We've made it already to Columbus, Mississippi. Our plans changed to go up the Tennessee to Chattanooga. We made it as far as Florence where we rented a car and went to visit Shiloh Battlefield. We really enjoyed the history lesson and found out that a lot of people in the South still have bad feelings towards the "Yankees". When people ask where we are from Clay likes to say he's a Connecticut Yankee. I had to ask him to please not say that until we are out of the area, because we were getting some nasty looks!

The lock above Florence had been damaged by a barge and was operating auxillary lock, of course giving preference to commercial traffic, so the back log was pretty heavy. We decided at that point that we would go ahead and start heading for the Tenn-Tom and start heading South. Another factor was that the nights were starting to get pretty cold and we wanted to get to warmer weather. One morning the temp outside was 38 and inside the boat was 42 degrees. Burr!

Tennessee and Tenn-Tom go through some beautiful country. To add to ambiance, the leaves are changing and providing a splendid palate of color. We have enjoyed a number of quiet anchorages and keep a look out for the local wildlife, mostly deer, raccoon and coyote. One night a pack of coyote woke us up and had our hearts racing. They sounded like a bunch of screaming babies, we were glad we weren't camping in a tent.

We've said goodbye to a couple of boats we've been cruising on and off with. They had to delay their trip due to family health problems, but hopefully will pick up the trip again in January. We've met some great people along the way and hope to stay in contact long after we’ve completed the loop.

We're waiting for the lock at John Stennis Lock and Dam (probably about an hour) and then we're off again, headed South.