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| I had to borrow Regina's tee shirt |
To borrow a phrase from Taylor Swift, I've reached the end of my Vol Navy Era. The other day I was chatting with some old friends and the idea hit me to start a new Vol Navy fleet on the Atlantic coast. It seems like there should be some Vol fans who have boats and live in the Charleston, Hilton Head, Savannah area. Why couldn't we find a location to tie up or raft up for game day just like we do in Knoxville? Maybe it's a crazy idea, but seems like it would be better than going to a sports bar to watch a game on tv in the middle of groups from five or six other schools also playing on tv.
The last game was Oklahoma. That Saturday morning, the river was covered in fog and as the sun came up it was both eerie and beautiful. After a couple of hours, the fog burned off and it went from a chilly morning to a beautiful warm day. There was even a Oklahoma boat in the Navy! These guys had come from somewhere on the Arkansas River to be here which was a 9 day trip. We were all hoping that they would have a long, sad ride home, but the Vols managed to lose another game that they should have won. I will always bleed orange, but these boys are trying to kill me!
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| The full moon rose early this week. |
Last week, I moved the boat for the first time since I got here in September. Fortunately, the crew from the Volunteer Landing Marina will deliver water and do pump outs for boats in the Navy. I've had them visit my boat twice, but now it was time to top off the fuel tanks and get ready to start the trip downstream. My fraternity brother, Allen, came to ride up with me. After we got fueled up, I decided it was time to go to the source or headwaters of the Tennessee River. From the marina to the convergence of the Holston and French Broad Rivers is only about 4 miles. I've wanted to go up there for a while so we did it! After that little trip, we got back to the Vol Navy docks where I turned the boat around and got a spot where I can easily get out.
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| Holston River to the left and French Broad to the right. |
It's one week until the Homecoming Game. That will be my last one this year so I've got to make the best of my last few days. Yesterday, I went to the men's basketball game at Thompson-Boling. I haven't been to a game there in several years so I was pleasantly surprised by the latest modifications that have been made. That really is a great arena to watch a game, but if you get a seat near the top, you better take an oxygen bottle! I spent the first half up high and then joined some friends down closer to court side for the second half. Vols won handily over Northern Kentucky. Looks like we just might have a really good team this year.
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| There's actually a lot more rows past here! |
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| A little closer to the action! |
Sunday, November 16 will be departure day. My great friend from Maryland, who taught me how to be a boat captain, is going to be here for that trip back to Chattanooga. Hopefully there are airplanes still flying with this government shutdown going on so he won't end up driving down here. Contingency plans have been made so however it works out we will go down the river. I've been wanting to show him our Navy and the beautiful scenery on the upper end of the Tennessee River ever since making my first trip up in 2013.
The last week of my time in Knoxville has gotten a bit challenging. Mother Nature decided to send us an artic blast! Two nights of temperatures in the low 20's..............that's enough to make you shiver. Generator run times increased to keep the heat on and I even sat my alarm to get up at 2 AM to start it and warm things up. Now to finish out the week, I'm going to the Wednesday night basketball game, then to another frat brother's home to do laundry one last time on Thursday, final (no such thing) boat repair on Friday morning (totally unplanned), annual dinner with friends at Ye Old Steakhouse on Friday night and Homecoming game on Saturday. The forecast says sunny and almost 70 degrees so the last sailgate should be just about perfect for a November day.
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| Looks like it should be St Patrick's Day!! |
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| The crew at the boat for pregame. |
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| Pipes & Drums perform with The Pride. |
The next update will come from somewhere downstream. I'll be in Chattanooga for a couple of days to do oil and filter changes. Then it's about 1,600 miles to North Palm Beach for an extended stay. Hoping for good weather and fair winds - don't have to worry about tides until I get close to Mobile Bay.
