October 25 - October 28, Day 134 -137 - At Joe Wheeler State Park (AGLCA Rendezvous)

We woke up early this morning and decided to go for a walk. The sun was just coming up and there was mist on the water …. Very beautiful. Well, we made it as far as the lodge and then the food smells got to us. We went into the lodge and had the breakfast buffet. It had just opened (7:00 a.m.) so the food was still very fresh (not the usual cold buffet stuff). With our tummies full, we then headed out for our walk. It was still quite chilly, but it was more refreshing than cold and we saw lots of deer and autumn leaves. It was a great way to start the day.

Around 2:00 p.m. our friends, and former owners of the Monk when it was Integrity, arrived from Atlanta. It was great to see them and to show them the boat (now that it is Monk’s Vineyard). In keeping with tradition, we did have happy hour with them aboard Monk’s Vineyard.

At 5:00 p.m. the rendezvous officially got underway with a welcome to all members and, of course, a happy hour reception. We had a slight problem when we went to check in as they did not have us registered. Oops !!!!! Gerry ran back out to the boat and printed out our registration confirmation and receipt for payment. As is the case with something like this, it was blamed on a computer glitch.

Anyway, we won’t write much about the next 3 days except to say we found it very beneficial. It featured presentations by several different experienced loopers or individuals with local knowledge about the various waterways we will be traveling over the next several months. It also included looper crawls (visits aboard members’ boats), kayak races, dinghy races (which we participated in, but didn’t win) and vessel safety checks (which we took advantage of so now we have a current USCG sticker).

The rendezvous also included breakfast, lunch and dinner each day along with a reception (happy hour) hosted by one of the many sponsors of the AGLCA. Each day was very full (as were our tummies – ate and drank way too much) and we were tired by the time it was over and ready to be on the road again. We’re sure our path will cross again with many of the loopers we met.

Out on our walk, we spotted this deer

and this deer. They were everywhere.

We happened to see the AGLCA van (notice the logo) under a colorful tree, so snapped a picture

We woke to a misty morning

Here's Monk's Vineyard at the dock .... between 2 bigger boats.

Bill, Linda, Gerry and Ruth. Bill and Ruth owned the Monk before us. We look upon them as our Guardian Angels.

While on our way to town Bill and Ruth took us by a cotton field. We had never seen cotton growing until arriving in the Tennessee/Alabama/Mississippi area. We stopped and picked a few cotton balls (fortunately, the cotton balls were not rotten yet, as you know according to the song you can't pick cotton when it's rotten). However, if the rain continues and they aren't able to get the machinery in the fields ... it may get rotten.

This is a picture of one of the couples during the dinghy race (I think they came in second). As you can see, the driver is blindfolded and you are traveling backwards in the dinghy.

The diningroom at the lodge

The main room where the meetings were held. The rendezvous was sold out, so it was very full.