Hurricane Ida Missed Us

 This entry is a quick update. We arrived in Demopolis on August 17th. We were very relieved to get there and have Tropical Storm Fred stay east of us. Kingfisher Bay Marina in Demopolis is a very protected and comfortable marina. We really like it there. They have nice concrete floating docks, nice bathrooms and showers and a swimming pool. 

We swam in the pool each of the days we were there. We spent some time hanging out with Berrlin and Debra from Satisfied Frog. We taught them how to play Mexican Train Dominos. They thanked us by beating us each game we played. 

Here is a shot of SHIFT with Satisfied Frog on our starboard side. The Frog is a beautiful boat. 

Our plan was to relax for about a week. Then leave in our truck, and drive to Arkansas to see our son, Michael and his family and then on to the ranch in Missouri to see the rest of the family. We met a number of other boaters that are at the marina. It is always a very social time at KBM. The marina is full of boats of all shapes and sizes.

This is Liberty, a beautiful 70 foot yacht.

This is Miss Tennala, she is a homemade floating RV on barrels. It is an interesting looking boat. 

We left Demopolis on August 26th. We had been watching a storm that was forming, but it was too early to tell what it was going to do. As we drove north and west, I kept checking the weather and each update looked worse. By the 27th, I was getting worried. The storm was now named Ida and it was forecast to hit the gulf coast around New Orleans, but it was going to just be a Category 1 storm and would quickly weaken to a tropical depression. We were very glad we were not still in Gulfport. They were talking about a mandatory evacuation of the marina we had called home for the last 7 months. By Saturday the 28th, the forecast got much worse for the gulf coast. Ida was now going to grow into a Major Hurricane and the impact would be horrific. The track of the storm was staying to the west of Demopolis. The storm was forecast to stay strong pretty far inland, so the track was critical for us. 

As it turned out, the forecasters got it right this time. The storm followed it's forecast path almost perfectly. Demopolis got a bunch of rain that caused some flooding in the river we had just come up, but no winds over 25 knots. I was very relieved when I contacted a friend in the marina and he said it was no big deal there. The river is now high enough that we could not make it under the bridges and the current is very fast (about 3 knots which is double from what we saw). All has worked out well for us. Unfortunately, not so well for the people in Louisiana. Our prayers are with them at this time. It will be a long recovery.

So, now it is time to rest and get ready for our big adventure starting in late October. We are at the ranch in Missouri. Spending as much time as possible with the kids and grandkids. I probably won't write much until we get back to the boat, so don't worry the adventure begins in about a month and a half.