Day 18 - Three Little Birds

Miles cruised 0, fuel purchased $0, slip fee $45The Looper happy hour at the Pebble Isle Marina was well attended. The marina provided trays of appetizers that were more than enough for a meal. Five other boats were in attendance so we had 14 people. These were all travel hardened Loopers, not new out of the box Loopers like us. They had all been up the east coast and through Canada over the spring and summer. We traded boat cards. Each couple has a "business card" with their contact information. Most cards have a picture of the boat along with an email address and phone number. One of the cards also had a picture of the owners which will make it much easier to identify them in the future. Most of the chatter revolved around the theme of best marinas visited and extreme circumstances such as tides, currents and locks. They all warned us not to get used to paying $1.00 per foot for slip fees. The east coast slip fees are closer to $4.00. Another topic was how much Loopers help each other and are a close knit community. There was a sad incident last week in Alton where a Looper had a heart attack and was air lifted to a hospital in St. Louis. Their Looper adventure came to a tragic halt.Today we will stay over at Pebble Isle. Dale will go to Walmart. There are two Walmarts nearby. One Walmart is 7 miles south and a larger one is 12 miles north.We received good news today that Tony, Mark and Tony's son Taylor are coming to Key West December 19 - 23. Fish-on!Carl ((Chef) Wooden - quote for today.The lovely thing about cruising is that planning usually turns out to be of little use.- Dom DegnonA little history about our location in New Johnsonville, TennesseeDuring the Civil War, Johnsonville was the location of a Union supply depot that moved food, guns, uniforms and everything else needed to supply an army. Steamboats brought supplies up the Tennessee River to the Johnsonville Depot. The supplies were transferred on to railroad cars and transported along the 78 mile Nashville & Northwestern Military Railroad to Nashville, Tennessee and on to General William Tecumseh Sherman’s army in Georgia.The Johnsonville Depot was attacked by Confederate forces under the command of General Nathan Bedford Forrest on November 4th of 1864. It is believed that a local Confederate sympathizer, Jack Hinson, guided Forrest and his troops so that they were able to position their artillery pieces right under the noses of the Union defenses without being detected. Union gunboats and soldiers from the 43rd Wisconsin Infantry, 1st Kansas Artillery, and the 12th, 13th, and 100th United States Colored Troops fought to defend the depot, but the battle was a Confederate victory. This is the only recorded victory of a naval force being engaged and defeated by a cavalry force.What if you have a dog onboard and he has to go? Keep a roll of sod on your foredeck.Priscilla saw these three little birds and said "don't worry 'bout a ting. Every littleting gonna be alright!"See the birds reflection in the water and the green turtle on the log.Johnsonville Battlefield State ParkSite of the Confederate Calvary victory over the Union fleet.