Green Turtle Bay, Kentucky

Left Paducah around 8 this morning, travelled for about 1 1/2 hours on the Ohio River, then turned off on the Cumberland. What a beautiful trip up the Cumberland. We were winding our way through Kentucky, some farmland, lots of trees along the banks of the river. Some tows, but not many compared to the Mississippi. Met one tow right on a curve, suddenly saw his nose sticking out around the curve. Called him, and he was great to help us get around him safely. The Barclay lock, at 57 ft., is one of the highest lifts on the loop, only The Carillon Lock on the Ottawa River and the Wilson Lock and Dam on the Tennessee River are higher. We went through the Barclay lock with no problem, floating bollards on the sides and a very smooth and quick ride up. Then we had the turn into Green Turtle Bay Marina from Barclay Lake. This is a huge facility, very welcoming. There are many loopers here, some old friends, some we have not met before. Many of us got together for cocktails, then  with Nancy and Eddie from Dream Fever and Malcolm and Jenny from Zookeeper, we went into Grand Rivers to a restaurant called Patti's. They are famous for their pork chops and their desserts. This is a dry county, so we brought our own drinks to the restaurant, they provided openers and glasses, but could not sell us anything alcoholic. We tried their special, the pork chops and really enjoyed them, but no room left for dessert. It is our 41st wedding anniversary; the restaurant staff serenaded us with "Let me call you sweetheart" and gave us dessert to help celebrate. It was a wonderful evening. We plan to stay here for a few days to rest, see the area, and get caught up with things.

Jenny and Malcolm, myself, Eddie and Nancy, and Wayne at dinner. There were candles in the dessert when they first brought it.

A loading dock for the tows

Zookeeper getting tied up ahead of us in the lock.

The leaves are just starting to turn here. Temperature today was 90 F.