8-31-2013, Chattanooga, TN

Saturday, 31st:  Got up early and walked the Walnut bridge. It is the nation’s longest pedestrian-only bridge and it connects the downtown area with the Northshore District and Coolidge and Renaissance Parks.  After our walk we toured the Tennessee Aquarium, both the Fresh Water and the Ocean Water parts.  Then we took the “Free Electric Bus” up to see the Chattanooga Choo Choo.   Was a long day; we came back to the boat to rest up and have dinner.  This evening they had free Saturday Night Music on the River.  It cooled off some and was a very pleasant evening temperature wise.  There were two different bands, lots of beer tents and food tents, and at least 1,000 people were there.  This morning we were the only boat at the dock and this afternoon it was full and some boater had to be turned away.

8-31-2013:  We had to walk all these stairs before even starting our walk this morning

8-31-2013:  XO on our walk

8-31-2013:  The Walnut Street Bridge.  It used to be the railroad bridge.

8-31-2013:  Kim Jo IV from the Walnut Street Bridge

8-31-2013:  Chattanooga Choo Choo.  Battles were fought in and around Chattanooga primarily to control the rail road network.  By 1861 the city had become one of the South's most important rail road hubs.

8-31-2013:  Free Music Night on the River Front


8-31-2013:  We went through the River Journey and the Ocean Journey of the Tennessee Aquarium which is one of the top aquariums in the nation and located right on the river front.  Below are several picture.

Fresh Water Sting Rays

 

 

 

Hyacinth Macaw's-Native to Brazil.  Their beaks are the strongest of any kind of bird and can exert up to 300 pounds of pressure to open nuts and seeds.

 

 

Bonnethead Shark

 

 

 

 

 

This is a huge fish tank covering most of the building; several story's high and it is all around you and above you too.  There were several hundred kinds of fish  of all shapes, color, and size.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was a whole section dedicated to Butterflies.  Most of  them would not sit still long enough for me to get a good picture but I did get a few.

 

 

 

Penguins prefer close quarters and live flipper to flipper in the wild.

 

 

 

8-30-2013: Chattanooga, TN

Friday, 30th:  Our generator quit working again last night.  This time it was the water pump.  We called Marine Max and they put in a new pump and a high pressure switch.  We spent the morning getting all this done.  In the afternoon we took a walk down the "Riverwalk" and did some sight seeing.  This evening we went to the "Bluewater Grille" and we both had excellent seafood meals.  We would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who comes to Chattanooga.  It is less than 1/2 mile walk from the city dock.

8-30-2013:  First sun rise in Chattanooga

 

8-30-2013: Market Street bridge, right downtown Chattanooga.  We are at the City  Dock which is between Market Street and Walnut Street bridges.

8-30-2013: We see these people on boards all the time, looks like fun

8-30-2013: Chattanooga Ducks touring boat

8-30-2013: Delta Queen is a working historic steamboat currently being used as a Hotel/ Restaurant/Lounge.  It is our neighbor across the river. 

8-30-2013:  Fountain downtown Chattanooga.

8-30-2013:  Kids on boards in fountain.

8-29-2013, Chattanooga, TN Mile 464.0

Thursday:   Got going about 09:00. Brought up a lot of mud on the anchor this morning. The scenery just gets more beautiful the closer we get to Chattanooga. We got here about 13:30 and got settled in and went up to Market Street for some lunch. We didn’t realize that the time changed just before Chattanooga so we are back in Eastern Time Zone again. It was real hot again today in the high 90's. We walked around downtown a little this afternoon; it is a very nice downtown area.

8-29-2013: Leaving our anchorage at Mile 426.9

8-29-2013: Some of the beautiful scenery along the way

8-29-2013: Abandoned Historic Hale Bar hydro-electric Power Plant and Lock and Dam at Mile 431.0.   It was built from 1905 to 1913.  The dam was plagued with leaks and was torn down in 1968 when the Nickajack Lock and Dam opened

8-29-2013: A lot of pretty fancy boat houses as we get close to Chattanooga

8-29-2013: Beautiful home south of Chattanooga

8-29-2013: Only tow we saw today as we were coming into Chattanooga

8-29-2013: Lookout Mountain; the backdrop to Chattanooga

　

Anchorage at Little Cedar Mountain Cove, Mile 426.9

Wednesday:  We were up early again; 05:15.  It was a very still night and the boat barely moved.  But it did move some this morning doing a slow 360 turn.  We had about 5' to spare on each bank.  It was a good thing the banks were deep.  It was a foggy morning and when we called the Guntersville Lock Master we had to wait 2 hours due to a tow and the fog.  Keith went back to bed and I got caught up on things.  I called the Lock Master at 08:10 and he said it would be another hour.  We got to the lock by 09:10, were in the lock by 09:20 and out by 09:35.  We went up 40'; it was a little windy but we managed.  This was the first time we have been through the Guntersville Lock and the farthest on the Tennessee River.  It is beautiful scenery with a lot of islands and rolling hills and not a whole lot of houses. 
This was another long, hot day.  We got to our anchorage at Mile 343.0; Burns Island at about 17:00 and tried for over 30 minutes to get the anchor to hold without any luck.  It felt like the bottom was slate and the anchor would just skip over the bottom.  Now we had a problem; we were running out of day light and no place to anchor.  We decided to go another 4 miles to the Nickajack Lock and look for an anchorage above the lock.  We got through the lock in about 15 minutes, just in time to see the sun set.  Two miles from the lock we found a nice little anchorage and got settled just before dark at Mile 426.9, Little Cedar Mountain Cove.  That was close; sure did not want to be out on the river after dark, especially since this part of the river is all new to us.  We traveled 83.5 miles today at 1700 RPM’s in 11 hours.  We only saw 1 tow today and went through 2 locks.  Sure am glad we have a short day tomorrow.

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W85.58836

CO’s comments: A lock master made the CO feel good today. After hundreds of locks and harbor masters I was finally addressed properly as the Skipper of the vessel. This has only happened a few time previously. Commanding Officers are always addressed by their proper rank or Skipper (USMC). He most likely saw my Marine Corp flag.

8-28-2013: XO’s view of the bollard chamber in the Guntersville Lock, going up 40'

8-28-2013: XO’s Bollard Loop on a floating bollard

8-28-2013: View of the Bridgeport bridge from the RR lift bridge about 4 miles away.

8-28-2013:  Go around a big bend in the river to the Bridgeport bridge at Mile 418.4

8-28-2013: Old abandoned Ferry Boat near Bridgeport.

8-28-2013: Sun set at Nickajack Lock