Heading North

Into Mobile Bay before heading into the Ten-Tom Waterway

Tuesday, May 22 through Friday, May 24 – Island Hopping: Ship Island and Dauphin Island

At Ship Island we anchored out from the beach with actual sand and a fort. According to Wikipedia, Fort Massachusetts was first built following the War of 1812, then with brick walls during 1859–1866. It remained in use until 1903. Currently, it is a historical tourist attraction within the Gulf Islands National Seashore. It's said to be a popular spot for a day trip.

Fort Massachusetts

We relaxed for a bit, watched for the dolphins that showed themselves on occasion, read and then bathed on the back of the boat. I cooked a portion of the Sheep’s Head fish for dinner. Amazingly I cooked it to perfection and as promised, it was delicious. I'd been reading “The Woman They Could Not Silence, by Kate Moore. It's an intriguing true story of a woman who, because she was independent, outspoken and had her own opinions about religion, her husband put her in an asylum for the insane. She discovered that she wasn't the only one that was there under similar circumstances. She basically dedicated her life to fighting for women's rights, both sane and insane, and defending her own sanity.

The sunset at Ship Island was not impressive, but the moon made up for it. It was just shy of being a full moon.

Dauphin Island – Rising early the next day, we traveled for about 7 hours and were pretty worn out. The first night there, we sat on the foredeck and watched the almost full moon rise. I could make out the big dipper. Unfortunately , there was too much haze to see more stars.

Adrian spent the next day working on the boat, and ordering some parts to replace a seal for the engine. He couldn’t find it at any of the West Marine stores in the area, so it had to be ordered from Houston. It will arrive at our next stop, the Grand Mariner Marina, on Wednesday. I ordered a replacement rack for the air fryer that we somehow did not have with us from Amazon to be delivered to the marina as well. I read, finished the fourth macrame, and made Chicken and Biscuits for supper.

That night the moon was full, I stayed up late to watch bask in its beauty.

Saturday morning, May 25 – Grand Mariner Marina – Day 1

We’d planned to sleep in, but as we'd become accustommed to rising early, we left Dauphin Island around 7:00 a.m. After we raised the anchor, I took the boat out of the bay and onto the open water. The water was slightly choppy, but even less so after we reentered the channel that would take us up Mobile Bay. I took over again after a couple of hours and lead us into the narrow channel toward our destination.

I’ve learned that “Red, Right, Return” is an important concept when going through channels. These are markers that are situated at intervals along a channel in the open water and along rivers; sort of like signposts to guide the way. Red markers stay on the starboard (right) side when passing through, and green markers stay on the port (left).  The opposite is true when leaving “land” and traveling toward the Gulf.

Along the way, there were a few interesting sights I thought were worth capturing:

Mobile Bay Lighthouse Fishing Trawler

After an hour or so, as we got closer to the bridge and the Grand Mariner Marina, where we planned to stop for a few nights, there was a lot of small boat activity in the area, as this was Memorial Day weekend boating season had officially begun. There were mostly small day boats, speed boats and some jet skis zig zagging in the channel. Feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the activity, I let Adrian guide us into the area and to the dock to get diesel and then to the pier where he parked the boat. He plans to teach me how to dock the boat. (Gulp!) We arrived at the marina around 1:30, had lunch and took a long nap.

When we arrived we noticed that the water was right at the level of the dock and were told that the tide would be coming in soon. When it did, water covered the dock, requiring us to wade through it to get to the showers and bathrooms. It didn’t take much time for it to recede however.

After a shower we headed to the bar where there was live music and a crawfish boil going on outside. (The guy playing that evening had been on “The Voice” and was very good.) Our focus at the time was food and drink, so we didn’t linger, especially since we were getting bit by “no-see-ums” which are prevalent in this area. We had a hearty fish dinner of Red Snapper, with a crab/shrimp sauce, hush puppies and green beans – southern style in the air conditioned restaurant. Yum!

Sitting on the aft deck, after dark, we had to contend with passing boats that blasted their music for all to hear. One boat was playing some rap with vulgar lyrics. I got out the flashlight with a strobe setting and sent our sentiments their way. “What, you don’t like our music?!” was the shout from the other side of the water. “It’s vulgar!” I countered. The music stopped, only to be replaced with a different song, just not with dirty lyrics. At least they passed in short order. Other than that, it had been another good day and we fell asleep contented in the air-conditioned forward portion of the boat.

Sunday, May 26 – Grand Mariner Marina – Day 2

I rose early and made scrambled eggs and sausages for breakfast. We tidied up (washing dishes is a constant chore, at least once, often twice a day), made a grocery list and I finished my book. I had an appointment with a client* at 10:30 and found that the internet/WIFI is too spotty to support Zoom. So, we conversed by phone.

* I am a certified Life Coach and Spiritual Director. I hope to continue meeting clients or directees periodically while on our journey. As we are often even out of phone connection, I depend on minimally having a strong phone connection to meet. Fortunately, my clients are flexible and understand the situation.

We are having trouble with the small fridge in the kitchen. The freezer ices up and now there is less and less room to keep any food. We plan to defrost it tomorrow and pull it out to see if there is a problem with the fan or any other component.

We took the dingy out to a West Marine store less than a half mile from where we’re docked. We moored the dingy and since the tide had come in again, we had to wade through ankle deep water to get to the steps leading into the store. We had to purchase a couple of new fenders since the old ones popped at the pump insert, a bilge pump, a sponge and a bucket.

After we returned from out little excursion, we went to the outside bar intending to get a drink and then go into the restaurant for dinner. The guy at the mike, Tim Kinsey, was extremely good, so we opted to order dinner and eat outside. He’s a country singer who can play and sing like Johnny Cash, Alan Jackson and even Chris Stapleton. By my request he played “Tennessee Whisky”. My favorite was “Midnight in Montgomery.” He’d also written a song that was dedicated to his mom and stepdad. So we stayed at the outside cafe and ordered the “Two Fish Special” – a cornmeal coated, fried whitefish that was the best I’ve ever had. Inside the crisp coating the fish was hot and juicy; cooked just right. The evening breeze was divine. Music, good food, great temperature, and the two of us. Perfect! It was really nice not to have to push on for the next few days. All in all it was a very good day.

Monday, May 27, Grand Mariner Marina – Day 3

Monday was a workday. The icebox was dripping constantly, and the small freezer had iced up, so much it was useless. Once it was clear of ice and dry, Adrian pulled it out to see if there was anything amiss mechanically or electrically. After vacuuming the dust away and tightening some screws, we filled the fridge again and it’s been working fine so far.

In addition to some engine work, the commode in the bathroom was due for a good cleaning. Fortunately for me, that’s a one-person job. I told Adrian I’d wash all the dishes everyday as long as I didn’t have to clean out the commode.

It was very quiet at the Marina, so we just tried to stay cool, showered, made a grocery list for our next trip to a store and I worked on the next blog post. Adrian talked to his kids and his sister-in-law in Holland.  We began to meet different people that were docked on our pier, some of them living here temporarily. We met Brandon who heard me practicing Duo Lingo on the aft deck. Passing by he asked, “What language are you learning?” I told him, “Dutch” and he asked if I studied other languages. I told him, “Spanish” and he proceeded to speak to me in Spanish. I quickly realized my Spanish had gotten rusty. Brandon looked to be in his mid-thirties and had already traveled abroad quite a bit and had lived in Barcelona, saying that the cost of living was too high to stay. He’d lived and worked in France and South America. His plan was to work in the States with the goal of making enough money to build a house in Venezuela and settle there. He currently lives on his boat and works with a company that does foundation work.

That afternoon we set up a "barbershop" on the pier next to our boat and I cut Adrian's hair. He was beginning to look like a bit shaggy and had grown a beard. I trimmed his hair and his beard

with a pair of electric clippers we'd picked up at Walmart. He looked like a different man.

he We had some free crawfish for dinner, courtesy of the Marina owner. A saucepan worth wasn’t quite enough to make a meal, since there’s so little “meat” to be found. We played some tunes while I washed up the dishes and called it a day, still a little bit hungry.

Tuesday, May 28, 2024 – Grand Mariner Marina – Day 4

Another breakfast of flapjacks to start the day. We normally have yogurt with a dried fruit and nuts mix, and granola for breakfast, but the yogurt had been consumed a few days prior. After cleaning up both the kitchen and myself, I spend a good chunk of the day finishing the 4th blog post, getting it published and sent. Somehow the days go by quickly. After a small lunch we always take a nap for at least 30 minutes.

We met Jason ("July, August, September, October, November"he said as he introduced himself.) who lives on his boat on the pier where we are docked and works remotely as a “boat tracker”. His focus is on larger boats, their destination, what they are carrying, and more. He can tell if they if they are in trouble, then troubleshoot from his location. He'd gotten in trouble for being on camera with his shirt off and a beer in his hand while working. He has been known to drink too much. He likes to dance, so he entertained us for a little bit by dancing to the song “Up”. This was in the middle of the afternoon. Hope to get a video later.

I pan fried the last of the Sheep’s Head fillet and made potato pancakes from leftover mashed potatoes and some greens. After we’d eaten Jason came by with some grilled lamb that was delicious.

Wednesday, May 29 – Grand Mariner Marina – Day 5

Our objective for the day was to resupply our food and other necessities. We called an Uber to take us to nearest Wal-Mart. Our driver taught science part-time in the local schools and oversees twin 8-year-old girls while his is wife is doing her pediatric residency in Mobile. After three years they will head back to Southern California.

We loaded up at Wal-Mart. In addition to food for the next couple of weeks, I bought some lightweight clothes that are more suitable for hot weather on a boat, things to tame my ever-lengthening hair, and a mist diffuser to ward away mosquitoes with lemongrass and peppermint essential oils. Adrian just shook his head.

I found room in the fridge for the cold stuff and did a couple loads of laundry. I finished the book The Woman They Could Not Silence. I’m trying to decide what to read next. We have a few hardbacks and paperbacks by Ken Follett and I have downloaded Oppenheimer, American Prometheus onto my Kindle.

While relaxing on the aft deck, a woman stopped by and introduced herself. Jennie is from East Lansing, Michigan. She had recently retired from a professorship at Michigan State University teaching Labor Relations. We had met her brother, Steve, the second day we were at the marina. She and her husband, Eric, had just arrived from Michigan to help her brother take his boat to the Florida Keys where he will begin a life’s dream. Steve will work with the Coral Restoration Foundation whose mission it is to grow coral in Coral Tree Nurseries and rehome them in selected locations. They have returned more than 220,000 critically endangered coral back to Florida’s Coral Reef. The reefs had been destroyed by communities in the Keys that dumped raw sewage into the ocean. Filtration plants have since been built to curb the pollution. Jennie was excited for this trip as it will have been the longest boat trip she’d taken aside from cruises. I had a chance to talk to Steve for a bit later that evening. He has been interested in taking care of the land we live on for quite a while. His work life has been varied. He retired from a telecommunications job, where he had worked restoring network connections from towers and rerouting signals. He had been a diver and worked with a rescue/recovery team for the local police department. He described the difficulty of trying to be optimistic when it was clear that if the person had been in the water for more than 90 minutes, it was certainly a recovery operation. This was especially hard when it was a child in the water.

We got a chance to chat  with the people we’d met at a “dock party” spearheaded by the “Dock-enders” – mostly the guys who live on and work from their boats. One of them, known as “Tank” enjoys cooking food for anyone who shows up. He was smoking ribs that night. A 40’ catamaran with a large foredeck provided a place for all of us to sit and enjoy streamed music of all kinds, some of which was fun to dance to on the trampoline surface of the bow. I needed to hold on to a piece of the rigging while bouncing around. The owner of the boat, “Doc” James, an older man, short and wiry, likes to vape and drink cognac. He has several boats and owns a house on the water along the Black Dragon River. He offered to let us tie up at his dock for as long as we’d like.

I’m finding out that “boat people” are some of the nicest, most generous group of people you can meet. Many who pass us on the pier, stop and ask where we’re from, where we’re headed and admire our boat. Petite Fleur gets complemented all the time, while getting diesel or tied up at a dock. We once got a call over the radio from a barge driver that we’d passed who wanted to know what the boat brand was and to tell us that he really liked it. Many comment on the plants hanging off the stern rigging. (The herbs are doing well, but my tomato plant is struggling. I gave it some plant food and is showing some new growth. No fruit yet.)

Back to our dock party. I had met Mica earlier. “Not Micah as in the Bible, but Mica as the mineral.” He is 47 and has tattoos along both arms, shoulder-length hair and a short beard. He reminded me so much of my son, Eric. We had a good chat. He has twin 8 year-old girls that live in the vicinity and he hopes to take them around the world on his boat someday. Mica told me that he and the girl’s mother get along better divorced than they did married. We talked about how important it is to not hang on to the past and be bitter and resentful. Rather, to enjoy the present and plan for a future. He is indeed a free spirit. I told him about Eric and how much I think he would have loved being on a journey like this and meeting kindred spirits. Of course, Mom got teary eyed and had to explain why. (Those of you who do not know, my son, Eric died by suicide in January 2021.) I felt a special connection with Mica. He was very helpful as Adrian and I boarded the catamaran, ensuring we were safe and had comfortable seats. Again, so like Eric.

We made some really special connections while docked at Grand Mariner Marina. I am now friends on Facebook with Jason, at his request, and have James’ contact info if we decide to dock at his place on the way up North.

The music transitioned on the boat from streamed music off James’ iPhone to live music: “Tank” on the ukulele, Mica on the base ukulele, and Steve on the guitar. We sang songs and tried to harmonize and remember the words to some oldies. Our best rendition was of John Denver’s “Country Roads.”  The party finally broke up around 11:00. I was plagued by no-seeum bites during the night and had a slight “too much wine” headache, so I didn’t sleep well.

Thursday, May 30 – Grand Mariner Marina – Day 6

The next morning we enjoyed a pancake breakfast, courtesy of “Tank”, as well as low humidity, mild temperatures, and a nice breeze that lasted all day and into the evening.

Adrian had ordered a new seal for the engine, since there had been some oil seepage in the engine area. The seal had arrived the day before and he arranged for the local mechanic to change the seal for him. Joe, the mechanic, had said he’d be by after three o’clock the day before, but didn’t show. He finally came by around 10:00 that morning and after a couple of hours, the seal was in place, but Joe wanted it to “settle” before we ran the engine again. That meant we stayed another day and night at the marina.

I cleaned up the mess from the evening before. I had made an appetizer to take to the dock party: creamed cheese with, canned smoked herring, topped with cocktail sauce. As I was opening the can, the liquid from the herring spilled onto the table and managed to splash onto me, the table runner, Adrian’s wallet, and other paraphernalia sitting around. The galley smelled of herring even after I did a quick cleanup. The next morning, I had to scrub the area and the dishes and rinse them in hot water to ensure the odor was gone. My t-shirt was toast (a la herring).

After a thorough cleanup and some reorganization. I was ready for a nap. I slept for a couple of hours and felt much better. We took turns in the shower, to get all the bug spray off. We chatted with our new friends as they passed by our boat at the front of the dock. Jason stopped by and introduced me to a couple of bug repellant products that he swears by, including Avon’s “Skin-so-Soft”. I ordered some to pick up at the next marina in Demopolis, Alabama.

We had our last meal from the restaurant: another order of the fried fish, hush puppies, Cole slaw and fried okra. I was in heaven. We plan to head out in the morning after Joe, the mechanic comes to finish the job. Our next stop is the Tensaw River to anchor for a day.

Friday, May 31, 2024 – On the River, headed North

We left Grand Mariner Marina around 10:40. I took the boat through the narrow channel that we’d come in on, using the auto pilot, this time without all the holiday recreational boat traffic. We turned North toward Mobile and passed huge coal loading machinery loading coal onto gigantic ships.  We passed Mobile, which has some very interesting architecture, though not many buildings.  

Mobile, Alabama

Just past Mobile there were several ship building facilities. One facility, Austal USA, was in the process of completing one of a series of Littoral Combat ships. I texted with my niece, who retired

from the Navy and lives in Arlington, VA. She sent me some articles about the ships that the Navy

had commissioned to be built by Austral USA.

We made our way up Mobile River and anchored at Big Briar Creek. Thunderstorms threatened as I prepared a cold crab salad on a bed of lettuce with tomatoes and cucumbers. We listened to some tunes and called it a day.

Saturday, June 1 – Big Briar Creek

During the night and the next morning, the rain continued. It was cool enough that we put on jackets and long pants. Adrian did his due diligence with the boat, and I read a few chapters of American Prometheus – The triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. It is very interesting and well written.

At one point during the day, we found ourselves surrounded by a small “island” of flora and fauna that collects in the waters and simply floats around. This one encircled the hull of the boat and appeared to be staying right where it was lodged. With some effort, Adrian took a small anchor on a chain and hooked it to the entangled stems of the mass and tugged it to the starboard side of

the boat where the current could take it. After a few attempts and by maneuvering the boat a bit, he was able to send it on its way along the river.

That was the most excitement we had that day, though I did spot a white crane nearby and was able to catch it mid-flight on my phone’s camera. The evening was still, and the water mirrored the trees and the sky. I’m finding that stopping to really notice what’s around me, reveals beauty that, at first, is not apparent. I’ve enjoyed not just noticing but trying to capture what I see with my camera.

Though we had not internet connection and couldn’t access Google, etc., we still had some connectivity by text, so I caught up with my daughter and a few other family members. Mainly to find out what was going on with them and for them to know we were safe and still on the move.

That night I made chicken marsala using a sauce mix from the H.E.B. grocery store and a side of zucchini, sautéed with onion, garlic and tomatoes. I spent a good hour afterward, cleaning up all the pots and pans and dishes from the day.

I have continued my tendency toward insomnia on this trip. Once again, I found myself unable to sleep, so I resorted to my “solution” of reading until I couldn’t keep my eyes open. It didn’t help much that night. As a result, I was NOT willing to get up at 6:30 to start the new day traveling on the river. I did, of course, but was tired and grumpy the next day.

Sunday, May 2 – Up the Tombigbee/Mobile River

We left our Three Rivers Lake anchorage at 7:00 with a strong pot of coffee to wake us up. We found ourselves following a pleasure craft called New Horizons that was traveling about the same speed we were. We made radio contact and found out that the boat had lost one of its two engines, and a rudder

was stuck, so they were crawling along at a lower-than-normal speed. They were headed up the river to the same Marina we planned to stop at in a few days. We hoped that we would see them there. We peeled off the river at Three River Lake to drop the anchor and they continued to an anchorage further up.

The river was extremely winding, often doubling back in a zig zag requiring us to stay within the red and green markers that kept us on the deeper segment of the river. It looks like this will be the case much of the trip. I took a couple of turns steering the boat. I am still only comfortable using the auto pilot.

Not much else of interest happened that day, or if it did, I was too tired to notice. After a dinner of leftovers, we called it a day with plans to move on the next morning.

Monday, June 4, - Up the Lazy River from Three Rivers Lake

Another early departure after a better night’s rest. Still being “bugged” by bites. I’m not sure if they are mosquitoes, no-seeums or horseflies. Probably a combination of both.

We passed some coal loading docks with massive cranes scooping out coal and loading it onto large cargo ships. At one point we passed an aluminum plant with several facilities clustered at a point off the river. The river went on and on and I only took a couple of short turns steering.

When we anchored at Gin Branch, I got ambitious and fried some onions, garlic and some ground beef intending to add a jar of tomato sauce for a spaghetti dinner. Instead, I only added a ½ cup of sauce and put the mixture into a green pepper. I steamed the pepper and some broccoli and carrots in my makeshift steamer, and we had a yummy dinner.

I’m plugging along with my book which is almost 600 pages long. I’ve been reading about a chapter a day, but I’m only on page 147.

Tuesday, June 5, - The Coffeeville Lock

We left our anchorage at 7:00 and headed north. The starter to the engine had been acting up, refusing to start the first time. Today it took four attempts, which gave Adrien heart palpitations. Once it caught, we continued North on The Tombigbee River which was much the same as it was the day before, snaking around the treelined shore. We saw very few boats until we reached the Coffeeville Lock. We were told by the Lockmaster that there were two boats ahead of us, “one going up and one going down” and then a need for some maintenance (to the lock? We weren't sure. Probably a lunch break.) We trawled a half mile from the lock for about 2 hours before the horn sounded, and the gates opened for us. Adrien had anticipated that he would tie up in the lock on the port side which would require me to hook the rope over one of the floating bollards and secure the boat. I was a bit nervous about doing this, though I would have had at least one more opportunity once inside the lock. Luckily for me, the Lockmaster had us snug up to the starboard side which meant that it was up to Adrian to steer the boat to the wall, catch the bolllard and tie us to it as the water (and the bollard) rose with the water.

It took about 30 minutes for the water to rise about 30 feet so we could continue our journey “uphill” where we encountered more winding river. We saw several “fishing camps” and summer homes along the river. Most were built on 20-foot stilts to accommodate rising waters, even though they were high on a bank that rose about 12 feet above the river.

We had thought we’d stay the night at Bobby’s Fish Camp which had water and diesel, but after reading the reviews on-line we decided against it. The “camp” was way overpriced, as was the diesel. Reviewers stated that you could not tell how much fuel you were getting, so you never knew if you were being charged accurately. The only bathroom and shower was inside a “Home Depot” shed which most people refused to use. So, we passed up BFC and sought an anchorage that suited us.

We snugged into a small indention just around a curve in the river and along a sandy shore for the night. St. Elmo’s Anchorage. There were a few barges that turned the corner throughout the evening and night, but we were well out of the way.

Nearly every evening at an anchorage, we enjoy listening to bird calls. Most of the same birds can be identified on my bird app and occasionally I’ll capture a new one. North American Cardinal has been a constant as well as Indigo Buntings, Carolina Wrens, Tuffted Titmouse, Red Bellied Woodpeckers, White-eyed Vireos, and more. Today we heard a Prairie Warbler and an American Redstart. I especially like hearing the Wood Ducks, Woodpecker and the occasional Barred Owls, though we haven’t heard much

of the latter in the last few days. I don't hear them, but I see many Snowy, or Great Egrets. I'm still trying to distinguish the difference between the two from researching the internet. We see them all along the river, like sentinels along the bank. Just waiting for that choice morsel of a fish to swim by.

That evening it was private enough I could bathe on the aft deck and wash my hair. What a relief to be clean! The humidity is high, so after cooking dinner I was just as hot and sticky as before my “bath.” At least my hair was clean.

Wednesday, June 6 – Bashi Creek

We slept in a bit today since the distance to our next anchorage was only 15 miles. After the anchor was raised, I turned the boat northbound into the river and steered using only the wheel for about an hour and a half (Yay, me!) The wind was about 7 knots and the water smooth, though I could feel the strong current whenever we turned in the winding river that snaked

around east, then west, then south, then north - not necessarily in that order. We anchored across from Bashi Creek on the opposite side of the river since the actual creek was much narrower than Adrian remembered it. We enjoyed the cool breeze and less humid air while I started my final macrame project and before our afternoon nap. In addition to birds, we were treated to the sound of fighter jets flying overhead, presumably on practice exercises, possibly from Demopolis Army Airfield. Adrian commented that one of those planes likely uses more fuel in that exercise than this boat uses in a lifetime.

At the previous anchorage, Adrian had lowered a smaller anchor on the back of the boat to keep it from drifting out into the river. It was quite heavy to raise, and he was reluctant to use it again. Today, he remembered that he had a drogue on board from his sailing days. A drogue is a funnel-shaped plastic apparatus attached to a rope that, when cast off the stern of a boat, uses the current to keep the boat facing into the current. In this case parallel to the shore. I’ve often bemoaned the fact that he keeps things that no long seem to be useful, but darned if he doesn’t find a use for them. Once he finds where they are stowed.

I woke up to rain coming through the hatch over the bed during the night. It was blowing sideways, directly into the Pilot House. Everything was getting a good soak. Adrian was on the aft deck watching the rain and gathering rainwater to “pre-soak” dishes and bathe in. All the while my macrame project was getting soaked. I closed the door and dried the pilot house with a rag. The sun soon came out and peaked out from the clouds off and on between intermittent showers.  

Adrian dug around the boat and found a propane camper stove so I could cook on the aft deck instead of in the galley (kitchen). The windows there had been sealed shut there because they were leaking, and I had only two small fans moving the air around inside. Such conditions do not entice me to want to cook and clean up. It’s only going to get hotter. It has been in the upper 90’s on the river the last couple of days. I told Adrian that I had a fantasy of docking somewhere, taking an Uber and spending the night in a hotel with A/C, a bathroom, internet and room service. We may be able to do that up the river somewhere.

For the last two days our phones have registered “SOS”, meaning no service available. I’d Google it to find out exactly what SOS stands for; I thingk it means only emergency service is available. I can read texts, but not send them, or do anything with my phone. My Duo Lingo status is being seriously affected by this lack of connection. I’m at the place in the program where, in Dutch, I can buy or sell at the supermarket, use a grocery cart (winkelwagen) and pay by debit card, credit card or cash.

In the next blog post I will share our worst lock experience thus far and tell you about some of th e people we met at the Kingfisher Bay Marina, Demopolis, Alabama.