Great Loop

November 14 First a Smile Our oldest son teaches Military Science at the University of Houston.  For Veterans Day he was asked to lead their football team on to the field. I am so proud of this young man!  The Rivers We traversed the Illinois Waterway which consisted of multiple different rivers (i.e.. Calumet, Des Plains ...).  Then we transitioned to the Northern Mississippi river which lead to the Ohio river.  This opened up to Kentucky lake which led to the Tennessee river.  A quick 400+ mile side trip on the Tennessee had us to Chattanooga and back where upon return we were on the Tennessee - Tombigbee canal.  The end of that had us on the Tombigbee River which opened up to Mobile Bay.  All in all, 1800 miles of rivers and about 25+ locks. Where the upper rivers were not that pretty and heavily commercial, our path off the Mississippi was beautiful and fun.  There were multiple nights at anchorage and the marinas were welcoming and kind.  There still existed commercial traffic and

November 6 Side Trip READY, AIM ...... No, not a statement of "to much time on the boat together"!  Just a funny pic we took. Time for a side trip!!! What the heck, Chattanooga is only 200 miles out of the way!  The Tennessee River is reputed to be the prettiest gorge east of the grand canyon.  Let's see!  Off we went. Now 200 miles doesn't sound like a lot if you are a landlubber.  On a boat, it is a different story.  For most Loopers, it represents about 25 hours, or four/five days, of cruising PLUS 3 locks ... each way!  For the Shorebilly it represents 10 hours or about 3 days due to the lock delays.  Therefore, most Loopers do not do this side trip.  We, however, could not resist. The extra 100+ miles is because we had some running room yesterday to make up some mileage and we did. The Tennessee River The river is beautiful with wide open spaces, long rock faces and hardwoods lining the banks.  Unfortunately, due to the dry year, the fall colors were not as vibra