Still on the IL River

I'm writing this from a huge marina in tiny Grafton, IL which has wireless internet - yay! Hopefully more marinas will have it along the way. Grafton is very near the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. According to the t-shirts for sale in the marina store, it's "Where the Rivers Meet and the Fun Begins"! They put us on the dock with the BIG yachts and houseboats because we take up more room than a 40-ft boat with our mast down. That means we need to get a loaner adapter for 50-amp service instead of using the 30-amp we require. It also means we're way at the opposite end of the marina from the showers and restrooms. We got the bikes out and ride them to the facilities!

Here's the recap: We left Peoria on Wed the 26th. We delayed a day due to predicted storms which never happened. Oh well, we got to spend another day being pampered at Steve and Patti's B and B (you two were so good to us!) We left with full tummies, clean clothes and memories of lots of fun times - thanks again! We went through the Peoria Lock after a wait of about 2 1/2 hours. We anchored that night at Quiver Island with the folks on Lolligag out of Chicago; we enjoyed a nice dinner on their Nordic Tug 32 (pictured at anchor). There was a gorgeous full moon and very calm. It was too muddy on shore to take Ginger in the dinghy so she had to tough it out - good dog! The other picture are a paddle boat, "The Spirit of Peoria", we saw on the way and two river scenes along the way.

We had no problems running aground leaving the anchorage so that was encouraging. The mist coming off the water was beautiful but Cap'n Paul spent quite a bit of time mopping off the decks. We headed down river for the LaGrange Lock; this was our 8th lock so far. I was concerned how we would do in the locks but, thus far, they've not been a problem. The only problem seems to be the long waits for the barges to lock through! We anchored at a RR bridge outside the channel south of Beardstown. We had Mark and Linda from Lolligag over for dinner. It's so nice to have company in an unfamiliar place. We rocked a little bit from the wake of the barges but nothing serious.

Friday was another beautiful fall day; we've really been blessed with great weather so far. We would like to hang out here for a bit before we get on the mighty Mississippi but only have the slip for one night so we'll be off to Alton, IL later today. Thank you all for your interest and good wishes!

On Down the Ilinois River

Wed Sept 19th
After a peaceful night in Joliet, we left midday for the Brandon Rd Lock (a 20 ft drop). We were the first in a line of 7 "Looper" boats (all way bigger than us; still haven't seen a sailboat doing this trip). Really warm and sunny again - 88 degrees. When we got to the Dresden Lock, we were last in the convoy having been passed by all the big guys! The lockmaster was originally from Tomah, WI so we chatted a bit with him. We anchored for the night at an island that was unnamed on the charts; we named it "Mosquito Island".

Thurs Sept 20th
The night at anchor was very peaceful; not so the morning! 1) Eric hit his head really hard on the companionway; 2) Ginger "did her thing" in the dinghy on the way to shore to "do her thing" and 3) we ran aground getting out into the channel! After numerous attempts to free ourselves by setting out 2 anchors and winching/powering ourselves off, we were finally successful after 4 1/2 hours!! Thank goodness Eric was with us - thanks Eric; glad you didn't drown!
At Ottowa, IL we were ready to stop for the night. The Mystic Bond people were nice enough to invite us to raft off them (that's tying to another boat with lots of fenders out for you non-boaters). We treated ourselves to a few libations and dinner ashore after a hard day! Walked for a few groceries, heard the Brewers lose on the radio and crashed.

Fri Sept 21st
Walked to the hardware store; saw the statues and site of the first Lincoln/Douglas debate and left at 10am. We went through the lock at Starved Rock. We got a kick out of the variety of tug names: everything from "Gladiator" to "Twila Marge". The day was quite uneventful until we attempted to dock at Chillicothe. We were unsuccessful at tying off Sonata (a 42-ft trawler) or pulling in at the end of the dock. We finally rafted off Cat Tales (a 44-ft trawler cat) but hit bottom every time there was a wake from a tow or passing boats - not great but not much else we could do at that point. It was another hot day in the high 80s.

Sat Sept 22nd
I'm excited to take a break in Peoria and visit old friends (and not just to sleep in a real bed and take a real shower!) Steve and Patti picked me up but had to leave Eric and Paul behind to tend to the boat. They still couldn't tie up at the dock after the two boats left so they ended up putting out a bow anchor and tying the stern to the pier. The mode of transportation from the boat to land was pulling the dinghy back and forth using a line hand over hand, quite efficient really. The problem was the wake created by all the passing boats which jostled the floating pier around like crazy; managed to break an oar lock on the dinghy that way! They worked very hard at toting diesel for the engine in our 5-gal. can and toting water from a park in a 5-gal water jug.

We had visitors from Bloomington that afternoon: Paul's dear cousin, Sandy, and husband Yogi. They picked up dinner to have onboard and gave us lots of fun things like silly string (one can for each), gummy worms, a snake bite kit, head nets for tiny bugs and a big can of bug repellent. We're set now - thanks guys! We hit the DQ for ice cream then Eric and I got picked up for another night on shore - what luxury! Cap'n Paul had to tend the ship.

Sun Sept 23rd
Eric headed off to Normal, IL to catch the Amtrak back to his real life in Milwaukee (thanks again Steve for driving him). We found out there was enough water at the IL Valley Yacht Club (IVY) in Peoria to handle our boat so Steve, Paul and I made the 2-hr trip over there and got a slip; so nice not to be bouncing off the bottom of the river! Even though I'm sure the IVY Club has lovely facilities, we headed back to land and enjoyed a lovely dinner in an air-conditioned house with our good friends. Paul gets to shower - yay!

We're Off the Lake!

Guess what - Saturday was another rough day on Lake Michigan!! But we're making progress. We got to S. Shore Yacht Club in Milwaukee just at sunset.

Sunday, Sept. 16th: Em got to visit with an old friend from her FBI days, Margaret (better known as "Rock"). We hadn't seen each other in years so that was fun. Our son Eric and girlfriend, Diana, brought us some provisions (and wine) then we were off for another crazy day on the Lake with Eric joining us. Winds still coming out of the south and maybe 7ft waves. We made it to Winthrop Harbor, IL and got a slip there for $1/ft; it's huge - 1,100 slips! Also a huge walk to shore for Ginger (she's doing really well by the way).

This is North Point Marina in Winthrop Harbor, IL. The ad says "bathhouses with showers and laundries - all within steps of your dock". I'd say more like miles!

Monday, Sept 17th: Our last day on the Lake - we're excited! Really blowing out of the south, again, and pretty rough. When the skyline of Chicago appeared we felt relieved! It was very cool to cruise along downtown Chicago and see Navy Pier and all the skyscrapers close up. We waved to Oprah but she didn't wave back! We stayed at Burnham Harbor for $2/ft and that was without power (that was an additional $18!) We did have a great view of the skyline and Soldier Field though.

Tuesday, Sept 18th: We fueled up, pumped out and headed for our first lock, which was quite uneventful - we were lowered two whole feet. The Chicago Lock was built to prevent the back flow of water from the Chicago River and Sanitary Canal from flowing into Lake Michigan. What a great view of downtown going through "THE LOOP" downtown - very impressive! We passed under many bridges, some with a clearance of only 17 ft. We then went through a lot of industrial areas and stayed clear of the barges. Eric saw a log floating in the canal, but his mouth was full so "turn right!" sounded more like "mmmrf mrrf!" Eventually we got the point and took evasive action. The Lockport Lock was huge (to us). We went down about 40ft.

We traveled on these four rivers: Chicago; Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal, Des Plaines and IL River. On the whole we felt proud of ourselves. We're tied up for the night in Joliet, IL at a public dock - no charge and power too! There are several other "Looper" boats here; they're all very friendly. It was back to summer weather today - in the upper 80s; hard to believe I wore earmuffs, gloves and many layers last week! On down the river tomorrow.

We're On Our Way

I'm writing this at the library in Sheboygan - first time we've had internet so I'll give a quick update:

Wed. Sept 12th: We left Green Bay about mid-day. We'd planned to leave on Tuesday but the winds were too high. Wednesday was sunny but cool, 56 degrees and very calm. We find it ironic that now we are glad for no wind! The constant drone of the engine is something I'll have to get used to - it makes me sleepy! We spent a peaceful night in Sturgeon Bay.

Thurs. Sept 13th: Left at 5:00 am to beat the winds that were supposed to pipe up mid-day. Too late!! It was already blowing when we got out of the channel into Lake Michigan but we did see a gorgeous sunrise. We endured it for 6 hours and pulled in at Kewaunee. Without having any sail to put up for stability, it was pretty rocky - not fun! We gained confidence that the mast support system was going to stay onboard though; it was tested thoroughly. Waves were 6 ft plus and we were heading directly into the wind.

Fri. Sept 14th: Left Kewaunee about 9:30 am -
destination Sheboygan. Still pretty windy but not
as bad; more on our aft quarter and coming off land. I found out what wasn't as secured down below as I'd thought (one chipped plate isn't so bad I guess). Got to Sheboygan late aft and got a slip at Harbor Centre.

Sat. Sept 15th: There were record low temps last night in the area. We believe it because it was 47 degrees in the boat this am! I didn't want to run the heat at night because it's loud but I may have to get used to that! We plan to shove off for Milwaukee soon. The plan is to leave there on Sunday with Eric aboard. Hopefully the high winds are behind us. Stay tuned and thanks for all your prayers and good wishes!

Still Getting Ready

The mast was put back on the boat today - it's now in a horizontal position instead of vertical. At least with the mast on the supports it may cut down on the quizzical looks and many questions we were getting the past week. We need to have it down to get through all the locks and bridges we'll encounter. We're thinking how easy boaters have it who do this trip on a trawler!

Getting Ready

The trip actually seems very real now! Paul and friend Tom sailed Restless Wind down to Green Bay from Menominee, MI (the last time she'll actually be a "sailboat" for a LONG time). The mast was pulled (that was stressful) and trestles built to hold the mast. We took a test ride down the Fox River with our son, Eric, and experienced our first lock at DePere. It may be the smallest lock we'll experience and is operated manually. It was good practice and neat to see the mansions along the river from the water side.