Day 36: Columbus, MS to Demopolis, AL

Good afternoon from the Tombigbee River between Columbus and Demopolis. It's another hot one, 93-94 degrees, and hardly a cloud in the sky. We passed a quiet evening at Columbus Marina last night, arriving just at closing time. T. Caldwell, marina manager, kindly took our lines, made reservations for us at a restaurant in town (5 miles away), handed me the keys to a late-model Toyota courtesy van, and agreed to meet us at the fuel dock at 6:30 AM. We ate a fine meal ashore at Hank's, where two recently scrubbed boaters in comfortable clothes fit right in with the local crowd. It was a treat to get off the boat for dinner.

T and his dock crew were waiting for us at the appointed hour this morning, and while they fueled us, he called the Stennis lockmaster and told him we'd be there within 30 minutes. Columbus Marina is tucked away behind the beginning of the Stennis Lock wall on the port side for Loopers going south. There is deep water all the way into the Marina, and it is far enough away from the lock to minimize sounds. Great stop, for sure!

We had trouble in getting the pictures posted yesterday as our WiFi hotspot has been vacillating between no bars and two bars so none of the pictures I sent yesterday made it through. The DeLorme then continues to be our most reliable connection to the outside world and keep loving to converse through it. A fellow follower made good remarks on the website dedicated to the adventure: www.thegreatestloop.com... and that is right, good friends have been crew members on The Greatest Loop on some of the previous legs, and it's been really interesting to follow their adventures. 

Best,

John