Quite a few of the Loopers are going to continue up the Tennessee River to Chattanooga and Knoxville and we really seriously thought about joining them. However the dreaded “S” word (Schedule) will be preventing us from taking that side trip at this time. We have heard so many wonderful comments and recommendations about traveling on the Tennessee River up into the eastern part of the Tennessee that we are going to make it a definite trip, but unfortunately not at this time. Captain Mark calculated that it would take us ten to fourteen days to travel to Knoxville and back. That would be okay if we wanted to leave the boat in Tennessee when we return to Indiana for the holidays but we really do need to get the boat to the Mobile area before heading back to Indiana. Our concern is that the weather might be just a little too cold in the Tennessee Valley during January to travel comfortably, so since life is a compromise, we decided that we would explore the Tennessee River at another time. 
So we slept in a little bit and had breakfast at the Joe Wheeler Lodge before leaving the park amide hugs and waves goodbye to all of our newly formed Looper friends. Our destination today is a short hop and skip down river to Florence, Alabama but we had two locks to get through so we were not sure how long it would take. Again I am sure that I am going to jinx us, but we have had the best luck in locking though locks on this trip. At the first lock, Wheeler Lock, we had to wait about 15 minutes and at the second one, Wilson Lock, we slide right in with no wait.
The town of Florence Alabama is just west of the Wilson Lock on the Tennessee River. A cold front was scheduled to come through the area and severe thunderstorms were predicted for the next three to four days. We had heard very nice things about the Florence Marina and the city of Florence so we thought this would be a nice place to hang out for a while. We arrived at the marina about 2p on Sunday, checked in and immediately borrowed the courtesy car. I had heard rumors that Florence was home to a Target Store so when Mark asked where we should go, I immediately said Target.
He asked what we needed at Target and I said I wasn’t sure but I would know when we got there. I really just wanted to stand in a Target and savor the moment. I had not been inside a Target since leaving Chicago and there was something extremely comforting about just seeing that red bulls eye logo. Of course, what we found was that M&Ms were on sale for $2 a bag and we needed to seriously replenish our M&M supply so the trip to Target was well worth the time spent. 
Box wine was also on sale. Miss Terry, who is the person responsible for introducing me to alcohol back in 1966, is now trying to convert and corrupt me into drinking wine from a box. While I am very skeptical, I decided to try some Pinot and I must admit it was not so bad…Of course storing wine in a box is much easier on the boat than storing wine in bottles so I may just have to keep trying this wine in a box thing. Miss Terry also recommends storing box wine up-side-down so that it does not become "fountain wine".
True to the prediction, it rained rather hard all day Monday and most of Tuesday. Mark read and I spent the time getting the blog current and attending to finances. On Tuesday we again borrowed the courtesy van and checked out historic Florence. It is a town deep in southern culture and heritage and the home of the University of Northern Alabama.
Florence is the home of WC Handy, “Father of the Blues”, made famous to our generation by the Marc Cohn song Walking in Memphis. Dred Scott also once resided in Florence, where as a slave, he worked as a hostler at the Peter Blow Inn on Tennessee street. A plaque at the former site commemorates his time there. TS Stribling, Pulitzer Prize winning author and Florence resident, wrote a trilogy about the city consisting of The Forge, The Store and Unfinished Cathedral.
We ate dinner on the boat each evening, watched one of our favorite movies and just kicked back, relaxed and enjoyed the rain.
Hours on the water: 4 hours
Nautical miles traveled: 18
Number of locks: 2
Time spent waiting at locks: 15 minutes
Tomorrow's Destination: Grand Harbor Marina in Pickwick, Tennessee
What we're listening to: I am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe
What we watched: Mystic Pizza = Excellent
Lesson for the day: It is very comforting to be in a harbor during bad weather
Obligatory knitting report: Mittens for the Wunder Kids
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