November 11 – 13

We awaken to drizzling rain and cold. Melanie texts me “any normal person would be sleeping in.” Not us. We are up and out by 7 a.m.

We pass the sailboat that went through the lock with us last night. He simply beached his boat on the shore, tied it to a tree, and waited out the storm.

As we travel the river we encounter sizable barges with towboats, white picturesque cliffs and old bridges.

We pass by these stunning white cliffs in Epes, Alabama. They are part of the Selma Chalk formations which were deposited at about the same time as England’s famous White Cliffs of Dover.

We Are In Alabama – One State Away From Florida!

Soon we roll into Kingfisher Marina in Demopolis. Welcome to Alabama!

The marina office is a bit of a hike from the marina slips so we register and pay at the fuel docks. We are happy Sunshine is in a covered slip as it is still drizzling. We are getting spoiled with the covered slips.

 Turns out Blue Horizon is docked two slips over. Hunky Dory on the other side, and Lyra, an Albin owned by Scott and Melissa, just down from us. Done Saving is a few slips down. And the cutest red Ranger Tug (my new favorite boat) named Hoppy Trails with a three-year-old girl and a golden doodle always peeking out of the back as you walk to the laundry-bath-lounge.

Several Looper boats trickle in throughout the day.

Matt the Mechanic

We called the marina earlier in the week to secure a mechanic to tighten up the shaft seals. Sunshine has two engines, so two shafts. The prop is at the end of the shaft. The shaft seals keep the water out of the boat. Pretty important.

Matt is at the boat early morning as promised. We are always relieved to see a mechanic slight of build. Easier to maneuver in the engine room. Turns out Matt is a Cummins engine expert and a very competent mechanic – affable with a good sense of humor. He fixes the shaft seals and also checks the zincs, which are ok.

Out for Mexican with Melanie and Rick

We receive a text from Melanie asking us to join them for lunch. They have reserved the complimentary marina car for two hours.

Melanie: “Here are our lunch options: pizza, Mexican, Southern, bar food, or fast food. What do you guys prefer?”

Me: “All of the above. Except for bar food!”

We end up choosing Mexican. At the restaurant Rick and Melanie converse in fluent Spanish with the waiter. I feel out of place, as when I am in an Asian restaurant and everyone except me is using chopsticks.

Turns out Rick did a stint after college in the Peace Corps in Guatemala. He parlayed his language skills into a career in international marketing with CNN and other media outlets, working in Atlanta and south Florida. Melanie worked at CNN as well. It’s so interesting to learn the backgrounds of the boaters, and what led them to try the Loop.

After lunch we went to our favorite place – you guessed it, Walmart. Patrick tells me Walmart is the largest employer in the United States. I can see why. They are everywhere.

Smell the Roses – and Another Miracle

I keep thinking I’ll do my blog – but there are too many friend opportunities here. Even when doing laundry, there is lots of chatter as the Loopers congregate there.

Tracy from Done Savings texts me to go for a walk. That I am always up for. Donna from Hattitude joins us.

A few steps into our walk, Captain Pat phones me. He had planned to reset the batteries, as they were giving us problems again. He tells me they are now charged at 100%. We can only attribute this to a miracle. There is no other explanation for the behavior of these unpredictable batteries!

Tracy, Donna and I continue talking about the trials and tribulations of Looper life. The mile or so around the marina grounds passes quickly.

We pick the final blooms on the red knockout rose bushes. Actually, Donna picks them for us as she’s the only one who can cut the rose from the bush with her hands.

So nice to have fresh flowers on the boat. It’s the little things. Donna tells us she had carrots left over from a stew. So she shreds them and bakes carrot muffins. I can’t imagine baking on the boat!

But then again – I don’t even bake at home. Maybe I will when I return.

Docktails

We join about 40 other Loopers at 4:30 for “Docktails” on the roof of the lounge building. This is our biggest gathering with Loopers for sure!

Todd gets us all together for a group shot. The light is in the way – to the rescue.

Smile everyone!

Sully the Celebrity Dog

I am doing laundry. A guy comes in and has to leave his little dog outside. No pets allowed in. The little dog is quite upset – he suffers from separation anxiety.

I offer to go outside and stay with dog. I try to be comforting, but he wants nothing to do with me.

I later learn, this dog is a Looper celebrity! He is Sully of the Facebook blog “Sully Does the Loop!” Sully belongs to Scott and Lauren aboard Dreamer, a beautiful Krogen Express.

I love reading about Sully’s antics and adventures. What a clever idea to center your blog around your pet! Sully is quite cute.

I can see why he has separation anxiety. If I were treated that good, I wouldn’t want my owner out of my site either!

About Demopolis

The city lies at the confluence of the Black Warrior and Tombigbee River. It is situated atop a cliff composed of the Demopolis Chalk Formation, known locally as White Bluff, on the east bank of the Tombigbee. It has a population of approximately 7,500.

Demopolis was founded in the early 1800s after the fall of Napoleon’s empire. It was named by a group of French expatriates, a mix of exiled Bonapartists and other French refugees who had settled in the United States after the overthrow of the colonial government in Saint-Domingue by enslaved workers. Napoleon had sent troops there in a last attempt to regain control of the island, but they were defeated, largely by high mortality due to yellow fever.

The name, meaning in Greek “the People’s City” or “City of the People” was chosen to honor the democratic ideals behind the endeavor. First settled in 1817, it is one of the oldest continuous settlements in the interior of Alabama. French colonists had founded Mobile on the coast in the early 18th century. Demopolis was incorporated on December 11, 1821.

The growing, trading, and milling of cotton continued to be a major basis of the economy up until the World War I-era. The boll weevil infestations of the 1920s and the Great Depression of the 1930s finally ended the one-crop farming system.

Following the demise of cotton production, beef cattle farming and catfish aquaculture became new major agricultural pursuits. Industrial activities became the major sources of employment by mid-century, with the cement, lumber, and paper industries playing a prominent role in the city’s economy into the 21st century.

Below are more photos from our Kingfisher Marina stay: