The high rent district along the Tennessee River .
Our original plans for today called for us to go to another anchorage only 37 miles away.
However, after hearing weather reports which predicted a 70% chance of showers today, and a 90% chance of heavy rain over-night and tomorrow morning, we decided to push to Pickwick Landing State Park Marina, just beyond Pickwick Lock and Dam. This would lengthen our trip by 12 miles and we would also have to transit the Lock with a lift of 59 feet - a procedure that takes quite a bit of time.
The current ran against us at a speed of 2 knots, and sometimes more. "Falkor" wasn't sure how fast she could go with her single engine in that kind of current, but they told us to go on ahead, and if she could make the Lock in a timely fashion, she would.
The weather deteriorated steadily as the day progressed, and we could see the rain showers literally grow in front of us on our radar. Early in the afternoon we received a phone call from our friend, Caryl, aboard "Houlegan" to tell us that she had just found out that Pickwick Landing was now closed to transient boats due to some dock repairs. This was not a great state of affairs, but we quickly called Grand Harbor Marina which was 9 miles farther than Pickwick, and they said that they would be able give us slip space. We notified "Falkor" of the latest change to our plans, and they felt that this was doable for them also, and that they could make it there by 5:30 p.m.
As we approached the Lock, we were now dressed in full storm gear, as, of course, it was now pouring rain - just in time for outside line handling. The process took approximately an hour from start to finish, and by the time the Lock doors opened for us to enter beautiful Pickwick Lake, the rain stopped just long enough for George to have a celebratory gin and tonic.
We quickly made our way to elegant Grand Harbor Marina, where we received a warm welcome and tie up from Dock-Master Chip and his staff. They located us right behind "Rick 'n Roll" who had come in here earlier, and sure enough, true to his word, at 5:30 p.m., Al brought "Falkor" to the other side of the dock alongside us.
What a day - 67 miles, 1 lock, strong current against us, and lots of rainy weather- were we happy to be here! We were so tired that our dinner aboard tonight consisted of shrimp cocktail, pizza, and hot wing appetizers from our freezer.
However, after hearing weather reports which predicted a 70% chance of showers today, and a 90% chance of heavy rain over-night and tomorrow morning, we decided to push to Pickwick Landing State Park Marina, just beyond Pickwick Lock and Dam. This would lengthen our trip by 12 miles and we would also have to transit the Lock with a lift of 59 feet - a procedure that takes quite a bit of time.
The current ran against us at a speed of 2 knots, and sometimes more. "Falkor" wasn't sure how fast she could go with her single engine in that kind of current, but they told us to go on ahead, and if she could make the Lock in a timely fashion, she would.
The weather deteriorated steadily as the day progressed, and we could see the rain showers literally grow in front of us on our radar. Early in the afternoon we received a phone call from our friend, Caryl, aboard "Houlegan" to tell us that she had just found out that Pickwick Landing was now closed to transient boats due to some dock repairs. This was not a great state of affairs, but we quickly called Grand Harbor Marina which was 9 miles farther than Pickwick, and they said that they would be able give us slip space. We notified "Falkor" of the latest change to our plans, and they felt that this was doable for them also, and that they could make it there by 5:30 p.m.
As we approached the Lock, we were now dressed in full storm gear, as, of course, it was now pouring rain - just in time for outside line handling. The process took approximately an hour from start to finish, and by the time the Lock doors opened for us to enter beautiful Pickwick Lake, the rain stopped just long enough for George to have a celebratory gin and tonic.
We quickly made our way to elegant Grand Harbor Marina, where we received a warm welcome and tie up from Dock-Master Chip and his staff. They located us right behind "Rick 'n Roll" who had come in here earlier, and sure enough, true to his word, at 5:30 p.m., Al brought "Falkor" to the other side of the dock alongside us.
What a day - 67 miles, 1 lock, strong current against us, and lots of rainy weather- were we happy to be here! We were so tired that our dinner aboard tonight consisted of shrimp cocktail, pizza, and hot wing appetizers from our freezer.
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