After many years of talking and planning, Denis and I are embarking on our journey! With our grandson in tow, we are ready to head down the Tennessee River. A big shout out to Martha and Jerry for assisting us on our launch! I am not sure how we would have managed these crazy logistics without you!!
From the Lake to the River
Since our lake has a dam with no lock to move through, we had to transport Tir na nOg and Neeve by trailer. We engaged Richard Weaver of R & T Transport. As you can see by the photograph this is no easy task, tying two boats securely enough to move them at highway speeds safely. Richard is the absolute consummate professional. We had unknowingly left a full pot of coffee in the coffee maker unsecured, and a cup of coffee on the counter. Amazingly, neither had spilled even a drop, never mind being dashed and destroyed. What could have been a disaster never happened because of his caring for our boat as if she was his own. Richard is the best!
On the River at Volunteer Landing Marina
We tied up at Volunteer Landing to await Eli, Martha, and Jerry. A most impressive young man, ST Johnson, a junior at Univ of Tennessee studying Industrial Engineering, was our welcoming dock hand. After gassing up the boat, he got us into a covered slip for our stay. Most welcome to be out of the elements. ST was a good jackleg boat mechanic and provided us with an electrical connector for dock power that we yet did not have ourselves. That kept our lights and A/C on for our stay. In talking with him, he indicated his professional goal was to be a mining engineer in the gold mining industry. We wished him every success at achieving his goal.
While at Volunteer Landing Marina, we had two days to visit with Martha, Jerry, and Eli exploring Knoxville. In the afternoon we were approached by a gentleman intrigued with our colorful and distinctive dinghy. It was obvious he was an experienced sailor. Seemingly jokingly he pointed to the large cruise ship next door as his boat. We laughed it off, and it was a delightful conversation. For dinner, we climbed up the hill to partake of a memorable repast at Ruth’s Chris.
After dinner we watched the cruise ship, the Volunteer Princess, dock beside us, and that same gentleman was on the cruise ship in Captain’s Uniform. Captain Paul, indeed! Little did we suspect he was literal in his claim. I (Denis) had an opportunity to talk with him. It ended in his invitation to have a dinner cruise, all five of us, as his personal guests. We went out two days later on a two hour dinner cruise. A wonderful lady filled out our table of six. Lisa is a teacher in a local high school, very dedicated to the performance of her students. In discussion, we were interested to know she had her PhD. in Chemistry, and had worked in the fabled Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in the labs and as a program manager. How fortunate were her students to have such a marvelous teacher.
Three most interesting and accomplished people to meet in the first three days. We were off to a wonderful start.