Rollin' on the River...but No Tina!

We crossed the 14th street bridge, and I said to Claudette, "There she is" referring to the steamboat, Delta Queen, moored below in the Tennessee River.  "Angie will tell us how to get there," she said. "Angie" is the name I bestowed on the distinctly midwestern voice of the Acura navigation system." Turn left on   Manufacturers Boulevard," said Angie.  A few more turns and we were there, looking at a true paddle wheeler on the river and our lodging for the nest two days.

Since my boyhood days of reading Twain's Tom Sawyer I've had a fascination for riverboats, so when the opportunity came to spend the night on one, how could I say no? And here it was.

The Delta Queen is a steam powered paddlewheel riverboat of 285 feet in length and 58 feet in width, and it weighs over sixteen tons. I was surprised that it was built in 1929 in Scotland and shipped in sections to the U.S. It was assembled in California and plied the Sacramento River delta.  In fact, her sister ship, the Delta King, is moored in Sacramento, California. Somehow that twentieth century history kind of takes away some of the romance of riverboats of film and television.  Those were the days of Yancy Derringer and the Maverick brothers, fancy ladies and fast talking gamblers. 

While in the lounge I heard the sound of ice cubes in glasses and pure Kentucky bourbon being poured. I was looking over the screen of my laptop, which could have been a poker hand, and I thought I heard someone say," Cards, Mister?" The lounge, dining room and lobby rekindle this romantic era with lush period furnishings, crystal chandeliers and lots of polished brass. Did I see Jodie Foster in period dress?

We did not have a thrilling dining experience, the food was good, but not great.  However, the buffet breakfast was a redeeming feature.  I'm a grits 'n' gravy kind of guy and the piles of sausages, bacon, eggs and biscuits we the right thing for me. I think Claudette even found some potatoes on the buffet.  Our cabin had a queen size bed, which eliminated space for a chair.  The dresser was an antique from the Federal period.  One caveat: headroom is at a premium in the shower. 

I enjoyed wandering around the boat, noting the giant 30 ton wood and iron paddlewheel and the calliope. Cabin number 340 had a brass plaque stating that President Jimmy Carter had stayed there. As I wandered about, the sound of Tina Turner singing "Rollin' on the River" echoed through my mind.

For a good video tour of the Delta Queen
Maverick trailer


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On another note: Does anyone have a good name, female, of course, for the voice on my smartphone's navigation ap?