A Crazy Weekend at the Waterfall

On Tuesday, June 14th, the Captain continued his boat cleaning projects while I got caught up on laundry.  Late that afternoon we met with George & Rebecca to discuss boating and they took us to a new place called Cactus Jack’s for a few drinks and appetizers.  George is an acquaintance of Bud’s who wanted to chat with us about some of our experiences over the past five years as he & Rebecca are hoping to do some extended cruising.  Thanks for the drinks and apps, guys, and good luck with your future cruising plans!

Wednesday morning we left the covered slip at Aqua Yacht, pumped out again and moved to the transient dock.  We drove to Corinth at noon, took our friend Terri Pruitt to lunch and got a few provisions before returning to Aqua Yacht mid-afternoon.

Terri and the Admiral in front of Terri’s workplace.



It was another muggy, hot day with afternoon storms to the north that just missed us.  But we had a nice storm roll through about 7:00 p.m. that cooled things down quickly and produced this pretty rainbow.



Mike, a potential buyer from Ft. Myers Beach, arrived Thursday morning about 9:00 p.m.  He flew into Memphis on Wednesday and spent the night in Corinth so he didn’t have far to drive to reach us Thursday morning.  At any rate, Mike spent nearly seven hours thoroughly inspecting “Life’s2Short” and its systems.   Now we are waiting on the results of a variety of fluid analyses from the engines, transmissions and generator.  So we’ll see what those produce and go from there.



While Todd and Mike were tearing “Life’s2Short” apart, Norm & Vicki on “Tide Hiker” pulled in to the transient dock.  They had planned to visit the Shiloah National Battlefield that afternoon but an electrical issue on the boat kept them at the dock.

Bud pulled up on his Sea Doo about 4:00 p.m. to visit for a while and then we went to dinner at Hagy’s Catfish Hotel with Norm & Vicki where we had a wonderful meal and ate WAY too much!



Now that’s a plate of cole slaw!



Hagy’s overlooks the Tennessee River a few miles below the Pickwick Lock & Dam.



Friday morning we awoke to rain and were hoping it would stop long enough to make a run to the Waterfall.  But it didn’t and the Captain got restless so we left the marina in light rain about 10:30 and were secure in “our spot” at the Waterfall an hour later – soaked, but secure.

The rain finally stopped early afternoon and the boaters started flocking to Waterfall Cove.  Bud came out in his pontoon and rafted to us and then friends of his, Jim & Liz, came by in another pontoon and rafted to Bud.  It was a beautiful evening with incredibly pleasant temperatures.  Ah, it’s good to be back at the ‘fall!

A beautiful morning shot of the infamous Pickwick Waterfall.



Saturday morning “Tide Hiker” made a pass through the cove on their way to Florence.  They had purchased some two-cycle oil for Todd and he had caught a mess of bass for them so they made an exchange.  Good to see you again, Norm & Vicki!  We’ll catch up with you somewhere upriver!





Then it got busy.  Jim & Liz brought us a bag of ice about noon and visited for a short while before taking off to see other friends elsewhere on the lake.  There were storms moving through the area all afternoon but we only experienced some wind and light rain.  Bud showed up in the pontoon about 3:00 and then Jim & Liz came back – this time with Connie & Phil – so we all rafted up again.  It was a wild and crazy day, as you can tell from the photos!

Check out the guy in the water with the antler hard hat!







As the day wears on, the antlers are being decorated with beer cans!



Hangin’ on Bud’s pontoon.



Meet our new friends, Jim & Liz.  Great couple!



Antler-man’s ornaments are multiplying!



Liz on the back of their pontoon chatting with Connie & Phil.






Liz and Connie have been friends since the third grade.



Boats stacked up at the gravel bar, or what’s left of it after the spring flooding.





Is that Hulk Hogan?



Just general craziness at the Waterfall.























Connie & Phil have been putting a serious dent in the Jagermeister today!







As I was saying… perhaps the lady has had a bit too much Jager!



Are you talking to me?



Jim & Liz’s dog Rocky tolerating all the craziness!



A very large boat full of partiers cruises into the cove.



And after all that, we left “Life’s2Short” around 8:00 p.m. to go with Bud on the pontoon back to his house where we got in his truck and drove to Jim & Liz’s place in a nearby gated community called Points of Pickwick for dinner.  And what a marvelous dinner it was featuring grilled tuna steaks, gorgeous fillet mignon and a wonderful Vidalia onion side dish.  Thanks for including us, guys, we had a great time!

Heading to Bud’s house on the pontoon.  Look out Jim & Liz, here we come!



We finally made our way back to Bud’s house and returned to the Waterfall in his pontoon around midnight.  Thank God for GPS!  What a wild and crazy day!

Other than ice deliveries from two different boaters we met on Saturday, we spent a quiet Sunday morning on “Life’s2Short.”  Jim & Liz and Connie & Phil made an appearance about 2:30 and Bud finally showed up on his Sea Doo a few hours later.  Of course, he had to come on his Sea Doo since we confiscated his pontoon Saturday night!

Even though there were still a lot of boaters out, Sunday was much mellower than Saturday.  Jim & Liz’s two boys, Davis and Sam, who were out in their ski boat wakeboarding with friends, also joined us for a while, rafted to Jim & Liz.  So now we have a line of four rafted boats!

Liz hanging on the swim platform with her boys (Davis, 16, next to her and Sam, 12, in the water).



Terri & Ben made a surprise appearance about 6:30 just as Jim & Liz and Bud were getting ready to leave.  Terri & Ben took off about 7:30 to get her boat back to dry storage before it closed so we were all alone after that.  A busy and fun weekend with old and new friends!



Terri & Ben.  Happy Birthday (on Monday), Terri!



Kelly came out in his boat about noon on Monday to spend the day.  We hadn’t seen Kelly since we first arrived at Aqua Yacht so we were overdue for a visit!  It was another beautiful, sunny day and there was a surprisingly large number of boats out.

Another beautiful morning shot.



Kelly and his dog Spanky.



Just as Bud showed up, around 4:00 p.m., a sailboater named George who had been hanging on the gravel bar a good part of the afternoon with his golden retriever, Mick, came back in saying that his dog had fallen overboard and he couldn’t find him!  So Bud got immediately back on his Sea Doo, another guy named Don also got on his Sea Doo, Todd got in his dinghy and they all took off to look for Mick.  Unfortunately, George had no idea where Mick had fallen off the boat and it’s a big lake out there!

Someone finally spotted Mick desperately swimming toward shore but still a good distance out in the lake so Don buzzed over, loaded Mick on his Sea Doo and brought him back to the gravel bar.  Poor Mick had been swimming almost nonstop for hours at the gravel bar and was already worn out when he fell off the sailboat.  It’s a good thing he’s such a strong swimmer or he never would have survived long enough to be rescued!

Bud took off for home around 7:30, leaving his pontoon with us, and Kelly ended up spending the night on his boat.  Bud’s pontoon has become our outdoor patio and we have loved having it rafted to us!

Tuesday was a quiet day at the Waterfall with steady rain all afternoon.  We did, however, make a run to Grand Harbor in Bud’s pontoon Tuesday morning to put in some fuel, get ice and dump trash.  Other than that, we enjoyed a much-needed peaceful, relaxing day aboard “Life’s2Short.”

Today is Wednesday, June 22nd, and Todd has been out fishing since early this morning.  The weather has been pleasantly cool since yesterday’s rain and the sky is still overcast.  And it has remained quiet at the Waterfall with virtually no boat traffic – so far.  Storm chances remain in the forecast through today, although the sky appears to be getting lighter as the day progresses.

Our plan is to remain in “our spot” at the Waterfall through the upcoming weekend before beginning the trek upriver toward Chattanooga.  Word has it that temperatures in this area are supposed to be below normal from July through September.  Given the extreme heat we’ve been dealing with for the past month or so, we are definitely looking forward to that!