A Trip Up the Ohio

We awoke early on Monday morning and found that the lock for the Tennessee River gave a four hour estimate as a wait to go through.  We then decided to follow our friends to the Ohio and spend our time on the move instead of just waiting.  It was a very long day.  We both thought that we would be fighting the current on the Ohio but neither of us dreamed that we would be doing the same on the Cumberland River! 


The Cumberland River seemed like a very small after spending time on the Ohio and Mississippi, but we really enjoyed the scenery.  There were some very interesting activities along this river also.  There is so much mining that occurs here and then the loading of coal or rock.  This is just a little example of it.

Even though we passed a few commercial spots, we found the Cumberland to be more similar to rivers at home.  It is not very deep nor wide, so we had almost no barge traffic.

We could only travel at about 4.1 mph so Dixie and Dickie got far ahead of us.  While they waited for us at the lock, Dixie started cooking some cajun food for us.  She tells us that it is REAL cajun and she mainly uses onions and Tony's seasoning. 

She fixed what she calls rice and gravy.  I'm telling you, it is nothing like we call "gravy".  It was a fantastic sauce of sorts.  We had rice and gravy, beans (like none I've ever had) and greens.  Yes, collard greens.  This lady could give Emeril a real challenge.  And, yes, she has to have a few drinks while cooking. 

This couple raises crawfish and a number of other things.  They have been on the boat on and off for almost two years.  We were very blessed to have met them.


Now that we are at Green Turtle Marina in Lake Barkly.  People we have met along the way, all told us to be sure to make it to this marina.  Were they ever right.  It is HUGE and has everything imagineable for boaters.  It is filled with sail boats and cruisers at this time of year.  Most everyone here are "loopers" and will continue to the Keys or the Bahamas for the winter.  Most of them came through Canada and the Great Lakes.  They also travelled down the Illinois River and then into the Mississippi.  I've been told there is a book called something like "Honey, Let's Buy A Boat" that gets people thinking about this trip.  We would have to sell lots of things to buy a boat like people have that are making this trip.  Many, no longer have homes.

Where we are still looking at a lock like the one above as a challenge, some of the loopers have gone through 90 to 150 of them along their trip.  This was a 57 foot lift and we had a few problems.  In Keokuk, they told us not to tie on to the bollard.  Here, we did not tie on and it got so hard that Rick lost the rope.  They had to stop the lift and then we tied on. So, it happens to many people.  There is a sailboat here that has to have some repairs because of some damage in the locks.  All we have done is broken off a few of our solar lights.

Following our five nights without electricity, etc. we are enjoying T.V., long showers, eating out occasionally and will continue to do so until Monday morning.  I will resume the blog at that time.

We are looking forward to a visit from our friend Deb B. tomorrow.  It is an overnight stop for a trip she made to see her sister.  Take care everyone.

The highway 24 bridge that many of us travel over on our way to Florida,