Thanks, Green Turtle Bay!

Greetings friends and family, Rhonda here….

What a wonderful week we’ve had in this special place! Green Turtle Bay is located between Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake in northwest Kentucky. It’s rather remote, but a very nice “resort” on rolling acres of trees with water all around.

We have a great slip (close to the laundry–it’s the little things :), have awesome dock neighbors Joy Girl and Spinning Dreams, and are within a short golf cart “trolley” ride into Grand Rivers, the nearby town.

I really didn’t know how much we’d need the “land” time here after all those days on the rivers. Fellow Loopers tell us that the trip down the rivers to Green Turtle Bay is one of the most challenging parts of the Loop, and we believe them! But because we are such rookie cruisers, we didn’t know what to expect and were just excited to be starting our adventure, so a lot of what some see as the “misery of the rivers” was lost on us. Nevertheless, it has been great to be in one place for a few days.

The highlight of our trip has definitely been the people we’ve met. The Looper community is friendly, inclusive and fun! There is an invitation to fellowship at every turn! Just last evening, about 30 of us met for dinner at the Thirsty Turtle, an onsite bar & grill.

Earlier we had a big bonfire down at the beach on a beautiful starry night. We have met lots of new folks, exchanged boat cards, and shared stories of our experiences thus far. When we leave here tomorrow, we have no idea if we will see any of these folks again. That’s a little sad for me, but we’re learning it’s part of the experience. We are all on our unique journeys. But if/when we meet again, it will be all smiles and as though we never parted.

On Saturday evening we attended a Southern Gospel concert in Grand Rivers with two other couples and then worshipped with them at the Grand Rivers Baptist Church on Sunday.

And just when I was about to feel a tinge of H (that’s Camp-Roger-speak for homesick) dear friends, Marti and Alan, surprised us with a visit that included lunch at T. Lawsons, a popular restaurant in town, and a tour of R&R. Later in the day my sister Shirley came for a two day visit. Seeing her was balm for my soul! We enjoyed a lovely dinner at the Yacht Club on Sunday evening, and took her car to Paducah on Monday for a tasty Mexican lunch and another visit to the National Quilt Museum. I’m not a quilter, but certainly appreciate the art….and the museum did not disappoint. I’m including photos of a few of my favorites in this post.

Yesterday, Rick took us out for a little cruise on Lake Barkley. We swam off the boat in the refreshing water (did I mention we’ve been having a heat wave down here…90+ degree temps every day for the past week!) and helped Rick use R&R’s davit (crane) to launch our dinghy from the top deck for the first time. That was a learning experience that included Shirley and I in the water holding onto ropes to keep from being washed downstream while Rick dropped the dinghy into the water. We definitely will improve our technique before the next time!!

Unfortunately, I didn’t get any photos of Shirley and me, but it was SO nice to have her here. We welcome guests, so let us know if you’d like to experience a taste of the Looper Lifestyle with us for a couple of days.

Today is our last day at GTB, so we’re spending the time getting our floating home in shape. Rick, with help from Joe of Sea Lord, is working on a little plumbing project and I’m meal prepping, doing some cleaning and catching up on correspondence. We are looking forward to a “so long” dinner with new friends tonight at the Yacht Club, and in the morning we plan to head down the Tennessee River to Paris Landing State Park.

Over dinner a few days ago (when we were alone for just a bit) Rick and I talked about our “Pows and Wows” from the trip so far. This is a sharing activity we enjoyed with the kids at the dinner table when they were growing up, but it works at any age! We didn’t require a Pow (something negative) , but we always told them there is a Wow (something positive) in every day, we only have to look for it. My Pow was missing my friends and family…and of course this oppressive heat. Visits from Alan and Marti and my sister Shirley helped a lot, and the heat wave is supposed to break later this week, so I’m a happy boater!

Until next time.