Getting closer to Florida

This is InSpeyered 2 squeezed into a small slip at Kingfisher Marina in Demopolis, AL.  She sits right in the middle of this photo with the white screens, sticking out a bit.  There were over 20 looper boats gathered here for 2 main reasons, the upcoming nasty weather and the fact that most of us have insurance restrictions when entering hurricane territory.  For us that means we can't enter Florida waters until 11/1 but many cannot go further south than Demopolis before 11/1.  So Halloween weekend was spent tied up with friends and  me taking great showers in the luxurious bath house that makes this marina special.  We also had a car to borrow to get to a very good restaurant and found a fresh vegetable stand so we have tomatoes!

This is our new doggy friend, Leroy who was the only one of us to come prepared with a costume for the occasion!  He and Al have become BFF's!

After all the boaters met Sunday (11/1) night, a plan was set for about 12 boats to leave at first light and then only 3 of us left at a more reasonable time of 8:00.  We did it right because the lock was ready and we went through Demopolis lock quickly dropping 40' toward sea level.  

The lock was full of egrets waiting for an easy breakfast of fish caught between the lock gaits.

From this point onward, the anchorages are even more sparse and the scenery is rather dull.  Plus we had drizzle, light winds and over all grey for Monday and Tuesday. So we went 71 miles Monday and 81 miles Tuesday which makes for long, wet days.  It was ok, boring at times without Verizon service but I took advantage and did fun stuff like clean toilets and other boat chores!!! 

Al took this photo of Nancy from California Lady taking Leroy to shore for his evening sniff and pee in Bahsi Creek. Tuesday morning we left soon after sunrise to get to our final lock on the Tenn-Tom.  Unfortunately, a few slower boats also wanted to lock through so we got held up waiting almost an hour to be lowered the last 34 feet which took us to less than 4' above sea level.

This is our entry into our anchorage last evening. We have continued to travel with California Lady so we are following her into this creek which opens into a narrow lake.  We had info from other loopers so knew it was a good anchorage.

Al has enjoyed being the water taxi especially for Leroy for his morning sniff and pee.  This morning they encountered dense fog while cruising the banks for a place to stop but it burned off nicely so we could enjoy a shorter cruise of 25 miles today in the partial sunshine!! We saw 2 pelicans, lots of terns, and a few Kingfishers. 

Now we are in the Tensaw River just off of the channel in this wide anchorage. A good place to stop to have a late lunch, walk at a nearby boat ramp and then a quiet night.  Tomorrow we head into the Mobile Bay and make our way to Fairhope, AL.

Looking toward the waterway where we will go onward tomorrow!