Paducah to Grand Rivers, Kentucky
This blog covers our trip from Paducah to Grand Rivers. We also decided to do a quick side trip to Nashville, Tennessee so we could experience some Kentucky country in Grand style!
Along the stretch of the Ohio River just after Paducah, Loopers generally have to make the decision to either turn onto the Tennessee River and go through the more commercially used Kentucky Lock, or take the alternate route on the Cumberland River to the Barkley Lock. The Cumberland route is actually longer, but usually faster as there is less traffic at the lock. We had no choice due to a temporary closure of the Kentucky Lock but we had planned to follow the Cumberland River route anyway.
We were up early with six boats leaving for Green Turtle Bay Marina in Grand Rivers, Kentucky. Sea Clef took the lead with After Hours, Off Leash, Viva la Vida, Irish Lass, and Tranquility. The last boat is slow and fell well behind us. We passed the confluence of the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers and turned onto the Cumberland River. This was our first look at some of the fall colours! The Cumberland River is beautiful in places and some parts are very industrial. We picked up another boat, Miss Linda Sue, before the lock. We arrived and locked through right away! The Barkley Lock is a 57 foot lift. That was our biggest lock so far! Our marina, Green Turtle Bay, was right after the lock. There were a ton of Looper boats there which meant lots of help getting into our slip. Once we were settled, we joined Pam and Bob (Out of the Blue), and Karen and Rob (Off Leash) with the courtesy van on a trip to Walmart. Then it was docktails at the Gazebo with lots of Loopers, followed by dinner for 6 at Patty's 1880's for Karen's birthday. It was fun! We decided that we needed to go back to the store there later.
We had lots of things that needed to get done on the boat including laundry, cleaning, and service techs. Yay! We had our air conditioning fixed earlier, but it only lasted a couple of days. Another tech came and found a leak in the system. It was an easy repair and finally, our air conditioning is working!
We rented a car with Off Leash and drove to Nashville, Tennessee! We dropped our things at the hotel and took an Uber to Broadway Street, which is the main street in Nashville. It was overwhelming searching for somewhere to eat, even with tips from Cam's friend, Mike Boone. We finally ate at a restaurant without a bar and band. Every bar seemed to have a band and they were all crowded. When you walked up a flight of stairs in a bar, there was another band! Most bars had 3 floors and 3 bands. We had a drink at one bar and enjoyed the music for a while. Then we walked the strip and went to some gift shops before heading back to our hotel. We were staying at the Gaylord Grand Ole Opry Resort. It was huge, and more like a series of connected hotels, with gardens, pathways, and attractions, that were actually indoors. The Grand Ole Opry (GOO) was in walking distance. Our show opened with Connie Smith, a 57 year veteran of the GOO. Then we saw Drake Milligan's GOO debut where he played Sounds Like Something I'd Do. He was really good and writes his own music! That young man is going places! There were four or five other acts, including The Cleverlys. They were more of a comedic musical act. We went back to the Gaylord after the show and had a snack on our indoor outdoor balcony while watching a light display with witches for Halloween.
In the morning, we had a big breakfast, and Cam and Karen met Drake Milligan who was having breakfast with his father! Then we drove to town and did a hop-on hop-off tour, but we never got off. The highlights of our tour included a Country Legends Mural in downtown Nashville (Taylor Swift was recently edited out of the mural and replaced with Brad Paisley but you can still see a little bit of her hair underneath his hat), Fort Nashborough, the Parthenon in Centennial Park, The Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum, and the Country Music Hall of Fame. Our trip to Nashville was short so we did not have time to visit any of the tour highlights but our tour was good and our guide was excellent! Heather had a craving for southern fried chicken so we found a place and enjoyed a huge meal! We made a quick stop at Whole Foods before driving back to Grand Rivers.
When we arrived at the marina, there was a large docktails at the Gazeebo for Bill's 70th birthday from Let Time Go Lightly. We joined in for the tail end. On Friday, Cam and I returned the rental car. Then we biked to Patti's 1880 Settlement and bought bread, fudge, cinnamon roasted nuts, and a nativity creche ornament. Later, Susan Costa from Lucky Me, organized a docktails at the Yacht Club for the 50+ Looper boats at the marina. We went, made some new friends, and visited with some familiar boats as well. They even organized a game with some prizes - all at their own expense! It was a fun evening.
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