For Women Only!!!!

I was getting ready for our sightseeing trip into the town of Rogersville, AL and was wondering, "Now where did I put my hairdryer????”  All of a sudden the music from Alfred Hitchcock's movie, Psycho, started playing in my head.  You know the music from the shower/stabbing scene? I didn't bring my hairdryer!!!!!!  Mayday, Mayday, stop the loop, we're going back home!!!!!  After calming down, I thought, never fear, William, Stephen and Sarah are near!  So, William is sending it to me in the mail (thanks William) and the sweet accommodating receptionist at Joe Wheeler Lodge found one for me until I get mine next week.  Emergency is over :-)

OK, George said why don't you just go buy a hairdryer at Dollar General? To that I replied, "George, my hairdryer is ionic and doesn't dry my hair out as badly as some others". Husbands can be so cute when they're trying to help solve your problems.  And thanks Jackie for the great short haircut that air-dried really cute today!!!!

We are here

That's the news and here's the views:

We went downtown Rogersville by way of courtesy van
(Our inside the store pics have not loaded)


Browning turkey for chili

Crock-Pot chili!

Since all the Loopers arrived here at Joe Wheeler, the Park Wi-Fi network has been swamped and we only get one bubble on our local Wi-Fi tethering.  We have more pictures that we would like to share but its taking FOREVER for them to load.

Cruising around the harbor in the Jazzy.

Day 1

We left our home port, Ditto Landing, this morning at 10:00 AM after waiting for the fog to lift, making one more trip back home and going one more time to Wal-Mart.  George and I feel so cared for by all the friends and family who have prayed for us, wished us well, had wonderful bon voyage parties for us and have given us so many neat gifts for our boat.



We will be spending the next week at Joe Wheeler for the Loopers Rendezvous, then make our way to Key West, FL.

That's the news and here's the views:

We are here

Today's route from Ditto Landing to Joe Wheeler St Park, AL

Thank You Friends and Family!

Foggy morning start at Ditto

Fog finally gone and Viridian is released!

Photos only capture "some" of the view

First mile of 6000

Looking back

I-65 in Decatur, AL

We will be spending the next week at Joe Wheeler for the Loopers Rendezvous, then make our way to Key West, FL.

Ready!

Final provisions loaded onboard Viridian today as we make this 15-ton vessel our home for the next year.  Looks like the weather will be perfect for us to get an early morning start for Joe Wheeler State Park where other Loopers will be gathering for the Fall Rendezvous.  (We were able to slide in on the conference since some cancellations created a few open slots).  Looking forward to meeting all the other boaters and heading for the Keys for winter.

We are here

That's the news and here's the views:

Sporting the Big V

Here we go again

Watching Nate.  Viridian is still docked at Ditto Landing in Huntsville.  Our target depart date is Thursday or Friday next week.  We will have to keep an eye on Nate and see what he does to the rivers and coastline.

Flood Watch Begins

So far no flooding detected along the Tenn-Tom Waterway.  Reports from people on the ground in Naples, FL (location of Irma landfall) are saying that minimal damage occurred.  Time will tell.

Still wait and see on the condition of the Florida Keys where we have reservations for the Winter.  

Hurricane Irma moving North

Irma hit Tampa Bay area last night and was knocked down to a Cat 1 as it heads Northwest towards the Tennessee Valley.  Could cause flooding on the Tenn-Tom.

Bad weather for a while in North Alabama

Monster storm

Hurricane Irma Today

Irma tracks more westward than first predictions.

Hurricane Irma Update

Definitely not getting better.  Looks like it is taking aim at our house today!  This storm has the potential to take out 1/3 of the 6000 mile Loop route, not to mention all of the major cities and communities along the waterway.  It's like watching a train wreck in slow motion.  Too early to make a call on starting the Loop this October, but we kind of got a sick feeling about how this will turn out... NOT TOO GOOD!

Hurricane Irma

This is not looking too good for the state of Florida and states North on the Atlantic coast.  We can only hope that by some miracle this monster turns out to sea.

 

Labor Day 2017

Viridian cruised upriver to a quiet inlet just behind the Guntersville Lock & Dam and rafted up with a with our good friends Alan and Elanor Cockrell from Allred Marina.  After a 2-hour run upriver, we came to the dam, and the Lockmaster told us we were using the auxiliary lock today.  It was much smaller than the main lock and ancient looking.  The walls were dirtier than usual for a lock and rough as a gravel road. However, we slid right in without waiting and were quickly topside and headed for the inlet to drop the hook.





Our friends came alongside, tied, and the crew came aboard Viridian for a day of food, fellowship and fun.

We are here

That's the news and here's the views:

Beginnings  of a great day

Rafting with Friends

Boat Card Pic

The Opening into Wheeler 

Making Viridian Our Home

Since we will be living aboard a 36' trawler for a year, it was important for us (especially me) that Viridian feel like home.  So of course, the color palette had to be blue and white for me and stained wood for George.  Here are a few pictures of the interior of Viridian since we decorated her with the help of Katy Forester Brooks.  

That's the news and here's the views:

We removed the table from the salon and added the rug to make this area feel larger and cozier.  We got a good deal on wooden TV trays to use when we eat or use the computer.

New pillows and lamp.

The galley

The Solon

The master bedroom.  We got new bedding and had new curtains and accent pillows made by Eliana Harless.


Katy Brooks found the sweet wall hanging for us on etsy .   Love having Words of Life posted in our boat.

Love it when the hatch is open to let fresh air and light in.

To Do List

7/21/2017  - After bringing Viridian from Tampa Bay to Huntsville last fall, we discovered there were several things we would like to change/do to the boat before starting the Loop.  It was a good thing for us that our oldest son decided to get married back in May of this year, and we delayed leaving for one year.  There was no way we could have managed several of these modifications while anchored or tied up at a marina.  Take a look at what was done over the last 9 months:



- Removed old radar and installed a new Garmin Radar unit

- Removed old radio and installed a new VHF radio with AIS

- Replaced defective bilge pump in V berth

- Washed and polished all glass windows

- Designed, fabricated, varnished and installed new stern and fly bridge quarter

    boards reflecting the new name of our boat

- Removed and installed new windshield wiper arms and blades

- Painted Master berth

- Varnished worn places around doors and on deck

- Painted outside vents

- Painted, every 25 feet, red/white/blue/gold bands on our 200-foot anchor rode

- Removed old mechanical toilet in Master Head and installed new electric

    toilet

- Rebuilt entire sewage/holding tank system

- Hired a seamstress to make new hanging curtains for entire boat interior

- Install new Ship's Bell

- Adjusted valve lash on main engine

- Removed, cleaned and reinstalled the heat exchanger core on main engine

- Purchase a new inflatable dinghy

- Install spring davits on dinghy and swim platform on boat

- Verify launching/retrieving dinghy and overall stability and ease of boarding

- Install a new gas grill

- Repair Tank Tender system for fuel/freshwater/holding tanks so capacity can

    be monitored from bridge

- Fabricate a new mast support out of 316 SS to replace flimsy aluminum support

- Purchase a new 88-quart Whynter dual zone freezer/frig and install with both

    12/120-volt supply

- Replace the fresh water pump and repair broken water lines

- Fix the seawater wash down pump

- Install an extra LED lighting in V-berth

- Remove the factory galley table and use folding tables for the trip

- Purchase a set of paper charts for sectors of the loop

- Make several short shakedown cruises to check out all this stuff, make sure it

    worked as expected

- Purchase a new camera for getting that perfect pic!

- Purchase a laptop to use on board


The things listed all needed doing, but if we had left last year there are several things that would not have been done.  I can't look over this list and find more than one or two things I could do without.