Pageviews

10-22-09 Joe Wheeler State Park, AL

[Rick] We went from Florence AL Marina to Joe Wheeler State Park and Marina near Rogersville AL. The distance is only about 23 miles, but we had to pass through Wilson and Wheeler locks. You will recall that Wilson Lock has a lift of 95 feet and Wheeler is 45 feet. Many of our friends are in this area since we are to attend the AGLCA Rendezvous that begins on Sunday and goes through Wednesday. We have about 50 boats and 225 people registered for the event. We drove to this event in 2007.

The rendezvous is a series of sessions about parts of the upcoming loop areas that we will be visiting. Of particular interest are the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway (aka Tenn-Tom), crossing the Gulf of Mexico, the west coast of Florida, the Florida Keys, and back up the east coast. This is all done by volunteers and sponsored by marinas and boating firms. Our $250 per person entry fee also helps. The fee includes the sessions, lunch and dinner each day and a grand party on Wednesday night. There is, of course, a ship’s store where you can find all sorts of charts, books, clothes, etc.

The Joe Wheeler Park is a state park, one of 5 state parks that happens to be built on some very expensive real estate. It includes a lodge with very large rooms, rental cabins; a campground, golf course, tennis courts, and a 500 slip marina, 300 of the slips are covered. It is a beautiful place to vacation and visit. It is named for a famous Confederate General, Joe Wheeler. After the “War of Northern Aggression”, he became a Major General in the US Army and later served in the Spanish-American War. He is a true hero in Alabama.

Since our days will be filled with sessions and meetings, there will be no blog until at least November 2, 2009. We will just be too busy and it is hard to communicate the information in the sessions. You have to be there…..

No comments:

Post a Comment