Pickwick Lake to Florence, Al. - back to Aqua Harbor,Ms.

November 1 - 4, 2001 - Pickwick Lake to Florence, Al. - back to Aqua Harbor,Ms.

Bill tried all morning to try to figure out how to get the part for the generator, calling this place and that. So far, no luck. Now we'll wait until we get to Mobile, as they think they might have the right part. In the meantime, we'll use the portable one. Then we left for Florence Alabama, about 45 miles away. The Pickwick Lake is real pretty, and the weather is great now. We arrived in Florence about 2:30 and got settled in at the marina, which was real nice. Jo called her friends and they came for cocktails and took us to a Italian restaurant, Ricatoni's Italian Grill. The waitresses were so personable and it made for a great time. Maureen and Bob were great fun and our dinner was delicious. Friday we picked up our Enterprise Rental Car and Jo and Ralph drove to Paducah to pick up their car. It was a horrible trip, as it was raining and the roads were curvy and non direct. They left at 9:30 and didn't get back to the boat until 7:00. What a long day for them. We did a few errands that day and Bill cleaned the outside of the boat while I napped and got dinner ready, so we could eat when the Lundgrens got back. The plan was that they would play golf Saturday morning while we drove to Memphis to pick up the Vosslers. We would all have dinner together that night and then Jo and Ralph would leave on their drive to Destin. However, because we couldn't be certain when we would arrive back from the airport, they decided to forgo the golf and head for Destin. It was so sad to see them go. I don't know when or where we'll see each other again and we do have such fun. Boo! Hoo! Joan and Bert's flight was right on time and everything worked out as planned. We took the Vosslers to the same Italian restaurant, as it was so good, and we were all tucked into bed by 9:30 or so. It had been a very long day for everybody. Wonder if Jo and Ralph got all the way to Destin? It's real nice to have so many friends joining us; it makes for fun and there is always something to look forward to. We'll stay at Aqua Marina in Iuka Mississippi tonight just before starting down the TomBigbee River tomorrow. There will be 12 locks this week, so it will be nice to have help

After we got to Aqua about 1:30, Joan and I did laundry and Bill and Bert looked over the charts and talked to everyone on the dock about where we should go this next week. It was beautiful and warm and we had cocktails on the deck. We borrowed the courtesy can to go to Jons Bar for dinner, but they weren't open, so we went to the Rib Cage again - very good. Arizona is playing the New York Yankees in the World Series, so all eyes are on the T.V.