OUR LAST MONTH AT GOOSE POND

Since September 12th, we have made six trips to Huntsville to the Maynor, Mitchell & Lee Eye Center.  Both of us have had cataract surgery and lens implants, and we are pleased with the outcome.  Dr. Billy Mitchell and his staff are very efficient and friendly.  It has been a pleasant experience overall.  We love the drive from here to Huntsville (42 miles) - beautiful rolling hills and picturesque farm land and countryside.

On Sept. 22, we took our friends Tony and Carol Kaschak and Wout Dieperink out on OMEGA for a sunset cruise and cookout.  Wout's wife Joan was unable to join us at the last minute. 

 

                                                                   CAROL, TONY, AND BILL

We celebrated our anniversary in Tullahoma, TN where we toured the George Dickel Distillery.  It was a scenic drive up to Tullahoma, and we enjoyed the tour.  It's a small operation in comparison to the Jack Daniels Distillery in Lynchberg, TN.  They only have 19 employees, but they market their products to all but one state.  It appeared to be a very efficient operation. 

                                             CHARLOTTE AT GEORGE DICKEL DISTILLERY

                                                    

After lunch we drove over to Lynchburg, TN where the Jack Daniels Distillery is located.  We didn't tour the Distillery, but walked around the downtown square where you can buy anything and everything with Jack Daniels on it.  The town was packed with tourists.

                                     
                                        CUSTOM-MADE ROD DRIVEN BY A HARLEY ENGINE
                                                                

 

                                                        

 

 

 

 

DOWNTOWN LYNCHBURG, TN

 

On October 5th, Grandson Ross and his wife Starr came up from their home in Birmingham for lunch and a visit. 

 

 

 

 

A WALK DOWN TO THE AMPHITHEATER

AT GOOSE POND

 

BILL AND CHARLOTTE

 

On October 11 we cruised downstream to Guntersville State Park with three other boats from Goose Pond Marina - Billy and Kelly Beavers, Steve and Leslie Wright and David and Margaret Adams.  Below is a view of the lodge which sits atop the mountain - one of our favorite cruising spots.

 

 

 

GUNTERSVILLE STATE PARK LODGE

OVERLOOKING THE TENNESSEE RIVER

 

We had a great time relaxing and enjoying the company of the group.  Patrick and Linda Curtis arrived that evening and joined in the fun.  There was a bass fishing tournament going on, and lots of boats were coming and going on Saturday morning, bringing their bass in to be weighed.  Early in the morning there was lots of fog, but that didn't deter the avid fishermen.

 

 

 FISHING IN THE FOG

 

OUR NEIGHBORS BILLY AND KELLY BEAVERS

 

 

PATRICK AND LINDA CURTIS

 

DAVID AND MARGARET ADAMS

 

LESLIE AND STEVE WRIGHT

 

 

We couldn't miss visiting Chattanooga again and taking a walk down by the waterfront, which is so neat.  Drove up to visit Father Jim Vick's church on October 19 and enjoyed visiting with him while dining at the Station House Restaurant at Chattanooga Choo Choo.

 

 

 

WATERFRONT AT CHATTANOOGA

 

 

CHEROKEE INDIAN SYMBOLS ON WALL BY THE CASCADING WATER

 

 

 

 

 

 

DINNER WITH FATHER JIM VICK,

PASTOR OF OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP CATHOLIC CHURCH

IN CHATTANOOGA

 

 

EARLY COLD SNAP BROUGHT TEMPERATURE DOWN TO 32 DEGREES

ON OCTOBER 24TH....BRRH!!!

 

 

IT'S TIME TO HEAD BACK TO THE KEYS!!!

 

 

 

 

LOTS OF LOOPERS PASSING THROUGH ON THE WAY TO

CHATTANOOGA

 

 

 

VIEW FROM OMEGA ON OCT. 27TH

27 DEGREES

 

 

NOTHING STOPS THE DIEHARDS FROM FISHING!!!!

 

 

WANNA GO FOR A BASS BOAT RIDE???

 

 

SUNRISE AT GOOSE POND ON OCT. 27TH

 

Bill fell in love with the 28-ft. Cutwater boat when it was first introduced at the Miami International Boat Show in 2012.  It is made in state of Washington, is trailerable, very efficient, and has many neat features.  We were excited when one pulled into Goose Pond Marina recently.

 

 

28-FT. CUTWATER

 

 The beautiful colors of Fall are all around us now.  Our camera doesn't begin to capture it to the fullest, but we wanted to share a few shots taken around our home here at Goose Pond Colony.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GOOSE POND MARINA FROM THE GOLF COURSE

 

 

 

GORGEOUS VIEW FROM AFT DECK OF OMEGA

 

 

 

 

 

SUNSET FROM AFT DECK OF OMEGA

OCTOBER 30, 2013

 

 

 

AFTER THE SUN HAS SET

 

We are packing to return home to Summerland Key.  What a great time we have had here at Goose Pond for the past four months.  We are leaving OMEGA here for the winter and will look forward to returning next summer.  We say farewell to all our friends here and thank them for all the good times we have shared with them, and we look forward to seeing them again next year.

 

 

 

LIFE IS GOOD AT GOOSE POND MARINA

Since mid-August we have made multiple trips to Huntsville to take care of health-related needs.  Bill had cataract surgery on his left eye on Sept. 12th, and he'll have his right eye done on the 24th.  He is pleased with the improvement in the clarity of his vision thus far.  Charlotte will probably be doing the same before we leave here.  Bill also went for Physical Therapy on his shoulder here in Scottsboro.

The stainless struts to easily lower and raise our Radar Arch were installed.  Our local friend, Wout Dierperink, engineered the design for us, and he came to assist Bill in the installation on Sept. 3rd.

                                            
                                              WOUT AND BILL INSTALLING STAINLESS STRUT

The gas springs were made in Saskatoon, Canada and were manufactured with 165lbs load pressure.  The high pressure made it challenging to mount on brackets.  The 1/4 inch 316 stainless mounting plates were made by Rako Machine Products Inc  Cream Ridge NJ owned by good friend John Van Der Tuyn   Thanks to Wout's engineering calculations and John's mounting plates the arch lifts and lowers with ease. 

 

 

 

 

STARBOARD STRUT WHEN RADAR ARCH IS RAISED

 

 

 

 

READY TO TEST LOWERING THE ARCH

SURE HOPE IT COMES DOWN EASILY!!!

 

 

IT WORKED LIKE A CHARM!  HURRAH!!

 

 

BILL AND WOUT

TWO HAPPY CAMPERS!!

 

We are so grateful to Wout and John for all they did to make raising and lowering our radar arch so easy. We can now get into a lower covered slip and under many bridges without having them  raised.

 

It's party time on Sea Goddess!   Capt. Doris Deason entertained a number of our friends on Dock 4.  She served Shrimp and Corn Chowder, which was delicious.

 

 

DORIS SERVING CHOWDER TO PATSY AND RAY WHITNEY

 

 

HOSTESS DORIS AND EDIE

 

 

OUR NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS KELLY AND BILLY BEAVERS

 

 

TERESA AND KIM

 

 

KELLY, DORIS AND TERESA

 

 

PATSY AND RAY WHITNEY

 

 

BILL, CHARLOTTE, BILLY AND JIM

 

 

BILL AND CHARLOTTE

 

Our thanks to Doris for this nice get-together!!!

 

 

September 7th was the day for the annual Frantic Frog Triathlon at Goose Pond.  Bright and early the competitors from many parts of our country gathered and got ready for the swim, which was the first leg of the competition.  We love to watch!!

 

 

 

 

GETTING THEIR EQUIPMENT READY

 

 

 

GATHERING BEFORE THE SWIM

 

 

LINING UP ON THE DOCK

 

There were so many competitors that it was impossible to get them all in one photo.  It took 45 minutes for the last one to get into the water.

 

 

HERE THEY GO!!!

 

 

WHAT A SIGHT!!

 

 

ONE OF THE FIRST GIRLS TO COMPLETE SWIM

 

 

LOTS OF CHEERS FOR THIS SWIMMER

 

 

CYCLISTS GETTING UNDERWAY

 

 

BIG BASS FISHING TOURNAMENT GOING ON AT THE SAME TIME AS THE TRIATHLON.

A FEW OF THE TRUCKS AND TRAILERS PARKED

 

On Sept. 7th, we were invited to another "Meet and Eat" event at the beautiful new waterfront home of Tony and Carol Kaschak, local friends we met at St. Jude Catholic Church.   We were delighted to join their other guests from church.

 

TONY AND CAROL KASCHAK'S HOME

 

 

Our friends from Cape Coral, Ed and Sara Dennerline, arrived on Sept.8th.  We welcomed them with dinner aboard OMEGA.  Glad they finally made it up here to their houseboat after selling their home in Cape Coral and moving into their new condo in Ft. Myers.

 

On Sept. 18th, we drove up to McDonald, TN, northeast of Chattanooga, to the National Pug Agility competition.  Granddaughter Tara, from Athens, GA, had two of her pubs entered in the competition (Paqui and Gavin).

There were about 30 pugs competing in this annual event, which is held in different parts of the country each year.  Paqui has been competing for several years and is quite a champ.  As a result of her achievements, she has been invited to the National Agility competition in Orlando in December.  Tara has only been training Gavin for a short time, but he won his first ribbon in the Novice Class.

 

 

 

                                                            GRANDDAUGHTER TARA AND PAQUI

                                                                BILL, TARA AND PAQUI

                                                                   THE THREE LITTLE PUGS
                                                                   BONNIE, PAQUI, AND GAVIN

                              Bonnie didn't compete.  She just came along for the ride.

                        
                                                            PAQUI AND GAVIN BETWEEN RUNS

                                                       ONE OF PAQUI'S BLUE RIBBON RUNS

 

TARA RECEIVING ONE OF PAQUI'S BLUE RIBBONS

 

 

 

TARA WITH PAQUI AND GAVIN

AND ALL THEIR RIBBONS