Before going any further, I must again say that I am forever indebted to my long time friend Tom. He came from Maryland to make the trip from Louisiana with us. There is no way we could have done it without him and there could have been no better Captain to be our "trainer" to get us ready to be on our own after the trip was finished. On that 850 mile trip, we did it all - including 19 locks over 10 days. Trial by fire has never had a more clear meaning! Wouldn't have traded the experience for anything.
Now we start year two and what better way than for our daughter to come from Houston to spend a week with us. We have spent the last five days on the boat with Brittany having a great time. On day one, we went up stream to Amigos Mexican restaurant at Island Cove Marina. This was the first time we had taken the boat into the restaurant dock. It was pretty easy as no one was there when we arrived so we could pick our spot on the somewhat small but adequate dock for our short stay. Day two was spent on the hook at Booker T slew where we just chilled and grilled out. Our dock neighbors Doc and Liz rafted us with us for the day and brought a batch of Hillbilly Juice - whoa that stuffs' got some kick!
The next two days we spent on Bluff Dock in downtown Chattanooga. First day we rode the free shuttle to the old train station. There is a model train museum at the Choo Choo that is worth a visit. We didn't get to see the inside of a train car, but the gift shop visit made up for it. The next day, we spent about 4 hours at the Aquarium. Britt had been there but Reg and I had not. Well worth the time to do it. I had no idea what a great job Chattanooga had done in developing this cornerstone of the waterfront.
On Memorial Day, we left the dock a little past noon and took a little cruise toward Moccasin Bend. We checked the river view of a new residential development that is being started downtown that should be very nice. After that we headed for the lock as the last boat in a group of five which included a large houseboat. Those folks were actually grilling on their top deck as we "locked up". The smell of burgers on the grill while in the lock is just not fair if you're not going to share! Someone needs to make a rule about that - who am I supposed to call?
Now the holiday is over and Brittany is back in Texas. Riverbend starts the first weekend of June and we will be back for that. This ten day music festival on the waterfront is so much fun that, after we discovered it, we have not missed one since. At any given time, at least five different groups are performing. Whatever kind of music you enjoy, there will be something for you. Just wish we had known about it sooner!
Happy summer! Do something that you have always wanted to do and don't put it off. There are no guarantees of another day.
