When Hurricane Michael unleashed its fury on the Florida Panhandle Coast, it unfortunately destroyed so much more important than our Great Loop. But it also impacted areas we were looking forward to cruising.
With so much in total disarray, we decided to slow down and enjoy where we are. Optimystique needs bottom paint and we’re at a highly regarded boatyard – Aqua Yacht Harbor. Unfortunately, we cannot stay aboard – not that life on the hard is any fun.
Optimystique was hauled on Monday morning. We rented a car by using the marina courtesy van to get to Enterprise, 20 miles away in Corinth. And were lucky to find a nearby place to stay on AirBnB, a cool log cabin re-constructed in 2015 from the original 100+ year old log cabin on the property.
“Stuck” in the middle of nowhere – 20 miles from Corinth Mississippi; 38 miles from Muscles Shoals, Alabama. Playing tourist for a week turned out to be a nice change from the river routine.
Shiloh National Battlefield Park is nearby. From the Shiloh Battlefield National Park to Corinth Civil War History Interpretive Center and the Depot Museum, we enjoyed a day of Civil War history (and two of the best national park movies we’ve ever seen and NPS usually has pretty good movies at the park’s visitor centers).
The railroad crossing in Corinth that cost many thousands of Union and Confederate troops their lives, is still in use today as we discovered when we visited the Crossroads Railway Museum in Corinth.
Optimystique Update: Tuesday End of Day … after our day of exploring (and rain showers most of the day). Some sanding was done on Optimystique … not finished yet, but it was success getting anything done with the rainy day weather!
We toured the FAME Recording Studio – Rick Hall’s famous music studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama where such artists as Aretha Franklin, Paul Anka, The Osmonds, Etta James, Clarence Carter once recorded.
Auditions for the Allmon Bros. Band were held at FAME after Duane Allmon started hanging out, even camping in the parking lot. More recently, artists such as Rascal Flatts and Tim McGraw are a couple of household names.
Returning to the marina from Muscle Shoals, we passed the Coon Dog Cemetery turn off. Of course, we had to turn, having no idea what a Coon Dog Cemetery might be… winding rural roads and beautiful scenery later ….
End of Day Wednesday – Sanding is done & the first coat of SeaHawk Biocop Black Bottom paint is on!
Trip Advisor lead us to the #1 rated Abe’s Grill in Corinth for a late lunch. We had NO idea we were in for such a treat!
Worth a trip to Corinth just for the diner! We watched as they cut more potatoes for fries, the cheeseburgers were yummy and breakfasts are legendary – we intend to check it out tomorrow!
Thursday late afternoon … 2nd coat going on! We’ve explored as much as the area has to offer and now are getting antsy to be back aboard … but patience, patience….
There’s a rumor that the US Coast Guard has re-opened the ICW from Panama City to Apalachicola. Will we splash Friday afternoon as scheduled? Fingers crossed!
YES! Back in the water Friday afternoon, as scheduled by Aqua Yacht Harbor. As scheduled and on budget… does it get better? Aqua Yacht are pros. We were so impressed by Tony’s efficiency, organization, talent and customer relations. We’d highly recommend Aqua Yacht to anyone looking for any type of marine service partway through your Loop … or simply headed south as a snowbird!
