Navigator on the Loop: Green Turtle Bay and The AGLCA Rendezvous

Green Turtle Bay was our home for nine nights. The resort and spa was a big draw after our long ride down the rivers with few amenities.While there we enjoyed the company of many other loopers, some we already knew and some we were meeting for the first time. Of course everyone visiting Grand Rivers, Kentucky has to visit Patti's Restaurant and have their one inch thick stuffed pork chops. While some of our group had the house specialty, I enjoyed a smaller version of the pork chops. It was very good but didn't compare to their wonderful deserts.

During dinner someone told us about Joe, the Indian, in a bathtub in the women's bathroom. In times past the women would be surprised when they saw him while using the toilet. Apparently that was too much and the room no longer has a toilet. Joe is still there however and the picture below shows Mark getting up close and personal with him.

While at Green Turtle Bay we rented a car again and I took Jan back to St. Charles, MO to the Kemp's house. After staying overnight Jan and Colleen drove to Minnesota to attend a friends' daughters wedding. They really had a whirlwind visit. Beside the wedding, they enjoyed catching up with many friends and our son John and his family. I returned to the boat for the weekend and picked up Jan on Sunday to return to the boat.

After a really enjoyable stay at Green Turtle Bay we again needed to move on to attend the America's Great Loop Cruising Association rendezvous at Joe Wheeler State Park in Rogersville, Alabama. On the way we anchored a couple of nights and stayed one night at Pebble Isle Marina where they treated us to appetizers in the evening and caramel rolls the next morning. I'm not sure why we didn't stay longer at Pebble Isle with that treatment!. Before the rendezvous we anchored another night, where we saw saw eagles and also many fish swimming just under the surface. One last marina at Pickwick Landing got us to Florence, Alabama.

While we were at Florence for four nights we visited the childhood home of Helen Keller. I was so proud to be a long time Lion's Club member after seeing all the multinational Lions' displays there. It was amazing to learn about her life and education. She was a truly remarkable person.

The same day brought us to the Civil War Shiloh Battlefield site. It was very chilling to visit and walk the fields where so many Americans were killed on both sides. The battle is well documented and we drove all over the area following the chronological order of the battles.

On our last morning in Florence, we awoke early before dawn to voices just outside our boat. After rising to investigate we found the entire harbor filled with around 130 bass boats floating around like may flies. There is a obviously large amount of money in these tournaments - first prize was a new pickup, boat, motor and trailer. The rumor was that the value was around one hundred thousand dollars. We enjoyed talking to the polite and friendly guys rafted next to us in the lock as we traveled on to the rendezvous.

We had been anticipating the fall rendezvous ever since the spring rendezvous in Norfolk, Virginia. Many loopers that had attended both rendezvous preferred the fall one because of the venue, which was great. The marina, lodge and campground were all closely grouped together. The only disappointment was the lack of fall colors that we were expecting. Mother nature gave us warm and dry weather that we appreciated and the lack of color was a good trade off.

The night before the rendezvous began another looper, who none of us knew previously, experienced a medical emergency. After arriving, docking and checking in, Larry was going up to his flybridge to join Shirley for a glass of wine when he collapsed. Many people heard him fall onto his sun deck and heard Shirley yelling for help. The other loopers immediately leaped into action. Mark, a retired fire chief and paramedic instructor, was assisted by Angie, a family practice doctor, Rick a retired endodontist who had a AED and his wife, Rose. They were able to revive Larry with the AED and CPR. It was amazing how many people leaped into action, everyone did what they could to help. Some people just simple stayed out of the way and allowed the professionals to do their work efficiently. Other people called 911 and directed the ambulance people to the right area of a very large venue.

Larry was extremely lucky to have had the incident happen where he did. The experience of the medical people on the dock saved his life! He had two stents installed that night and bypass surgery a few days later when they also repaired an aneurysm. He his doing well now and planning to continue the loop soon.

After that incident the rendezvous almost seemed anti climatic. It was very well done and informative though and it was so much fun to reconnect with loopers again that we hadn't seen for a while. The dinghy race is always a fun event to watch. After the rendezvous it was again time to move on - this time travelling the Tenn Tom waterway and more rivers back toward the Gulf of Mexico.

Obviously there were a lot of boats leaving the rendezvous at the same time. Roger, from TaTa did a great job of organizing the exodus of nineteen boats through the first two locks. That was quite a fiasco! The first lock went well but the wind was blowing very strongly into the second lock. A couple of boats had a lot of trouble getting secured in the lock and actually involuntarily turned around inside lock and came out to try again. Eventually everyone got tied up and we completed the lockage. After boating the rivers and locks most of my boating life this was the most difficult lockage I have ever experienced. While several boats stopped at Florence we continued on the Grand Harbor Marina at the beginning of the Tenn Tom Waterway.

Next time I will post our trip back to the Gulf of Mexico.

Jan isn't a fan of anchoring except at times like this.

Not only is this beautiful but there isn't any wind and we are very protected here.

Just another beautiful morning leaving an anchorage.

I just had to include this beautiful picture of cloud formation.

Apparently mud slides aren't of concern here.

This isn't the granite rock of Canada.

This bridge went to nowhere now and they apparently sold the property

for homes, as you can see in this red roofed house.

This building must have been there before they built the dams and flooded the area.

I am surprised that it wasn't removed before flooding.

Where did these goats come from on this island?

We are thankful for another beautiful day, this time at Green Turtle Bay.

Here is Navigator at Green Turtle Bay.

Yes, there really are turtles at Green Turtle Bay Marina and some of the water is also green.

The beginning of a fun night with several looper couples.

There isn't EVER a dull moment with Mark around!

Just for the record, Indian Joe is a mannequin.

Sunrise on our morning of departure.

At docktails one night someone noticed that Jan from Panacea and I wore look -a like shorts.

Fall is such a colorful time of year. Jan decorated this pumpkin with thumb tacks.

Is this a typo or do they spell it this way around here?

A beautiful day dawning at Pickwick Landing Marina.

Here are Navigator and Average Looper in Florence, Alabama.

The big boat is over 100' long and stuck on the bottom.

The next day the lock and dam raised the water level just so this boat could leave.

The very successful owners are local folks that are very benevolent to the Florence area.

Some of the bass boats in the tournament.

These guys were very informative about the tournament and friendly with

their tournament competitors.

Helen Keller's childhood home.

The original kitchen at Helen Keller's home.

Back in those days, the kitchen was usually a separate building to save the main house from fire.

Reportedly the kitchens burned to the ground frequently.

These are all Lion's exhibits and awards.

Quite impressive!

There were many plaques similar to this one.

How old must this tree be?

The Shiloh Battle Field is a National Cemetery.

There are Union and Confederate soldiers buried here.

Quite an impressive display of cannons.

There were many monuments similar to this one.

Navigator is third from the left.

Second from the left is C Port III, our friends Bill and Sharon Cassen from Plymouth, MN.

These are all looper boats at Joe Wheeler State Park.

It was a good week for the rendezvous because it wouldn't have been a good week for boating.

It didn't rain the entire week.

One night at the rendezvous a lot of loopers went to an old cotton gin that was converted to an event center. They provided a good meal, live entertainment and a great evening.