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!
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.
1 comment:
Hi Paul and Emy, Just want you to know I am following your progress and wishing I were aboard! Some of your photos are fantastic, by the way. Gail
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