Sept. 2-4; Green Turtle Bay Marina:  It was a pleasant 30 mi. up the Cumberland River to the 59 ft. Lake Barkley lock Tuesday morning.  It was fortunate we made the trip down the MS when we did.  Remnants of hurricane Gustav were now along and west of the MS river.  Ultimately 3-5 in. of rain in the region caused the MO and upper MS Rivers to raise several feet, sending great quantities of debris downstream just as we experienced on our first loop when we damaged a prop, shaft and strut.  With only a 10 min. wait for the lock, we arrived at the excellent Green Turtle Bay Marina (GTB) by 12:20 PM.  To celebrate their completion of the loop adventure, Robert and Ann treated us plus Bill and Dave Gary, marina manager and staff member at GTB, to outstanding dinners at Patti's Settlement in Grand Rivers.  Wednesday was boatkeeping day with laundry and cleaning and dinner at the on-site Commonwealth Yacht Club.  At 8:15 PM Lyle and Jan Stevens arrived.  We utilized their car Thursday to visit the Land Between the Lakes Visitor Center and Princeton, KY.  There were rain showers much of the day, but we had a delightful visit at the Adsmore Museum in Princeton before driving to Aurora, KY for outstanding dinners at the Brass Lantern.

Sept. 5-6; Lake Barkley Marina:  After fueling and pumping-out, The Stevens and us departed GTB on a cloudy Friday at 10:15.  Lake conditions were perfect with intermittent periods of misty rain.  With Cheatham Lock 20 mi. above Clarksville, TN closed for repairs, we saw no moving barge traffic.  Running at a leisurely 9 mph to cover the 30 mi. to Lake Barkley Marina enable a 12:40 PM dockage.  This excellent, large marina was under construction during our previous visit 3 years ago, but was now completed; we were assigned covered slip 6 on pier 3.  We had planned only an overnight, but fellow boaters at the dock convinced us to stay an extra day to view the antique and classic boat show scheduled for Saturday.  Everyone enjoyed the fine seafood buffet dinners at the Lake Barkley Lodge.  Saturday's antique boat show was worth staying to see with the oldest boat being built in 1935.  One of our favorites was the Lisa Marie, the second oldest built in 1939.  After a light lunch we hiked the 3/4 mi. to the lodge before returning so Larry could grill brats for dinner aboard.  Following dinner, we took a short dinghy ride in the vicinity of the marina and the lodge.

Sunday, Sept. 7:  We took the dinghy to the Lodge for a 7 AM breakfast buffet before casting off at 8:45 AM.  Running at 9 mph and then bucking a 1 mph current for the upper half of the trip to Clarksville required the entire day to reach the Clarksville Boat Club dock about 6 mi. upstream of the city.  While it offered nothing except a dock with electricity, we arrived at 5:20 PM with Lyle piloting most of the day.  Lola cooked sweet and sour meat balls with rice for a fine dinner aboard.

Sept. 8-9; Clarksville, TN: We called the city Parks Department for permission to dock at the city courtesy dock in McGregor Park near the historic area (we would have stayed there on Sunday, but could not reach anyone to obtain permission).  We left the Clarksville Boat Club at 9:10 AM as the day began its climb to 89 degrees; we especially appreciated the free dockage with its 30, 50 amp electrical service to run AC.  Several of the places we wanted to see were closed on Monday, so we decided to stay overnight.  For lunch we chose classic hamburgers at Frank's; it was then obvious why this tiny establishment had been in business for 72 years.  After lunch, we rode the city bus to Governor's Square Mall and back.  We then enjoyed excellent dinners at the Blackhorse Pub & Brewery before returning to the boat for showers and 10 PM bedtime.  After a cereal breakfast aboard Tuesday we walked 4 blocks downriver to the Riverwalk History Museum that includes a river overlook plus an excellent inside diorama of the evolution of Clarksville.  Next we walked into the historical district to spend 2 hours at the excellent Custom House Museum.  Since it was now lunch time, we decided to sample a different restaurant of the several recommended and chose Brunie's Bar & Grill.  Casting off at 1:20 PM with overcast skies, a 10 mph north wind and loss of 17 degrees, we headed for an excellent Dover Island anchorage 35 mi. downstream, arriving just after 5 PM.  Dinner aboard was tasty and light, consisting of wine and a brie cheese/apricot mixture baked into Crescent Rolls.  The genny provided power before an early bedtime, but died just before being shut down.

Sept. 10-17; Green Turtle Bay: Weighed anchor at 7 AM Wednesday for the 58 mi. cruise to Green Turtle Bay.  Lyle piloted the entire trip; this allowed Larry to finally get this web diary up-to-date for the first upload of this loop.  After a light lunch aboard we arrived at GTB by 1:35 PM.  This early arrival allowed everyone to utilize the marina's free WiFi to install Microsoft's monthly patches and update e-mails after 3 days without connectivity (currently, 4 computers are aboard!).  After showers we enjoyed Miss Patti's famous 2" pork chop dinners and Bill's Boatsinker Pie to culminate a wonderful week of boating.  After Lola's elegant Thursday breakfast aboard, Lyle and Jan departed for Moline, IL about 11 AM.  Lola started laundry while Larry started on boat chores.  The genny fired, but failed to sustain itself, leading Larry to conclude fuel filters needed replacement.  Friday was devoted to ironing and more laundry while Larry replaced the genny's primary and engine fuel filters.  It still didn't start, leading to the conclusion its semi-automatic priming system was not up to the task of removing trapped air in the lines (memories of the extreme difficulty getting it restarted after running it dry of fuel in the summer of 2007 strengthened this conclusion).  After showers and cleaning up, we lowered the dinghy and headed for Lake Kentucky Lodge's elegant seafood buffet.  This entailed a 5 mi. ride; through the canal joining lakes Barkley and Kentucky and across Lake Kentucky.  Modest southern winds had built 2 ft. aft-quarter white cap waves on Lake Kentucky, so the ride over was a bit rocky.  After a wonderful dinner while winds gradually subsiding, we returned just before nightfall.  Saturday the previous hot weather became even more humid into the mid-90s.  After a good lunch at the on-site Docker's  restaurant, we primarily devoted the afternoon and evening to relaxing and TV football.  The remnants of Hurricane Ike began arriving about 4 AM.  By 10 AM Sunday morning even down in the "protected" valley of our marina winds averaged 25 mph, gusting to more than 45 with occasional misting rain (official clocking were in excess of 75 mph at the locks).  At 9 AM the marina and almost all surrounding counties lost power.  We took one of the GTB courtesy cars to attend the Grand Rivers United Methodist Church 11 AM service.  We were surprised to see the number of large downed trees in Grand Rivers.  After church, Larry immediately started working on the generator.  Using our oil changing pump, he completely purged the supply line; however, that did not restore operation.  He then concluded the root problem was the electric fuel pump, but decided it was time to call for professional help tomorrow.  Monday morning we were still without electricity.  After scheduling a diesel repair person for Tuesday, we were picked up by Enterprise of Paducah (25 mi. away) at 10:15 AM to rent their car.  We spent the remainder of the day shopping and restore Lola's nails.  Returning at dusk to a still dark marina.  Moving to extreme power conserving mode, we shut off everything except the main refrigerator and one high efficiency reading lamp.  15 minutes after climbing into bed at 10 PM, the electricity returned!  Larry immediately go up to convert everything from batteries and get the chargers restarted;  37 hours without electricity certainly helps one appreciate how dependent we are on that service.  The GTB diesel mechanic, Floyd, arrived at 8:30 AM Tuesday.  20 minutes later he diagnosed a failed fuel pump and left to order a new one for 1-day delivery.  We soon left to return the rental to Paducah, getting back just before 1 PM.  The afternoon was spent on boat projects, e.g. diagnosing why the satellite dish had stopped working (just a corroded connector in the line, but more than an hour to find the source).  With the delay for the genny repair, we postponed plans to leave early tomorrow.  Boatkeeping chores consumed Wednesday morning.  By noon the "overnighted" fuel lift pump had still not arrived, so we enjoyed more excellence sandwiches at Dockers for lunch.  A quick trip into Grand Rivers for a few groceries at 2 PM also produced the fuel pump with the mechanic locked out (another of Murphy's laws confirmed!); however it was less than 10 minutes later when we returned.  It took an hour to replace the pump and confirm that was the root problem.  We celebrated all critical systems again being operational with excellent dinners at the Commonwealth Yacht Club just before sunset.  Returning, Larry filled water tanks, strapped down the dinghy and generally prepared the boat for departure while Lola filled Longaberger telephoned orders she had recently received.

Sept. 18-25; Pebble Isle Marina: We dropped lines Thursday at 6:55 AM for the 74 mi. cruise up Lake Kentucky to this beautiful, family-operated marina near New Johnsonville, TN (the Lola Marie is at right dock, her "for sale" sister is at left).  The goal is to relax and catch up on boat projects at this marina.  Weather was nearly perfect for boating: high of 84 with NE wind building to 8 MPH by mid-afternoon, creating a 1/2 ft. chop.  Breezes were mostly on our aft port quarter and just strong enough to allow ideal pilothouse conditions.   We met only two tows, a Coast Guard buoy barge and three cruising boats, but lots of fishing boats.  Kentucky Lake very gradually begins to narrow about 50 mi. upstream of its dam and, especially on the eastern shore, beautiful homes begin appearing.  Arriving at a convenient 3 PM, we cranked up air conditioning and relaxed before sharing an excellent fish dinner at the on-site Grey Heron Grill.  Their Jumbo Cookie Delight is incredible: a baked-after-order, hot 8" chocolate chip cookie topped with caramel, hot fudge, four scoops of ice cream and whipped cream sprinkled with pecans!  Appropriate for sharing among 4, but we managed with only the two of us.  When asking about the nearest church, a patron, Jennifer Hollies, jumped up and came over to give directions and invite us to her church, Ebenezer UMC.  The one disappointment: we are now too far south to receive "local channels" on the satellite dish; thus, no PBS or national network programs.  Friday morning was the first in more than 2 weeks that we had not been up before 7 AM.  We got up at 8:45, just in time for the marina to deliver complementary hot cinnamon rolls to the boat!  Reading the AGLCA e-server made us appreciate how fortunate our timing had been coming down the IL and MS Rivers; 30-40 loopers are stranded along those shores awaiting lower, safer waters.  IVY where we stayed in Peoria had water into its dining room, about 15 ft. higher than when we were there!  Saturday morning Larry installed the recently purchased CardScan and Lola began entering our many boat cards into its database.  In the afternoon we relaxed starting a 750-piece puzzle and watching the Purdue football game.  We joined 6 other loopers for another delightful dinner at the Grey Heron Grill: Jim & Sandy Garrus (Footloose), Darrell & Beth Berge (L'Attitude Changer), and Milt & Jimmie Neitsch (Our Way). Sadly, they were out of cookie dough when we ordered, but we "compromised" on another gourmet dessert, their Nuts About Fudge Pie, again served with generous quantities of whipped cream and ice cream.  We took the courtesy van to attend the 11 AM traditional service of Ebenezer UMC Sunday. It has the friendliest congregation we have ever enjoyed.  Jennifer was present as the organist.  Foregoing lunch, we worked on the puzzle while Lola cooked ribs in the crock pot all afternoon for a fine dinner aboard.  A late grill visit topped the meal with another Jumbo Cookie Delight.  Monday morning consisted of finishing the puzzle and brunch aboard before noon showers and laundry.  The afternoon was devoted to finishing scanning the remaining boat cards and a thorough cleaning of the cockpit before dinner aboard.  Weather continues to be "fall perfect" with nights a comfortable low-60s and days in the low to mid-80s.  Lola ironed Tuesday morning while Larry tried unsuccessfully to install a WiFi antenna/amplifier system; a call to tech support was unreturned today.  After lunch aboard, Larry tackled a job he had been putting off for 2 years: reorganizing the "parts supply depot" that had been a pile system below the pilothouse seat; everything is now in organized bins!  We returned to the Grey Heron Grill for a shared seafood dinner and the Nuts About Fudge Pie dessert.  The evening was devoted to on-line computer accounting and e-mails.  Wednesday was a day to take the courtesy van for shopping in Waverly.  Upon the marina owner's recommendation, Lola visited the delightful Three Times a Lady and found shoes, Vera Bradley, and a Christmas gift for the granddaughter.  To celebrate our productive, yet restful "smell the roses" week without moving, after dinner aboard we enjoyed our final dessert at the Grey Heron Grill.  It was a difficult decision, but we finally chose the Jumbo Cookie Delight.  Returning to the boat, we found the salon air-conditioning unit frozen solid with ice; another maintenance opportunity

Thursday, Sept. 25: It was difficult hearing an alarm clock again, but we managed to leave dock at 7:20 AM with a light on-the-water fog that made spotting buoys difficult for the first 45 min.  Just after 8 AM Larry called Clifton Marina to arrange arrival maintenance.  Lola was in a cleaning mood, so she polished the dash and the cockpit's brass bell (it was incredibly oxidized!) as we cruised at a leisurely 8-9 mph. There were many birds, especially in the reaches upstream of Pebble Isle where we saw hundreds of white egrets.  Lake Kentucky continued to gradually morph into the TN River as we moved further upstream with its trademark gray limestone cliffs, often with beautiful homes. Lady Finger Bluff is known for its legend of the lady who leapt to her death here rather than be captured by Indians. We met only 3 barges, 1 pleasure cruiser, and dozens of fisherpersons.  We also passed two sand and gravel mining barges. These interesting operations dredge the river while simultaneously size-sorting its sand and gravel for sale.  We arrived at 2:45 and the AC maintenance guy, Glen Lineberry, came about 4 to add refrigerant to the salon unit and check the other two compressors to confirm they were still fully charged.  We took the courtesy car for a quick tour of town and to confirm there was no Sprint cell service anywhere in this area.  Not seeing an appealing restaurant, we returned for a couple of the marina's large grilled hamburgers.

Friday, Sept. 26: With zero wind, the rather heavy fog caused by the 55 nighttime temperature on 81 degree water delayed departure until 8 AM.  We had expected to stop today at Pickwick State Park Marina, however, a call for reservations informed us it was undergoing major rebuilding and could not provide dockage for our size boat for another year.  Plan B: travel an extra 8 miles upstream to the excellent Grand Harbor Marina at Counce, TN.  The day provided ideal boating conditions; by 11 AM the wind increased to 10 mph and the temp to 75 on the way to an 83 degree high.  Interesting sights along the way included the Cherry Mansion at Savannah, built in 1880 on an Indian mound and occupied by General Grant for the Civil War Shiloh battle. A dive couple worked the river just 3 mi. above Savannah and the Shiloh Military Park marker appeared shortly thereafter. Lola continued her cleaning mindset by doing the windows and upholstery in the pilothouse. We covered the 57 mi. trip with a 20 min. lockage wait at Pickwick Dam & Lock for a 3:45 PM arrival.  Its 55' lockage was one of our most difficult with a combination of wind and current causing the boat to twist its bow into the lock wall.  Even with both of us pushing-off there was some scraping of the rub rail.  Chip Lucas, dock manager, convinced us we should be driven with another boating crew to Freddy T's for seafood; it was a good recommendation.