Our plan was to leave Demopolis Yacht Basin bright and early around 6am to get a really good start downriver. However when we woke up at 5:30am, it was so fogy that we could not even see the river outside the harbor. From talking with others at the marina we knew that quite a few boats were planning to leave around 6am and the thought was that we would all lock through the Demopolis Lock together. We listened to the VHF radio to see what the others were doing and we could hardly believe what we heard…fourteen boats departed DYB in fog so thick that they could not see each other as they made their way to the lock. In addition to that, the lock could not accommodate fourteen boats on the walls so the boaters and the lockmaster agreed to allow the boats to raft off each other. I just looked at Mark in stunned disbelief. Since our terrifically scary journey in the fog a couple of weeks ago, there was no way Mark and I were going to leave our slip, let alone the harbor, until the fog lifted. There is no place that we had to be that badly that would make us take that risk – let alone be in a pack of fourteen boats in a lock with no visibility. If necessary we planned to stay another day at DYB if the fog did not lift before 10a. As it turned out, by 8:30a the fog had lifted and a beautiful day unfolded. We made our way to the Demopolis Lock and Dam with three other boats. We locked through quickly and without incident – we were so glad that we waited. 
We made our way downriver and again came upon more white cliffs with beautiful fall foliage. The day continued to get better and the temperature hovered around 80 degrees – not bad for November. 
As we have been traveling along the Tenn-Tom I had noticed clumps of green stuff in trees that appeared to be dying. I could not imagine what it was – can you guess? It is mistletoe and the way that it is harvested is by shotgun. Truly, people shoot it down from the trees to collect it. I thought I was being joshed, but it appears to be true...The one thing that we heard over and over again was that there were no “good” anchorages between Demopolis Yacht Basin and Bobby’s Fish Camp approximately 100 miles down river. If in a pinch or a major emergency, the Lolligag could possibly make 100 miles in one day but it just seemed like an unnecessary thing to even attempt if we did not have to do so.
So we decided that we were going to anchor in the Old Number 2 Lock location, also known as Barron’s Landing. This is pretty much a wide spot in the river and the Tenn-Tom at this point is not all that wide. We were the first boat to arrive so we located ourselves at the southern most point so that other boats would have room to anchor if they wished. As it turned out, four other boats anchored with us so we felt that there was safety in numbers.
We arrived early in the afternoon and placed both bow and stern anchors so that we would not swing into the channel. We settled in to relax and enjoy dinner before the sun set in this very beautiful location.
The next morning we were the last boat to leave as our departure was delayed by yet another boating fatality. This time the sacrifice to Neptune was our brand new, barely used Fortress anchor that Mark used to secure the stern. Both Mark and I worked on raising the anchor for over thirty minutes to no avail. We do not have a windlass in the stern area so raising this anchor was totally a manual effort. It seemed to be lodged into or onto something very large and solid, probably a tree stump or a portion of the old abandoned lock. We maneuvered the boat every which way and still it would not budge. Finally, we both agreed that we had no choice but to cut the line and let it go. Oh well, such is the life of boating. We will ask Santa for two Fortress anchors so that we always have a spare in the future.
Today we finally finished reading (listening to) I am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe. Mark and I both enjoyed the book, in fact we both thought it was excellent, but after 32 hours of audio, I was ready to say goodbye to Charlotte. Hours on the water: 6
Nautical miles traveled: 41
Number of locks: 1
Time spent waiting at locks: 30 minutes
Tomorrow's Destination: Okatuppa Creek Anchorage
What we're listening to: Finished: I am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe
What we watched: 0
Lesson for the day: It is just an anchor – it can be replaced
Obligatory knitting report: Mittens for Wunder Kids
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