December 22, 2012

We went back to the boat on December 3rd.  When we got back, there were even less people around than there were before Thanksgiving.  We moved the boat to a slip under cover near some other liveaboards and left to come back to Cincy on the December 12th. for the Christmas holidays.  We  got back to Cincy in time to see  our granddaughter Kate's Christmas program.  We have been busy since we got here spending as much time with all our grandkids as we can.  We spent the first week with Gina and Jim, Clara and Lindy and are currently at Cynthia and Jay's with Carolyn, Maria, and Johnathan.  These are some truly lively houses and Carol and I love it.  We are going to spend Christmas morning at Susan, Jeff, and Kate's house and all of us are getting together at Cynthia and Jay's house in the afternoon.  Also had time to visit many of our friends in the last week, both boating and non-boating.  It has been a very busy week.  We plan on heading back to the boat on Dec. 27th.  I am doing one of the few posts I have done because Grandma Carol is too busy being "Grandmotherly."

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

We made the trip home for Thanksgiving and stayed for two weeks.  We spent the first week at Jeff and Susan's house and the second week at Gina and Jim's house.  It seemed that every house had lots of germs, but we escaped unscathed.  It was so nice to be home for Thanksgiving.  After missing three Thanksgivings at home made this one extra special.  There were 44 people (my side of the family) in attendance.  Only four were missing.  There were three expecting mothers, so next year, if everyone is there, we will be fifty-one.  Thank goodness our children have such large houses to accommodate that many.

John had lunch a few times with his friends from Delhi.  I had lunch with the "Boat Ladies".  We had dinner out several times.  It seems we eat a lot while we are home.  It is evident by the number on the scale once we got back to the boat.  We are returning to Cincinnati on the 13th for the Christmas holiday.  Hopefully, we can pare back before then, so we can enjoy all of the eating events. It is a vicious cycle.

Our Rising Sun Christmas party was Saturday night at Hueston Woods.  We stayed overnight in the lodge.  The dinner, dancing, and visiting with this group of boaters was a lot of fun.  When we left there on Sunday (John's BIG 60th birthday), we went to Jay and Cynthia's house for a birthday party with our children, grandchildren, and parents.  All in all, we had a great time and are looking forward to our next trip home.

Cooler Weather

Two nights ago it got down to 28 degrees.  We were aware that the temperature was going to drop down below freezing, so John winterized the shower on the swim platform and the deck wash, out on the bow.  I guess we didn't go far enough south.  It's only November and it gets cold at night.  The days when the sun shines are still pleasant though.   

The oven quit working.  It wouldn't heat up and the water heater isn't getting the water very warm any more.  So, John ordered a new heating element for the water heater and a heating element for the oven.  Today he installed the one for the oven.  Now I can cook anything I want again.  It was strange having to think about how something needed to be cooked before buying food at the grocery store.  The water heater is on the list of  "Things To Do".  John hasn't been feeling so well for the past two or three days.  It's just a cold, but he doesn't feel like doing much.  We are both hoping that he is back to normal (whatever that is) by the time we come home for Thanksgiving.  We are so looking forward to seeing everyone over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.  I am doing very well with my Christmas shopping.  I figured that since we are going to be home for a few weeks and there are only six weeks until Christmas, I better get a move on.  There is still one more thing I want to make for a Christmas gift.   I feel pretty good about my progress so far.  Well, that's pretty much what's been happening recently here. 

November Already

This past weekend was my annual sisters' trip.  My sisters and sisters-in-law have gone away for a weekend in the fall every year for many years.  Over the years this trip has evolved to include Mom and the nieces and nieces-in-law that are older than 18.  I never missed a single one of these trips until we left on The Great Loop Trip.  I missed two years during that time.  We were gone for three years, but one year they came to where we were docked for our sisters' trip.  This year it was only my sisters and Mom.  The four of us went to Clarksville, Indiana.  We started our Christmas shopping, went to a very nice craft show in Louisville, and attended the play "Mousetrap" at the Derby Dinner Theater.  We ate a lot, laughed a lot, and played cards.  While we missed the rest of the girls, we had a great time anyway.

Before I left for this weekend, John told me that he bought me a present that was going to be delivered on Friday.  He said it was something I wouldn't buy for myself.  It's not even my birthday or our Anniversary or anything.  When I got back, he gave it to me.  It is a box of wonderful teas from Mighty Leaf Tea Company.  He was right.  I would not have ordered it for myself, but they are wonderful.  I might have to reorder them because I haven't tried a single one that I didn't like.  Thanks, John. 

There aren't very many people around the harbor since the first of the month.  Pickwick State Park has been working on replacing their docks and, apparently, one (or more) of them has been finished and open for boats.  Several boats left our dock to go there.  Several boats have left for Florida.  Loopers have been passing through here and we enjoy talking with them, but they don't stay more than a night or two.  It's a good thing we have each other to talk to.

That's it for a week or so.  Hang in there.....

Saturday, October 27, 2012

It's been a little more than a week since our last post.  John ordered a reconditioned detail sander because he wore out his old one.  He received an email saying it had been shipped and so a couple of days later, we walked up to the office to pick it up.  On the way, we ran into Tony the service manager.  He asked us what two people living on a boat would want with a weed whacker.  We thought that was a strange question.  He said that a package came for John that says weed whacker on the outside.  Sure enough, instead of a detail sander, he received a weed whacker.  After emailing back and forth with the company, it was discovered that the person who ordered the weed whacker got the detail sander and vice versa.  They shipped us the sander with a label to send the mistake package to the correct person directly.  We got a giggle out of that one.

We visited Shiloh Battlefields again.  This time we bought the CD that narrates the driving tour.  However, they have changed the order of the stops and so far, we have not figured out how to visit each stop in the order on the CD.  We need to go back to the visitor's center for clarification on that.

Two days ago, I fell down the four steps going into the aft cabin and bruised my back.  OUCH!  It's slowing me down just a bit.  Then, the next day, John did the exact same thing.  He cut his knee in his fall.  What's up with that?  The steps aren't any different than they have ever been before.  Oh well.

Yesterday, we finally met Cathryn and Bob on our "sister ship" Next To Me.  We have been playing leap frog for a long while.  John has been reading their blog and emailing them.  They arrived at Aqua Yacht Harbor yesterday afternoon and we went to Freddy T's for dinner with them last night.  We thoroughly enjoyed meeting them and hope that our paths cross again sometime.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

We have been busy keeping the boat in ship shape in case someone wants to come to see it.  John took the van to the dealer to have the air conditioner worked on again.  The freon keeps leaking out and the last time, they put a dye in so that if it happened again, they could tell where it is leaking.  Well, it took them an hour and a half to find the leak because it is leaking all the way in the back of the van.  When the trailer hitch was installed, it was rubbing on the A/C line and rubbed a hole in it.  So, the new line should arrive tomorrow and, hopefully, this will be the last time having the air conditioner serviced. 

I have begun making Christmas gifts.  There are so many really good ideas on Pinterest.  I am excited about some of the ideas I've gotten from this source.  I intend to make a lot of gifts, so the work is started.  No time like the present. 

A couple of days ago, John and I visited the Buford Pusser Home and Museum in Adamsville.  I thought he was a fictitious character made up for the movies, but he was very real.  He was truly amazing.  One time he had part of his face blown off, his chin hanging off of his face.  After many surgeries, he looked pretty good and could even talk.  His wife was killed in an ambush.  He was shot in that ambush as well.  I don't know how he could keep going and doing the job of sheriff. 

We also went to the Savannah River Museum.  It is a typical museum.  It has archaeological displays from around the area.  There are displays about the steamboats, including the Delta Queen.  There are also displays about the Battle at Shiloh.

I am looking forward to going on our "Sisters' Trip" in a couple of weeks with my sisters and my Mom.  We are going to the Derby theater in Clarksville, IN to see "Mousetrap".  It doesn't matter where we go, we always have a good time together.

Monday, October 8, 2012

We were home last week in Cincinnati to visit.  We spent time with our children and grandchildren.  We visited our parents.  I had lunch with my sisters. We attended movie night at Lighthouse Point Yacht Club (our home port).  We had a wonderful time, but now we are back on our boat in Iuka, Mississippi.  Our next trip home will probably be over Thanksgiving. 

 

These are all of our grandchildren.  We so enjoyed spending time with them last week.

 

While we were home, it came to my attention that you might be interested in some statistics of our trip.  The trip took us from October 15, 2009 until September 7, 2012, almost three years.  We bought 4884.3 gallons of diesel fuel for a total of $ 17,781.28.  We spent $22,775.09 on mooring.  We spent $ 34,854.22 on maintenance and repair.  We put 1145 hours on the generator and 1154 hours on the engines. We cruised a total of 9117 miles and went through 135 locks.  Whew!  It makes me tired just to think about it.  We thoroughly enjoyed the entire trip.  We met tons of really nice people everywhere we went.  We are both so glad that we were able to do this trip of a lifetime. 

Sunday, September 23, 2012

We have been so busy since arriving here at Aqua Yacht Harbor.  We have scrubbed, and decluttered, and scrubbed, and decluttered, and scrubbed, and decluttered until we fall into bed at night.  It has been so worth it though.  "Seas 2 Day" looks good.  We had the air conditioner fixed this past week.  It turned out that the problem was a burnt  wire.  Apparently, one of the repair people who worked on it, didn't crimp the wire properly.  It did receive a little shot of freon, but the big problem was the wire. 

We listed the boat with Marine Max on Friday.  We both have mixed emotions about that.  This boat was very reliable throughout the loop.  She is comfortable and there is space for each of us to be together or not deciding on our moods.  We are anxious for the next chapter of our life with our new boat though.  We have all these ideas about what we want to do to the Pluckebaum and where we want to put things on her.  However, we don't necessarily have the same ideas.  :)

Today we went to Our Lady of the Lake Church.  There were only 40 people in Church.  It looks like a pretty new church, but I don't know how they can afford the building if that's all the parishioners they have.  They only have Mass at 5:30 on Saturday and 8:00 on Sunday. 

Yesterday we scouted out a place to watch the Bengal's game today.  The first Sports Bar we checked out, didn't have any TVs.  How can that be a sports bar?  The second one said they have NFL package and one of the TVs could be tuned into the Bengal's.  Well, we got there after the game started because we weren't thinking about the time change between here and home.  First, we found out that they don't have a Sunday liquor license.  Okay, we ordered soft drinks.  The owner tried for 45 minutes to tune into the channel that had the Bengal's game on it, but was never able to get it.  He was on hold to Direct TV the entire time we were there.  We finally gave up and listened to the game on the computer.  Not the same.  We will have to find a different place for the next game. 

We are going to be home on the first week of October.  Hope to see many of you then.

Ron, this boat made me think of you.  The name of it is"The Rockin Robbins".

 

Our boat

 

The pool

 

 

Rack Storage of boats.  Many, many boats.

Our dock for the winter.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

This morning began early again.  We left Perryville Marina at 6:15, hoping to make it all the way to Aqua Yacht Harbor.  It was a trip of 80.5 miles and one, typically slow lock.  We called Pickwick Lock and the Lockmaster said it would be a half hour wait.  It took us about 15 minutes to get to the lock after the call, so we only had to wait for 15 minutes.  Not bad at all.  We arrived at Aqua Harbor shortly before 4:00.  We met a very nice lady named Susan who has a houseboat on the end of our dock.  She had come down to catch our lines. 

John and I had dinner at Cafe St. Claire right here at the harbor.  It is nice to be here.  Our hope is to sell our boat soon so we can complete the sale and move onto the Pluckebaum.  Our fingers are crossed. 

Our daughter-in-law said I shouldn't stop blogging completely like I had planned upon arriving here.  She said I should blog once a month or so.  I am considering doing just that.  So, check back once in awhile to see if I have anything new to say.  You never know. 

Friday, September 14, 2012

We left Paris Landing State Park this morning at 7:00.  This time we did not leave our splitter behind like the first time we stayed here. :)  We saw lots of fishing boats today as we chugged along.  All in all, we cruised 69 miles is 7 3/4 hours.  We arrived at Perryville Marina.  We no more than got here when the Harbor Master (Billy) offered to call Monroe Restaurant for us.  He said they would come to pick us up.  He also said that whatever time they said they would be here, they would be here exactly on time.  No such luck.  We waited 15 to 20 minutes past the time we agreed on.  John was on the way back to the boat to cover the bridge and dash when the car pulled up.  He, therefore, walked back to the parking lot without covering the bridge or closing windows.  There was only a 10% chance of rain.  Well, we were about halfway finished eating when the rain started.  It lasted long enough for us to walk down the dock in the rain and get things closed up.  Then, it stopped raining.  Hmmmm....

We have about 81 more miles to reach our winter destination.  We probably won't do it all in one day, but you never know.

Sunrise.

 

I like this house and where it is situated.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

What a perfect cruising day.  We fueled up before leaving the harbor and pulled away at 8:00 A.M.  It was cloudy and comfortable.  We passed one barge and lots of fishing boats.  We did not pass any runabouts or cruisers.  After five hours, we arrived at Paris Landing State Park.  It's 70 cents a foot per night here.  Pretty good, eh? 

Tomorrow is supposed to be like today in the weather department.  So, we expect to move on in the morning.  It won't be long before we are situated for the winter.  Two or three more cruising days ought to do it.  I hope I'm not jinxing us by saying that. 

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

It was hot again today.  It was nice to have the van available to us to check things out.  We drove over to Green Turtle Bay hoping to see the people on "Next to Me" which is a 42 foot Jefferson like our boat.  We have been playing leapfrog with them for awhile now, and not meeting up with them.  I guess it wasn't to be today either.  We are leaving in the morning heading toward Aqua Yacht Harbor.  It will be nice to get settled in for the winter. 

Kentucky Dam State Park is hopping busy.  The Convention Center parking lot is overfilled.  There is a group that have filled the cottages.  The overflow people are renting houseboats and staying at the dock.  The marina parking lot is full and it's not even the weekend.  It's nice that they are so busy.  Hopefully, that says something good about the economy.

Tuesday September 11, 2012

When I signed on tonight, I noticed that the last blog was Saturday.  I don't know what happened to it, but I did blog on Sunday night.  Anyway, John rode home Sunday with Mike and Linda to pick up our van so that it is closer once we get situated at Aqua Yacht Harbor in a few days.  He was gone overnight.  I had quite a lot to do while he was gone.  I missed him and we spoke on the phone a few times.  He stayed overnight at Gina's and then drove back here on Monday. 

Monday night we watched the Bengal's football game.  Can we really call that a game?  Either the Ravens are really good or the Bengals are really bad.  It was hard to watch. 

This morning, I went to the grocery and got the cupboards restocked.  We have choices now as to what to eat.  This afternoon, we drove over to Kuttawa Harbor Marina to visit Richard and Becky on Chillin'.  They weren't around though.  We are sorry we missed them. 

We are either going to leave here tomorrow or Thursday.  Til next time....

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Our inverter has been acting up lately.  When we were anchored out, it would only last about 4 hours and then it would beep to tell us it was out of juice.  So, today Mike and John got down in the engine room and tested the batteries to see if maybe one of them had a bad cell.  They really couldn't tell what was going on with them, but decided to replace the batteries anyway.  Mike drove us to a golf cart store and they had the golf cart batteries that John was looking for.  John bought four batteries and Mike and John replaced the old batteries with the new ones.  Once the old ones were out, they noticed that two of the four were split open.  The inverter is working like new.

Mike and Linda had made a reservation at Patty's for dinner tonight to celebrate our finishing the loop.  The food, the company, and the atmosphere were all perfect.  Thank you, Mike and Linda.  You are the best!  They are kind enough to let John ride home with them so that he can bring our car back here.  Our plan is to take our boat to Aqua Yacht Harbor in northern Mississippi.  When we get there, the car will be at Kentucky Dam Marina and we won't have as far to go to pick it up.  I will continue to blog until we get to Aqua Yacht Harbor.  At that point I will stop blogging.  What will I do with my late evenings? 



Linda, Carol, John, and Mike at Patty's.

Friday, September 7,2012

Yesterday, just before we left to go out to dinner with Mike and Linda, a dandy storm blew in.  We were drenched just walking to the car with an umbrella.  Today was another hot one.  We paid a visit to Shop-o-rama, went to a boat show at Green Turtle Bay, had lunch at Docker's, hung around the dock, went to Willow Pond for dinner, and walked the long dock where the really big boats are moored.  It felt good to spend a day on solid ground. 

Another big storm is threatening tonight.  It's supposed to cool things off and be a high of 76 tomorrow.  That would be nice. 

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Neither of us slept very well last night.  We weren't worried about out anchor holding because we had tried to lift it to move to deeper water and it wouldn't budge.  But, we were worried that we were out of the way of all of the barges waiting to lock through Lock 53.  We must have been out of the way because none of the tow captains said anything about where we were on the radio.  And those guys aren't shy.  At any rate, we were up at 5:00 again.  John called Lock 53 and the Lockmaster told him it would be about 3 hours.  He told us to tie up to the lock wall and wait.  So, when we tried to lift the anchor this morning, it lifted up to a point, but it was hooked on a cable.  John tied a rope to the cable and pulled it over, lowered the anchor a bit and the anchor was free.  One problem solved.

We ended up having to wait four and a half hours at the lock.  We locked through with a boat named "Chillin'".  When we were four or so miles away from Lock 52, Richard on "Chillin'" called the lock on the phone and the Lockmaster told him that if we could catch up to the work boat, we could lock through with him.  So, we poured it on.  The Lockmaster told us to just float in the lock and not tie up.  We really appreciated that they waited for us.

When we got to Kentucky Lock, there were two tows waiting, and one coming out of the chamber.  John called the Lockmaster on the phone and he said that we could lock through when the one in the chamber was out of the way.  The other two tows were changing crews and we were finished locking  by the time they were ready to lock.  After having to wait for awhile at the first lock, we went right in at the other two.  Lucky us!

WE CROSSED OUR WAKE AND COMPLETED THE LOOP AT KENTUCKY DAM MARINA TODAY!!!!!!  And guess what.  We were surprised to find our friends Mike and Linda standing on the dock when we arrived.  They are staying for the weekend.  What a great ending to a great trip.

 This is the construction at the Olmsted Lock.  This Lock was originally supposed to be open in 1999.  Our guidebook says it is supposed to be open in 2013.  The Lockmaster told us it is now supposed to open 2026.

 The lock wall inside of Lock 52.

The entrance to Kentucky Dam Marina.  What a welcomed sight.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

What a day!  It began at 4:45.  We were up and dressed and waiting for the sun to come up enough to see the buoys.  Lightning made such a gorgeous light show for us, but made us unsure whether we should stay or leave.  One forecast was a 30% chance of rain.  The other forecast was for a stray severe thunderstorm.  We decided to go ahead and leave because there are no places to get fuel until you get to Kentucky Dam and we were using fuel to run the generator.  We pulled away from the lock wall at 6:15 with 135 miles to go to the first safe place to spend the night.  We were cruising along the Mississippi at 13 mph.  That's really good for us.  The current helped, but John pushed a little harder than usual.  There were so many barges, both moving and moored.  The eddies in the Mississippi are legendary.  They push you around and you have to be paying attention or you end up where you don't want to be.  Finally, we made the turn into the Ohio River.  That sounds so wonderful, like we're almost home.  However, when we reached the Olmsted Lock that is under construction, the cells and the shore were full of barges and tows waiting to lock through Lock 53 which is a couple of miles farther up river.  At that point, we didn't know what to do.  The Lockmaster would not answer us on the radio and he would not answer the phone.  The only safe place listed in our books is on the other side of Lock 53.  The Lockmaster at Lock 52 told us that they are having problems and the barge traffic is backed up 24 hours.  We had no choice but to pull outside of the channel and drop anchor.  It isn't the place we wanted to be, but there was no place else to go.  In the morning, the plan is to try to reach the Lockmaster at Lock 53 again and see when we will be allowed to lock through.  If he doesn't answer, I guess we'll pull up close to the lock and let ourselves be seen.   We knew today would be a long day.  We cruised for more than 11 hours and then spent another hour fiddling around trying to decide our best course of action.  Tomorrow may turn out to be equally as long (or longer), depending on how long it takes to get through the three locks (Lock 53, Lock 52, and Kentucky Dam Lock).  We are so close to crossing our wake and being finished with the Great Loop.

This morning's sunrise.

 

The beginning of the Ohio River.

 

 

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

We had a short cruising day today.  We are tied to the lock wall at the Kaskaskia Lock.  When we asked Fern at Hoppies where would be good places to stay the rest of the way down the Mississippi River, she told us to stay here tonight and then there is no good place to even anchor until we get to Olmstead Lock (which isn't built yet).  The problem is that it is 135 miles from here and even at 10 mph, that's 13 hours at least, not counting all the times we will have to slow down.  We are afraid we will run out of sunlight.  Time will tell.

Yesterday we passed St. Louis, MO.  We have been in 18 states and 3 countries since leaving home in October, 2009.  The Mississippi is snaky and narrow and shallow, especially this year.  We were told that the tows push 35 barges at a time, 5 x 7.  Since the water level is down due to the drought, the barges are not as full and the tows are pushing fewer barges.

These pictures are from yesterday and today. 

 St. Louis Arch.  Beautiful day, eh?

 This tow was pushing 24 barges.  That's big enough as far as I'm concerned.

Our boat docked at Hoppies.  Isn't that a cute boat boy?

 

 



Monday, Sepember 3, 2012

 

We left bright and early this morning, and cruised the Mississippi River from where it meets the Illinois River to Hoppies.  We passed through two locks to get here and there are no more locks until we reach the Ohio River.  This is quite the place.  Fern and Hoppy are very interesting.  They are so smart about the Mississippi River.  They tell you where the river is too low to anchor and where to be extra careful of the barges and tows.  They are having some serious issues with the Corps of Engineers.  The wing dams the Corps installed has caused a lot of silting around their marina.  It seems like it is possible that it will put them out of business.  That would be a real shame for several reasons.  First, they are nice, hard working people.  Second, there is no other marina for a lot of miles.  In fact, this is the last place to get fuel until Kentucky Lake.  Third, it just isn't fair to ruin a long standing business. 

These pictures are the ones from last Friday.

This is John's contraption to be able to drive the boat from the bridge in the all day rain.

 

Red sky at morn (Friday morning)

 

This is the baby deer we saw swimming across the river.

 

 

 This video is of two Asian Carp (Flying Fish).

 

 

Sunday. September 2, 2012

We have very poor Internet service here.  Last night I was not able to get online at all.  So, I am trying again tonight.  Yesterday we spent the day working.  John washed the boat,  There was a lot of fish slime on the sides of the boat from the Asian carp fish hitting the sides.  It was gross.  I did household chores and then we both went to the grocery / liquor store.  This marina has a courtesy car.  John was out of Maker's Mark, so this was an emergency run.  We had Happy Hour out on the dock with the resident boaters.  The people are really nice.

This morning, there was an H-Dock community breakfast.  It was SO good.  Why does everything taste better when eaten outdoors?  Later, we had cocktails  with several couples on the dock.  Then, we were invited out to dinner with five other people.  We went to "River Dock" restaurant.  The food was delicious and ate way too much food.  I don't think anyone belonged to the clean plate club tonight.  We are hoping to move on in the morning.  As always, it depends on the weather.  John called ahead to Hoppies to make sure there would be room for us tomorrow.  Apparently, Hoppies is the only place around for a lot of miles.

Friday, August 31, 2012

Yesterday we left Hamm's Holiday Harbor Marina at 6:15 A.M.  It felt good to be on our way again.  By 9:00 we were through the Peoria Lock.  We were the only boat in the chamber and the drop was only about 4 feet, so the lockmaster told us to just float in the middle and not tie up.  That was a first.  The boat is running smoothly since the pressure plate repair. 

The Asian Carp jump all over the place.  They hit the sides and bottom of the boat with a "Thunk".  It sounds horrible.  One man said an Asian Carp landed on his boat right next to the cabin door.  Fortunately, it was closed at the time.  We are now cruising with the door closed, no matter how hot it becomes.  Apparently, these fish are a muddy, bloody mess to clean off of your boat.  I took a video of the flying fish, but the Internet service is not very good here and the video will not load.  I'll try to post it at a later date.

So last night we were anchored behind Bar Island.  It was a good, quiet, and isolated anchorage.  There was no Internet service there.  There was no town or anything around.

Today we were up at 5:00.  We pulled up the anchor before it was light.  We reached the LaGrange Lock and had to wait for two hours for a barge that had to be split up in the chamber.  This is the last lock on the Illinois Waterway. 

Along the way we saw cows in the water and then a baby deer swimming across the river.  We watched as the deer climbed out of the water on shore and ran into the woods.  It rained steady from about 9:30 on today.  We got to Grafton Harbor just before 4:00.  The rain actually stopped while we docked, but then picked up again shortly after.  There is even a tornado watch.  We are grateful to be tied to a covered dock.  The people on this dock are all friendly.  In fact, we had dinner with Tim and Valerie, our next door neighbor here. 

I will try to put a couple of pictures on.  If they don't show up here, I'll add them at a later date.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

The boat is back in working order.  We filled up the fuel tank and we are ready to cruise tomorrow morning.  One unusual thing about this harbor is that they do not take credit cards.  They did take our out of state check, however.  There are lots of tow boats here in the harbor and on shore.  Also, there is a floating casino, no longer in operation.  We thought maybe it was the old Argosy from Lawrenceburg, Indiana.  It says "Rock Island" on the side of it though. 

We hope to have an uneventful day on the water.  I am putting some pictures of this marina on the blog tonight.  Hope you enjoy them.

 The defunct casino we thought might have been the Argosy.

 View of the marina from the parking lot.

 A tow boat on shore at the marina.

The restaurant that has not been open in 5 years.

 

This is the first place we have been where we saw Asian Carp, otherwise known as Flying Fish.  They are pretty big and jump pretty high.  The stories on the dock here are that they land on the dock or in a boat and die.  They smell stinky and make a big muddy, bloody mess.  I am certainly hoping to not have any stowaways on our boat as we travel south down the Illinois Waterway and the Mississippi River. 

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

John got an email from UPS this morning saying that the delivery information was not complete and that he should contact them so they could deliver it tomorrow.  It needed a business name.  Unfortunately, John did not see this email until one hour after it was received.  Apparently, the company he ordered the part from, left part of the name of the marina off the delivery slip.  It did have John's name on it, but that wasn't sufficient.  John emailed UPS and explained the situation.  The driver brought the part later in the day.  It was too late for the mechanic to come down and install it, but he is coming around 8:00 tomorrow morning.  We are anxious to move on.  It's been pretty warm the last week or so.   Being out on the water, with the breeze in our hair, sounds pretty darn good right now.

Monday, August 27, 2012

The weather is better.  It stopped raining, and is in the upper 80s.  John ordered the boat part first thing this morning.  It's supposed to be here tomorrow sometime. 

I spent a good part of the day working on genealogy research.  I can get so lost in my research. I have found out some pretty interesting things over the past several years.  Today is no exception. 

After dinner, I defrosted the ice maker.  Big deal.  Not much happening here.  Just waiting to be able to move on.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

It was ugly here in beautiful Chillicothe, Illinois.  It began raining this morning and has been raining, off and on, all day.  Sometimes with thunder and lightning.  It's not as if we could move our boat anyway.  A very nice woman named Lisa loaned me her car so that I could run to Kroger.  Fortunately, I had my Kroger card with me.  Her car only has 10,600 miles on it. 

Then, later, we got some disappointing news.  Our friends who were going to spend the winter (in their boat) at Aqua Harbor with us, were not able to work it out.  We will really miss them and hope they come and visit us at some point during the winter.  In fact, we would really enjoy a visit from any of our family or friends. 

We will be here until at least Wednesday.  It all depends on how long it takes to receive the part and then have it installed on our boat. 

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Dale (the mechanic) came to the boat at 9:15 this morning.  By 11:30, the determination had been made that the problem is just what John thought it was.  Now, we have to wait for the part.  The place he needs to order it from, isn't open on the weekend.  So, it will be ordered on Monday and overnighted.  Now we just have to wait.

The people here are nice.  There are no amenities, except fuel.  So, it is up to us to entertain ourselves.  Not a problem for me.  I can always read, sew, or do genealogy research.  John has his guitar and TV to occupy his time.  We both have things we can do to the boat, like clean.  What fun!  It has been so hot the last three days, but tomorrow the high is supposed to be 79 degrees.  Much better. 

Friday, August 24, 2012

Today began as so many before have begun.  We were up and ready to leave at 6:00 A.M.  We left Starved Rock Marina with a little less money, but glad that the propellers have been swapped and the ride is smooth.  After only a couple of miles, we came to a lock called Starved Rock Lock and Dam.  There were barges in the chamber when we arrived, being locked up.  The tow and the rest of the barges were still on the low side, waiting for another cycle to get the rest of the barges and tow through.  The lock master said that we could slip in and lock down in between.  There wasn't a lot of room going into the lock or out of the lock.  Captain John had no problem maneuvering around the obstacles.

At one point, we were passing an island called Upper Twin Sisters Island.  It made us think of our twin granddaughters.  As we were passing this island, however, we noticed a bad fish smell.  It kept getting stronger and stronger.  Then we saw hundreds of dead fish floating in the water.  We have no idea why they died, but it sure was nasty.

We were about ten miles away from our chosen destination for the day when we lost our port propulsion.  The engine is fine, but it won't go into gear.  John investigated in the engine room and believes that the problem is a pressure plate between the engine and the transmission.  We called Hamm's Holiday Harbor Marina and informed them that we would be arriving on one engine.  Without having the assistance of the port engine, steering in the skinny channel into the marina was all but impossible.  We became grounded and the owner of the marina came out in his work boat and pushed us into deeper water.  We have found a mechanic who is coming down tomorrow morning to work on it.  We are hoping that it is easy and cheap to fix.  Now don't laugh too hard.  We know that nothing is easy and cheap on a boat, but you can't blame a girl for hoping.

The people here are nice though.  We have been offered the use of a car, if we need it.  We visited with the Friday night crowd for awhile and feel very welcomed by them all.

This morning's sunrise.

 

The barge waiting outside of the lock as we emerged.

 

Thursday, August 23, 2012

There are a number of floating houses on this river.  They are really cute, but awfully small.  I think a larger one would be cool though.  I am posting some pictures  of a few.

First thing this morning we had our boat pulled so we could swap out our props.  Things went pretty well at first.  The props were swapped and the mechanic named Shane asked if we cared if he looked in our engine room because the port shaft seemed to have a little too much wiggle room.  Once he and John looked in the engine room, they found that the same bolt that had broken off when we were on the Hudson River, broke off again.  It took another hour and a half to fix it.  Shane said he thinks it happened because the prop was bent and the vibrations caused the bolt to break.  I hope it is permanently fixed.  I am also posting a picture of the starboard prop.

 

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Yesterday as we were cruising along, we came across some things that made us think of home.  The first one was the Dan Ryan Bridge which made us think of Dan Ryan at home in Delhi.  We also passed a really big "mountain" with methane gas release valves which reminded us of Mt. Rumpke back home in Colerain Township.  We also passed a town named Robbins that made us think of Ron Robben also back home in Delhi.  Do you think we are getting a little homesick?

We spent a very comfortable night on the wall just before the Lockport Lock.  We zipped right through that lock first thing this morning at 5:45.  Besides Lockport, we also locked through The Brandon Road Lock, the Dresden Lock. and the Marseilles Lock, all without a hitch.  We arrived at our chosen destination (Starved Rock Marina in Ottawa, Illinois) at 2:45.  We had a wonderful dinner at "Captain's Cove Bar and Grill" on the marina premises.

We have arranged to have our boat pulled in the morning and the props switched out.  We hit something back on the Severn River.  We didn't notice too much of a vibration on Lake Michigan because of all of the wave action.  However, once we got back to the river system, it became more noticeable.  We carry a spare set of props which we will swap for the dinged ones and then get the damaged ones straightened out once we are settled in for the winter.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Yesterday we were visited by a woman named Brenda who is a Harbor Host for AGLCA (American Great Loop Cruisers Association).  She saw our AGLCA flag and came around to see if we needed anything, like to go to the grocery store or something similar.  This is the first Harbor Host we have met this year.  We didn't need anything, but it was really nice of her to ask.

We got a really early start this morning, leaving the harbor at 5:45 A.M.  We were planning on making it to Joliet, Illinois.  We cruised the Calumet River and the Chicago Sanitary Canal.  Both of these are very narrow with lots of barges and barge staging and slips around.  There are also a whole lot of bridges to go under.  The lowest fixed bridge along the entire Loop is here at 19 feet 1 inch.  When we got to this bridge, I climbed up on the roof and took the light down and stood up there to make sure we weren't going to hit.  We made it under with about 5 or 6 inches to spare.  We would have cleared without taking down the light, but only by one inch.Whew!

The next interesting thing we came to, was the electric fish fence.  We had to wait before scooting through this section for a few minutes because they were counting fish.  We turned our electronics off as we passed through here even though the Coast Guard man told us we didn't have to turn them off.  We thought:  better safe than sorry.

Then we made it to Lockport Lock.  The Lockmaster had us tie up to the wall because they had an electrical problem they were working on.  He told us that he didn't know how long it would take. Well, we arrived there at 12:30 and the lock wasn't ready for us until 6:45.  We asked the Lockmaster if we could just stay on the wall all night and lock through tomorrow morning.  He gave us permission to stay here.  So, we didn't make our intended destination today, but we are only one lock and three miles away from Joliet.

Sunrise this morning.

Pretty

Electric Fish Barrier Signs

Monday, August 20, 2012

What a difference a day makes.  Yesterday this place was hopping.  There were boats coming in and out in lines.  But, today, there is no one around. It's so quiet and the water is so calm.  John read that five water spouts were cited yesterday only about twenty miles from where we were cruising.  Wow!  Glad we didn't experience that. 

Today we each had our chores to do in the morning.  I won a free 8x8 inch, 20 page book from Shutterfly.  So this afternoon I went through our pictures and decided which ones to put in the book.  It took forever, but I've got the file ready to upload to Shutterfly.  Now I have to wait until we get somewhere that has high speed Internet.  It certainly isn't here.  Sorry, no pictures today.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

We left this morning at 6:30.  The weather was comfortable, but hazy.  No rain or wind.  Waves only one foot high.  We could see Chicago for more than 50 miles before we got there, even with the haze.  It was another of those perfect cruising days.  We arrived in Hammond, Indiana at Hammond Marina at 1:00, after cruising 57.5 miles.  This marina has a special going on right now, pay for one night, get the next night free.  So, for us it's two nights for $50, not bad.  On the same piece of property as the marina is a casino named "Horseshoe".  We just had to go check it out.  John played Texas Hold 'em, and was up pretty good at one point, but he gave it all back.  I lost 3/4 of my allotted funds, playing penny and nickel machines.  It was fun and not too expensive. 

This is another really huge marina, but even more empty slips than North Port Marina.  The marina office is even farther away than the one at yesterday's marina.  This time no one gave me a ride back.  I guess I got my exercise today. We are now finished with open water.  When we leave here, we will go right to the Calumet River and start toward the Illinois River.  We won't have to be so careful about the weather. 

This is the best (though hazy) picture of the Chicago skyline.

Can you see the white swirlies towards the right center part of photo?  It kind of looks like a roller coaster, but it's smoke from the stacks blowing in swirls.



There were about 25 sailboats just sitting in the middle of the water.  We think they were getting ready for a race.  It looked kind of weird to see them just sitting there.

Saturday, August 18, 2012

The weather today was perfect for cruising.  We pulled away from the dock at 7:00 A.M.  The seas were only one foot high.  Yea!  It was one of those days that make me feel so spoiled.  We cruised past Milwaukee and Racine, Wisconsin and ended up in Winthrop, Illinois at North Port Marina.  This marina is huge, having 1500 slips.  The walk from where we are docked to the office to pay for the night is at least 1/2 mile.  One man told us that the marina is only 43% full.  When we arrived, there were three very nice men on hand to help grab our lines and tie us up.  Then, this slip has 120 50 amp service.  We did not have the proper adapter, so one of those nice gentlemen loaned us one for tonight.  We are expecting to leave in the morning, heading for Hampton, near Chicago.  The weather doesn't sound quite as good for tomorrow as it did earlier today, so we will have to wait and see what the forecast is in the morning.  I am putting a couple of pictures of the Milwaukee skyline on the blog today.

Friday, August 17, 2012

After doing a little decluttering, I worked on my genealogy research.  No great finds today, but it still was fun.  A sailboat named "Summer Breeze" arrived in the dock next to our this afternoon.  Karen from "Summer Breeze" and I went for a walk.  It was nice to walk with someone.  We had a nice visit while we walked.  It seems to me that every where I go, the female boaters I meet are just like me.  We all love cruising and we all miss our children and grandchildren.  Karen has lots of local knowledge because this is their cruising grounds.  They are from Racine and cruise for several weeks each summer.  So, our plan is to leave here tomorrow morning.  The weather is supposed to be favorable for the next few days. 

After John looked at the blog last night, he said I should post some pictures of the boat we are buying.  So, here they are:

Thursday, Augus 16, 2012

The storm began this morning around 6:00 A.M.  Lots of thunder and lightning and then the rain came.  So, today I spent most of the day sewing.  I finished a shirt for John.  I'm not certain that he will wear it because it is so loud.  I'm posting a picture of it.  The designs are all brightly colored guitars.  We are most likely going to stay here in Port Washington, Wisconsin again tomorrow because the weather / waves are not supposed to be in our comfort zone. 

When we were home, we found a boat we are going to buy for after "The Loop".  We have decided that we want to continue living on a boat, but a larger one.  So, yesterday, John put two "For Sale" signs on the boat and shortly after that, we had two different people stop to look at her.  We are hoping it won't be difficult to sell our 42' Jefferson.  She has served us well.  This trip is the trip of a lifetime for us and this boat has made the journey very comfortable. 

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

The rental car had to be returned today.  Boo hoo!  It started out a little warm today, but as the day went on, the wind picked up and the temperature dropped.  We are expected to have 20 to 30 mph winds and heavy rain tonight and tomorrow.We are staying put tomorrow because of the weather forecast.  So far, it looks like we will probably be staying put on Friday as well for the same reason.  We figure we are two days away from Chicago.  We are ready to go whenever the weather is favorable to do so.

 It's nice to have the cupboards and refrigerator full again. John and I both spent the day getting caught up on things we have been putting off.  None of them were huge jobs, just things that it takes more time to get the tools out than the actual job.  You know what I mean?  Until tomorrow.....

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Yesterday, Jim had to take a client out to dinner and Gina went out to dinner with her friend Theresa.  Clara and Lindy went with Gina as well.  So, instead of waiting until 8:00 P.M. to leave Cincinnati, we left at 6:30 P.M.  We did pretty well until we were half way and it started raining pretty hard.  Chicago at 11:00 P.M. in the rain was not fun at all.  We took the toll roads which seemed counterproductive because every so many miles, you had to stop to pay more tolls.  We got back to the boat at Port Washington Marina in Wisconsin at 1:00 A.M. this morning.  We unloaded the car and put some water in the tank right away so we could get showers.  We slept until 8:00, went out for breakfast and then headed to the grocery store.  We needed just about everything.  It's been awhile since we've had access to a car.  Everything is put away and it feels good to just sit quietly and blog. 

The high temperature today was 79 degrees.  Last night it was 57 degrees when we arrived at 1:00.  It's nice to have the windows open and air the boat out.  We had so much fun at home.  We will miss you all until we get back again.  Here are a few more pictures from Mills Springs Battlefield.