Inverter now inverts....we'll see how long that lasts. We've been down this road before. Water tanks have been cleaned. We are ready to head for Mobile. Demopolis photos are posted here. It has been nice. We were tied up close to laundry and parking which made chores easier. Supplies were close and easy to find... Wal-Mart, they do make life simple when boat shopping. We'll pull away from the dock and keep left right into the river. The Demopolis dock is about 2 miles away. Our plan is to travel between 6 and 7 hours a day, at 7.5 miles an hour. We should have enough gas to make it all the way. It will take us until Wednesday to arrive. We plan to stop tonight at Highway 10 bridge. Folks around here keep telling us about a GREAT catfish place, Ezel's. We'll have to anchor and take the dingy into the restaurant...though I hear tell it is more of a joint. Should prove interesting in any case. Sunday night should find us at Bobby's Fish Camp, the only marina and gas stop between here and Mobile Bay. The next two nights are anchorings that I don't think you can locate without river charts. We plan to be in Fairhope, Ala on the 11th. Can't predict if we'll have Internet and or cell phone coverage between here and there. So this could be it until Wednesday....weather is predicted to be clear and warmer. We are ready.

Ran on the river today. Things weren't perfect but we had our new best friend Alan on board to do the instant repair. New engine cooling system seems to be working fine now. The inverter is another issue. We have battled with this since last July. If we can't get this resolved it will reek havoc with refrigeration and heat while we are bound for Mobile. As things stand now, we are hopeful that the guys will solve inverter problems tomorrow and we will head for Mobile on Saturday. We'll anchor out, travel 6 or 7 hours a day, and arrive in Mobile on Wednesday, Feb. 11. There is only one place to stop for gas, but we should be fine without a fill up.

Things are looking up. Plans went off without a hitch today, including the three hour trip to the grocery store. Floyd installed the new table top...it matches perfectly. In fact, looks like it came with the boat. We love the look but, more importantly, we love the fact that there is no ridge biting into our arms. The dingy has been restored to its rightful position. Things are unpacked. We are hoping to go for a cruise tomorrow afternoon to make sure engine and inverter are up to snuff. Temperatures are suppose to be warmer. Right now it is 58 inside...low tonight is suppose to be 20. We want to head South soon.

What is it about our plans and returning to the boat???? Nothing seems to go as we thought. Remember last July? We returned to that stinky refrigerator mess of foul smelling stuff...104 degree heat...in addition to all the stuff we brought that had to be put away. Well, this wasn't that bad...but nothing has gone as planned today. We left Wichita on time, loaded to the gills and arrived here a little ahead of time...thanks to great tail winds. Only to discover that the Tumbleweed was still sitting where we left her...high and dry. Three hours later she made it to the water...we were parked and ready to load and clean...except that there was no water pressure. Couple of hours later, Alan (our new best friend) and Floyd had located the disconnected hose, fixed the vapor locked valves, and refilled the water tank. By then the wind was blowing 30 miles an hour and the temperature had dropped to 38. We thought we would be warmer...not exactly. We are gonna sleep good tonight.

Weather here has turned warm...Shockers won big time this afternoon...just teasing us. But we are not staying. Bags are packed. We plan to load the plane on Sunday before watching the BIG GAME. I'm to spend all day Monday at Derby High School as a part of their NCA final visit. We'll fly out bright and early Tuesday morning. That should put us in Alabama around noon...plenty of time to get moved into the Tumbleweed for the night. Though memories of our disastrous arrival in St Charles do haunt us...We can hardly wait.

Weather in Wichita has been icy and bitter cold. Muriel (Floyd's sister) is recuperating nicely from her foot surgery. We are thinking it is way past time to run away and live on a boat. Packing has begun and we'll be bound for Demopolis AL on Tuesday morning, February 3. Plan for now is to hang there for a while to insure that all is in working order. Then head to Mobile. We hope to arrive there around the 14th. We'll keep you posted....

Yes, finally getting our land legs back. The visit to Midland TX for the CAF airshow was so much fun. The weather was perfect and everything went exactly according to plan. First weekend of October took us to Fredonia KS for the town homecoming celebration. It was a relaxing three days with Linda's parents. Again a beautiful weekend to enjoy a parade and the outside visiting with all those Fredonia grads (even though a few of our favorites were MIA). Linda is getting ready to take Muriel with her to Texas for a week...using an NCATE visit for an excuse to shop. Then we are off to California for three weeks in November. Between wedding planning, catching up on house work and repairs, planning more travel, meetings and get togethers with friends, there just is not much timeto spare. We are making plans to return to the boating adventures in February. In fact, Floyd has already received notice that the new cooling system has been installed. By the time we return the inverter should be working. We hope to be in Mobile by March. Keep in touch.