Home, Sweet Home
Amberisle2
Valt & Sandy
Fri 12 Jul 2013 19:07
We arrived in Ft. Loudon at Lenoir City. Unwilling to face the crowds that would be at the marina for the annual "Rockin' the Docks" July 4 event, we opted to anchor out in a small bay near the marina. This also gave us a chance to take down the extra fenders and other equipment used in the locks. And the rains came! Later we learned the area was 20" over normal rainfall for this time of year. We decided to take the dinghy to the marina, borrow the marina courtesy van, and drive to the grocery store for supplies. We could also say hi to a few regulars. It's always fun to reunite with our marina "family".
We had just completed passage through 19 locks. The experience was mostly good. The rains had washed debris from shore into the waterways, so we had to dodge logs much of the last 200 miles. Even that was not unpleasant. We logged about 4,600 miles since November and were gone 216 days. Our solar panels saved us nearly 900 hours of generator running time saving not only diesel fuel but oil changes, maintenance and wear and tear on the generator. We seldom stopped at marinas, only 19 nights in all. Mostly we could be found anchored out in a beautiful bay. The watermaker kept our water tank filled with crystal clear water.
The rain showed no signs of letting up, so on day two we went to our slip and tied up. It felt good to be home. The next few days were spent taking off things not needed here and putting them in our storage unit. Our car was still stowed away so we used the marina van, and also our friend's truck. The boat needed a good washing. Valt changed the transmission oil. We also made notes of tasks needed to do. Our first weeks home are often very busy with boat chores.
Despite our good feelings of being home, we felt a little nostalgic for the beautiful isles we had just left. The Bahamas stay in our hearts long after we leave. Our adventure has come to an end. For now.