Enjoying the beautiful WARMER weather, starting to thaw out after the last 6 days down the river. Doing Christmas Cards. Went to Biloxi, Gulfport today with some friends we met here at the marina in their car. They were looking for a marina to move their boat and Curt was happy to walk around the marinas and look at boats. We ate at a restaurant in Gulfport called the Blow Fly, it was featured on the TV show with Guy called Burgers, Diners and Dives (I think that is the name). We had Fried Green tomatoes for an appetizer and Shrimp Po Boy Sandwiches. The bun was delicious as well as the shrimp and tomatoes. Good food, good service just like Guy said. :)
Beautiful clean white sandy beaches in Gulfport
Found the article online that was written about us, thought we would share it here, nice of John to write the article, they were so kind and helpful to us while in Rock Island Ill.
Interesting meeting on the boat docks
| We were coming in from our Coast Guard Auxiliary patrol Sunday evening when my wife, Judy, asked what I was going to write about this week. I had not written about winterizing yet. I told her it was still too early for that. Though I didn't know that the crew at Sunset Marina was pulling two boats on Tuesday. However, I had several ideas. This was a common Sunday conversation. I have never figured out whether my wife is trying to subtly remind me I'd better be thinking about it or if she really wants to know about the week's column. We slid the boat into the slip about 7 p.m. and I was starting to get the canvas out when two strangers walked down the dock and stopped to ask when the office would be open to pay for a night's dockage. They explained that they had pulled their 26-foot sailboat into an empty slip on the end of the dock and were concerned whether somebody was renting the slip. I told them that it was empty and asked where they were headed. They responded that their ultimate destination was Duluth, Minn. Now Duluth and the Quad-Cities are a long way apart. That meant they were going to go down to Alton, up the Illinois River, into Lake Michigan and then Lake Superior and head west to Duluth, or they were to do the big loop. That option was a lot farther because it means going around the eastern United States. They replied they were doing the loop – down the Mississippi, up the Ohio, down the Cumberland, through the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, out into the Gulf, around Florida, up the eastern seaboard, up the Hudson River, into the Erie Canal and then the Great Lakes. That was a lot more interesting, so we invited them aboard for some refreshments. They were Marilyn and Curtis Smith and they had started from Bismarck, N.D., towing their boat. They explained they had put it into the water above Lock 1 in Minneapolis and headed down the river. We ended up talking until nearly 11 and found they had traveled to a lot of the same places we had. They told us they were going to take a break in their trip and were going to deliver a sailboat from Virginia to the U.S. Virgin Islands before it got too cold. Their son had told them in a cell-phone conversation that they were traveling too fast and they should stop and smell the roses en route. So when Judy went down to the Coast Guard Auxiliary Station Monday morning, she met the couple – they had decided to sniff the roses in the Quad-Cities and had unloaded their bicycles. They were headed to the Visitor's Center on Arsenal Island and Judy suggested they visit the museum and tour the Davenport house where we could give them a tour. We met them at the house when they came walking their bikes up the road; they didn't have helmets so they couldn't ride their bikes on the island. Unfortunately, we found that most Arsenal attractions are closed on Mondays. If you would like to travel along with them on their voyage, you can read their blogs. They are castawaymarilyn.blotspot.com and castawaycurt.blogspot.com. I will pass along highlights as they head around the big "island." -- Boaters and those traveling by car Saturday and Sunday will see a large fleet of sailboats in the waters above Lock & Dam 15. They will be competing in the Polar Bear Regatta which attracts scow-type boats from a wide area. Jack Tumbleson is a retired copy editor for The Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus and a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary. He can be reached by e-mail at jack@qcoline.com or by telephone at (309) 786-5980. |
