Party Time

Back home Monday, party time Saturday....

Great party.....Thank you for coming......wine in beautiful adornments and wonderful deserts were brought as we got to see some of our favorite people...........

Lisa Skaladan above always looking sassy......and Janice my right hand for the last year ...finally may get to relax a minute.......Thank you for all your and Tim's help this last year.....without you we could not have had this great experience......The Great LoopRandy and Brenda............missed ya.......New boating friends...Todd and Brenda have been cruising for almost 4 years....we met in Chattanooga and they have been staying in our cove......glad you could come.....They were really interested in the pictures on the big screen.....see anywhere you have been or want to go next???? I am sure we could learn a lot from you two........Our neighbors Nancy and Brownie......Thank you for keeping an eye on things while we were gone........Greg.....Tractor(Dwight), Jack and Vicki ......hope you enjoyed.....we sure did. Vicki ...what a wonderful chocolate cake....we have a new fave..........................................it was gone in 5 minutes. Neighbors Tom and Melissa...............Good to see ya...........Thank you for the great food....

Jack and Vicki..............Looking Good.......................... Mike and Sharry..................Always make the party.......................................

Dan and Diane.............Diane all tan.....spending time at that beach ????? Thank you for coming....

John and Lisa.................Caribbean Style......got that orange shirt on for football season......Looks Great........Love you

Jan and Sarah.............ya match.....always good to have you......................Robin and Janan.............we will be seeing a lot of you at the UT football season starts.......

Cannot have a party with Mike............He IS the party for sure..........MISSED YOU ........and enjoyed your joining us in Florida.......made it on the blog a few times.............

Beautiful chicks.............Kathryn and Jane............

That Greg.....was just sure to get some hugs.................imagine that???? Glad you could make it....

Randy & Brenda, sorry about the gate.....

Sandy and Linda..........just catching up..................... Mike and Mike............real huggers......

Marty and Susan............always the handsome couple..............................

John and Vickie.......just good to see you two again.......we could make this a habit............

Just fit right in........who knows maybe after cruising you will settle here???? I know a good realtor................

Bob and Nancy.............this is family for sure.........................

Mary and Jay are here tooooooooo...........

And if any of our guests did not party with us.........drink too much wine or beer.....talk boating......and are not glad to see us back........I am ready for ya .....with this (Boyd's new weapon - it's for real and loaded)................

So..............In order not to be shot at.............hope you did all of the above..............because we loved having you in our home. Whether it is doing the Great Loop or being at home back to work again.....it really is about ALL YOU SPECIAL PEOPLE! Thank you for taking time to come and celebrate with us............(and for all the wonderful wines you brought)....see ya soon...

GO VOLS!!!

Home to Knoxville

As we cruise down the River toward home....you just see it all......from the smallest of places to the palaces along the way......... Condos in Loudon Tennessee overlook the water...........................

Back in the Bible Belt......Beautiful cross in the distance.........................

The rocky rolling hills of Tennessee truly feel like home......................

The captain had slowed to a turtle pace the last 20 miles.......but eventually he had to come home.......is that a smile I see???

Approaching our last lock at Ft Loudon Dam......a mixture of emotions fill me.......glad to be back close to family and friends.........sad that the adventure is over ....(for a while)

Fort Loudon Lock.....home sweet home

Posing for the last lock........as we lock thru....................

The gates close behind us as we exit the lock....

Arrival Point welcomes us as we soon have house in sight....................

Fort Loudon Marina as we pull in to top off the fuel tank and get a pump-out...................

Albert Hayesworth's new 75' Lazzara at Ft Loudon Marina...
There it is..............HOME................how many days have we been gone...........what will it feel like to get into the tub, sleep in that king size bed, and just be on land???? Fear .....What if we hate it?

The house seems lonely..........Like your puppy when you pick him up at the vet........just excited to see you......jumping and licking......The house seemed to breath easier.....just to have us moving around inside.......as we unload the boat one trip at a time..........enough of that......lets plan a party..........a few days is enough...............that'll keep us busy.................We cannot wait to see our friends................WE'RE BACCCCCKKKKKKKK...........................

There she is .......very proud of her accomplishment.....and ready for a little rest.....a good clean up......some fiberglass repairs.......back home at last! Sea la Vie....you did us proud....we love you!

Our view of the dam from our dock, waiting for the next trip downstream......................

6,170 miles, 310 days, 10,050 gallons of diesel fuel, 107 locks, 85 different marinas, 3 countries, 16 states, thousands of photos, countless new friends, and priceless memories..........

Watts Bar

Nickojack Lock....looks more like a war zone..............but we made it thru......current and all.......... We noticed this fellow hugging one of the mooring cells......just a classic...He seemed to be enjoying himself and caught one as we passed by.................

I had to take pictures of the walls of the locks as we went thru.............I plan to go thru these and frame one for the house.......you must admit the colors and texture is nice.................I am a artist want'a be................ha Just one of the pretty pictures of Tennessee green ............as the trees grow out of the water.........ya know.....it is really beautiful here..................

Watts Bar Nuclear Plant...........What can I say.????

RoyEl......Roy and Elva joined us as we arrived and greeted us with congrats on finishing the loop with a nice bottle of wine...........they have been cruising a long time and finished the loop .....their friends just bought a pretty Carver and plan to do it............so much fun...THANK YOU !!!!

We anchored out ........... our good friends Jay and Nancy joined us for a night on the boat..........John and Vickie joined us for cocktails and we has a great dinner......great fun......great friends.....

John and Vickie's sailboat....

Another boat anchored in the cove...

Just chillin'....

Vickie and myself back at Blue Springs............

Jay and Nancy with some serious conversation............................

These boys are just lookin' for trouble....and we found them....................

Jay and Nancy.....looking a a really nice trawler on the dock.......would be a little more room for them.....but Jay is not buying all our talk.........the hug didn't even help......Nancy has to work on that a little................

Jim McKay's depth sounder displayed at Blue Springs Marina......Jerry was impressed with that................so here is the photo...