Tellico Lake

  We haven't seen a whole lot of Tellico Lake yet, but we've traveled seven miles up into it so far, and considering that the lake is only about 20 miles long, we aren't doing too bad. Our plan when we left our anchorage near the dam was to only go 10 miles or so and find a spot to enjoy the day, one issue is that on one side of the lake, the homes are virtually sitting on top of each other, and coves are limited on the other side of the lake on the land that sits between the two rivers, the Little Tennessee and the Tennessee. We know there is a State Park near the end of the lake, but we didn't want to go there yet.

  These homes are actually sitting rather far apart compared to some other areas. On some hillsides there are tiers of homes. The 10 million dollar homes are right on the water, and the 5 million dollar homes set behind them. There are big community docks in these areas so everyone has a spot for their pontoon or runabout. I hardly want to mention the folks with the 2 million dollar homes on the third tier. Those poor pissants.

  Like I said, we dropped our hook into a cove devoid of homes at the 7 mile mark. We took this picture from the dinghy of Swing Set sitting way back in this cove, not a house around.

  Now we are not on a house seeing tour, but it's hard not to notice just one house after another more beautiful than the next. It's impossible for us to choose a home that was the most impressive, but this home in the picture is sitting just across from the cove where we are at anchor, and it impressed me enough to stop the dinghy and take a picture. I don't know what the real estate tax is on this beauty, but we have the same view and our tax rate is zero. We is neighbors!
  Looking at other people's stuff, whether it's homes or boats, can leave a lot of people with feelings of inadequacy, sort of the way viewing a porn film leaves the average male member of our society. Rosie and I usually take a practical view, and never are envious of what other people have in the way of possessions. In the first place, we aren't doing too bad, but we are rich in other ways which mean more to us than material things.
  We mainly popped the dinghy in the water to run the motor some. It had been nearly two weeks since we had run it and the carburetor on our Mercury outboard doesn't like to sit for very long with fuel in it. So, after a brief ride it was back to our little tub where we blew up or rafts and soaked in the sun for the rest of the afternoon.
  I have to mention dinner, even though it was leftovers. We don't care if we eat the same thing two nights in a row as it keeps the refrigerator from getting loaded up with a lot of them, so we had the rest of our pork tenderloin from the night before. The twist was that we smothered the pork with more BBQ sauce and laid open a can of spiced apples to heat up next to them in the microwave. A heap of our leftover spinach rounded out the meal, but the spiced apples mixed with the BBQ'd pork tenderloin was absolutely delicious. I also have to mention that the juice left from the big can of peaches we had opened previously was dumped into our pitcher of Tang so it wouldn't go to waste. I wonder if people that live in those big houses do stuff like that?
  I read the forum from the America's Great Loop Cruiser's Association every morning and I get a kick out of some of the questions. Yesterday someone asked if 200 gallons was enough fuel to get from St. Paul, Minnesota to Mobile Bay. I couldn't help myself, but I wrote, "Not if you are in a canoe". My answer wasn't very constructive, but I was on the iPad and didn't have time to really poke fun at this person. Another member did admonish them a bit and rightly so. If you gotta ask a question like that with no other information to back it up, there is a good chance that you are just asking to be a hazard to navigation.
  Another question was, given the choice, should a person use a dinghy or a PWC? There are distinct differences between the two, and if you don't know them and can't think for yourself how each will address your needs, then I'm not sure I want to share a lock chamber with you.
  Another person wrote, in regard to the fuel consumption issue, about "you trawler types" that only want to go 8-10 miles per hour that it "was too boring". Swing Set will do a respectable 34 miles per hour when not completely full to the gunnels with fuel and provisions, but our rate of 8-9 miles per hour may get tedious on large bodies of water, but we occupy ourselves with conversation, or even menial chores on the boat, to pass the time. Oh yes, we even engage in sightseeing where we really get to enjoy what we are seeing. It's rare that I even run over the smallest stick due to our leisurely pace.
  I know I should have written all of these things in the AGLCA forum, but I don't have time to write this blog and post things on there too. I save the good stuff for you folks anyway.
  We had another rain storm last night that woke us at midnight. We checked the radar,  we also saw that we had not moved at anchor, so after some late night reading it was back to sleep. This morning it's threatening more rain, so today we might chuck our hectic schedule and relax a bit. Later we'll putt on down to the Sequoyah Landing Marina and anchor nearby to meet some friends there in the morning. I think we'll all go together to the farthest reaches of this lake until I get nervous about the depth. I bet it's not boring.