Below are excerpts from Mark Van’s houseboat travel log:

The boat was launched in Boonville, MO, Mile 199 of the Missouri River. (about half-way between Kansas City and St. Louis). I cruised from Boonville to Ft Myers Beach, FL in the fall of 2001, and from Ft Myers Beach to Mobile, AL and back in the summer of 2002.  In Summer, 2003, I cruised up the East Coast to the Chesapeke Bay. I am now cruising up the Gulf coast, and heading toward the Tennessee River

Thursday, June 23

To Ingram Bayou (mile 164). Great anchorage, nice secluded spot, one of the best anchorages in the area. Would have been perfect if not for the boat with a generator, and the jerks who decided that it was a great spot for water-skiing.

Friday, June 25

To Dog River, Mobile, Alabama. I left nice and early, because the afternoon sea-breeze can kick up a nice chop on Mobile Bay. It was dead calm on the bay, got into Dog River by 1:00. Moored at a friends house. I’m glad I left early, because by 3:30 or so, it got quite breezy, and a thunderstorm crossed the bay.

Thursday, June 23

To Ingram Bayou (mile 164). Great anchorage, nice secluded spot, one of the best anchorages in the area. Would have been perfect if not for the boat with a generator, and the jerks who decided that it was a great spot for water-skiing.

Friday, June 25

To Dog River, Mobile, Alabama. I left nice and early, because the afternoon sea-breeze can kick up a nice chop on Mobile Bay. It was dead calm on the bay, got into Dog River by 1:00. Moored at a friends house. I’m glad I left early, because by 3:30 or so, it got quite breezy, and a thunderstorm crossed the bay.

I will be staying in Mobile for a while, to do some work on the boat.

Friday, July 8
I’m still in Mobile, waiting for Hurricane Dennis.  I was considering heading up the Tombigbee river this morning, but I didn’t think I could make it to Demopolis (about 230 miles) before the weather got crappy.  There are no good spots south of Demopolis to stay, and I didn’t want to get stuck in the middle of nowhere waiting for the river to stop flooding.  I hope I made the right decision.  I am now tied to a bunch of trees and I have two anchors out, I should be OK.  I’ll update this as soon as I can after the storm.  I rode out Cindy a few days ago, no problem.  Dennis will be storm prep number 10 for my boat since launching.  I’m getting good at it.  (I’m also getting a bit tired of it)

Wednesday, July 13
Dennis was no problem, it hit quite a bit east of Mobile, we only had winds of around 50 mph.  I am planning on heading up the river next week. 

To follow his progress, please visit here:

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