Cumberland River 9/21-9/30 - Nashville

We had already started noticing the water level increase while in Clarksville and noticed more debris coming down the river as we left.

Sally and Clarence Wall joined us in Clarksville and rode with us for two days to Nashville.  We had a great time together and I am not certain whether Sally was thinking two days or two weeks with the amount of food she brought.  They enjoyed their stay and both drove the boat while navigating debris fields.

When we got to Nashville, a boat that we met in Clarksville was already there and it seemed that there was only one spot for us to get into on the dock.  They told us that we should be able to fit in the space.  The current and debris had been building all day and Stacy had a somewhat tricky maneuver to get into the space.  She was able to do it with no problem but there was only about 4 feet in front and behind.  This may seem like a decent amount but not when you have current and debris to contend with.  Oh, and did I mention that we were docking next to a bridge piller that had to be negotiated with it's turbulence in the current.

Clarence & Sally left to head back to Chattanooga and we walked into town.  We walked over to the Ryman Auditorium where the Grand Ole Opry was housed for many years and checked out all of the small honky-tonks in the immediate area.  Almost everything is in a few block area and most had no covers and live music.  Everyone who wants to make it in Country music tries to get noticed playing in one of these honky-tonks.  We stopped in Tootsies to listen for a few minutes and did notice that there was at least one VIP in the room.  We don't know who he is but he was with a couple at the next table.  He had a rather large bodyguard standing just behind him that would not let anyone get too close.  If anyone knows who the man in the white hat is let us know.

Tootsies is right behind the Ryman and we were told stories from some of the locals that the alley between them is famous.  There is a back door to Tootsies and this is where some of the stars that were performing at the Ryman would come to have drinks at Tootsies.  Apparently Johnny Cash was famous for it and the alley is also supposed to be where the Everly Brothers were discovered.

We didn't stay out very late and decided to do most of our exploring the next day.

Friday night it poured rain all night and on Saturday it rained a good part of the day.  Mostly it was off and on but enough to keep you from wanting to do much walking around.  I had not been feeling very well so we decided to stay at the boat for a while especially since we were expecting some other boats to come in.  The current in the river and the debris increased enormously.  There was a continuous stream of debris and the currents were estimated to be about 5 mph. 

By Sunday I realized that I was getting a major head cold/flu.  I did basically nothing all day and Stacy caught up on her reading.  We noticed that the 120 foot houseboat was prepping to leave and watched them get underway in the current.  The Tennessee Titans stadium is just on the other side of the river from us and they had come down for the game the week before.  They had not gone more than about a mile before they had trouble.  It seems that the engine strainers immediately plugged up from all the debris in the water and the engines had overheated.  Along with that both the bow and stern thrusters were jammed with debris.  Luckily the owner's Father-In-Law (a self proclaimed river rat who had run boats on the rivers most of his life) was on board.  He talked the owner through the difficult maneuver to get the boat back to the dock and they were able to get back with no apparent major damage.

I rested most of the day and we decided to try to go to a recommended place in town that evening.  The Station Inn has a bluegrass jam session on Sunday evenings and you never know who will come by to play.  We had to walk about 15 blocks to get there and when we arrived there were musicians all gathered around and playing.  Some of these musicians were quite good and it was obvious that some just enjoyed playing.

As I seemed to be getting worse by the minute, we left early and headed back to the boat.  I did not get a good night's sleep..again.. and we decided to not try to move the boat yet.  On Monday night they have a group of some of the best "session" players come in and it is a can't miss. Of course we did miss it with my fighting this cold/swine flu or whatever it is.

On Monday Stacy did laundry and I fell asleep just looking at email. 

I located a Walgreens online that was actually nearby and walked over on Tuesday morning to get additional medications.  We had decided to just stay on the dock here since there were no other boats coming up river due to the currents.  I had posted a message to the AGLCA board about the river stage and currents and was asked to keep that updated so that decisions could be made about coming upstream.  The one that we thought would come in finally gave up and turned around. 

This morning we awoke to the fire boat docked in front of us going out.  It seems that someone had jumped off the bridge back behind us.  They brought him back in and he seemed to be ok.  There are a number of homeless in this area and the police say that sometimes they are not jumping but rather just fall off the bridges.

Our plan is to leave here tomorrow morning and head further up river through the next lock.  The water levels have fallen all day and the current seems to be more manageable (only double what they were when we came in) and I think I have turned the corner on this cold.  The "river rat" that we met on the houseboat put us in contact with his marina where we have made arrangements to stay for a few day prior to the arrival of our next guests.  This marina, which is not listed in any of the guidebooks, is actually much closer to the airport so it will not be as difficult to pick up guests and he said he would help us out getting to the grocery store to reprovision.