ORE 2

Saturday, we anchored in Cow Creek. Some of our sailing pals came in and invited us to sail with them, so we went out on Bennett's Islander 28. Great wind and a great time.

Later, we rafted up with Bennett, Rick, Anne & John, and Beanie.

We all grilled dinner, and as the night progressed, this photo of Rick pretty much sums up the activities.

That's for everyone but me of course, since I quit drinking.

I brought my ukulele on this trip, and I thought I might play a few tunes before John started playing his guitar. Sort of an opening act. However, my ukulele doesn't sound nearly as good to me as it did before I quit drinking. Neither does my singing. I even bought a device to help me tune the ukulele, but that didn't help much either. There must be something that works on your ears the way beer goggles work on your eyes. "Beer Ears" -- things sound better when you're drinking.

The good news is that John's guitar playing just gets better every year. He is truly amazing. No beer ears needed. He sits on the stern rail, in the dark, drinking Schlitz beer, and never misses a lick. He put on another great performance for us. Listening to him play is worth the drive to get here.

Rich is due to arrive Monday morning, and we will begin the river excursion then. As we drove over the dam on Kentucky Lake, we saw that there was some construction going on. They were in the process of floating a new railroad bridge in place over the Tennessee River. I got out my Quimby's and found the phone number for the lock master and gave them a call to see if they would be in operation Monday. They said yes.

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