The Beginning of the End

As I sit down to write this post, I’m filled with mixed emotions. There are strange voices coming from our engine room and Tim is wandering around like a lost puppy with nothing to do but wring his hands.

Do you want the good news or the bad news first? OK, the good news is we posted on a few websites and forums that Subject to Change was for sale. The response was awesome. We had some folks drive out to look at her and we had acquaintances who had seen her before contact us with renewed interest. Before we knew it, we had a contract on her. The voices in the engine room are those of the potential buyer and his surveyor. If all goes as hoped, we will finalize the sale within a week.

The bad news? I just told you. I think we’ve sold this home that has given us some unbelievable memories, taken us to places I’d never heard of before, taught us lessons about perseverance, and provided us with adventures of a lifetime. As I look around her now, memories are resurrected of times spent aboard with great friends, moments of crisis when we went aground, and visions of this magnificent country that I never would have seen if we weren’t on the water. Yes, I’m wiping tears from my eyes as I type. Maybe we won’t sell her and we‘ll get to continue this adventure. Unfortunately, I think that decision has passed us by. We will complete our loop with her, but she may belong to someone else when we do. More on that after the survey…..

Let’s go back a bit to where are we now and how did we get here. Tim and I planned to spend time on the boat this summer after an extended RV trip to Colorado, South Dakota, Minnesota and then Iowa. On our way home, the temperatures were soaring in the mid states. At one point it was hotter in St. Louis than it was at home in Kemah. The Kentucky Lakes area was also suffering from record highs. With regret, we decided air conditioning in Texas was better than air conditioning in Kentucky and we choose to stay home until things cooled off. Various factors played into our making the decision sell Subject to Change, but mostly it was the RV. We knew we would finish the loop this year in Mobile Bay. We did not want to bring her west to Texas, and we’d already done the trip to Florida. The RV wold take us to new areas and give us new adventures. Driving north to restart the trip, we had already decided to offer her for sale when we went to the AGLCA Rendezvous at Paris Landing, TN mid October. It was at the Rendezvous that the offers began coming in. We accepted one and agreed with the buyers that a survey would take place today at Safe Harbor, Aqua Yacht Marina in Iuka, Ms.

Tim worked furiously on the boat making sure every piece and part was functioning properly. Maggie was feeling neglected and asked for a night out. On line, we learned about an upcoming event in Paducah. Yappy Hour

Yes, Yappy Hour. Paducah was having a pup friendly concert at the Carson Center complete with free water bowls and biscuits for furry folk and bourbon tasting for the not so furry. A great time was had by all.

The time came to begin the 4 day trip to Iuka.

We could tell it was fall as we left our home base at Ken Lake Marina. The colors on the trees were speaking to me as we began the long trip south. Maggie complained a bit about the cold and I snuggled her up as the temperature hadn’t quite reached the 40s as we headed out. Day 1 was just a short hop down to Paris Landing.

Day 2 would be longer. Our destination for the night was Cuba Landing Marina ( yes, we went from Paris to Cuba).

Cuba offered a simple, quiet marina and helpful folks.

We began Day 3 with a beautiful sunrise and calm waters.

I reminded myself that one of my duties was to take photos as we traveled. I did a better job today. Hope you enjoy.

The photo of the I 40 bridge over the Tennessee River shows how low the water currently is. I loved watching the flocks of white pelicans as they too made the long journey south. Other photos show the limestone cliffs that lined the river, houses that used the cliffs for protection from floods and other homes that chose to protect themselves by resting on piling. We had a few commercial vessels to keep us on our toes as we headed to our anchorage for the night.

We chose Swallow Bluff Anchorage for our third night. We pulled in behind a small island and anchored in about 20’ of water. There was plenty of room for us and the 2 other boats that joined us.

It was a perfect evening with clear skies and a gentle breeze. The only problem, as Maggie saw it, was there was no going to land for potty.

Can you guess what she’s saying to me?

We were up before dawn. Another 50 mile day was ahead of us and we’d have our first lock of this trip. We’d seen several other boats have to wait an hour or more before locking through and we knew rain was coming our way. We wanted to get to that lock as soon as possible and be tied up without getting wet if at all possible.

And the day began.

The closer we got to the lock, the more current we had against us.

The two boats that anchored with us at Swallow were 30-45 min ahead of us. They had to wait for a boat to lock up when they arrived at the lock. That gave us time to close the gap. As we rounded our final corner, the lock gate opened and the two boats were entering the chamber. Our timing could not have been better. We coasted right in and while I was grabbing the bollard, the lock gate was closing behind us.

So, here we sit at Safe Harbor Aqua Marina. The rain did come as predicted. The potential buyer arrived as he said. The surveyor is doing his job. And me, am I having seller’s regrets? No, I don’t think so. I know its the right decision. I know we’ll have more adventures- just the land variety. Subject to Change has done her job for us and more. It’s time for someone else to love her and care for her and take her on new adventures. I’m OK. After all, it isn’t goodbye yet. If this sale goes through, we have agreed to accompany her new owners to Texas. I know,I know. How many people heard us say “we’ll never take this boat back to Texas”? We’ll, everything is subject to change.