Days 11-15

Today was a tough day, We finished the Mississippi at Cairo, IL where we made a left turn on the Ohio. After traveling 60 miles against heavy current, we turned onto the Cumberland River, again moving upstream. Finishing with the Barkley Lock and then a mile run to Green Turtle Bay Marina, we got into our slip just before dark after traveling 148 miles--a long day indeed. The Barkley lock is the most modern we've seen and one the the highest so far, moving us up 57 feet. While locking through, Russ' son, Jim, phoned to chat with Russ, not knowing Russ was on this trip. I told Jim that his dad was a bit busy, holding a line around a bollard on a lock wall on the Cumberland River and that, yes, he was still adventuresome at the age of 80!

Russ left for home after resting a day, and we stayed another couple of nights at this wonderful marina both to rest and to finish the marine survey required by our new insurance carrier. We enjoyed the fine on-site restaurant as well as a restaurant named Patti's in the little village nearby. We made good use of the marina's courtesy car, making trips to a grocery store and to Walmart's. Our bikes came off the boat as the weather turned warmer, and we finally got the chance to get some exercise and do some exploring off the boat.