Anchoring out !

Here are some pictures from this week! On Sunday, we celebrated our 7th day of solid travel! Instead of a marina, we anchored in a beautiful cove in a campground near Gainesville Lake, AL, known as Sumter Creek Anchorage. It is not a highly recommended spot, due to the level of silt near the entrance, but we had no problem and anchored in 10 feet of calm water with no wind. We used our Zodiac to check out the cove more closely (very cool native plants like Elephant Leaf plants, bald cypress trees and water growing plants like lilies and watercress) and came ashore the boat ramp for a walk. After grilling hamburgers and brats, we retired very early,and enjoyed the nearby smells of a campfire and soft country music. Early the next morning we locked thru Heflin Dam and traveled all day (50 miles) to Kingfisher Bay Marina in Demopolis, AL. It is a clean and fun marina, even had a grooving Halloween Party, fully decorated with colorful lights, costumed guests, tons of food and music by Duran Duran (?!) Our Harbor hostess, Anna Marie, was very into the Halloween spirit with her Witch's hat, Skeleton shirt, bat tights and denim cut-offs( Anyone who has met her, knows she rocked that outfit!) passed around her Rum-soaked gummy bears and the large crowd seemed to be having fun! For my Halloween treat, I used her car to go to the local Walmart to get a few fresh groceries and supplies. I found the best toy! It is a Bissel tiny hand-held vacuum that was well worth the $25! You have to like cleaning, like ALOT, in order to hang out as first mate on a boat. With no wifi service today, I played with my toy vacuum and got every nook and cranny! (Having a dog on board creates alot of fur bunnies!) This morning, November 1st, we started at 6 am for our 7 am departure. It is like the routine we had while we had jobs and kids 30 years ago, but instead, I don't need an alarm because each day is a different adventure! We locked through Demopolis Lock just in time for the sun to come up and burn off the morning fog. It was so beautiful and I want to take pictures of everything, like the white cranes fishing and flying around us in the lock chamber. (By the way, David and I are posting on FB and Instagram) But it was crazy busy this morning with 10 boats in the chamber and several missing pins, so there was alot of rafting up to one another. It was our first experience with having another boat of similar size use our boat's cleats and ties to be secured! After that exciting start, we have had a smooth trip along the river where we have been in natural settings (no cities or industrial work sites) all afternoon. From the flying bridge, where David likes to pilot the boat, he has seen several Bald Eagles and even an alligator! We are headed to Bobby's Fish Camp, mile marker 119 on the Tombigbee River, known as the last fuel stop for 100 miles before entering Mobile, Alabama!!