Columbus and Demopolis

Saturday was a very unusual day....we didn't have to pass any tows!!! I called the nearby Stennis Lock and asked if it would be possible for 7 pleasure boats to lock through at 7:30. The lockmaster was very happy that he could lock 7 boats through at once, and said, "Come on down; the doors will be open." Don and I went down the dock at 6:45 telling the other boaters the good news.

The four faster boats, Blue Heron, Seaquel, Mayalisa II, and Snow Cat, trailing a bit behind, continued on together and went through a total of 4 locks and 35 miles in just four hours!!!! We never had to wait at any of the locks. It was good news on an otherwise cold, gloomy, and windy day! By 1 pm we arrived at Columbus Marina. Ceci and Hank on Mayalisa had a car there so we went into the historic part of town and toured the house where Tennessee Williams spent his first three years of life. He lived in the parsonage with his grandfather who was the rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church.

 The house was recently re-painted in Victorian colours, trying to duplicate the original appearance.

We drove by many antebellum homes, some of the 600 historic buildings in Columbus. During the Civil War there was an arsenal in the town that made cannons and stored ammunition. The town was defended successfully by Major General Forrest who we first learned about on the TN River where he destroyed a huge Union depot and ships. He was a busy soldier...and very successful. Also, Columbus had "hospital" status since many homes were used to treat injured soldiers. It was spared from Union destruction!!! 

                                              

The Carney-Hunt House, an example of Federal period architecture, is now a B&B. Built in 1828 it is north Mississippi's oldest brick house.

\                                           

  Rosewood Manor, a beautiful Greek Revival antebellum mansion, was built in 1835.

We had a lovely dinner aboard Mayalisa, and said good-bye to Hank and Ceci since they will leave their boat in Columbus until Jan., while they drive home to Virginia for the holidays. We will really miss cruising with them!!!!

On Sunday, we left the marina with Miller Time, a 50 ft. Hatteras, and did 3 locks together, before arriving at the Demopolis Yacht Basin at 4 pm, 120 miles later! With the strong winds, the 43 degree temperature felt like 33! BUT the sun was shining!!! This long day was a bit boring, but a few sights were interesting. 

 Can you spot the flower? This aquatic plant was growing all along the waterway.

 All we need is Superman....

 Beautiful white cliffs...

Don and I take turns driving the boat, and with such a long day,  I was finding my shifts very boring...until I started amusing myself by finding the deeper water on the curves. 

 Some curves have a channel marker on the shore with the deeper water. But many curves have no marker.

This picture of our GPS screen shows some of the many curves we had to negotiate. With the current going downhill, the current should be stronger at the outside curves and less on the inside ones. That means the water should be deeper on the outside of the curves. As I was driving, I would head to the outside and check the changes in depth to see if it were true. It amused me and made the 100+ miles go a bit faster!

We decided to stay another day...for some much-needed R&R. Blue Heron and Seaquel arrived in the afternoon, and we went to the New Orleans Restaurant at the marina for dinner. It was a fun time! 

Just 216 miles to go to reach Mobile, AL....and no more marinas or towns along the way. It will be interesting to see if we get any AT&T cell coverage.

We feel very fortunate that we are out of the way of Hurricane Sandy, and we shouldn't even be complaining about the cold temps. We can visualize so many of the places on the news since we traveled through them in the Spring as we headed north.  We have relatives in Long Island, NY, and Ocean City and Wildwood, NJ, and we are praying that they are safe.