Historic Columbus Mississippi

October 6 - 28, 2016

It is quiet on Dock B and we are comfortable here even though our dock neighbor, Jim, tells us there are alligators and water moccasins in these waters. We are settling in at our temporary home. Mystic will remain here until the end of November while we travel to New York City for Dave's work. After New York, we will visit Connecticut and spend Thanksgiving with family there.

Sunset at Dock B

Mystic at Columbus Marina

Beth at Columbus Marina

We have a lot to do to prepare Mystic for the long layover. She needs a good cleaning, both inside and out. I tackled the interior, wiping down the walls with 409 and cleaning the teak with Murphy's oil soap. Dave scrubbed the hull trying to remove the brown stains we brought with us from the Mississippi River. When I finished with the interior I cleaned our boat fenders and was able to get them somewhat white again. We organized our belongings into neat piles and stored what we could. Dave cleared the space that covers our engine so a mechanic can service it while we are away. Our work took most of the day but we are delighted with how Mystic looks and will really appreciate this when we return to a clean boat.

The town of Columbus is filled with history; we want to explore "old" downtown. We don't need to borrow the marina courtesy car because we have a rental car for the ride to the Memphis airport. There is a free parking lot downtown near the Riverwalk. We parked there and headed into town on foot. Our first stop was the Tennessee Williams Visitor's Center where we met Lee who gave us the history of the building and information about the town. Lee told us that she and her husband hope to be sailboat Loopers one day as well. We ran into Paula and Tom from Life's TraVails there. They invited us for burgers at Zachary's but we have our heart set on BBQ at Hanks. We've heard it is fabulous; a little hole in the wall place with great southern food. During our meander through town, we stumbled across Zachary's so we stopped in for a local brew called Mayhem Junction.

We visit several famous spots in Columbus, including Catfish Alley, the Historic Courthouse, and Mississippi State College for Women which is the first public college for women in the country! We drive to Hanks and are disappointed to learn that they are out of turkey and chicken is only served on Thursdays. Since we don't eat red meat, we take the advice of Hank's staff and head to Ruben's for catfish instead. Ruben's sits above the Tombigbee. The food was very good. We each ordered a whole catfish which came with a salad bar and potato. Dave was surprised that the menu offered 1, 2 or 3 whole catfish. We had trouble finishing one each!

www.visitcolumbusms.org

Hank's BBQ ~ Columbus, MS

Ruben's ~ Columbus, MS

Before we left for the airport, we stopped by to say farewell to Henry but he was not aboard Sea Marie. He had borrowed the courtesy car and gone into town. Docked next to Henry is a boat from Mystic, CT called Ocean Commotion II. We had lively discussions with the owners, Tom & Marylou earlier in the day. It was fun talking about all our favorite places back home! We are excited to be there for Thanksgiving!