The Home Stretch
Ambler Isle
V and S
Mon 4 Jul 2011 11:29
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July 4, 2011
Happy Birthday America!
Amber Isle is nearing the home
stretch like a mare heading for the stable. The Tennessee River
is spectacular. The wide expanses, the lush green, the mountain
views. Breathtaking. Our son David and his wife Karen met us at
Chattanooga, and because it was the holiday weekend, we had to leave soon
after. No time to tour that beautiful city with them. The
Chickamauga Lock was first, and everyone donned life jackets to help fend off
the lock wall. Our usual first spot in the lock was taken by a small
boat, and the lift was much more turbulent for us than usual. It was good
to have the extra hands. The lake was swarming with boats of all sizes,
skiers, tubers. We'd never seen so many people out enjoying the
lake. We ran til about 5 pm, then stopped to anchor by a park 30 miles
before Watts Bar Lake. It was a scorcher, and we jumped into the water for
a swim. Ahhhhhhhhh!. The evening temps dropped to the 60s. making a
good nights sleep.
The next morning, we relaxed over coffee and breakfast,
a rare treat on the river trips. Usually we have many locks to clear, many
miles to make. But today we had only 40 miles. The lake was again
filled with boats. It was good to see so many people out on the
water. We spotted two men towing a jet ski and offered to
help. No, they were almost home. The Watts Bar Lock was our
only lock for the day. But they asked us to tie up on the port side, and we had
to switch all our fenders, poles, and lines to that side. We would
stop either across from Euchee Marina at Sand Island, or go the 5 miles extra
and anchor near Terrace View Marina. Both offered a land break and maybe a
shore lunch. Sand Island was packed with a hundred boats. All were
beached and people waded in the waist deep water, visiting, partying, staying
cool. We'd stopped there before, but opted to go on to Terrace View.
Terrace View has a huge swimming pool as well as a restaurant. As we
neared, Valt decided to tie up at the marina instead. We landed and raced
to the pool. The water was a little cooler than the river water, but
refreshing. Despite the hot day, few folks were in the
pool. The staff was fun. Karen and I changed into sundresses for
dinner. The place was full, and hungry diners kept coming at a steady
stream. I think they were surprised by the number of customers, and had to
call in extra wait staff. We postponed dessert to take our much needed
walk. Just before closing, we returned to the restaurant. It was
still busy. We took our old booth and ordered Funnel Cake Stix Sundaes to
share. Funnel cakes, a standard at every state fair, brought back memories
to all. The night was balmy, and we sat outside in the cockpit
watching loads of boaters come and go. Fireworks boomed all along the
lake.
Tomorrow would also be a short day, we planned to anchor
just this side of the Ft. Loudon Lock. This would get us in to Ft. Loudon
Marina on Tuesday morning.
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