus of the group is to stay warm here for a few days before venturing out into the cold river.  Well ok, the river water is a balmy 73 degrees.  But the air temperature is in the 40's.  Even rum cant dampen the chill!