After 1,300 miles, 26 locks, and five states, we are mercifully out of the river system. With the exception of the Great Bridge Lock (Virginia) which has a rise of exactly one foot, we are done with the locks. They were fun - to a point. Toward the end, they were basically roadblocks that had the potential of creating hours-long delays. The final section of the river system was incredibly rural. We frequently traveled thirty or forty-mile stretches without seeing any form of civilization. Other than a couple of barges per day, all of the traffic was southbound loopers. The wildlife was even a little sparse. There were lots of Egrets and Herons and Roger swears that he saw an alligator, but sadly it was unconfirmed. Otherwise, not too much wildlife. There were lots of shallow areas that were easily avoided, but 90% of the navigation buoys had been run over and destroyed by barges. We drove using autopilot but it needed constant adjustment - basically every 50 - 100 yards. Sparse anchorages meant that Chrisy needed to research and plan each day so we could travel 50-60 miles and end in a spot where we could get Millie to shore. The final 116 miles had exactly zero anchorages where we could get Millie to shore so the poor girl needed to cross her legs for 28 hours. We thought we had her trained to use a turf mat on board, but she was pretty stubborn.
The inland rivers are a reason that some of our cruising friends say they will never do the Great Loop. Having them behind us gives us a nice sense of accomplishment, and now we are looking at well-marked channels leading to wide-open bays that are lined with palm trees and orange trees. The pelicans drop out of the sky on their fishing operation and dolphins play off the stern. Sadly, there are many reports of alligators also playing off the stern. The sun came out for a few days and temperatures rose to the 70s. It's nice to be back in shorts and t-shirts rather than winter hats, gloves, and jackets.
Happy Thanksgiving! Chrisy has been dying to go to a movie - so off we go, and then it's Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant with fellow cruisers. Roger will find a way to squeeze in some football because otherwise, it wouldn't be Thanksgiving.
Egret is at the Wharf Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama, and our plans are to leave her here for a week while we take a 4-day side trip to New Orleans. Our rental car and Airbnb are booked so off we go to the French Quarter and the World War II Museum. When we return we will work our way along the panhandle of Florida to Carabelle where we will make a decision about crossing the Gulf. It's either one long jump of 170 miles or three shorter trips. Either way, it's out in the Gulf - miles offshore - and good weather is required.
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