What a beautiful day to be on the water! We left GTB (We’ve been there awhile. We can call it by its initials.) at 7:00 underneath a stunning sunrise. This time, we turned right out of the marina and right again into the channel between Barkley and Kentucky Lakes for our first time on the Tennessee River. The water was flat, and the trees were just hinting that they are about to start to turn. We followed advice we received from others: stay in the channel! On this leg, we left Kentucky for good and entered Tennessee.

We traveled at about 1600 rpm, and that kept us at around 10.7 mph for our trip. We arrived at Pebble Isle just before 2:00. We followed the marked entrance to the marina, and we only had minor heart attacks a couple times as the depth finder numbers went down and down and down. Owen knows sometimes it’s best not to tell me what he sees. I learned later that we only had a couple feet below us. Oof. We churned up a little silt.

At the fuel dock, Clay, who filled our boat, put on a masterclass on line tying. Holy cannoli. He took our line and wrapped it quickly with a few flicks of his wrists, slapping the line against the ground to get it to go expertly around the cleat. I wanted to untie it just to see him do it again! I’ll admit there was a little practice happening on the dock afterward. I haven’t mastered it yet, but I will! Also at the fuel dock, we had a pump out. It was the first pump out we’ve had with a clear hose. Whose idea was that?!

There was one Looper boat here when we arrived, and another one arrived the next day. It seems we continue to stay slightly ahead of the Looper stream, but they will surely catch up in the next week or two.

Pebble Isle in New Johnsonville, Tennessee, and is a very quiet marina. There are covered slips for the many resident boats–mostly houseboats, it appears. Transients get the uncovered slips. The restaurant is closed for the season. There is a bathhouse with one washer and dryer and restrooms. There are also restrooms at the restaurant.

On one day while Owen worked, I walked over to the Johnsonville State Historic Park. It’s about .5 mile away from the dock. The park is the site of a Civil War skirmish, and there are some remnants of the town that disappeared when the area was flooded to make Kentucky Lake. There are trails through the woods and around the park that I walked. Take a look at the map on their website before you go. There are maps in the park with numbered sites, but the key is missing! So take a gander at the key before you go. Note that the park office and museum are not near this area of the park. They are at a separate site about 2.5 miles from the marina.

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We went for a 12 mile dinghy ride one evening. The lake was nice and smooth. We circled around an island that held the supports of a long- abandoned railroad bridge. FYI, it is shallower than you think. Our poor little motor touched the bottom of the lake.

Neither of our cell phones had reception in the marina, though Owen (T-Mobile) could occasionally get a signal if he reached his phone at certain angles. On the other hand, I (Verizon) checked my phone when I was near a cemetery at the top of a hill at the park and finally had a bar or two. Really, the last place that needs cell service! The internet had a weaker signal the farther away from the marina office we were. So Owen sat in the closed restaurant to work during the day. He said it was the best workday situation he’s had during the whole Loop, so far.

*Johnsonville Brats come from Wisconsin, naturally.