When we last left you, we were headed back to Aqua Yacht Harbor to pick up our chest freezer that they had been working on and to settle our bill with them.  We arrived last Tuesday evening and when Todd went to settle the bill Wednesday morning, we weren't able to because the Shop Foreman, Tony, was off that day. So, we ended up staying at the marina until Thursday. Bud, the Iceman, called Wednesday afternoon while we were at the marina and we made plans to go to his house for dinner that evening.

We had heard that Bud had a nice place, but we weren't prepared for how nice it really is - wow! He has a spectacular house and a beautiful and spacious lawn right on the lake with an absolutely incredible view in all directions. Todd was disappointed that we hadn't thought to bring the camera so that we could post a picture on the blog. Hopefully we will still be able to do that before we leave Pickwick to head south for the winter.

After a wonderful evening of great food and conversation with Bud, we got things squared away with Aqua Yacht the next morning and were able to head back out to Waterfall Cove around noon. Kelly called as we were underway to see if we needed anything and said that he was on his way to the waterfall as well. Kelly's friend, Mike, followed the pontoon on Kelly's waverunner, and we spent an enjoyable afternoon chatting and hanging out. Todd even took the waverunner for a little spin before Kelly and Mike left to go home.

While we were sitting on the sundeck Friday afternoon enjoying the sights and sounds of the waterfall, a couple in a nearby boat swam over to our boat to chat with us. We had seen them in the cove several times but hadn't ever spoken with them. Bo and Terri introduced themselves and told us that they really want to become liveaboards, so we spent some time answering questions, talking about our experiences thus far and showing them the boat. We have since e-mailed with Terri and few times and hope to get together with them again when we return to Pickwick.

We left the waterfall Saturday morning to go to Grand Harbor to pick up Dave and Cindy Yurchak, Dave's daughter (Tila) and her husband (John) and their two boys, Will (12) and Reed (2). Dave's daughter lives nearby in Corinth, MS and Dave and Cindy had taken a long weekend to drive down from Springfield to pay them a visit. For those who don't know, Dave was my Senior Buyer when I was the Director of Procurement at Missouri State University and has been running the show since I left. We toured past Waterfall Cove, which was already filling up for another busy Saturday, and went down to Whetstone where it is a little less crowded for a day of fun on the water.

Will had a good time jumping off the top of the sundeck and even got Todd to join him a few times. We also took the dinghy over to find the waterfall that is buried in the back of Whetstone. It is smaller than the waterfall in Waterfall Cove and is not visible from the lake, but it is every bit as cold! Will and Todd were the only ones brave enough to stick their heads under the fall. We took Dave and family back to Grand Harbor Saturday afternoon and then headed upriver to a neat little cove we had stayed at last fall with Duane and Sue. We spent a couple of peaceful evenings there and decided to leave for Florence, AL on Monday morning.

Shortly after we got underway, the port engine began running hotter than normal and we were still having problems with the shaft overheating on the port engine, so we decided the prudent thing to do would be to go back to Aqua Yacht and get these issues taken care of. Once again, we found ourselves at Aqua Yacht for the evening. Todd quickly located the source of the overheating engine - a bad impeller - and was able to replace it. He had replaced the impeller while we were in Demopolis, but the impeller he installed was a spare that the previous owners had left on the boat and it dated back to 1989! Impellers are small rubber wheels, shaped something like a paddlewheel, and the rubber had gotten old and wasn't able to withstand the pressure of the water being pumped through it. As a result, the flaps (or paddles) on it had basically disintegrated and it wasn't pumping enough water to keep the engine properly cooled.

At any rate, we were relieved that the engine issue was an easy fix. Tony, the Shop Foreman, wasn't able to get down to the boat on Monday afternoon to look at the port shaft, so we decided to go back to Freddy T's for a quick bite to eat that evening. The next morning, Tony came down and helped Todd adjust the alignment on the port shaft - again - and by noon we were ready to go. We decided to go back to Waterfall Cove for the evening and start the journey to Florence on Wednesday. It was quiet at the waterfall, but then Bud showed up around 5:00 p.m. in his pontoon and we spent a few hours visiting with him before calling it a night.

We started out for Florence again on Wednesday morning around 10:00 a.m. and had an uneventful trip upriver, arriving at the Florence Marina about 3:30 p.m. We got situated in a slip and prepared to go eat at Ricatoni's Italian Grill, a place we have heard nothing but good things about from a number of people on Pickwick. The marina didn't have a courtesy vehicle available, so we called a cab since we were told the restaurant was about two miles away. After having gorged ourselves on fresh bread dipped in olive oil and Ricatoni's signature herb mixture, along with a fair amount of our main entrees, we decided it might be a good idea to walk back to the boat.

Neither of us had paid much attention to how we got to the restaurant, but we managed to find our way back to the marina easily enough and the walk did us both good, even though we were still stuffed when we got back to the boat! For the record, we think it was probably only about a mile from the restaurant back to the boat and at least half of it was downhill, which was good considering how full we both were.

Buddy, our nearly 15-year-old male Pomeranian, woke up Thursday morning with an issue that required medical attention. At some point during the night, his penis became fully unsheathed and it wouldn't go back inside! After calling around to several veterinarians to see what could be done, we made an appointment to take him to the animal hospital. Since the appointment wasn't until 2:15 p.m., we borrowed the courtesy van - a unique experience in its own right! - made our Wal-Mart run, came back and put the groceries away and then took Buddy to the vet.

While they were attending to our child, we went back downtown and visited Trowbridge's Ice Cream & Sandwich Shop. We had been told by the waiter at Ricatoni's that Trowbridge's has the best ice cream in town, and ice cream is a real treat for us now since our freezer on the boat isn't cold enough to keep it (and we probably wouldn't have room to store it anyway). Trowbridge's is an old-fashioned back-of-the-drug-store kind of establishment and, as promised, the ice cream was very good. Todd was quite enamoured with the place and ended up ordering a pimento cheese sandwich to complement his chocolate-strawberry malt. I stuck with a double scoop of chocolate marshmallow almond ice cream in a cone and it was delicious!

To backtrack just a bit... shortly after we arrived in Florence on Wednesday afternoon, Bud called to see if we were still at Waterfall Cove and, if so, whether we needed anything. We told him we were at the marina in Florence and invited him to join us here for dinner. He said he couldn't do it Wednesday evening but maybe Thursday. Before we left to go to Wal-Mart on Thursday, Bud called and said he was going to ride his Sea Doo to Florence - a 47-mile run - go out to Cajun's with us Thursday evening, and spend the night on the boat. Cajun's is another local establishment we were told we needed to visit while we are here, and it is one of Bud's favorites.

Bud cruised into the marina around 5:00 p.m. and we had a few cocktails on the boat before taking a cab to Cajun's where we feasted on both baked and fried crab claws and seafood gumbo while sitting at the bar watching the chefs work their magic on the grill in front of us. The food was wonderful, and we really enjoyed the neat environment and friendly atmosphere. It was a pleasantly cool evening, so we returned to the boat and sat on the sundeck for a while before retiring for the evening.

Friday began with coffee on the sundeck followed by a few Bloody Marys to start the day off right. We tried to talk Bud into staying with us another night but he decided he needed to head back to check on things at Pickwick, so I fixed breakfast and we sent him on his way shortly after noon. The main lock above Florence was damaged recently when a barge was locking through, so they are using a two-stage auxiliary lock until the main lock is repaired. Since barges take priority over pleasure boaters, we will need to call ahead to the lockmaster to see when he can get us through. However, I think the Captain has decided to stay here another night and head out in the morning, or whenever we get the green light from the lockmaster. Our next marina stop will probably be in Guntersville, AL which is about 100 miles upriver.