We had planned on a side trip to Chattanooga via cruising the Tennessee River. Well, in boating we say you have intentions, not really plans. Even though the side trip was our intention, it was not in the cards, so we needed to readjust.
We left Paduca early in the AM, a little apprehensive hoping the water pump was going to be a successful fix. We left the dock with Sweet Equity and Gratitude and had a beautiful day with bright sunshine and a fully working port engine! In order, to avoid the large volume of commercial traffic locking at the Kentucky Lock, we took an alternate route. Three Sons took a longer route and traveled on the Cumberland River avoiding most commercial traffic. We still had to transit a lock and arriving at the Barkley Lock, we had a little delay. The lock master wanted to wait for the recreational vessels behind us to catch up and only need one lockage. We took advantage of the beautify day and enjoyed lunch on the bow while tied up inside the lock.
After exiting the lock the famous Green Turtle Bay Resort and Marina is on the right. We saw 42 boats on Nebo parked at the marina and Sweet Equity and the other boats from the lock turn right into the marina as Three Sons turned left. We decided to stay across the lake at a cheaper marina since we were just leaving the boat to take a road trip.
Cruising the Tennessee River to Chattanooga or even further to Knoxville is supposedly one of the best side trips on the loop. With the hurricane damage in the panhandle and west coast of Florida, we thought it would be best to slow our roll in the rivers and planned a 16 day cruise to Chattanooga and then a little road trip to explore Knoxville and the Smokey Mountains. However, about a week before we would be turning onto the Tennessee River, the Wilson Lock broke! Of course, it was not a little broken part, but structural failure and is not able to be fixed quickly. So, only the auxiliary chamber is being used, which means recreational boats can expect long delays. Since, this just happened all the information we were receiving was mixed and truth be told, no plan was really in place and folks did not know what to expect. So, we decided to park the boat, avoid the lock and take a long road trip instead. We were a bit disappointed to miss the cruising the Tennessee River but excited to explore some more new places, be in a car and sleep a bed that does not move!
Our Road Trip Itinerary!
