Rollin' up the River

For Lonnie Jones and Rita Schaefer Jones, living “the lake life” never really crossed their minds until April of 2015 when they bought their first 16-foot bass boat. This Nashville, Tenn., couple loves to fish, after all, and they had a bright and sunny spring full of time on the lake to get a feel for it.

Thus their conversion to living on the water began.

“We saw very quickly that the bass boat was just too small for us to maneuver in,” Rita says. “We found a 20-foot Parti Kraft pontoon boat and we were off to better fishing spots.”

It didn’t take long for the Joneses to realize they were spending all of their time out on the lake, and the only thing that could make it better was if they could stay the night on the water, too. By November that year, Lonnie and Rita had tracked down a used 36-foot 1976 Silver Queen houseboat to call their own.

“We did a makeover with new curtains, new upholstery, and fresh paint,” Rita says.

The Joneses loved staying aboard the Silver Queen for overnight trips—but again, that itch to stay on the water even longer settled in.

Let’s Go All In
“One day I said, ‘What do you think about selling one of our houses and spending more time on a larger houseboat?’” Rita remembers.

The Joneses had been married for six years and owned Lonnie’s original house as well as a newly-built house to live in. They could still keep the smaller home, workshop and garages as their “land home base” if they decided to risk the jump.

Rita recalls, “With very anxious feelings about selling the new house, we were ready to start our journey to find a houseboat that we could spend more time in and feel at home.”

So Rita took to the Internet to start scouting around for the right houseboat. Knowing that Kentucky was houseboat-heavy, she focused her search on options that could be driven up the Cumberland River to Old Hickory Lake, Tenn. They had a 70-foot slip just waiting at Blue Turtle Bay Marina—what they like to call “the best marina in the Nashville area.”

The One
Enter the Neon Moon, a lovely three-stateroom, two-bathroom houseboat at Green Turtle Bay Marina in Grand Rivers, Ky.

Right away, the Joneses were smitten with this 75-foot 2002 Sumerset. The spacious interior was white and bright, the bathrooms included standup showers, and there was plenty of closet space for two people. The closer they looked at the Neon Moon, the more reasons they saw to buy it.

When night falls, it’s apparent why the Neon Moon is such a fitting name. (below, center) Lonnie and Rita onboard the Neon Moon.  “When you walked into it, you felt at home,” Rita says. “We fell in love with the large salon with the white sectional sofa. The kitchen had as many cabinets as our house had. The bed is a regular king-size bed in the master bedroom, not the usual raised bed with steps. Of course, my husband liked the two MerCruiser 350 engines and the generator that were all very clean and in excellent working condition. And it was a pleasure working with the GTB yacht sales team.”

Transporters
Lonnie and Rita officially closed on their house in September last year and bought the Neon Moon three days later. And rather than transporting their new houseboat to Tennessee, the Joneses were looking forward to taking it up the Cumberland River themselves.

“We were ready for our ‘cruise’ to take the Neon Moon home. This was to be a journey of a lifetime,” Rita grins.

Rita’s parents, Dean and Sharon Schaefer, came from the flatlands of Emporia, Kan., to join them on the big adventure. Being new owners, they also hired Captain Bill Berlin to man the helm for the journey.

“We could not have gotten the Neon Moon home without Captain Bill. You need someone who knows the river and who knows the capability and condition of your vessel,” Rita advises. “When you buy any vessel, you don’t know how long the vessel has been sitting idle. You don’t know the mechanical issues that the other owner might have had. It’s very important that you have an experienced captain to be there on your first long journey. We had minor mechanical issues on our trip, but Captain Bill worked through them.”

Fish Magnet
Luckily these minor issues didn’t distract from the beauty of the swirling currents, the corridor of trees framing the river, and the wildlife glimpsed on the shoreline. Sometimes the wildlife even joined them onboard—like when a fish jumped right onto the deck one evening.

Refueling the tank was also surprisingly exciting when an Alabama pipeline burst and created a gas shortage, so the Joneses had to call ahead to make sure they could fuel up. And whenever the crew came up to a lock, everyone was grateful for Captain Bill’s steady hand to make sure they got through safely

“One of the most memorable moments for me was when I saw the AT&T ‘Batman’ building, Nissan Stadium and downtown Nashville from the Cumberland River,” Rita reminisces.

Old Hickory Lock
As the group passed downtown Nashville, they noticed the current increasing in strength. They slowed from 11 to 5 miles per hour as they drew closer to the Old Hickory Dam.

“Thank goodness for the mechanically-sound engines and Captain Bill getting us to the Old Hickory Lock,” Rita praises. “It was exciting seeing the Old Hickory Dam and knowing that just over the lock was the new home of the Neon Moon.”

After two days on the river, the gang hit the final lock at 9 p.m. with friends waving at them from the river bank. Everyone cheered as the lock doors opened and they officially coasted onto Old Hickory Lake waters.

“As we pulled into Blue Turtle Bay Marina, we had a crowd of people waiting for us to dock. We made the two-day journey safely without any incidents. We saw the beauty of the river and met people in the marinas along the way. We had the opportunity to meet and appreciate Captain Bill. We got to share this experience with Dean and Sharon, who loved the trip and continue to tell others of their exciting time.”

Now that Lonnie and Rita are all settled in, their love for the Neon Moon has only grown.

“We love the houseboat. Lonnie and I feel we are so lucky to be able to enjoy the lake like we do,” Rita says. “It is very uplifting to walk into the salon and feel comfortable and welcome. When you step into the houseboat, it makes you feel like you’re always on a journey and ready to go.”

Just Perfect
Other than swapping some of the furniture and toying with extending the upper deck cover, the Joneses wouldn’t change a thing onboard. Rita shares, “My favorite features are the front and back decks. We sit on the front deck and talk to people as they go by and get to know our dock neighbors. The back deck is our fishing deck. On Christmas day we actually were on our back deck in shorts fishing for catfish.”

And really, what could be better than that? Once summer arrives, Lonnie and Rita can’t wait to be outdoors on the top deck with family and friends, or catching a bite at their favorite Sam’s Sports Bar and Grill at the marina.

“We play bluegrass music and have a band called Lonnie Jones & Hard Drive. We plan on bringing our band to the Neon Moon to play and entertain at the dock,” Rita grins. So if you happen to be in the Old Hickory neck of the woods and you’re ready for a good time, you know where to find them.