As we traveled from Pickwick to Florence, we crossed into Alabama and then traveled along the Tennessee River that makes up part of the boarder of Alabama and Mississippi. Instead of turning down the TennTom Waterway into Mississippi, we continued down the Tennessee River into Alabama to get to Joe Wheeler State Park where we will rendezvous with other loopers for a conference next week. Before we get to Joe Wheeler though, we need to go through 2 locks. The first lock, Wilson Lock, just a few miles from where we're docked, has just had a support wall sink between their 2 chambers causing backups and delays for both barges and pleasure crafts (that's what they call us). We'll likely need to head out before dark tomorrow to make it through the lock before the barge traffic begins. This will be a first for us! We'll post about that adventure next!

In the meantime, while we wait we've enjoyed getting to know new people at the marina who are also making their way around the loop. People have started at all different points along the loop, from Michigan to Florida and everywhere in between! We also enjoy looking at boats in the marinas and found a pirate ship! Tony enjoyed a Skyline chili dog on the boat for dinner last night! Thanks to friends Scott and Lezli who stocked the boat with a few cans before we left and Keith and Margaret who shared leftover hotdogs from our cookout at Pickwick! When we arrived in Florence, it felt like the height of summer with the heat and the buzz of activity in the marina! The temps reached into the 80s yesterday and are predicted to do the same all this week and next! We'll share more about our adventures in Florence as we explore the town later today.

After some time working on boat tasks in the morning, we left to explore historical Florence, where we found the lovely campus of Northern Alabama University where they have a real live lion mascot living in the center of campus! It was really a beautiful campus and unique experience. As usual, we spotted the masonic temple and other cool sites along the way.

Our Looper friends Henry and Diane took a lovely picture of our boat docked at the Florence Harbor Marina this afternoon.