Day 7 & 8 of "the Loop", Random wkend post, 10/16/2022

*edited 10/18/2022 - (Iuka is in MS, not TN*)

Day 7 - October 15th: stayed at Clifton Marina, what a fun night that was! We had dinner at the local marina restaurant. Watched the Tennessee / Alabama game, those Tennessee folks know how to party & celebrate! There was a lot of cheering, especially when the Vols pulled off the win. Side note: Restaurant had large chunks of fried bologna

**** See my Facebook page (Tracy Carr Boisselle) for video of this fun celebration at the Clifton Marina****

Day 8 - October 16th: We traveled 5+ hours to Auqa Marina, located in Iuka (pronounced: eye - you - ka), MS. Super nice people here. Robin and Charlie McVey (Boat name: The Lower Place) are harbor host, which means they assist and help fellow loopers get to doctors, dentist, grocery stores, etc. while in this area. We also met Colleen Barger, she and her husband Gary (Boat name: Calypso Poet), are Gold Loopers (a person that completes the GREAT Loop 1 time). Colleen provided her contact information and was kind to offer us her car during our stay.

Did I mention we did our 1st lock (Pickwick Lock), see pictures below. There were 13+ loopers in the lock with us. Because there were so many boats traveling through the lock, some of us had to double up to boats already tied to the lock wall (called rafting). We were fortunate to tie off to Kim & John (Boat name: Kayak), experienced boaters who were very patient with us first timers!

Also passed the historic "Shiloh National Military Park," located 9 miles south of Savanah, Tennessee. We couldn't see it from the water, below is the view we had. Back in the woods is Morton's Battery monument.

April 1862 more than 23K died in the Civil war. A few things you may not know about the Battle of Shiloh:

1) The loss of General Albert Sidney Johnston struck a severe blow to the Confederate cause

2) Sherman's stock rose as Grant's fell after the Battle of Shiloh

3) One of Shiloh's most controversial generals went on to later fame as the author of "Ben-Hur"

Some lake front property pictures, notice the different style banks (some rocks, cement and dirt banks).

Pictures from Pickwick Lock (apparently there are 150+ locks on the loop)

Map of Trip - From Cuba Landing Marina (Waverly, Tennessee) to Clifton Marina (Clifton, Tennessee)

Map of Trip - From Clifton Marina (Clifton, Tennessee) to Aqua Yacht Marina (Iuka, Mississippi), we stayed here 2 days (repairing boat props)