Days 26 & 27: Sweet Home Alabama

I forgot to post last night. Ooops. Not really a big deal as there wasn’t much to report. Yesterday was a cold cloudy day and we only covered about 21nm, but we did finally cross into Alabama! Anchored near Pickensville, AL and tucked in for a cold evening on the hook.

Today we had much warmer and sunnier weather which certainly helps the motivation to keep going on long days. We had to go through 2 locks today, one right at the start and one just before we finished. The entire Tenn-Tom Waterway I have been extremely lucky with locks. Just before the Tenn-Tom I had a 2 hour wait at Pickwick. Since then every lock has been open and ready for me with a green light when I got there. They seem to monitor AIS and anticipate boats. Since there has been virtually no commercial traffic there have been no waits.

Did my civic duty for the day by scraping two InfoWars stickers off of floating bollards today, felt almost as good as voting. What did you do today to make the world a better place? 🤣

Anchored in a pretty offshoot of the Tombigbee River, one other boat here with me tonight, and a somewhat convenient but muddy boat ramp that I used to get the dogs ashore, then went back with the scooter to head into town. Getting to shore the second time was fine, my attempt to get back to the boat after dinner proved to be much messier. Think My Cousin Vinny “You got mud in the tires” muddy.

I was in search of a Dixieland Mariano’s (Dollar General) and happened upon what appeared to be the only restaurant in town Alabama Rib Shack. They closed at 5 and I got there at 4:40, but they couldn’t have been more welcoming and were more than happy to still serve me. Hands down THE BEST BBQ I have had on this trip. Easily one of the top 3 BBQ joints I’ve ever been to. A cozy interior with a well stocked bar, friendly staff, and the owner Jaime Lee Mitchell couldn’t have been nicer. This anchorage is worth it just so you can stop at this restaurant. I chatted a while with Jaime Lee and his wife, explained The Great Loop, discussed the finer points of how to properly pour a Guinness, said thanks then went on my way.

Jaime Lee asked me a great question that in actually ended up being a great reminder of why I took this trip. He asked why I didn’t just have the boat trucked to Florida, to which I replied “If I did that I wouldn’t be here talking to you now would I?” One of the reasons I love trips like this or the road rallies, is you stop in places you normally wouldn’t think to. You explore and meet folks from all walks of life. Your world and worldview expands. I can now say I’ve had the best BBQ in Alabama! If I shipped the boat to Miami I wouldn’t have been able to say that. Nor would I have had the chance to meet Jaime Lee and his wonderful family. Some of my friends (NABER) have always poked fun at how I could talk to a telephone pole if it stood there long enough. While the gift of gab can be a blessing or a curse, I do consider it to be one of the better traits I inherited from my parents. You never know who you might meet if you just turn around and say “Howdy!”

Tomorrow we head to Demopolis, AL should take about 7 hours. Once we reach Demopolis we are officially off the Tenn-Tom waterway and thus mark another milestone of this trip and are only 4 days till the Gulf of Mexico and Mobile Yacht Club where I can step my mast.

Sorry Becky Keagy, looks like I won’t be in Sarasota for Thanksgiving, save me some turkey!