27 Oct 17

We were up relatively early to take advantage of the courtesy car for a shopping run. While we were out, we decided to do a quick tour of the Muscle Shoals Recording studio, home of “The Swampers” and producer of more hit records than any other studio in the country. It was pretty amazing to stand in the place once occupied by so many rock & roll greats. We got back to the marina in time to cast off just after noon. As we entered the cockpit, we noticed that Terri’s life jacket had self-inflated; it had been sitting in the sun and evidently got so hot that the CO2 capsule overwhelmed the valve mechanism - another lesson learned. The wind was in the SSW at about 10 kn, so not much of an issue until the predicted cold front arrived with a vengeance at 16:20; the wind shifted to NW (right on the nose for the last 7 mile stretch) and kicked up to 20-25 kn, the sky clouded over and got very dark and the heavens opened. The last half hour was not much fun, but we made it into Grand Harbor Marina at 17:00. On the way into the slip - the back side of the fuel dock - the keel bounced off an underwater cable like a rubber band and shot us backward. We moved over a few feet and came on into the slip without further incident. After a light meal, Terri and I caught the shuttle up to Freddy T’s, the most-happening (or only) honky-tonk/bar/restaurant in Pickwick, TN, to watch the Astros beat up on the LA Dodgers 5-3, to take a 2-1 lead in the World Series.