Wednesday, Oct. 17
(Brian taking over blogging while Sue is under the weather)
We ended up staying in Clifton Marina longer than planned. Sue’s nasty chest cold took a turn for the worse, so we decided to delay our departure to seek out medical attention. As soon as we told someone at the marina office what we needed, we got referred to a local clinic. Clifton TN is very small, so we were surprised to find something so close.
The marina courtesy car was broken, so the woman running the marina grill offered to loan us her car to make the short drive to the clinic. ("The keys are in it. Just take it when you're ready to go.") We got to the clinic Tuesday morning around 10. They were completely booked up until 2:20pm. We got Sue signed up for an appointment for 2:20 in the afternoon.
The woman running the marina grill got off work at 2:30, so we could not use her car for the return trip. However, the marina owner has a well-used (180,000 miles) pickup he was glad to let us use. Power washer in the back, one almost-flat tire, doors that barely close, but it got us into town to the clinic right on time.
The Physician Assistant running the clinic was great. Turns out she grew up in a small town in central Illinois Brian was familiar with. She prescribed a “cocktail” shot* for respiratory conditions like Sue had. Sue had the shot and began to feel better the following day. The PA also prescribed some antibiotics in case things did not improve. She thought she should do this once we told her of our travel plans. She said the farther we go along the river, the less likely we will find civilization, so we better take the prescription with us. We thought we were already on the outer-edge of civilization! Sue felt good enough the following day that we decided to move on to Mississippi.
However, before moving on, we have more to share about Clifton TN. It is a very nice small town. Very friendly people. The local economy struggles with few business or job opportunities. They have a sense of humor. Check out the photos of the boat near us with the alligator head mounted on the bow rail. Walking back from the marina office one day, there was a very large beaver grooming himself along the shoreline next to the dock (see photos). We had beavers in the creeks on the farm, but this guy was about 2 times the size of anything I had seen around the farm. They also have a significant population of Asian carp in the Tennessee River. A large powerboat came into the marina one evening causing a large number of these goofy carp to jump out of the water all over the place. These things will come out of the water 5 to 6 six feet making walking along the dock look like a game of Frogger (younger people, google that to know what I am talking about). And lastly, the boat next to us had a 5-foot long rubber snake on the fore-deck. I am not sure what that was supposed to repel, but it must work, because I never saw anything on it.
Mechanical Update – I do not want to disappoint those interested in the mechanical status of this old boat. The new transmissions are working well. However, I am seeing more vibration on the starboard transmission than I see on the port. We decided to make our next stop at Aqua Yacht Harbor Marina in Iuka, MS so we can have a mechanic evaluate the alignment of the starboard drive train before heading farther south. The next marina with qualified mechanics is Mobile, and there is a lot of nothing between here and there (confirmed by Sue’s medical visit).
Weather – I am sure you heard about Hurricane Michael. The hurricane destroyed some of the area we were planning to pass through in early November. Entire towns and marinas have been destroyed. We are slowing our southern progress a little until we hear more. We know Mobile AL is OK, but the status of the Florida panhandle intracoastal waterway is still unknown.
*Sue's comment: When the PA asked me if I'd ever had a cocktail shot, I think my face went blank for a minute. Was it a trick question? Yes, I've had cocktails, sometimes too many but not often. Shots? Rarely but I know I've had them... maybe tequilla, or specialty shots on occasion. Doctors always ask if you drink alcohol and how often... (and everyone lies that they drink less than they really do). What should I say? All this ran through my head in a couple seconds. Then I thought, wait - this is a doctor asking about a shot ... injection... cocktail like a combination of drugs - oh yeah! So I answered truthfully and said "no." I'm not sure how long the delay was, but my oxygen level was a little low so there was a good reason why I was slow to answer. :-)