Our final days of the 2024 boating season came early this year! In late July, we departed Green Turtle Bay and spent two long mileage days bringing the boat 300+ miles further south to Grand Harbor Marina on Pickwick Lake. We were hoping by moving the boat further south, we could avoid winterizing. In the end, our plan failed and Captain Tom returned and winterized Prime 11 in mid October.

From Green Turtle Bay, our journey will be one of retracing the steps of our initial trip down the rivers from Cincinnati almost 10 years ago. (That blog was CincinnatiCrazy8.blogspot.com). The first leg to our destination of Grand Harbor, was a long 200+ miles to Clifton Marina.
The day is not the best and we experience downpours along our way. However, Kentucky Lake is still very beautiful with the tree covered hills along with random ones that occasionally dot the waters.



We pass a spooky abandoned grain elevator and also a scenic lighthouse on a bluff.

It is a Friday in July, so many recreational boaters are out, jump starting their summer weekend.

We arrive to Clifton Marina just before 6 pm. It was a long day! Our slip is right next to the restaurant which is gearing up for its Friday night crowd with live music.

The slip is convenient, until the wee hours of Friday night when I awake to someone retching outside our boat. 🤮
Saturday morning we decide to stretch our legs and walk the mile into town for coffee and pastries at the local coffee shop. The road into town is scenic along the river bank.



We leave Clifton Marina for another lengthy cruise to Pickwick lake and Grand Harbor Marina.

We cruise by some fancy homes built upon rock.

And then there were those who built on dirt…

The culmination of our last 2024 cruise is Pickwick Lock. The lock will raise us up 63 feet into Pickwick Lake.

Once on Pickwick Lake, Grand Harbor is nearby. We arrive without any issues and settle on a slip for the next several months.


We cleaned, packed and employed the services of the Happy Hippie to drive us to Memphis where we can catch a plane home to Cincinnati. (We discovered you cannot rent a car out of Mississippi, Alabama or Tennessee and drop it off in another state.) Now, as to why we came home during prime boating time… We had three good reasons: 1) a new house purchase in South Carolina 2) the wedding of our son 3) the birth of our second grandson. We had a very busy and celebratory fall and holiday season. Now we return to Prime 11, in cold January, to start her back up and head for southern waters.



Happy and Healthy New Year to all and looking forward to more celebratory times in 2025!
Totally awesome navigating and sharing with us. My favorite is Baby Graham Louis. What a beautiful gift from God. The blessings are many to come.
Couldn’t agree more!!💙