DEPARTING GOOSE POND

Oct. 18 - it was 33 degrees at 7 AM - brrrh! After Lee & Diane's departure, we said our farewells to the Goose Pond Marina staff (Jeff, Destin, Dan & Tommy). After spending the month of August there plus 23 days in Sept/Oct, we felt like we were leaving part of our family. They were all great and made us feel very welcome.It felt good to be back on the water again especially since we are heading toward home - cold, but sunny. We anchored at Honeycomb Creek just above the Guntersville Lock.                                   Oct. 19 - It was 33 degrees again this morning and foggy. We bundled up like a couple of Eskimos with three layers and our knit skull hats! Went through the Guntersville lock and headed down Wheeler Lake in thick fog.

 

LEE & DIANE'S VISIT

 

Oct. 16-18 - Daughter Diane and hubby Lee came up from Montgomery, Al to spend the weekend with us. Our Goosepond Marina friends from Roswell, GA (Ken & Darcy Searle) joined us for Happy Hour aboard Omega Friday evening and then we all went out for dinner together.

 It was a really cold & rainy weekend. We   went to the Unclaimed Baggage store in Scottsboro to shop for more warm clothes for these cold days. Their brochure claims they are "a shopping adventure like no other." They stock over 7,000 lost and unclaimed items including airline baggage, cargo & freight every day. We found some great bargains to keep us warm & cozy!!

We enjoyed a nice dinner aboard Omega Saturday evening and watched all our football teams get beat!

The sun came out Sunday morning, so Diane and Charlotte went for a brisk walk, a special time for Mother and Daughter!
Before we knew it, it was time to bid them farewell again. Even though the weather wasn't the best, we were thankful for the time we had together.

FOLKS WE MET AT GOOSE POND

Oct. 9-15 - Shown here are several of the boats that came into Goose Pond Colony Marina during this week. We continued enjoying meeting new boaters and becoming acquainted with them.

One of the couples we welcomed was Al & Gayle Binnington from Guelph, Ontario aboard FALKOR. Our friends, Jerry & Angie Flynn that we met when we did the Loop in 2002, asked us to be on the lookout for FALKOR. We were delighted when they arrived on Oct. 11. They invited us over for Happy Hour along with Betsy & Rick (RICK 'N ROLL) from Sneads Ferry, NC and Chip & Michelle (ITHAKA) from Naples, FL.

We enjoyed having Diesel Don and his wife Connie over for dinner later that evening. We met Diesel Don in 2006 when he surveyed another boat for us. He & Connie live in Scottsboro, but Don's usually on the road with his diesel engine repair service or surveying. We finally caught him at home long enough to share a meal together.

On the 12th, we said farewell to Al & Gayle as FALKOR left the dock. Hope we see them again down the waterway.

GOOSE POND - OCT. 9-15 (Continued)

As you can see, it was pretty cold the morning David and Pam Feltner from Ohio left Goose Pond. In fact during this time, the temperatures were in the 40's at night with highs during the day only in the upper 50's or low 60's...chilly for these two wimps from the Florida Keys. We continued to have lots of rain as well.

Another couple that we got to know were Ron & Angela Stallings from St. Mary, GA. They lived aboard their boat (JOLLY TOLLY) at the marina. We enjoyed going out for dinner with them on Oct. 15th before they departed after selling their boat.

NEW BOATING FRIENDS & ACQUAINTANCES

Sept. 28 - Oct. 8 - Meeting and getting to know other boaters is one of the highlights of our trip. Since we arrived back at Goose Pond in Scottsboro, AL two weeks ago, every day several boats arrive and stay for a night or two. Many of them are doing the Great Circle (Loop) trip and are arriving in this area now. There is a AGLCA (American Great Loop Cruisers Assn.) rendezvous scheduled for Oct. 23-25 at Joe Wheeler State Park, and many of these folks plan to attend. Some of them are just starting the Loop and will be wintering down in Florida while others left home in the Spring and are on the downleg of their long cruise.

Just to give you an idea, some of the Loopers we have met are Ralph & Ann from Ft. Lauderdale, Rick & Betsy on Rick & Roll from Sneads Ferry, NC, Joe & Joyce on Takitez II from Goderich, ON, Bill & Nancy on Watauga from Oak Ridge, TN, and Marty & Barbara on Glory Be II from Finksburg, MD.

In additions to the Loopers, there are other boaters coming and going who are either up here on the Tenn River to stay away from hurricanes (like us) or just out for a Fall cruise. On our anniversary (Sept. 28), Don & Rosie Peck from Spring, TX aboard Just Rosie arrived, and they joined us for dinner at Ruby Tuesday's. The next evening they invited us for dinner aboard Just Rosie, and we had a great evening together. Top photo, l. to r.: Don, Ron Wilkerson & his girlfriend Dianne from Huntsville, Lee Wooten (on staff here at Goose Pond Colony), Charlotte & & Bill. Middle photo: Rosie on left.

There is a boatyard here at the marina, and Bill enjoys watching the work going on there. He got to know Greg Raasch from Minnesota who was doing some extensive work on a yacht in the yard, and he quickly observed that Greg is extremely talented. Greg's wife is back in Minnesota, so we invited him for dinner on Oct. 5. He & Bill had a lively exchange on yacht maintenance and restoration.

SPECIAL TIMES

Oct. 1 - Ima & Tommy arrived from Killen, AL on their small cruiser. Both in their eighties, they are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary by taking a Fall cruise! What a cute couple! It was special getting to know them.

Oct. 2 - Time to say farewell to Don & Rosie. We hope we'll catch up with them somewhere down the waterway. If not, they plan to be down in the Keys next March, so we'll look forward to seeing them then.

Rosie loves to cook and she made sure that Lee wasn't going to go hungry. She brought him some beef stew when he came to the dock to see them off.

MORE GOOSE POND SCENES

Oct. 2 - Just Rosie pulled away from the dock and headed downstream.

The weather has turned much cooler this past week, and we've had lots of fog in the morning. Regardless, the fishermen around here "never say die" as you can see in the photo. It's been down in the mid-forties, and we've seen enough cloudy dreary weather! We've had the heat on and have been bundled up in our limited winter wardrobe. It's definitely time to head back to the Keys and sunshine.

Can you believe this houseboat? We have seen many this size, but most of them have an open top deck. This one has two complete floors of interior space. Talk about spacious!