8/5/17 Saturday - Day 21....our final day!

We all (Renee and I as well as Dad and  Lori) had a good night's sleep with a wonderfully comfortable temps night.  No AC needed just a window :-)
We awoke early (as usual around 6am).  Morning conversations then breakfast of eggs and sausage on the grill.   Renee and I walked the docks and said our farewells (for now) to Scott and KC as well as Byron and Cynthia.  We hope to be able to cross paths with our new Looper friends in the future. 
Dad took his car and headed by road down to Sunset Harbor Hill Marina (where we will be leaving the boat).   We headed out onto the lake/s to meet him down there.   Erik kept a good pace (much to Renee's chagrin) In order to not keep dad waiting to long at the marina.  
After picking dad up and touching base with the marina staff we headed back out to a cove that was only a couple miles up lake to float and swim for a short spell.  The cove we picked was right outside Kenlake Marina where we needed to stop anyhow to pump out our holding tank.  While there at the marina we could not resist having another go at a mocha chip ice cream cone :-)
We then headed back to Sunset Harbor Hill to get settled into our slip and remove stuff from the boat to prepare to head home :-(
It was to sad to leave Aquaholic behind knowing that we will not be able to be aboard for a while.  BUT....we are both very pleased and had a blast on this beginning leg of our Great Loop journey!
Until next time......

Left GTB and heading through the 'pass' to Kentucky Lake

Found a nice cove on Kentucky Lake down by Sunset Harbor Hill and Kenlake Marina to have a final float/swim in before departing for home

Hi Lori and Renee! 

Renee and Toby smiling about River Life

Bringing Aquaholic in to pump out and prepare her for her slip while we travel home

⛵ Off of the boat and headed home with Dad driving.                                                                Boat hair.....don't care!  

8/4/17 Friday - Day 20

Dad and Lori were still with us.   We started our day with breakfast ..... Well, it was coconut cream pie and chocolate cream pie but we called it breakfast! 
We went out and found a cove to float in just down from the marina on lake Barkley pretty early (around 10am).  The water felt a bit cooler today but we determined it was likely just because it was a windy and cooler day.
We came back in to dock at the marina at about 3pm and renee and I went up to check out the spa at GTB.  No massage or manicure for us today......just a dip in the nice indoor pool and checked the place out.
We cooked shish kabobs for an early dinner and then all showered up.  Afterwards we went up to the newly opened 'Thirsty Turtle' where we listened to some live music on a beautiful evening while enjoying a few cold ones.....Coke And Diet Coke for us :-)

We sat after breakfast and watched them take a couple boats out and in on the lifts.  Pretty cool to watch

Our new Looper friend, Byron, took a pic of us all as we were preparing to leave for an evening at 'The Thirsty Turtle'

A beautiful evening for some live music

8/3/17 Thursday - Day 19

A wonderful day spent with family .   We awoke and sat around drinking coffee and chatting.  Made eggs and bacon for breakfast. 
For our boating today we went down through the pass over to Kentucky Lake and boated down to a bay/cove (Nickell Branch) that looked appealing on the maps and Garmin bluecharts.  On the way down, we started seeing black smoke billowing up from what appeared to be in the lake.  It turned out to be a small runabout boat that had caught fire .  We sat and watched for a few minutes as the fire and rescue boats arrived and sprayed it out.  Pretty scary.  We read online that all 3 passengers got off safely :-)
It was a nice relaxing float for a couple of hours, but not quite as quaint and teaming with wildlife as the cove renee and I had floated in a few days ago.  After a time we made our way back North on Kentucky Lake to another smaller cove that was nice also.  It still was not as peaceful as the one from the other day because the wind was blowing pretty good (welcomed given the 89 degree temps).  After a short while we headed back toward GTB marina to get cleaned up and relax prior to a 7pm dinner reservation that we had made at Patti's. 
Patti's was a nice dinner with great atmosphere, their famous 2" pork chops, and a nice walk around their lit up grounds after. 
To top the day/evening off we went back to the boat and enjoyed some chatting as well as indulgence in Patti's 8" high meringue pie!  Renee had a piece of the chocolate and Dad, Lori, and Erik had the coconut.   It was delish!  To boot.....we have half a coconut pie and half if Renee's chocolate piece leftover for tomorrow :-)
We will sleep well.....and full.

Another day begins at GTB

Toby talking about how happy he is to have a visit from Dad and Lori

Yikes!  A boat caught fire in the middle of the lake :-( Fortunately everyone got off safely :-)

Patti's famous 2" pork chop

Lori and Renee preparing for the Patti's experience

We hadn't tried the pie yet (we got a whole coconut one and a piece of chocolate for Renee to go) bit we were pretty sure we'd love it!

Patti's grounds all lit up at night

There's the Pie!  It was delish :-)

8/2/17 Wednesday - day 18

Well.....we all know boats have issues, right?  We had a couple of them late last night.   The water pump that had a small drip leak in it since last year suddenly had a MUCH larger leak and needed immediate replacement .  Fortunately, we had a brand new pump aboard that we simply had not got around to replacing.  Woke this morning and replaced the pump.  Also got the hot water tank up and going.   Spent some time socializing with our Looper friends on the dock (Byron and Cynthia aboard Bright Angel, and Scott and KC aboard Jet Stream). 
We then spent an hour or so cleaning up the boat and stowing some things away in preparation for Dad and Lori to arrive.   They will be spending the next four days aboard with is exploring the lakes and then give us a lift home.  
After they arrived and we visited for a bit, we shoved off of the dock at GTB and headed down Lake Barkley a small stretch to a cove where we floated and swam for a couple of hours. 
We then grilled out dinner and later went for a walk down to the GTB beach.  We saw a heard of 7 deer that were obviously pretty used to people and stayed within 100ft or so of us.   Toby to break his new Walmart retractable leash be had just gotten yesterday by chasing the deer.  They ran off a bit then stopped and looked back at us as if to say " you are a stupid dog if you think you can catch us". 
Ended the evening with good conversation back on the deck and then bed. Good to see family and have them aboard to share a slice of our experiences! With the company aboard we didn't take pictures today......just a shnrise

8/1/17 Tuesday - day 17

We had a great day of mostly relaxing and exploring Kentucky Lake today.   Some conversations were had with Richard, Captain of Semper Fi, while pimping holding  tanks before departing Kenlake Marina this morning.  Later in the afternoon we had a good talk with the  Captain of Bright Angel.   Both are live aboard boaters and Loopers.  
We explored a couple of coves / bays on Kentucky Lake.  The favorite for us was Vickers Bay. It was very secluded and as we entered there was a deer along the bank.  Another one made an appearance and walked along the shore getting pretty close to us a bit later.   We also saw a raccoon doing the same shoreline walk, several herons, and a whole mess of large fish (we think bass ??) Swimming in the nice waters around the boat.   We floated around a bit and gave the outside of the boat a wash down.   On our way back up towards Green Turtle Bay (where we will be meeting Dad and Lori tomorrow ) we stopped through another bay/cove that had a boat ramp and dock and let Toby off.  This cove had campsites all around it with great views. 
We also spoke with Dennis, owner of Sunset Harbor Hill Marina and finalized plans to leave the boat there in a slip through Labor Day weekend when they will then pull the boat, strip and paint bottom, and put into dry storage for the winter.   Nice to have those arrangements solidified!
When we arrived back to Green Turtle Bay we paid for our slip through Saturday morning .   We then utilized their courtesy vehicle to drive to Paducah where we went to Walmart for some provisions and attended an AA meeting.   Back to the marina to shower , cook and eat (another late dinner at 9pm!).   We also have added several issues to the 'things to do list'/issues on the boat......you know......B.O.A.T (bust out another thousand!).    Our hot water heater does not seem to be heating, our water pump started leaking pretty badly again.    Looks like we'll have our work cut out for us tomm morning while we wait for Dad and Lori arrival (supposed to be about noon). 

Sunrise at Kenlake Marina

Sitting in Vickers Bay.....Erik risking the boat shot with phone in hand on the raft

A butterfly came to visit us in Vickers Bay

Nice flying butterfly shot :-)

Also had a visit from a raccoon.....may have to zoom in to see

And a visit from a couple deer 

Sunset at GTB

7/31/17 Monday - Day 16 - Exploring the lakes

Spent some time this morning talking to Gary at Boat works and Bill at GTB marina.  Getting quotes for work and storage for when we leave.  Then we headed through the Barkley canal to Kentucky Lake.  Stopped at Sunset Harbor Hill to check out the place and talked to the guys in the shop about more of the same.  After walking up the hill, and it was a hill!, we found a cove and dropped anchor. Finally some floating time.  We headed into Kenlake marina to find our slip for the night.  Got plugged in and Erik biked to the store while I napped!  I caught up on blogs and then we watched the sunset.  Cheeseburgerswith a fried egg on them for dinner!