June 9, 2022
Volume 52 - No. 22
By Jim Winnerman
As an avid fan of riverboat cruising, I was surprised to learn American Queen Voyages offered a cruise from Nashville, Kentucky to Cincinnati, Ohio sailing on the Cumberland, Tennessee, and Ohio rivers. Who knew you could sail north from Nashville on a commercial passenger vessel, and then on to Cincinnati?
In January 2022 and hoping the Covid pandemic would have substantially diminished by Spring, I The Paper - 760.747.7119
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signed up for the eight-day voyage aboard the American Countess leaving Nashville on April 25 with port calls in five river towns along the way, and one day just cruising.
For me one of the joys of riverboat cruising is simply sitting on the top deck in the bow of a paddlewheel steamer. Relaxing in a white wooden rocking chair as the gigantic red wooden paddles in the stern churn the water and propel the boat, listening to the water splash against the bow, and watching the scenery unfold as the river flows from bend
to bend is about as relaxing as it gets.
About the only thought that enters my mind is what awaits around the next bend. On this trip at one turn in the river, it was a huge eagle’s nest nestled in a tree along the bank with the white head of an adult eagle clearly visible. Church steeples piercing through a canopy of trees and barely visible beyond the bank hinted of the tiny towns being passed. The Google Map app on my phone revealed they were riverside villages with names like Cape
The Cruise Continued on Page 2
Sandy, Mauckport and Magnet in Indiana, and Battletown in Kentucky.
Geology along the shore changed frequently, and quickly. At times the American Countess passed close to shore and towering gray cliffs that rose steeply just beyond the bank. Soon stone facades would give way to flat flood plains, and the cliffs had moved to the opposite shore. The fact that the river is millions of years older than America kept enter-
