Green Turtle Bay

Western Kentucky, Saturday, September 26

We’re in western Kentucky at about the same latitude as Norfolk, Virginia, at a very large marina on the Cumberland River - Green Turtle Bay. It’s a great place for a marina because it’s at the top of Lake Barkley, with miles and miles of boating. By car it’s 3 hours south of St. Louis and 2 hours north of Nashville, but it took us three days to get here by boat. 

The Cumberland River was the most beautiful river we have seen on this trip. Not too wide, pretty green trees, blue water, hardly any traffic, no houses. It may have helped that the weather was ideal, too, with just a hint of Fall in the air.

There are lots of Loopers are here since it’s almost the only stopping place unless you drop an anchor in the river. We did that a few nights ago on the Ohio River. We traveled all day until we got to the point where we had to wait for another lock. The sun was almost down so we just dropped the anchor and stopped for the night! You can’t do that on just any river, but on the Ohio the edges were shallow enough and the current was slow enough to make it possible.

Last night we saw a variety show at a Branson-style theater here in Grand Rivers, the Badgett Playhouse. Surprisingly, it was excellent and we laughed and enjoyed it very much. They sang songs from the 60s and 70s, lots of MoTown, some gospel, some things from my high school days, and some patriotic songs. Just three women, one guy, a female fiddler, and a four piece combo. All excellent musicians. The same nine people put on different shows every night and some afternoons, but they repeat the same shows from time to time.

Thursday night we went to Patti’s 1880 Restaurant where we had a 2” thick pork chop. Brian and I split the dinner, thank goodness, because with a baked potato, a loaf of bread baked in a flower pot, and a salad, it was an enormous meal. We brought home some of the pork chop; I think it will make excellent chimichangas if I get around to making them.

The boat is clean and shiny, inside and out. Brian polished the chrome and learned how to blacken the rubber rub rail - with WD-40! I oiled the floors with Homer Formbey’s lemon oil, cleaned the bathroom, did the laundry and changed the sheets. Tomorrow we’ll fill up with water and get a pump out before we depart. Brian wants to find a place to anchor so we can get a good look at the red moon tomorrow night.

A turtle is looking at me! He is about the size of a dinner plate, but that part is under water. His head is about half the size of a ping pong ball. At least 30 of them live in the area near the shore next to us. There are lots of mothers and each one has a small baby tagging along beside her. I hope this indicates that the marina is clean enough to sustain turtle life.

On the river, the monarch butterflies are migrating south. We see at least a dozen every day. They never stop.

It’s chilly and cloudy out here on our back porch. I probably should go in. Today we’re buying groceries and tonight we’re going to a seafood cookout here at the marina.